Pre-construction information

The 2015 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations require that construction clients provide pre-construction information as soon as is practicable to every designer and contractor appointed, or being considered for appointment, to the project. Where there is more than one contractor, the principal designer should provide advice and help compile the pre-construction information and provide it to the designers and contractors.

The regulations define pre-construction information as 'information in the client’s possession or which is reasonably obtainable by or on behalf of the client, which is relevant to the construction work and is of an appropriate level of detail and proportionate to the risks involved, including information about:

• The project.
• Planning and management of the project.
• Health and safety hazards, including design and construction hazards and how they will be addressed.
• Information in any existing health and safety file'.

Pre-construction information should be provided in a convenient form and should be clear, concise and easily understandable. It should be prepared early in the project so that it can provided to designers and contractors as part of the tendering or procurement process. This enables those preparing bids to assess the resources they will need to allocate to perform their duties under the regulations.

Designer must then take account of the pre-construction information when preparing or modifying designs.

Pre-construction information may be added to as the project progresses, and should be provided as appropriate to designers and contractors throughout the project before work starts on any particular element.

The amount of detail included in pre-construction information should be sufficient to ensure that significant risks can be anticipated, focussing on those risks that that could not reasonably be anticipated.

The 2007 Regulations Approved Code of Practice suggested that pre-construction information might include:

• A description of the project.
• Key dates.
• Contact details for the project team.
• The extent and location of existing information.
• Project arrangements:

1. Planning and managing the construction work.
2. Communication and liaison.
3. Security.
4. Site hoarding.
5. Site transport.
6. Permit-to-work systems.
7. Fire precautions.
8. Emergency procedures.
9. Means of escape.
10. Authorisation requirements.
11. Confined spaces.
12. Smoking and parking restrictions.

• Safety hazards.

1. Boundaries and access.
2. Restrictions on deliveries, waste collection or storage.
3. Adjacent land uses.
4. Existing services.
5. Ground conditions.
6. Existing structures.
7. Issues relating to plant and equipment.
8. Health and safety information in earlier design, construction or ‘as-built’ drawings.

• Health hazards.

1. Asbestos.
2. Contaminated land.
3. Client’s activities.
4. Storage of hazardous materials.

• Significant design and construction hazards

1. Assumptions and working methods.
2. Arrangements for co-ordination of ongoing design work.
3. Significant risks identified during design.
4. Materials requiring particular precautions.

• A description of the format of the Health and Safety File and any conditions relating to its content.

[edit] Related articles

• Asbestos.
• CDM.
• CDM planning period.
• CDM workers.
• Condition survey.
• Construction phase plan.
• Contaminated land.
• Deleterious materials
• Demolition.
• Desk study.
• Failure to mention asbestos.
• Ground investigation.
• Health and Safety File.
• Insitu testing of soils.
• Lighting of construction sites.
• Location plan.
• Personal protective equipment.
• Pre-qualification standard 2021.
• Principal contractor.
• Principal designer.
• Programme consultant.
• Project directory.
• Samples and mock-ups.
• Site appraisals.
• Site plan.
• Site office.
• Site storage.
• Site surveys.
• Smoking shelters.
• Technical due diligence.

[edit] External references

• Regulation 10 of the the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
• A full copy of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

Comments

Hi,

I noticed the history had a lot of text to read, and this page is now empty? Can you provide us the latest one? Much appreciated, and huge thank you to designing buildings wiki for clear explanation.

The article has been reinstated - it had been deleted by a user. Thanks for letting us know, and I am glad you are finding the site useful

DBW