Principal contractor

[edit] Introduction

The term principal contractor has been used as a general term to describe the individual party contracted with the responsibility to deliver a specific piece of work, the work type of work can vary considerably but is normally defined with in a contract, hence the term.

In terms of the construction of buildings, similarly the principle contractor (sometimes referred to as the main contractor, or contracting firm, leads a team of sub contractors throughout the project covering the wide spectrum of trades needed to complete the project.

The term Principal Contractor more recently and specifically is associated with certain responsibilities and competencies that fall under the CDM regulations as well as the Building Safety Act.

[edit] CDM Regulations

The HSE under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) defines a Principal Contractor as:

'the contractor with control over the construction phase of a project involving more than one contractor. They are appointed in writing by the client (commercial or domestic) to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety during this phase.

A principal contractor, in close cooperation with the client and the principal designer, has an important role in influencing how the risks to health and safety are managed during construction work. This includes ensuring standards are understood and followed.'

It goes on to say:

'A principal contractor must be able to demonstrate that they have the skills, knowledge, experience (SKE) and, where an organisation, the organisational capability to carry out the work they are being appointed for. The level of SKE should be proportionate to the scale and complexity of the project and the nature of the risks to health and safety.

Examples of demonstrating SKE might include:

• records of continuing professional development (CPD) including training records
• membership of professional bodies
• references from previous construction work

Examples of demonstrating organisational capability might involve:

• using pre-qualification assessment services from third party assessors, such as those who are members of Safety Schemes in Procurement Forum (SSIP)
• self-assessing using the standard health and safety pre-qualification questions in Publicly Available Specification PAS 91

For more information read our article CDM 2015 principal contractor duties

[edit] Building Safety Act

The HSE document 'Building safety competence information for principal contractors and principal designers: Competency standard PAS 8671:2022 and Competency standard PAS 8672:2022' published in October 2022 sates:

'A building regulations principal contractor can also be an individual or an organisation. A principal contractor is a contractor in control of the building work, and can be, for example: a construction company, an individual contractor'

It goes on to give a brief summary of competency under PAS 8672 saying:

'The Building Regulations Principal Contractor (PC) must plan, manage and monitor the building work, cooperate, coordinate and communicate to ensure the building work complies with building regulations. The principal contractor is expected to take responsibility for their site. principal contractors should manage the flow of information and make sure it gets to those who need it. Principal contractors are expected to work with designers and other contractors to make sure all building work complies with relevant building regulations. Monitoring is frequently overlooked. A principal contractor should have arrangements to monitor building work (and record this) to make sure it complies with the law and to liaise with the principal designer to agree any changes.'

For more information read of article PAS 8672 Framework for competence of Principal Contractors on our Building Safety wiki.

[edit] Grenfell Inquiry

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 report overview, report of the public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, published in September 2024, recommended that: '....a licensing scheme operated by the construction regulator be introduced for principal contractors wishing to undertake the construction or refurbishment of higher-risk buildings and that it be a legal requirement that any application for building control approval for the construction or refurbishment of a higher-risk building (Gateway 2) be supported by a personal undertaking from a director or senior manager of the principal contractor to take all reasonable care to ensure that on completion and handover the building is as safe as is required by the Building Regulations.'

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Best practice.
• BSI competence requirements for principal contractors and designers.
• CDM 2015.
• Competence.
• Competence framework.
• Competence framework for project managers in the built environment launched.
• Competence management.
• Construction contractor.
• Construction fire safety responsibility and competence matrix.
• Construction phase plan.
• CDM 2015 client duties.
• CDM 2015 contractor duties.
• CDM 2015 designer duties.
• Grenfell Tower.
• Hackitt review of the building regulations and fire safety, final report.
• Learning.
• Professional.
• Professional conduct.
• Professional practice.
• Recruiting and retaining talent in the construction industry.
• Skills gap.