• Improve planning and management of projects from the very start of the project;
• Assign the right people for the right job at the right time to manage the risks on site;
• Target effort where it can do most good in terms of health and safety;
• Discourage unnecessary bureaucracy.

These regulations were a result of an EU Directive 92/57/EEC (OJ L245, 26.8.92), the so-called 'Construction Sites Directive'. They came into force on April 6, 2007 and replaced the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, Construction (Design and Management) (Amendment) Regulations 2000 and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996. The regulations are divided into

5 parts:

• Part 1 deals with matters of interpretation and application of the regulations.
• Part 2 covers general management duties of the duty holders that apply to all construction projects including those that are non-notifiable.
• Part 3 sets out additional management duties of the duty holders that apply to notifiable projects.
• Part 4 of the regulations apply to all construction work carried out on construction sites, and covers physical safeguards that must be provided to prevent danger. This was covered previously by the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996, which are revoked by CDM2007.
• Part 5 covers issues of civil liability, transitional provisions that apply during the period when the regulations come into force, and amendments and revocations of other legislation.

CDM 2007 applies to all construction work and covers a very broad range of construction activities such as building, civil engineering, engineering construction work, demolition, site preparation and site clearance, except for Part 3, which only applies if the project is notifiable. On a notifiable project, the client must additionally appoint a competent CDM co-ordinator and a competent Principal Contractor, a Construction Phase Plan ( “Construction Phase” – incorporating Mobilisation (let the building contract, appoint contractor, issue production information, arrange site hand-over, and review contractor’s proposals), Construction to Practical Completion (administer the building contract and provide contractor with further information as necessary), After Practical Completion (administer the building contract after practical completion, resolve defects and make final inspections). The importance of this phase is in the inspection of expected performance standards to ensure compliance).and a Health & Safety File must be produced. Additional duties are also placed on the Client, Designers and Contractors for notifiable projects. The CDM Co-ordinator is the new title for the