What Is It?
A construction phase plan is the document that records the health and safety arrangements, site rules, and risk control measures for a construction project. Under CDM 2015 it must be prepared before the construction phase begins. It covers a description of the project and its key dates, the management arrangements and who holds each duty-holder role, and the arrangements for controlling the significant health and safety risks during the work. It is a working document that should be reviewed and updated as the project progresses, and it should be proportionate to the size, complexity, and risks of the particular job.
About This Template
A construction phase plan is a legal requirement for every construction project in Great Britain under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, known as CDM 2015. This applies to domestic projects as well as commercial ones - many builders are surprised to learn that even a single-contractor extension or refurbishment needs a plan. The construction phase plan sets out the health and safety arrangements for the build before work begins: the project details, who is responsible for what, and how the significant risks on site will be controlled. It does not need to be long or complex, but it does need to exist, be proportionate to the job, and be in place before work starts. A clear plan protects workers, satisfies the law, and is often the first thing a client, insurer, or HSE inspector will ask to see.
When to Use
- Before the construction phase of any building project begins - the plan must be in place before work starts on site
- On commercial and notifiable projects where a principal contractor is appointed to coordinate health and safety
- On domestic projects, where the contractor (or principal contractor where there is more than one contractor) prepares the plan
- When more than one contractor is, or is likely to be, working on the project and roles must be coordinated
- When updating the plan as the build moves between phases, new risks emerge, or site conditions change
- When a client, insurer, building control officer, or HSE inspector asks for evidence of health and safety planning
What to Include
- Project description: nature of the work, the site address, and a short summary of what is being built
- Key project dates: planned start of the construction phase and the expected duration or completion date
- Duty holders and roles: the client, principal designer, principal contractor, and any contractors, with contact details
- Management arrangements: how health and safety will be planned, communicated, supervised, and monitored on site
- Site rules: the standards everyone on site must follow, and how they are communicated through induction
- Welfare arrangements: provision of toilets, washing facilities, drinking water, rest areas and changing facilities in line with Schedule 2 of CDM 2015
- Site induction and information: how workers and visitors are inducted and kept informed of risks
- Arrangements for controlling significant site risks, such as work at height, excavations, demolition, falling objects, traffic and pedestrian segregation, and services
- Fire, first aid and emergency arrangements: alarm, escape routes, assembly point, first aid provision and emergency contacts
- Arrangements for controlling hazardous substances, including asbestos surveys for relevant properties, dust, and noise
- Reference to relevant risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) for high-risk activities
- A review and update record, with space to note revisions as the project progresses
Tips
Make the plan proportionate to the job - a single-contractor domestic extension needs a short, focused plan, not a fifty-page document copied from a major project. CDM 2015 explicitly expects the plan to match the risks
Have the plan in place before work starts on site, not as an afterthought. The legal requirement is that it exists before the construction phase begins
Treat it as a living document - review and update it when the work moves to a new phase, when site conditions change, or when new risks are identified
Focus on the significant risks for your specific project rather than listing every conceivable hazard. A plan that genuinely controls the real dangers is far more useful than a generic checklist
Use the plan at site induction - it should be the source of the site rules and key risk information that every worker and visitor is briefed on before they start
Construction Phase Plans and CDM 2015
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 - CDM 2015 - are the main set of regulations governing health, safety and welfare on construction projects in Great Britain. They are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and the construction phase plan is one of the core documents the regulations require.
A common misconception is that CDM 2015 only applies to large commercial sites. It does not. CDM 2015 applies to all construction work, including domestic projects such as house extensions, loft conversions, and refurbishments. Where the project is for a domestic client, the duties that would normally sit with the client generally pass to the contractor, or to the principal contractor where there is more than one contractor. In practice this means the builder is usually responsible for preparing the construction phase plan on domestic jobs.
Under CDM 2015, a construction phase plan is required for every construction project. For a project involving only one contractor, that contractor must ensure a plan is drawn up before the construction phase begins. For a project involving more than one contractor, a principal contractor must be appointed, and the principal contractor is responsible for drawing up the plan. A principal designer is also appointed on projects with more than one contractor, to plan, manage and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase.
// VERIFY: CDM 2015 also requires the HSE to be notified of certain larger projects via an F10 notification. Confirm the current notification thresholds and form name against HSE guidance L153 before stating them, as the duty applies in addition to the construction phase plan, not instead of it.
The key point for builders is straightforward: whatever the size of the job, there must be a construction phase plan in place before work starts on site, and it must genuinely address the health and safety risks of that particular project. The HSE guidance is clear that the plan should be proportionate - a small, low-risk domestic job needs a short and simple plan, while a larger or higher-risk project needs a more detailed one. A plan that is missing, generic, or written after work has already begun does not meet the legal requirement.
Duty Holders Under CDM 2015
CDM 2015 defines a set of duty-holder roles, and your construction phase plan should identify who holds each role on your project. Understanding the roles helps you complete the plan accurately.
The client is the person or organisation the construction work is carried out for. On commercial projects the client has specific duties to make suitable arrangements for managing the project. On projects for a domestic client - someone having work done on their own home, not in connection with a business - the client's duties generally pass to the contractor or principal contractor.
The principal designer is appointed by the client on projects involving more than one contractor. They plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety during the pre-construction phase, when key design and planning decisions are made.
The principal contractor is appointed by the client, again on projects involving more than one contractor. They plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety during the construction phase, and they are responsible for drawing up the construction phase plan and for organising site induction and welfare.
A contractor is anyone who carries out, manages or controls construction work. Where there is only one contractor on the project, that contractor takes on the responsibility for preparing the construction phase plan. Contractors must plan, manage and monitor their own work so it is carried out safely.
Workers are the people who carry out the construction work. They have duties too: to look after their own health and safety and that of others, to cooperate with the people in charge, and to report anything they see that is likely to endanger anyone.
On a typical domestic extension carried out by one building firm, the same builder may effectively be carrying the contractor duties and the duties that have passed from the domestic client. The construction phase plan should still clearly record who is doing what, even if several roles sit with the same firm.
Controlling Significant Site Risks
The heart of a construction phase plan is the section setting out how the significant health and safety risks on the project will be controlled. CDM 2015 and its associated guidance expect the plan to address the risks that genuinely matter for the specific job, with practical arrangements rather than vague statements.
Welfare facilities must be provided from the start of the construction phase. Schedule 2 of CDM 2015 sets out the welfare requirements, which include suitable toilet facilities, washing facilities, drinking water, somewhere to rest and eat, and facilities for changing and storing clothing where needed. The plan should record what welfare is provided and how, even on small domestic sites - the duty applies regardless of project size.
Work at height is one of the biggest causes of serious injury in construction. The plan should set out how falls will be prevented: safe access equipment such as scaffolds, towers and podium steps, edge protection, and the avoidance of working at height where it can reasonably be avoided. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply alongside CDM 2015.
Excavations and groundworks carry risks of collapse, falls into the excavation, and striking buried services such as electricity, gas and water. The plan should describe how excavations will be supported or battered back, how services will be located before digging, and how the edges will be protected.
Other significant risks the plan commonly needs to address include falling objects and materials, segregation of vehicles and pedestrians, demolition and structural alterations, manual handling, dust and noise, electrical safety, and the risk of fire during the works. Where the building was constructed before the year 2000, the plan should also address the risk of asbestos-containing materials and the need for an asbestos survey before disturbing the fabric.
For higher-risk activities, the construction phase plan should reference the relevant risk assessments and method statements - the RAMS - rather than trying to contain every detail itself. The plan ties the project's safety management together; the RAMS provide the task-by-task detail.
