Glossary

The words site safety is written in. Duty holders, plans, method statements, permits and inspections — what each term actually means, who carries it, and what goes wrong with it between the office and the hoarding.

Who holds what under CDM. Pick any term below to see it highlighted on this drawing, or on one of the others.

Regulations & standards

CDM 2015

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 are the main health and safety regulations for construction work in Great Britain.

Duty holders & appointments

Principal contractor

The principal contractor is the contractor appointed by the client to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase where more than one contractor is involved.

The principal designer is the designer appointed by the client to plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase, coordinating health and safety matters in design where more than one contractor is involved..

Competent person

A competent person is someone with the training, knowledge and experience to carry out a particular task safely.

CSCS card

A CSCS card records that its holder has achieved a recognised qualification for their occupation and passed a health, safety and environment test.

CDM client

A client under CDM is the organisation or individual for whom a construction project is carried out.

Designer

A designer under CDM is anyone who prepares or modifies a design, or arranges for someone to.

Contractor

A contractor under CDM is anyone who carries out or manages construction work.

Health surveillance

Health surveillance is the ongoing monitoring of workers exposed to specific health risks — noise, vibration, dust and some substances — to detect early signs of harm..

Planning & documents

Construction phase plan

A construction phase plan sets out the health and safety arrangements, site rules and control measures for the construction phase of a project.

RAMS

RAMS is the pairing of a risk assessment, which identifies the hazards of a task and the controls for them, with a method statement, which sets out step by step how the task will be done safely..

F10 notification

An F10 is the notification a client gives the Health and Safety Executive for a construction project that exceeds the notification thresholds in CDM 2015, submitted before the construction phase begins..

Pre-construction information

Pre-construction information is the information a client provides about the site and the project that designers and contractors need to plan the work safely — what is already there, and what is known about it..

Health and safety file

The health and safety file is the record handed over at the end of a project containing the information anyone carrying out future work on the structure needs in order to do it safely..

Design risk management

Design risk management is identifying risks created by a design and eliminating or reducing them at the drawing rather than leaving them to be controlled on site..

Method statement

A method statement sets out how a task will be carried out safely, step by step, in sequence.

Risk assessment

A risk assessment identifies the hazards of a task, who might be harmed and how, and the controls that will reduce the risk.

Project handover

Project handover is the transfer of a completed structure and the information about it to the client — including the health and safety file and the information needed to operate and maintain it safely..

Asbestos survey

An asbestos survey identifies asbestos-containing materials in a building.

On site

Permit to work

A permit to work is a formal written authorisation to carry out a defined high-risk task, issued for a set time and set conditions, and signed back when the work is complete..

Site induction

A site induction is the briefing every person receives before working on a site, covering its specific hazards, rules, layout, emergency arrangements and who to report to..

Toolbox talk

A toolbox talk is a short briefing to a work team on a single health and safety topic, delivered on site and close to the work it concerns..

Near miss

A near miss is an unplanned event that did not cause injury or damage but had the potential to.

Site inspection

A site inspection is a recorded walk of a site against a defined standard, identifying unsafe conditions and practices and raising them as actions with an owner and a date..

Scaffold inspection

A scaffold inspection is a recorded check of a scaffold by a competent person before first use, at intervals thereafter, and after any event likely to have affected its stability..

Hot works

Hot works are operations producing heat, sparks or flame — welding, grinding, cutting, soldering and torch-on roofing.

Working at height

Working at height is work in any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury.

Exclusion zone

An exclusion zone is an area kept clear of people during an operation, physically marked and controlled.

Segregation

Segregation is separating people from moving plant and vehicles, physically and by route.

Incident

An incident is an unplanned event that caused, or could have caused, injury, ill health or damage.

Briefing

A briefing is the act of taking a team through a document — RAMS, a permit, a change of sequence — and confirming they understood it.

Temporary works

Temporary works are the parts of a construction project needed to build the permanent works but not part of them — falsework, formwork, propping, excavation support and hoardings..

Excavation

An excavation is any cutting or trench.

Lifting operation

A lifting operation is any operation using lifting equipment to raise or lower a load.

COSHH on site

COSHH requires employers to assess and control exposure to hazardous substances.

Site welfare

Site welfare is the provision of toilets, washing facilities, drinking water, changing areas and a place to rest and eat.

A–Z

More terms are being added. These pages explain what the words mean; they are not a substitute for advice from a competent health and safety adviser.