Principal Designer Duties
What are the Duties of the Principal Designer?
General Duties
- The Principal Designer MUST have the Skills, Knowledge and Training & Experience (SKATE) to take on the role
- If the Principal Designer appoints any other Designers or Contractors – Make sure they have the necessary SKATE
- Co-operate with everyone involved in the project and make sure everyone else co-operates with each other
- Report any Health & Safety issues, that they become aware of, to whom they are working for
- When providing information or instruction – make sure it is comprehensible and provided in good time
Specific Duties
The Principal Designer must
- Plan, manage and monitor Health and Safety in the Pre-Construction Phase, in particular, when;
- Design, technical and organisational aspects of the project are being decided
- Estimating periods of time required for programming the work
- Assist the Client in providing the Pre Construction Information
- Make sure that all designs take account of the General Principles of Prevention to identify and eliminate foreseeable risks to people building, maintaining, cleaning & using a structure where possible.
- Control residual risks and provide clear information on these to other duty holders when it isn't possible to eliminate them
- Ensure all other designers comply with their duties
- Assist the Client in providing the Pre Construction Information & distribute this to all other duty holders
- Liaise with the Principal Contractor in planning the Construction Phase and assist the PC in preparing the Construction Phase Plan.
- Prepare the Health and Safety File during the Pre-Construction Phase, develop this during the construction phase and hand it to the client on completion.
Note - This page is for guidance only. Application on a project must comply with the official HSE issue of the Regulations