Pre-construction information: what clients should provide.

Under CDM 2015, the client must provide pre-construction information as soon as practicable to every designer and contractor appointed—or being considered for appointment—to the project. It means relevant information already held by the client, or reasonably obtainable by or on the client's behalf, at a level of detail proportionate to the risks.

The legal definition covers information about the project, its planning and management, health and safety hazards and how they will be addressed, plus relevant material in an existing Health and Safety File. A glossy standalone report is not the goal. The information may sit across drawings, surveys, schedules, records and clear project notes, provided it is controlled, understandable and supplied to the right people in time to influence their work.

Who is responsible for pre-construction information?

The client holds the main legal duty. Appointing a consultant or Principal Designer can help the client fulfil it, but does not transfer the client's responsibility to make the information available.

HSE describes the Principal Designer's role as active coordination: taking account of relevant existing information, assisting the client, supporting information flow and liaising with the Principal Contractor. If you are still confirming appointments, read Do I need a CDM Principal Designer?

What should pre-construction information contain?

Start with information that changes a decision, exposes a constraint or helps a dutyholder control a foreseeable risk. Depending on the project, the following groups may be relevant.

1. The client brief and project arrangements

• the scope, intended use, key dates, phasing, budget constraints that affect risk control and any fixed operational requirements;
• the client, designers, Principal Designer, contractors and Principal Contractor appointed or anticipated;
• time and resources allocated to design, mobilisation and construction;
• how design decisions, changes, approvals, cooperation and communication will be managed; and
• site rules or client standards that genuinely apply to the project.

2. Existing site and structure information

• available drawings, specifications, previous alteration records and any existing Health and Safety File;
• asbestos information, structural surveys, condition reports and known fragile materials;
• utility drawings, service investigations, isolations and information about live systems;
• ground conditions, contamination, underground structures, water, previous uses and known unexploded-ordnance information where relevant;
• existing access systems, plant, equipment and stored-energy hazards; and
• known limitations in the available records, including areas not surveyed or information that is out of date.

Do not present an old plan, survey or service drawing as reliable without stating its date, scope and known limitations. If verification is needed before design or construction decisions can be made, record who will obtain it and by when.

3. Site boundaries, occupants and neighbours

• access, deliveries, storage, parking, traffic and pedestrian constraints;
• occupied areas, vulnerable people, public interfaces, adjoining businesses and shared premises;
• restrictions on working hours, noise, dust, vibration, shutdowns or security;
• adjacent structures, land, highways, railways, waterways or overhead and underground services; and
• emergency access, existing welfare and any client-controlled permits or authorisations.

4. Design and construction hazards

Include significant and unusual hazards, the decisions already taken to eliminate or reduce them, and the residual information others need. Examples may include structural stability, temporary works, difficult maintenance access, hazardous materials, heavy components, lifting constraints, excavations or work near live services. Avoid filling the pack with generic hazard lists that conceal the project-specific messages.

Who should receive it, and when?

The client's duty applies to designers and contractors being considered for appointment as well as those already appointed. That matters commercially: tenderers need enough reliable information to allow suitable time, resources, methods and costs rather than pricing on unsafe assumptions.

• Before appointment: issue enough relevant information for a designer or contractor to understand the scope and material risks.
• During design: provide information early enough for designers to eliminate or reduce foreseeable risks through their decisions.
• Before construction: ensure the contractor or Principal Contractor has what is needed to prepare a suitable Construction Phase Plan and plan mobilisation.
• As information develops: distribute relevant new surveys, decisions, design changes and identified risks to affected dutyholders without waiting for a final pack.

Not every recipient needs every file. Use an information schedule, document register or issue record to show what was supplied, to whom, when and in what revision.

How should information gaps and updates be managed?

Pre-construction information evolves. HSE guidance says preliminary information gathered at the start is unlikely to be sufficient, so the process should continue as the design develops and new facts emerge.

A practical gap register can identify:

• the missing or uncertain information and why it matters;
• whether it is reasonably obtainable and who will obtain or verify it;
• the decision or work package that depends on it;
• the required date, current status and recipient; and
• any interim restriction—for example, no intrusive work until a survey or isolation is confirmed.

Do not use “information unavailable” as a substitute for reasonable enquiry. Equally, the duty is proportionate: a client is not expected to commission irrelevant information that has no bearing on the work or its risks. Record the basis for the decisions and update the controlled pack when material information changes.

How is PCI different from the CPP and Health and Safety File?

These documents inform one another, but they are not interchangeable. PCI helps designers and contractors plan; the CPP turns relevant information into construction-phase arrangements; and the Health and Safety File preserves selected information needed for later work.

A practical client review before issue

Before issuing the information, check whether:

• the project scope, key dates, dutyholder arrangements and constraints are current;
• existing surveys, drawings and Health and Safety File information have been located and reviewed;
• important limitations, assumptions and missing information are visible rather than buried;
• significant design, construction, occupation and neighbouring risks are explained clearly;
• each recipient has the information needed for the decision or work package in question;
• document revisions, issue dates and responsibilities are controlled; and
• there is a process for adding and distributing relevant new information.

IMERI H&S Partners provides CDM Principal Designer support and Construction Phase Plan and pre-construction information support for project teams in Watford, Hertfordshire, London and across the South East. The appropriate scope depends on the appointments, project risks and information already available.