What goes in a Construction Phase Plan?

Every construction project needs a Construction Phase Plan before the construction phase starts. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, it records the health and safety arrangements, site rules and—where relevant—the specific measures needed for work involving the particular risks listed in Schedule 3.

For a small, routine job, a brief and focused plan may be enough. A complex refurbishment, groundworks package or occupied-site project will usually need more detail. The test is not the number of pages: it is whether the people delivering the work can understand how the project will be organised and its significant risks controlled.

Who prepares the Construction Phase Plan?

The client must ensure that a suitable plan is drawn up before construction starts and that the contractor or principal contractor receives relevant information. Designers supply information about design risks. On projects with more than one contractor, the CDM Principal Designer assists by providing relevant pre-construction information and information about significant residual design risks.

If you are unsure whether your project requires a principal contractor or principal designer, see our guide: Do I need a CDM Principal Designer?

What information should be gathered before writing it?

A workable plan starts with the available pre-construction information rather than generic assumptions. Gather and check, where applicable:

• the project scope, programme, key dates and site boundaries;
• the client, designers, principal designer, principal contractor and contractors involved;
• existing surveys, drawings, service information and asbestos information;
• significant design risks and assumptions that remain for the construction team to manage;
• access, deliveries, storage, lifting, traffic and pedestrian constraints;
• neighbours, members of the public, occupants or other businesses affected by the work;
• available welfare, temporary works and emergency arrangements; and
• the sequence of work and expected interfaces between trades.

Missing information should be identified and resolved, or managed through a clear action and responsibility. A plan should not silently treat an unverified assumption as fact.

What should the Construction Phase Plan contain?

The headings below are a practical structure. The right level of detail depends on the project.

1. Project description and management team

Record what is being built, altered, maintained or demolished; the planned start and finish dates; the principal parties; and who has authority for day-to-day health and safety decisions. Include clear arrangements for communicating design changes, programme changes and site information.

2. Health and safety aims and responsibilities

Set realistic project-specific priorities and allocate responsibilities. State who will manage inductions, inspections, permits, temporary works, first aid, fire arrangements, welfare and coordination with subcontractors. Avoid job titles without named or otherwise clearly identifiable responsible people.

3. Site rules and access arrangements

Site rules may address PPE, signing in, parking, radios and mobile phones, smoking, restricted areas, hot works, housekeeping and emergency procedures. Explain how rules will be communicated to workers, including anyone who may need information in another language or format.

4. Cooperation, coordination and consultation

Explain how contractors will be selected, briefed and coordinated; how work interfaces will be planned; how design or sequence changes will be controlled; and how workers can raise concerns. Cover induction, briefings, toolbox talks and the arrangements for checking that controls are understood and followed.

5. Welfare and emergency arrangements

State what toilets, washing, drinking water, changing and rest facilities will be provided, when they will be available and who will maintain them. Include first aid, fire prevention, alarms, evacuation, assembly points, rescue needs and how emergency services will reach the site.

6. How significant risks will be controlled

Focus on the risks that can seriously affect workers or others and on the interfaces between activities. Depending on the work, this may include:

• work at height, fragile surfaces and falling objects;
• excavations, underground services and ground conditions;
• structural stability, demolition and temporary works;
• lifting operations, plant movement and traffic routes;
• electricity, isolation, confined spaces and hazardous substances;
• dust, noise, vibration and manual handling;
• work near the public, occupied premises or neighbouring properties; and
• other Schedule 3 risks that apply to the project.

The plan should describe the management arrangement and refer to the relevant task controls. HSE guidance says it should be easy to understand, proportionate and not cluttered with generic risk assessments, lengthy decision records or detailed method statements.

Is a Construction Phase Plan the same as RAMS?

No. The CPP is the project-level management plan: it explains how the construction phase will be organised, coordinated and monitored. Risk assessments and method statements—often called RAMS—set out controls and a safe sequence for particular activities.

They should support one another. For example, the CPP may establish the project's permit-to-dig and service-coordination arrangements, while the groundworks RAMS deals with the specific excavation, plant, people and conditions for that task. Generic templates require project-specific assessment, adaptation and briefing; they are not automatically suitable or site-ready.

When should the plan be reviewed and updated?

Treat the CPP as a living document. Review it regularly and when circumstances change, particularly when:

• the design, scope, programme or construction sequence changes;
• a new contractor, work package or significant risk is introduced;
• new survey, service or asbestos information becomes available;
• site conditions differ from those assumed;
• an inspection, incident or worker concern shows that a control is ineffective; or
• changes to access, occupation or neighbouring activities affect the work.

Record material changes and communicate the affected parts to the people who need them. An updated document that stays in an office is not an effective control.

Common weaknesses to avoid

• copying another project's names, dates, hazards or emergency details;
• listing legislation without explaining how the work will be managed;
• leaving responsibilities as “TBC” when construction starts;
• treating a collection of RAMS as the whole CPP;
• failing to address trade interfaces or changes; and
• preparing the plan for a tender or assessment and never using it on site.

A practical pre-start check

Before construction begins, the responsible contractor should be able to answer yes to these questions:

• Does the plan identify the correct project, dutyholders, scope and programme?
• Has the available pre-construction and design-risk information been considered?
• Are site-specific responsibilities, rules, welfare and emergency arrangements clear?
• Are the significant risks and trade interfaces identified with workable controls?
• Can workers and subcontractors understand the parts that affect them?
• Is there a practical process for review, change control and site monitoring?

IMERI H&S Partners provides Construction Phase Plan support for contractors and principal contractors working in Watford, Hertfordshire, London and across the South East. Support can include preparing a project-specific plan or reviewing an existing draft against the available project information.