What should be included in pre-construction information?

What CDM means by pre-construction information

Pre-construction information is information already held by the client, or reasonably obtainable, which is relevant to the construction work and of an appropriate level of detail and proportionate to the risks. It includes information about the project, planning and management arrangements, and health and safety hazards.

The client provides it as soon as practicable to designers and contractors bidding for or appointed to the project. The principal designer helps the client assemble, review and communicate it during the pre-construction phase.

1. Project and client brief

• Project description, objectives, scope and exclusions
• Site address, work areas, key dates, phasing and working hours
• Known budget or programme constraints that affect risk decisions
• Client standards, approval routes and operational requirements
• Dutyholders, proposed appointments and contact details

2. Existing site and asset information

• Current drawings, specifications, models and previous health and safety files
• Asbestos surveys and registers suitable for the planned work
• Structural information, condition surveys and known fragile materials
• Underground and overhead services, isolations and utility constraints
• Ground conditions, contamination, water, excavations and buried structures
• Access, boundaries, neighbouring properties and public interfaces

State the status and limitations of surveys. An old drawing or desktop search may be useful, but it should not be presented as verified fact if conditions could have changed.

3. Occupation, logistics and interfaces

• Whether the premises remain occupied or operational
• Shared access, traffic, deliveries, storage and parking restrictions
• Security, safeguarding, vulnerable persons and public protection
• Other contractors, tenants, maintenance teams or simultaneous work
• Shutdown windows, permits, restricted areas and emergency arrangements
• Available welfare and any temporary provision required

4. Design and construction risk information

Include significant or unusual risks that a competent designer or contractor would not be expected to know, along with relevant assumptions and decisions. Examples may include temporary stability, heavy or unusual components, sequencing constraints, retained structures, hazardous processes, difficult maintenance access and materials requiring special control.

A useful design-risk record explains the risk, who may be affected, the decision made and what information still has to reach the next dutyholder. Generic hazard lists are not a substitute.

5. Management and assurance arrangements

• How design coordination, change and approval will be managed
• Expected communication, meeting and information-sharing routes
• Site rules, induction, competence and contractor-control expectations
• Requirements for the construction phase plan, RAMS, permits or lifting plans
• Monitoring and reporting expectations proportionate to the project
• Format, content and handover arrangements for the health and safety file

Keep it live and proportionate

Issue information early enough to influence design, pricing and planning, then update it when surveys, design decisions or site conditions change. Provide each party with what is relevant to its work. A concise, indexed pack with clear status information is normally more useful than an unfiltered archive.

Read HSE’s principal designer guidance and the CDM Regulations 2015. For help reviewing or developing the pack, see our CDM support and client duties checklist.