HSE Blast Designers' Risk Assessments

The HSE has published a report on its findings of the safety performance of designers, showing continued improvement over the last three years. However, the HSE is concerned that many construction projects are still producing vast quantities of useless paperwork. The findings come after HSE construction inspectors met with designers at 124 building projects across Scotland and Northern England in April this year. The investigations found the following;

- 69 per cent of designers have a good or adequate knowledge of their legal duties under CDM
- 57 per cent of the designers interviewed had received training
- The majority of the design risk assessments seen by the HSE inspectors were generic
- The design risk assessments failed to adequately cover site-specific issues
- The design risk assessments concealed the real areas for concern and added no value to the design process

Copies of HSE (Construction Division) Scotland, North West and Newcastle upon Tyne Offices can be found on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/designers/report05.pdf.