The impact of the construction (design and management) regulations 2015 on the SME sector of the construction industry.

Abstract

The construction industry is, with the exception of agriculture, the most dangerous industry to work in Great Britain, an employee is six times more likely to get killed working in construction than in any other industry. More than four decades have elapsed since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and two decades since the introduction of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations yet the latest statistics show that one person is dying nearly every week, the majority of them in the SME sector. The purpose of this study is two-fold, firstly it assesses the impact of the CDM legislation on the SME sector and secondly it endeavours to ascertain what the micro SME sector considers to be the best approach to improving mortality rates.
The first part of the study is a desk based review of the literature regarding the implementation and impact of the various CDM regulations to determine the established viewpoint. This is followed by a series of structured interviews with micro SME businesses to assess their viewpoint and what they see as the best way to improve the situation, with regard to fatalities.
The desk study found that the introduction of CDM regulations appeared to have created a divide between the larger SME and the micro SME businesses, with the latter continuing to be largely unaffected by their existence. The interviews revealed that, in the opinion of the micro SMEs targeted legislation was the best way to reduce mortality rates.