Looking into a career managing health and safety on construction projects under the CDM Regulations? It’s a challenging and rewarding path — but the first thing to get right is the job title itself, because the role many people still call the “CDM Coordinator” has changed.
Important update
The CDM Coordinator role no longer exists. It was created under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, but those were replaced by CDM 2015 — which abolished the CDM Coordinator and introduced the Principal Designer in its place. If you’re aiming for this kind of role today, it’s the Principal Designer (and the wider CDM 2015 duty-holder framework) you need to understand.
What the CDM Regulations do
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 set the legal framework for managing health and safety across construction projects in the UK — from planning and design through to construction, completion and demolition. They place specific duties on each party involved, with the emphasis on effective planning and risk management rather than paperwork for its own sake.
Rather than a single coordinator overseeing everything, CDM 2015 defines a set of duty holders, each with clear responsibilities:
Client
The organisation the project is for — responsible for making suitable arrangements for managing the project.
Principal Designer
Plans, manages and coordinates health and safety in the pre-construction (design) phase — the role that replaced the CDM Coordinator.
Principal Contractor
Plans, manages and coordinates health and safety during the construction phase.
Designers & Contractors
Eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable risks within their own work, and cooperate with others.
What a Principal Designer does
The Principal Designer takes the leading health-and-safety role during design and planning. Typical responsibilities include:
Key responsibilities
- Planning, managing and coordinating pre-construction H&S
- Identifying and helping eliminate or control design risks
- Preparing and sharing pre-construction information
- Assisting the client with their duties
- Ensuring designers cooperate and coordinate
- Contributing to the health and safety file
Skills and traits that help
Whatever the title, the work rewards the same strengths: a mind for detail and a good memory for the many CDM requirements; strong communication, since you’ll coordinate clients, designers, contractors and supervisors; and real organisation, because you’ll be responsible for pre-construction information, risk assessments and the health and safety file — all needing to be accurate, on time and correctly submitted.
Typical salary range
Indicative UK range
A general guide only — pay varies by employer, sector, project scale and experience.
£22,000 – £55,000+
As with most health and safety roles, the more relevant qualifications and experience you hold, the stronger your earning potential.
Training and qualifications
People moving into CDM and Principal Designer roles typically come from a construction or design background — architecture, engineering, building surveying — with relevant experience, then add CDM-specific training. Envico lists several routes through its CDM training courses:
CDM courses to consider
For a broader health and safety grounding, the NEBOSH Construction Certificate is a widely-recognised qualification that complements CDM training well.
Frequently asked questions
Does the CDM Coordinator role still exist?
No. The CDM Coordinator was a duty holder under CDM 2007, but was abolished when CDM 2015 came into force. Its responsibilities passed largely to the new Principal Designer role, which leads health and safety during the design phase.
What replaced the CDM Coordinator?
The Principal Designer. Under CDM 2015, the Principal Designer plans, manages and coordinates health and safety in the pre-construction phase — the function previously carried out by the CDM Coordinator.
What training do I need?
Typically a construction or design background plus CDM-specific training such as CDM 2015 in Practice or CDM for Designers & Principal Designers. A broader qualification like the NEBOSH Construction Certificate is also valuable.
Who notifies a project to the HSE now?
Under CDM 2015, notification (form F10) for projects that meet the threshold is the client’s duty — it’s no longer handled by a CDM Coordinator, as that role no longer exists.