Under "The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations", which came into force on 31st March 1995 and are intended to provide a continuous consideration of health and safety throughout the life of a building starting from design, through the construction phase and the active life of the building and finally the demolition, there is an obligation on a Client to appoint a Planning Supervisor at "the appropriate time" to execute various duties required under the Regulations.

The duties of the Planning Supervisor include: -

1. Assess the Design
2. Ensure co-ordination between designers on the project
3. Prepare an initial Health and Safety Plan
4. Assess the offer from the Principal Contractor with regard to Health and Safety matters
5. Notification Of Health and Safety Executive where required
6. Ensure Health and Safety File is produced.

The Planning Supervisor should be appointed so that enough time is available to assess the design of a project with regard to Health and Safety matters and, should revisions be recommended, there is enough time to amend the design should those recommendations be acted upon.

A "Client" is "any person for whom a project is carried out, whether it is carried out by another person or is carried out in-house".

The main duties of the client under the Regulations are: -

1. Appoint a Planning Supervisor
2. Appoint a Principal Contractor
3. Ensure that enough resources are allowed for the project
4. Control the start of the contract

The Regulations state "there is no restriction on who is appointed as the Planning Supervisor provided they are competent to perform that function in relation to a particular project".

The services of the Planning Supervisor can be provided through EBM Project Services Ltd., an associated company of EBM, who have acted as Planning Supervisors on many projects since the implementation of the Regulations and have proved their competency to perform that function.