Principal Contractor (CDM)

The CDM principal contractor is the dutyholder who plans, manages and monitors the construction phase so it is carried out without risks to health and safety — coordinating the site, the workers and the construction phase plan.

Where it sits: CDM 2015, reg.4 and Schedule 2; mandatory appointment on projects involving more than one contractor, from the client down.

The CDM principal contractor is the site\'s governing mind for safety: the plan, the inductions, the coordination of every contractor\'s work into something coherent. The commercial weight is real — the role carries liability that priced work must fund, and the overlap with the building regulations principal contractor (a separate role, separately appointed) is the post-Grenfell trap.

Do not assume the two principal-contractor roles sit with the same organisation by default: the building regulations one manages regulatory compliance through the build; the CDM one manages safety. Competent, explicit appointments for each — or the client holds both duties itself.