‘‘What’s a Principal Contractor,’’ you ask? Good question! If you’re undertaking a commercial refurbishment project of any kind (perhaps involving a mezzanine floor installation, new suspended ceiling or partitioning system for example), then you’ll need a Principal Contractor.

A Principal Contractor will be responsible for the entire
construction phase of your project and is a necessary role to fill for
all commercial (and domestic) refurbishments involving more than one
contractor. From the planning and co-ordination to the management and
execution, a Principal Contractor is liable for it all (including all
health and safety measures).

Principal Contractor Vs Principal Designer
The
role of Principal Contractor is different from the role of Principal
Designer. We know the Principal Contractor is responsible for the
construction phase as a whole (in particular all health and safety
elements). But what is the Principal Designer responsible for and how
do these roles differ?

The Principal Designer is responsible for the pre-construction
phase of the project managing all estimating, planning and design
tasks. Just like the role of Principal Contractor, a Principal Designer
is always required on a commercial fit out project with more than one
contractor, and there can only be one appointed at any time. The duties
of the Principal Designer don’t stop when construction starts. In
fact, their responsibilities carry on throughout the project, until
completion, and they work alongside the Principal Contactor.

Many companies appoint separate Principal Contactors and Principal
Designers for their commercial construction work, but we thought you
might like to know they can be the same person/business. Pretty handy, right?

Do I really need a Principal Contractor?
Yes (and
it could be Cubex, but more on that in a mo)! A Principal Contractor
must be appointed in writing as early on in the project as possible,
before the construction phase begins. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM 2015) are the main set of regulations for managing the health, safety and welfare of construction projects. CDM applies to all building
and construction work and includes new build, demolition,
refurbishment, extensions, conversions, repair and maintenance. Every
commercial refurbishment project must have a Principal Contractor, and
if you don’t have one, then it’s you!

It’s not always common knowledge, but businesses need to appoint a
Principal Contractor to confirm who will take liability of their
workplace refurbishment and by extension, any health and safety issues
that might occur. Not all external construction teams have the
accreditations required to act as a Principal Contractor on behalf of
their clients, and so if nobody is officially appointed then in this
case the role (and all associated risks) falls to the client.

Principal Contractor: Skills, Knowledge and Experience (SKE)
An
external Principal Contractor must be able to demonstrate that they
have the skills, knowledge, experience (SKE) and, where an organisation,
the organisational capability to carry out the work they are being
appointed for.

Examples of demonstrating SKE might include:

• Records of continuing professional development (CPD) including training records.
• Membership of professional bodies.
• References from previous construction work.

Examples of demonstrating organisational capability might involve:

• Using pre-qualification assessment services from third party
  assessors such as those who are members of Safety Schemes in Procurement
  Forum (SSIP).
• Self-assessing using the standard health and safety pre-qualification questions in Publicly Available Specification PAS 91.

Thankfully for clients of Cubex Contracts, we have been assessed and
gained the necessary accreditations to act as the Principal Contractor
of your office, retail or industrial refurbishment – big or small! In
fact, take a look at our annual certificates confirming our compliance
with all necessary standards and legislations:

CHAS Certificate of Accreditation
Smas Certificate of Accreditation
SafePQQ Certificate of Accreditation
SafeContractor Certificate of Accreditation

Principal Contractor: Roles and Responsibilities
The Principal Contractor is responsible for the planning, management, monitoring and co-ordination of the entire construction phase. And, as you already now know, it is also their responsibility to manage all health and safety risks throughout construction. This includes:

• Confirming that anyone appointed to undertake the construction works
  has the skills, knowledge and experience (SKE) for this specific
  project in order to work safely and without risk to health.
• Ensuring all workers have site-specific inductions in addition to any other information and training they might need.
• Engaging with workers about their health, safety and welfare.
• Ensuring suitable welfare facilities are provided from the start and maintained throughout the construction.

What you may not know is that the health and safety management
extends to risks posed to members of the public too. Although there
shouldn’t ever be any members of public onsite (it is also the
responsibility of the Principal Contractor to prevent any unauthorised
access), they need to consider site access and parking facilities for
example, particularly if these are shared with other businesses or the
general public.

The Principal Contractor will also need to prepare a written construction phase plan (PDF) before
the construction phase begins. This plan is to then be implemented and
regularly reviewed (and, if necessary, revised) to ensure it remains
fit for purpose throughout the entirety of the refurb project.

It’s fair to say there are many plates to spin in the role of
Principal Contractor, it’s no wonder so many businesses looking to
maximise their commercial space want to appoint an external team to
fulfill this role.

Undertaking a new workplace project is an incredibly exciting
time, but it can also be very daunting. But with Cubex Contracts
there’s no need to fret as we’re in it for the duration, acting as your
Principal Contractor to plan, manage, monitor and co-ordinate all
elements of your commercial construction project.

We’ve been established for over 25 years and know a thing or
two about design, management and execution of workplace refurbishments.
We also understand how important it is to know and trust the
individuals you’re working with. We bet you’ll be pleased to know the
Cubex team is small enough to know who’s on the other end of the phone,
but large enough to manage your commercial fit-out as Principal
Contractor (and Designer).

So if you’re looking to maximise the potential of your
workspace and you’re in need of a Principal Contractor, Cubex can help!
Simply get in touch to get the ball rolling and we’ll do the rest!