APS Principal Designer Training Course (Open Course)

What is a principal designer?

A principal designer can be an organisation or an individual who is appointed by the client. This can be either commercial or domestic, with the principal designer taking the lead in planning, managing, monitoring and coordinating health and safety during the design and planning stage of a project (usually involving more than one health and safety contractor). 

What is APS principal designer training?

The APS principal designer training aims to provide delegates with construction-related health and safety knowledge in general, including the Construction Management and Design (CDM) Regulations 2015. The course offers delegates a more in-depth understanding of the skills, knowledge and experience required to fulfil the principal designer role.

Key points:

• Suitability: Aimed at designers wanting to take on the principal designer role
• Experience: Each delegate should have a background knowledge of health and safety legislation, with an emphasis on CDM
• Duration: Two days
• Teaching method: Classroom-based learning which can be delivered in-house or at one of SOCOTEC’s training facilities across the UK.

SOCOTEC’s Principal Designer training will provide delegates with construction-related health and safety knowledge in general and CDM duties, specifically in support of your wider skills, knowledge and experience of the principal designer role.

The objective is for delegates to satisfy themselves that they can discharge the duties of a principal designer with reasonable care and due diligence, and in accordance with CDM2015.

The course is carried out over a two-day duration. Delegates will be marked on their performance throughout the duration of the course, which will include syndicate exercises, design hazard evaluations, design risk assessments, design option, health and safety file exercises and an exam. This will take place at the end of day two and will focus around learning objectives, with delegates required to demonstrate that they have acquired the necessary knowledge to meet the course requirements for the role of principal designer.

The Association for Project Safety (APS) accredit this course. Upon successful completion of the course and passing the required APS membership criteria, delegates may then apply for membership of the Association. In addition, passing a principal designer accredited training course will give delegates a discounted rate for Associate membership.

The course is specifically aimed at designers wanting to take on the principal designer role and explore the practicalities of design risk management.

There is a requirement that each delegate will have background knowledge of health and safety legislation, with an emphasis on CDM. All delegates must have an understating of the Health and Safety at Work Act and relevant regulations.

Over the duration of the course, delegates will be able to:

• Explain the philosophy behind the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 1994 and its evolution into the new 2015 version
• Give an overview of the UK Government’s ‘Construction 2025’ initiative
• Have a practical viewpoint on discharging the duties of the principal designer
• Explain the role of the CDM adviser
• Explain the notification process
• Review the legal aspects and implications associated with the CDM team
• Clarify the proactive role of CDM coordination and cooperation within the project team in the risk management process
• Highlight the impact of procurement routes on project and CDM coordination
• Cover the requirements and implications of providing the clients’ duty of CDM coordination.