A construction phase plan provides the framework for managing health and safety on a construction project. Required under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015), it helps ensure that risks are identified and controlled before work starts and throughout the construction phase.
This guide explains the information a construction phase plan should contain, legal requirements and responsibilities, and how to make sure the plan is effective throughout the construction phase.
What is a construction phase plan?
A construction phase plan (CPP) is the central health and safety document for a project, setting out how construction work will be planned, managed, monitored, and coordinated. It helps ensure that risks, control measures, and responsibilities are clearly understood by everyone involved.
Under CDM 2015, Regulation 12, a construction phase plan must set out the project’s health and safety arrangements and site rules and, where relevant, include specific measures for work involving the risks listed in Schedule 3. The plan should be proportionate to the size, complexity, and risks of the project.
What main headings should a typical construction phase plan contain?
There is no prescribed template or set of mandatory headings for a construction phase plan. However, all plans contain sections covering the key arrangements needed to manage health and safety during the construction phase.
Headings may include:
Project information and duty holders
The construction phase plan should identify the project, including its location, scope of work, programme, and key dates. It should also include details of the client, contractor, principal contractor (where appointed), principal designer (where appointed), and any other duty holders involved in the project.
Management arrangements and responsibilities
The plan should explain how health and safety will be managed and monitored. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, lines of communication, supervision arrangements, and the procedures followed to coordinate work between contractors and manage changes to the project.
Site rules and access control
Site rules help ensure everyone on site understands the standards and procedures they must follow. The plan should set out arrangements for controlling access, managing visitors, maintaining site security, using personal protective equipment (PPE), and enforcing any site-specific requirements.
Welfare facilities
Suitable welfare facilities must be provided from the start of the project. The plan should detail arrangements for toilets, washing facilities, drinking water, rest areas, changing facilities, and any other welfare provisions required for the workforce.
Emergency procedures
The construction phase plan should explain how emergencies will be managed and who is responsible for responding to them. This includes arrangements for raising the alarm, evacuating the site, contacting emergency services, and communicating with workers during an incident.
First aid arrangements
The plan should specify the first aid provision available on site, including the location of first aid equipment, the names of trained first aiders, and the procedures for obtaining medical assistance when required.
Fire safety procedures
Fire risks should be considered from the outset. The plan should include fire prevention measures, emergency escape routes, assembly points, fire-fighting equipment, hot work controls, and site evacuation procedures.
Significant construction risks
A key purpose of the construction phase plan is to identify significant health and safety risks and explain how they will be controlled. Depending on the nature of the project, this may include work at height, excavations, demolition, lifting operations, temporary works, structural stability, asbestos, hazardous substances, confined spaces, and utilities.
Traffic management
Where vehicles are used on site, the plan should describe how traffic risks will be controlled. This may include delivery arrangements, vehicle routes, pedestrian segregation, reversing procedures, loading and unloading areas, and site access points.
Occupational health controls
Construction work can expose workers to a range of health hazards. The plan should outline the measures used to control risks such as dust, noise, vibration, manual handling, hazardous substances, and exposure to extreme temperatures or other occupational health hazards.
Environmental controls
Where relevant, the plan should include arrangements for managing environmental risks. This may cover dust suppression, noise control, waste management, pollution prevention, protection of watercourses, and minimising disruption to neighbouring properties and the public.
Communication and coordination
Where multiple contractors are involved, effective communication is essential. The plan should explain how information will be shared, how contractors will cooperate, and how work activities will be coordinated to prevent conflicts and reduce risk.
Monitoring, review, and updates
A construction phase plan is a live document that should be reviewed and updated throughout the project. The plan should explain how compliance will be monitored, how changes will be managed, and when the document will be reviewed to ensure it remains accurate and effective.
Supporting risk assessments and method statements
The construction phase plan is supported by other project documentation, including risk assessments, method statements (RAMS), permits to work, inspection records, traffic management plans, and emergency procedures. Together, these documents demonstrate how the arrangements described in the plan will be implemented in practice.
When is a construction phase plan required?
A construction phase plan must be prepared before the construction phase begins.
Under CDM 2015, the construction phase is the period during which construction work is carried out, including activities such as site preparation, demolition, groundworks, building work, alterations, fitting out, and certain maintenance tasks.
A construction phase plan is required for most construction projects, including:
- New-build developments – from residential housing schemes to large commercial projects, new-build construction requires a construction phase plan to manage project-specific health and safety risks.
- Refurbishments and fit-outs – altering existing buildings can introduce risks such as asbestos exposure, structural changes, and work in occupied premises, all of which should be addressed in the plan.
- Extensions and alterations – construction work that modifies an existing structure requires careful planning to manage risks to workers, occupants, and members of the public.
- Maintenance and repair work that falls within the definition of construction work – certain maintenance, repair, and replacement activities are classed as construction work under CDM 2015 and therefore require a construction phase plan.
- Domestic construction projects – home improvements such as extensions, loft conversions, and major renovations are subject to CDM 2015.
Who is responsible for preparing a construction phase plan?
Where a project involves more than one contractor, CDM 2015, Regulation 12 requires the principal contractor to prepare the construction phase plan. This normally applies to new-build developments, major refurbishments, fit-outs, and larger extension projects involving multiple trades.
Under CDM 2015, a contractor is any organisation or individual carrying out construction work. A principal contractor is the contractor appointed by the client to plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate the construction phase where more than one contractor is involved.
Where only one contractor is involved, CDM 2015, Regulation 15(5) requires that contractor to prepare the construction phase plan, or make appropriate arrangements for managing the work, before establishing the construction site. This normally applies to smaller maintenance, repair, alteration, and refurbishment projects.
Who signs off a construction phase plan?
CDM 2015 does not require a construction phase plan to be formally signed off or approved.
However, although not a legal requirement, many organisations choose to include approval sections within their construction phase plans. The contractor or principal contractor may sign the document, record the date it was issued, and obtain acknowledgement from the client or project team. These measures help demonstrate that the plan has been communicated and reviewed before work starts.
What happens if you don’t have a construction phase plan?
Starting construction work without a suitable construction phase plan is a breach of CDM 2015.
Where a suitable plan is not in place, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) may take enforcement action under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, including issuing improvement notices, stopping work through prohibition notices, or pursuing prosecution in serious cases. This can lead to project delays, additional costs, reputational damage, and unlimited fines.
During inspections, HSE inspectors may ask to see the construction phase plan as evidence that health and safety arrangements have been considered before work started. A missing or inadequate plan may indicate wider shortcomings in the management of the project and attract further scrutiny.
What is the difference between a construction phase plan and RAMS?
A construction phase plan explains how health and safety will be managed across the entire construction project, while RAMS explain how individual tasks in the project will be completed safely.
RAMS stands for ‘risk assessments and method statements’. A risk assessment identifies the hazards associated with a specific work activity and the measures needed to control them. A method statement then explains how that activity will be carried out safely.
For example, a construction phase plan may identify work at height as a significant project risk and set out the arrangements for managing it. The RAMS would then provide the detailed safe system of work for a specific task, such as installing a roof, including access arrangements, fall prevention measures, equipment requirements, and supervision.
For more information, please read our guide, What are RAMS documents?
How often should a construction phase plan be updated?
A construction phase plan is a live document that should be reviewed and updated throughout the project to ensure it remains accurate and relevant.
The plan should be reviewed whenever there is a significant change to the project, such as:
- Changes to the scope of work
- New contractors or trades arriving on site
- The identification of new or increased risks
- Changes to construction methods or sequencing
- The introduction of temporary works
- An accident, incident, or near miss
- Changes to site access, welfare facilities, or emergency arrangements
There is no legal requirement to review the plan at a specific interval, such as weekly or monthly. Instead, it should be updated whenever circumstances change, and the existing information no longer accurately reflects how health and safety is being managed.
Construction phase plan examples
The content of a construction phase plan should always be proportionate to the size, complexity, and risks of the project.
While the structure may be similar, the information included for a small domestic project will be very different from that required for a large commercial development.
Example 1: house extension
A contractor building a two-storey extension to a domestic property would prepare a relatively straightforward construction phase plan.
The plan might include:
- Project details, including the property address, client details, and project duration
- Site access arrangements for workers, deliveries, and waste removal
- Site security measures to prevent unauthorised access
- Welfare arrangements, such as access to toilets and handwashing facilities
- Emergency procedures and first aid arrangements
- Controls for key risks, including excavations, work at height, electrical work, and manual handling
- Arrangements for protecting occupants and members of the public while work is underway
- Relevant risk assessments and method statements (RAMS)
Although this is a relatively small project, the plan still demonstrates how health and safety will be managed before work starts and throughout the construction phase.
Example 2: commercial office refurbishment
A principal contractor managing the refurbishment of an occupied office building would require a much more detailed construction phase plan.
The plan might include:
- Details of the client, principal contractor, principal designer, and other duty holders
- Management arrangements for coordinating multiple contractors and trades
- Site rules, permit-to-work systems, and access controls
- Emergency procedures, including evacuation arrangements for both construction workers and building occupants
- Traffic management arrangements for deliveries and waste collection
- Controls for dust, noise, vibration, and other occupational health risks
- Arrangements for managing asbestos where applicable
- Fire safety procedures and hot-work controls
- Measures to segregate construction activities from employees and visitors
- Monitoring and inspection arrangements
- Communication procedures for contractors, building management, and occupants
- Supporting RAMS for specific activities such as demolition, ceiling works, electrical installations, and lifting operations
In this example, the construction phase plan is the central document for coordinating health and safety across the project and ensuring risks are managed effectively in an occupied environment.
Construction phase plan compliance checklist
Before construction work starts, confirm that:
- A construction phase plan has been prepared before the construction phase begins
- The client, contractor, principal contractor (where appointed), and other key duty holders have been identified
- Roles, responsibilities, and management arrangements are clearly defined
- Significant construction risks have been identified, and suitable control measures are in place
- Site rules, security arrangements, and access controls have been established
- Suitable welfare facilities will be available from the start of the project
- Emergency procedures have been documented and communicated
- First aid arrangements are in place
- Fire safety procedures have been established
- Traffic management arrangements have been considered where vehicles are used on site
- Occupational health risks, such as dust, noise, vibration, and hazardous substances, have been assessed and controlled
- Environmental risks have been considered where relevant
- Arrangements are in place for communication and coordination between contractors
- Supporting documentation, such as risk assessments, method statements (RAMS), permits to work, and traffic management plans, has been prepared where required
- The plan is proportionate to the size, complexity, and risks of the project
- Arrangements are in place to review and update the plan throughout the construction phase
Support compliance with IOSH Managing Safely in Construction
Our IOSH Managing Safely in Construction course provides managers and supervisors with the practical knowledge and skills to manage health and safety confidently on construction sites.
Aligned with CDM 2015, the course covers risk assessment, hazard identification, accident prevention, legal responsibilities, and the key principles underpinning an effective construction phase plan.
The course helps organisations develop a proactive safety culture, improve risk management, and support compliance with health and safety legislation. Find out about IOSH Managing Safely in Construction on our website, or call our friendly team today on 0203 011 4242 / [email protected]
Adam Clarke
Managing Director (Consulting)
