Who is a 'Designer'?

Under the regulations you are a designer if you are engaged in preparing drawings, particulars, specifications, calculations and bills of quantities in relation to a project.

The term designer would include:

• architects and engineers contributing to, or having overall responsibility for the design
• building services engineers designing details of fixed plant
• surveyors specifying articles or substances or drawing up specifications
• contractors carrying out design work as part of a design and build project
• anyone with authority to specify, or alter the specification or designs to be used for the structure
• designers of temporary works or specialist suppliers designing formwork and falsework
• interior designers, shop fitters and landscape architects; and
• specialist suppliers, specialist contractors or sub-contractors with design input

 What are the duties of Designers?

The duties of designers are in addition to those under Section 16 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 which requires designers to ensure that the project is capable to being constructed to be safe, can be maintained safely and complies with all relevant health and safety legislation.

Designers must:

• Identify any hazards that their design may present during construction and subsequent maintenance;
• Where possible, eliminate the hazards or reduce the risk e.g. can roof-mounted equipment be placed at ground level or can guardrails be provided to protect workers from falling?
• Communicate necessary control measures, design assumptions or remaining risks to the PSDP so they can be dealt with in the safety and health plan;
• Co-operate with other designers, PSDP and PSCS;
• Take account of any existing safety and health plan or safety file;
• Comply with directions issued by the PSDP or PSCS;
• Where no PSDP has been appointed, inform the client that a PSDP must be appointed.

Further Information

Guidelines on the Construction Regulations include information on the roles and duties of designers