Site set-up checklist for day one

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Twenty-three things that have to be in place before the first worker starts - welfare, the plan, the notices, first aid, fire, security, traffic and services - graded must / should, with a verdict and a printable sheet.

What has to be in place on day one

CDM 2015 regulation 13(4) puts three things on the principal contractor before anyone works: a suitable site induction, steps to stop unauthorised access, and welfare facilities that meet Schedule 2 - toilets, washing with hot and cold running water, drinking water, somewhere to rest and eat, and somewhere to change and dry clothes - provided throughout the construction phase, which means from the first morning. A sole contractor holds the same duties under regulation 15(9) to (11). Behind those sit the construction phase plan (regulation 12(1), or 15(5) for a single contractor), the written appointments where there is more than one contractor (regulation 5), and the F10 where the project is notifiable (regulation 6). None of this depends on the size of the job.

The other law that arrives with the first worker

The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 - the certificate displayed or available electronically, minimum £5 million cover. The Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 - the HSE law poster or the leaflet to each worker. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 - a kit, a named first aider or appointed person, and a notice saying who and where. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and CDM regulations 29 to 32 - a fire risk assessment, fire points, a way of raising the alarm and clear escape routes. The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 for the signage at the gate. And CDM regulations 27 and 28 for traffic routes and vehicles, because a reversing dumper on a site with no pedestrian route is the day-one accident that keeps happening.

Using the checklist

Walk the site with it on the morning you set up - the phone is fine, the ticks save in the browser. Anything in the must-have group that is not there is a reason not to start, and the verdict says so. Print it, sign it, and file it: when the inspector arrives in week three and asks what you had on day one, the signed sheet is the answer. Our guide to the documents you need to start on site covers the paperwork side in more detail, and the Schedule 2 welfare guide sets out what "adequate" welfare actually means for a given headcount.

FAQs

What must be in place before a construction site starts?

A construction phase plan, welfare facilities to CDM 2015 Schedule 2, site security, a site induction and site rules, first aid arrangements, fire precautions, the employers' liability certificate, the HSE law poster, and the F10 displayed where the project is notifiable. Where there is more than one contractor, the principal designer and principal contractor must have been appointed in writing.

Do welfare facilities have to be there on day one?

Yes. CDM 2015 regulation 13(4)(c) requires the principal contractor to provide Schedule 2 facilities throughout the construction phase, and regulation 15(11) puts the same duty on every contractor for their own workers. That includes toilets and washing with hot and cold running water from the first day, not after the first week.

Does the HSE law poster have to be displayed on a construction site?

Every employer must either display the approved HSE poster where employees can read it or give each employee the equivalent leaflet, under the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989. On a site the poster in the welfare unit is the usual answer.

Where does the F10 have to be displayed?

CDM 2015 regulation 6(3)(b) requires the notice to be clearly displayed in the construction site office where it can be read by any worker on the job, and updated if the details change. Only notifiable projects need one.

Get the documents ready-made

The checklist tells you what has to be there. The pack is the paperwork that goes with each tick - the site rules, the induction record, the welfare inspection sheet, the fire plan, the signing-in register - as editable Word documents.

General guidance only. This article explains how the rules generally work in UK construction. It is not advice for your specific site, task or project, and it is not legal advice. Your own risk assessment, method statement and arrangements must be prepared and checked by a competent person for the actual work being done.