When Do You Need a PSDP? A Practical Guide for Irish Clients and Developers

Find out exactly when a PSDP is required under the Construction Regulations 2013 in Ireland, what triggers the appointment, and what happens if you don't...

# When Do You Need a PSDP? A Practical Guide for Irish Clients and Developers --- The Project Supervisor for the Design Process (PSDP) is a statutory appointment required on many Irish construction projects under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013. Yet despite being a legal requirement, the PSDP appointment is frequently overlooked, delayed, or misunderstood by clients and developers who are unfamiliar with Irish construction safety law. This article explains exactly when a PSDP is required, who can act as PSDP, what the appointment involves, and what the consequences are of failing to make the appointment. --- ## What Is a PSDP? The Project Supervisor for the Design Process is the person or organisation appointed by the client to co-ordinate health and safety during the design and planning stages of a construction project. The PSDP's role begins before detailed design work starts and continues until the project is complete. The PSDP is one of two project supervisors required under the Construction Regulations 2013. The other is the Project Supervisor for the Construction Stage (PSCS), who co-ordinates health and safety during the construction phase. The PSDP and PSCS may be the same person or organisation, or they may be different appointments. --- ## When Is a PSDP Required? A PSDP must be appointed on any construction project where: - The construction phase is likely to last longer than 30 working days **and** have more than 20 workers simultaneously on site at any point, or - The volume of work is likely to exceed 500 person-days, or - The work involves particular risks listed in Schedule 1 of the Construction Regulations 2013 These are the three triggers. If any one of them applies to your project, you must appoint a PSDP. ### The 30-Day / 20-Worker Threshold This threshold is met when both conditions are satisfied simultaneously: the project lasts more than 30 working days (approximately six weeks) **and** there are more than 20 workers on site at the same time at some point during the project. If the project lasts longer than 30 working days but never has more than 20 workers on site simultaneously, this particular threshold is not met. ### The 500 Person-Day Threshold This threshold is met when the total volume of work on the project exceeds 500 person-days. A person-day is one day's work by one person. A project involving 10 workers for 50 working days would amount to 500 person-days and would meet this threshold. Many contractors are surprised to find that relatively modest projects can exceed the 500 person-day threshold. A refurbishment project involving 5 workers for 20 weeks (100 working days) would amount to 500 person-days and would trigger the requirement. ### Schedule 1 Particular Risks Schedule 1 of the Construction Regulations 2013 lists a number of particular risks that trigger the PSDP requirement regardless of the size or duration of the project. These include: - Work involving particular risks to the safety or health of workers, such as work that puts workers at risk of burial under earthfalls, engulfment in swampland, or falling from a height - Work involving exposure to chemical or biological substances constituting a particular danger to the safety or health of workers, or involving a legal requirement for health monitoring - Work with ionising radiation requiring the designation of controlled or supervised areas - Work near high voltage power lines - Work exposing workers to the risk of drowning - Work on wells, underground earthworks, and tunnels - Work involving the use of explosives - Work involving the assembly or dismantling of heavy prefabricated components - Work in or adjacent to water or involving diving The Schedule 1 trigger is particularly important for smaller projects that might not meet the size or duration thresholds but that involve inherently dangerous activities. --- ## When Must the PSDP Be Appointed? The PSDP must be appointed before detailed design work begins. This is a critical point that is frequently misunderstood. The PSDP's role is to co-ordinate health and safety during the design process, which means the appointment must be made at the outset of the project, not when construction is about to begin. Appointing a PSDP after the design is complete defeats the purpose of the appointment. The PSDP's most valuable contribution is made during the design stage, when hazards can be eliminated or reduced through design choices before they become embedded in the project. In practice, the PSDP should be appointed at the same time as the design team, or shortly after the decision to proceed with the project has been made. --- ## Who Can Act as PSDP? The PSDP must be competent to carry out the role. Competence in this context means having the necessary knowledge, experience, and skills to manage health and safety at the design stage of the specific type of project involved. The PSDP can be: - An individual (for example, a safety consultant, an architect, or a structural engineer with appropriate safety expertise) - An organisation (for example, a safety consultancy, an architectural practice, or an engineering firm) The PSDP does not have to be the lead designer, although in practice the lead designer is sometimes appointed as PSDP. What matters is that the PSDP has the competence to co-ordinate health and safety across all the designers involved in the project. The client cannot act as their own PSDP unless they have the necessary competence. A developer who commissions a construction project but has no safety expertise cannot fulfil the PSDP role simply by putting their name on the appointment. --- ## What Does the PSDP Do? The PSDP's key duties under the Construction Regulations 2013 are: **Co-ordinating designers.** The PSDP co-ordinates the work of all designers involved in the project to ensure that health and safety risks are considered and eliminated or reduced at the design stage. This includes ensuring that designers communicate with each other about hazards that arise at the interfaces between their respective design areas. **Preparing the Preliminary Health and Safety Plan.** The PSDP prepares the Preliminary Health and Safety Plan, which sets out the known hazards and risks associated with the project and provides information for the PSCS. This document is handed to the PSCS before the construction phase begins. **Notifying the HSA.** Where the project meets the notification threshold, the PSDP is responsible for ensuring that the AF1 Advance Notification form is submitted to the HSA before construction begins. **Preparing and maintaining the Safety File.** The PSDP prepares the Safety File throughout the project, collecting information from designers, the PSCS, and contractors. The completed Safety File is handed to the client on completion of the project. --- ## What Happens If You Do Not Appoint a PSDP? Failure to appoint a PSDP where one is required is a criminal offence under the Construction Regulations 2013. The client is responsible for making the appointment, and the client is liable if no appointment is made. The HSA has the power to issue improvement notices requiring the appointment of a PSDP and to prosecute clients who fail to comply. Fines for breaches of the Construction Regulations can be substantial. Beyond the legal consequences, the failure to appoint a PSDP means that health and safety is not co-ordinated during the design stage. This increases the likelihood that hazards will be built into the project that could have been eliminated at the design stage at little or no cost. Hazards that are not addressed at the design stage are typically much more expensive and difficult to manage during construction. --- ## The PSDP and the Client's Ongoing Responsibilities Appointing a PSDP does not transfer all of the client's safety responsibilities to the PSDP. The client retains certain duties under the Construction Regulations 2013, including: - Ensuring that the PSDP and PSCS are competent - Providing the PSDP and PSCS with all relevant information about the site and the project - Ensuring that the AF1 notification is submitted where required - Ensuring that the Safety File is kept safe and made available for future construction work The client should maintain regular communication with the PSDP throughout the design stage to ensure that health and safety is being properly co-ordinated. --- ## A Summary of When a PSDP Is Required | Project Characteristic | PSDP Required? | |---|---| | Project lasting more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers simultaneously on site | Yes | | Project with a total volume of work exceeding 500 person-days | Yes | | Project involving Schedule 1 particular risks | Yes | | Project below all thresholds and not involving Schedule 1 risks | No, but good practice to consider | If you are unsure whether your project requires a PSDP appointment, the safest approach is to seek advice before design work begins. The cost of appointing a PSDP is modest compared to the cost of managing hazards that could have been eliminated at the design stage, and it is far less than the cost of a prosecution. --- Safety Check provides PSDP services to clients and developers across Leinster and all of Ireland. If you are planning a construction project and are unsure whether you need a PSDP, or if you need a PSDP appointed urgently, [contact us](/contact) to discuss your project.