Service
CDM & Safety
Support with CDM 2015 duties, including principal designer and advisory roles, together with site safety staffing, risk controls and glare assessments. Works alongside an operational railway carry interface risks that a standard site plan does not cover, and these need to be designed for rather than managed on the day.
What it is
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to a rail-adjacent scheme exactly as they apply to any other construction project. The client appoints a principal designer and, where more than one contractor is involved, a principal contractor; every duty holder has to plan, manage and monitor the work in a way that is proportionate to the risk.
What changes next to an operational railway is the risk itself. Moving trains, overhead line equipment, conductor rails, restricted and time-limited access, night working and the consequences of anything falling or moving toward the boundary all have to be designed out where they can be, and controlled where they cannot. A construction phase plan that does not deal with those interfaces will not survive contact with Network Rail.
When you need it
Typical triggers for this work:
- You are the client on a scheme next to the railway and need principal designer duties discharged properly.
- A construction phase plan has to address working adjacent to a live line, overhead line equipment or conductor rails.
- Lifting, scaffolding or demolition sits within reach of railway land.
- A planning condition or Network Rail response asks for a glare assessment.
- You need competent site safety staffing for a rail-interface work package.
What Kanoni does
- Take the principal designer appointment, or advise your appointed principal designer on the rail-specific elements.
- Work through design risk management with the design team so railway interface risks are removed or reduced in the design, not deferred to site.
- Review and strengthen construction phase plans, method statements and risk assessments for the rail interface.
- Arrange and manage competent site safety staffing for the works.
- Carry out glare assessments where reflective surfaces, cladding, glazing, solar panels or new lighting could affect driver sighting or signal visibility.
What you get
- Principal designer duties discharged and recorded, or a documented advisory position for your appointed PD.
- Design risk information covering the railway interface, in a form the design team and contractor can act on.
- Reviewed construction phase plan and method statements with rail-specific controls written in.
- A glare assessment report suitable for submission to Network Rail or the local planning authority.
No two schemes are the same. The scope above is the shape this work usually takes; what your scheme actually needs depends on the site, the works and what Network Rail asks for. We would rather establish that in a conversation than guess at it.
Other services
Related questions
Frequently asked
How does CDM 2015 apply to works near the railway?
CDM 2015 applies as it does to any construction project: the client appoints a principal designer and a principal contractor where more than one contractor is involved, and duty holders must plan, manage and monitor the work. Working next to an operational railway adds interface risks such as moving trains, overhead line equipment, conductor rails, restricted access and night working, and those need to be reflected in the design risk management and the construction phase plan.
What is a glare assessment and when is one needed?
A glare assessment considers whether reflective surfaces such as glazing, cladding or solar panels, or new external lighting, could distract a train driver or make a signal harder to read. Network Rail may ask for one where a development overlooks the railway, particularly close to signals, and local planning authorities sometimes attach one as a planning condition.
What does a Network Rail asset protection review look at?
Broadly: what the works are, how close they come to railway assets, what could go wrong, and how that is controlled. Reviewers typically consider ground movement and its effect on earthworks and structures, loading and vibration, work near overhead line equipment or conductor rails, crane and lifting arrangements including any oversail of railway land, temporary works, drainage and surface water, method statements, and whether possessions or isolations are needed.
How early should a rail consultant be involved in a scheme?
As early as possible in the design, ideally at feasibility or pre-application stage. Asset protection conditions can influence the position of a building, the choice of foundation, crane locations, permitted working hours and the programme. Establishing those constraints after the design is fixed, or after planning permission is granted, often means redesign.
Talk to us about cdm & safety
A short conversation early is usually enough to tell you whether this is a formality on your scheme or something that needs designing around.
- Telephone+44 7944 004747
- Emailcontact@kanoniconsultancy.co.uk
- ResponseWithin one working day