What is a PSDP – Project Supervisor Design Process?

A Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP), is a person or body corporate appointed by a client under Construction Regulations (Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013), to carry out the below duties, necessary to allow the client to comply with section 17(1) of the Act, during the preparation and designing of a project, including alterations to the design and the design of temporary works to facilitate construction of the project. 

In all cases the person or company undertaking the role must have the necessary competence to carry out the relevant duties of PSDP. The Project Supervisor Design Process must be appointed before design work commences. This is to ensure effectiveness in addressing and co-ordinating safety and health matters from the very early stages of a project.

A ‘client’ under the regulation means a person for whom a project is carried out. Therefore, a person building their own home is a client under these regulations, and they too must appoint a competent qualified PSDP.

The PSDP duties can be summarised as follows:

• Take account of the principals of prevention in relation to the different stages of design, identify hazards and where possible, eliminate the hazards or reduce the risks;
• Coordinate the work of designers in relation to safety.
• Organise cooperation between designers.
• Communicate necessary control measure, design assumptions or remaining risks to the PSCS so they can be dealt with in the safety and health plan;
• Prepare a written safety and health plan for any project where construction will take more than 500 person days or 30 working days or there is a particular risk and deliver it to the client prior to tender;
• Prepare a safety file for the completed structure and ensure its handover to the client.
• Issue direction to designers or contractors or others if necessary.
• Notify client and the HSA of failures to comply with directions.
• May appoint a health and safety Coordinator to assist in the undertaking of the duties.

A PSDP is appointed by the Client to oversee the coordination of the design work. The PSDP can be either a person or a company, what is important is that the appointed PSDP is able to fulfil the responsibilities of the position. The Regulations require that there be only one PSDP appointed for each independent project.

O’Leary Sludds Architects is a fully qualified and vastly experienced Project Supervisor Design Process, across all construction project types. Please do contact us if you would like us to quote for this service on your construction project.