Every construction project needs a construction phase plan before the construction phase begins. Not every project needs to be notified to HSE. Those two facts are separate, and confusing them is the most common CDM mistake on small jobs: a two-week refurbishment with three trades needs a plan and does not need an F10.
Who writes it and when
Where there is more than one contractor, the principal contractor draws it up under regulation 12(5) before the construction phase begins. Where there is only one contractor, that contractor draws it up. In both cases it has to exist before work starts, not be assembled afterwards for a file.
The main headings
A workable plan covers the project description and programme, the management structure with names and responsibilities, the arrangements for communication and coordination between duty holders, the arrangements for consulting workers, the site rules, the site induction, welfare and emergency arrangements including fire and first aid, and the arrangements for controlling the significant site risks. The last of those is the substance and the rest is scaffolding around it.
Proportionality is the test, not length
A plan for a domestic loft conversion should be a few pages that a working foreman can act on. A plan for a hospital refurbishment cannot be. HSE has been explicit that a plan padded with generic material is worse than a short one, because the significant risks get lost in it and nobody on site reads any of it.
The F10 notification
F10 is the client's notice to HSE that a project is notifiable, submitted as soon as practicable before the construction phase begins. Under regulation 6 a project is notifiable if it is scheduled to last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point, or to exceed 500 person days. The notice has to be displayed in the site office where workers can read it.
Questions people ask about construction phase plan
Does every project need a construction phase plan?
Yes. Every construction project needs one before the construction phase begins, whatever its size and whether or not it is notifiable.
Who submits the F10?
The client, under regulation 6(2). On a domestic project that duty normally passes to the contractor or principal contractor.
What is the difference between the plan and the health and safety file?
The plan governs how the construction phase will be run. The file is the record handed to the client at the end, carrying the information anyone doing future work on the structure will need.
How long does the plan have to be?
As long as the risks require and no longer. HSE's own guidance warns against generic padding, because it buries the significant risks the plan exists to control.