Waterman

Managing risk through design: Why the Principal Designer role matters

dbough — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:06:00 +0000

Managing risk through design:
Why the Principal Designer role matters

In construction, some of the most important health and safety decisions are made long before anyone arrives on site. The way a building is planned, designed, coordinated and communicated can have a lasting impact on how safely it is built, maintained, adapted and eventually demolished. This is where the role of the Principal Designer is pivotal.

Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, the Principal Designer is appointed by the client on projects involving more than one contractor. Their statutory role is to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety during the pre-construction phase, working with the client, designers and wider project team to identify foreseeable risks and, wherever possible, eliminate, reduce or control them through the design process.

At its best, the role is not simply about compliance or producing documentation. It is about adding value at the point when the project team has the greatest opportunity to influence outcomes. By considering health and safety as part of design decision-making, rather than as an issue to be managed later on site, risks can be addressed earlier, more effectively and often more efficiently.

Why early involvement makes a difference

The Principal Designer’s role is most effective when aligned with the RIBA Plan of Work, ensuring health and safety considerations are embedded throughout project development rather than addressed retrospectively.

The earlier a Principal Designer is appointed, the more influence they can have from project inception. Early involvement allows risks to be considered alongside key decisions about site constraints, access, buildability, sequencing, materials, maintenance and future use before designs become fixed. It also helps ensure the right pre-construction information is gathered and shared with those who need it, reducing delays, avoiding unforeseen risks and supporting better decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.

When the role is brought in too late, opportunities to remove or reduce risk may already have passed. Design assumptions may have been made, survey information may be incomplete, or significant hazards may only become apparent once the project is more difficult and costly to change.

For clients, this provides reassurance that their duties under CDM 2015 are being properly understood and supported. For designers, it creates a structured approach to identifying and communicating significant risks. For contractors and future building users, it helps ensure that health and safety considerations are embedded into the project from the outset.

The Principal Designer works closely with clients, architects, engineers, specialist designers and contractors to identifying and control risks.

A collaborative role across the project team

The Principal Designer works closely with clients, architects, engineers, specialist designers and contractors to identifying and control risks. This includes helping to bring together pre-construction information, coordinating design risk reviews, challenging assumptions where needed, and ensuring residual risks are clearly recorded and communicated. This does not remove responsibility from other duty holders. Instead, it helps create the conditions for everyone to fulfil their responsibilities more effectively. Good design risk management depends on collaboration, clear information flow and an understanding of how decisions made at one stage of a project can affect people much later in its life.

Turning compliance into better project outcomes

While the Principal Designer role is a statutory requirement, its value extends far beyond compliance. Effective design risk management can reduce delays, avoid rework, support safer construction methods and improve the quality of information available to those who will operate and maintain the completed asset.

It also encourages project teams to think beyond immediate delivery. How will the building be accessed for maintenance? Can future alterations be carried out safely? Are residual risks clear to those who need to manage them? These questions are central to responsible design and long-term asset performance.

How our CDM Team supports clients and projects

Waterman’s CDM team provides Principal Designer and construction health and safety services across a wide range of sectors, supporting projects from inception through to completion. Working alongside our multidisciplinary design teams allows health and safety considerations to be integrated seamlessly into the way projects are planned and delivered.

In practice, this may include advising clients on their duties, reviewing available pre-construction information, establishing design risk management processes, coordinating risk reviews, supporting the preparation of design risk registers and helping project teams communicate significant residual risks clearly. The team’s portfolio includes notable projects such as Meridian Water with Enfield Council, St James at Westmont with Berkeley Group, Canada Water with British Land, and the team maintains long-standing relationships with Mace and Siemens through several major framework appointments.

Many clients also require additional CDM and construction health and safety support beyond the statutory Principal Designer role, particularly during the construction phase. These services can include Construction Phase Plan reviews, CDM compliance inspections, site health and safety inspections, operational and maintenance information reviews, temporary works arrangement reviews, RAMS reviews, training, mentoring and accident or incident investigation support.

Designing with Safety in Mind

The Principal Designer role is a reminder that health and safety is not something to be added at the end of a project. It is an integral part of good design, effective coordination and successful project delivery. When considered early and managed proactively, it supports better decision-making, reduces uncertainty, improves buildability and helps create safer outcomes for everyone involved in constructing, operating and maintaining the built environment.

Need help?

If you need a Principal Designer on your project, or construction health and safety support, please contact Tara Fry or Duncan Soper to discuss how we can help.

We’re growing

We are currently recruiting. If you’d like to learn more, please contact Tara Fry.

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£185-million student accommodation Hawthorne House completes

tgoss — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:09:30 +0000

£185 million student accommodation Hawthorne House completes.

We’re delighted to celebrate the completion of Hawthorne House, Unite Students’ purpose-built student accommodation development in Stratford, London.

Designed by Falconer Chester Hall and developed by Unite Students and RG Group, the 36-storey mixed-use scheme has transformed the former Jubilee House site into a vibrant new destination for students, supporting wellbeing, academic success and community building.

The development provides 719 student bedrooms alongside a dedicated 65,000 sq ft facility for the London Academy of Excellence (LAE). Residents also benefit from a range of amenities, including study spaces, a digital gym, social areas and roof terraces. Its prime location near Stratford station and several university campuses, including the University of the Arts London (UAL), has already attracted strong demand, with UAL agreeing a multi-year arrangement to lease approximately half of the available beds. The first six floors have also been dedicated to the London Academy of Excellence, helping to widen access to a leading school in A-level education.

The build has exceeded sustainability targets set by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) through a ‘fabric first’ approach that maximises the performance of the buildings materials to improve energy efficiency. It is also expected to save 9,770 Tco2e in carbon emissions over 60 years, exceeding the RIBA 2020 Climate Challenge target.

Our building services specialists provided technical advisory services throughout the design and construction phases, supporting the delivery of this high-quality student living and learning environment. Working collaboratively with the wider project team, we helped bring the scheme from concept to completion through technical reviews, site-based quality assurance and ongoing stakeholder engagement.

Waterman’s director, Mike Lyons, praised the scheme: “It is an amazing milestone for all involved to see Hawthorne House reach completion. The project represents another excellent example of collaborative working to achieve positive outcomes for both our client and future residents. Hawthorne House will make a lasting contribution to the area’s continued growth, and we are proud to have worked alongside the wider project team to help bring this vision to life.”

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Waterman appointed on major bridge inspections contract

dbough — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:24:24 +0000

Waterman appointed on major bridge inspections contract

Waterman has been appointed by the City of London Corporation, on behalf of City Bridge Foundation, to provide inspection services for five of London’s most iconic bridges.

Running for an initial six years, the contract will see our teams carrying out inspections of the following landmarks:

Tower Bridge
London Bridge
Southwark Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge
Millennium Bridge

City Bridge Foundation is one of London’s oldest charitable foundations, with a history spanning more than 900 years. It plays a unique role in London, maintaining five iconic Thames bridges while using income from its investments to support charitable organisations and communities across the capital.

This latest appointment adds to Waterman’s growing portfolio of public sector frameworks and draws on the team’s extensive experience in civil structures, bridge inspections, and the long-term management of critical transport assets, supporting clients in maintaining safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure.

The project will be led by Richard Brooks, Waterman’s National Lead for Civil Structures. Richard said: “We are thrilled to have been appointed on this prestigious and challenging project. To have the opportunity to help preserve and maintain some of London’s most important historic infrastructure is a great honour and we are looking forward to working with the City of London Corporation and City Bridge Foundation on this framework.”

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Sheffield team volunteers at Food Works

lrichards — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:13:23 +0000

Our Sheffield team joined Food Works for their third visit to the charity’s site. Food Works is doing incredible work to create a sustainable food system by reducing waste, growing food responsibly and ensuring local communities have access to nutritious food.

The team spent the afternoon potting on red currant plants that had been struggling during the recent heatwaves. It was quite sobering to hear just how badly this year’s crops have been affected by the changing climate.

On a more positive note, the team learned a great deal from Bethan Robinson at Food Words, who showed them how to create compost using the lasagne technique. The team also discovered that Dian Coleman is a keen compost enthusiast! The lasagne method, also known as sheet composting, is a no-dig gardening technique that creates a nutrient-rich growing bed by layering carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich organic materials directly onto the ground.

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It was fantastic to look around the nursery and see what had changed since our last visit, as well as the new season’s crops. We were even allowed to try the cape gooseberries from the same plant that Food Works gave us last year. Unfortunately, our office plant, Audrey III, has yet to produce any fruit!

Rosie Stillman
Senior Structural Technician

The visit provided a relaxing environment and a great opportunity to bond as a team while welcoming our new starter, Will Jebb. At the same time, the team was able to support a fantastic charity that is helping to create a more sustainable food network across the city.

The team is already looking to plan another visit soon, potentially to Food Works’ brand-new site.

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It was a pleasure to contribute while also spending quality time together as a team. Thanks again to Maddy Starzak and Bethan Robinson for hosting us and creating such a welcoming atmosphere.

Somesh Ainapur
Structural Engineer, commented on the day

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