PSDP in Ireland: 4 Design-Stage Duties and When to Appoint
A PSDP, or Project Supervisor Design Process, is the person or company a client appoints to manage safety and health while a construction project is still on the drawing board. In Ireland the role comes from the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013, and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) enforces it.
The PSDP is the only duty holder in a position to remove a hazard before anyone builds it. That only works if the appointment happens on time. On utility projects we still find PSDPs appointed after the layout is fixed, the access arrangements are drawn and the outage programme is set, which leaves the role to document decisions it should have shaped.
Our chartered team advises on duty-holder appointments across Irish substation, generation and grid projects. This guide sets out when a PSDP must be appointed, the 4 duties the role carries, what designers owe it, how it hands over to the PSCS, and the failures we see most often. Every Irish regulation cited below is taken from the text of S.I. No. 291 of 2013.
Planning a substation build or plant upgrade and want the PSDP appointment tested before design starts? Request a utilities safety consultation with our chartered team.
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What a PSDP Is and Where the Role Comes From
Regulation 6(1) requires the client to appoint, in writing, a competent project supervisor for the design process and a competent project supervisor for the construction stage. The design-stage appointment is the PSDP, and it is half of the duty-holder pair our PSDP advisory work covers on Irish projects.
The regulations define design widely. It means the preparation of drawings, particulars, specifications, calculations and bills of quantities that set out how a project is to be executed. The design process includes alterations to the design and the design of temporary works. A designer is anyone engaged in work related to the design, so a cable route engineer, a structural engineer and a temporary works designer on the same job are all designers the PSDP has to coordinate.
The PSDP can be an individual or a body corporate. The HSA’s PSDP guidance says this will usually be a firm of architects, chartered surveyors, consulting engineers or project managers, and it can be the main contractor on design and build contracts. The same guidance confirms there should be only 1 PSDP for each independent project.
When the Client Must Appoint a PSDP
The appointment duty in Regulation 6(1) does not apply to every job. Regulation 6(5) switches it on where any of 3 conditions is met:
- The work involves a particular risk, including but not limited to those listed in Schedule 1, which names work near high voltage power lines, work at height, heavy prefabricated components and more.
- More than 1 contractor is involved.
- The project is notifiable under Regulation 10, meaning the construction work is planned to last longer than 30 working days or the volume of work is scheduled to exceed 500 person days.
The second condition refers to contractors. Some summaries say the duty arises where there is more than 1 designer, and the regulation does not say that. A single-designer job with 2 contractors needs a PSDP. A job with 3 designers and a single contractor, with no particular risk and no notification, does not.
Timing is the part clients get wrong most often. Regulation 6(3)(a) requires the PSDP to be appointed at or before the start of the design process. The client must also obtain written confirmation that the appointment has been accepted, and under Regulation 7(1) must be reasonably satisfied that the PSDP has allocated or will allocate adequate resources to perform the duties. On a notifiable project, Regulation 10 then requires the client to notify the Authority of the appointments made.
The 4 Duties of a PSDP Under Regulations 11 to 14
Once appointed, the PSDP carries 4 sets of obligations, set out in Regulations 11 to 14 of S.I. No. 291 of 2013.
Regulation 11: coordinating the designers
The PSDP takes account of the general principles of prevention during each stage of design and preparation. That applies when technical or organisational aspects are decided and when the time required to complete the project, or each stage of it, is estimated. The PSDP also takes account of any existing safety and health plan or Safety File, and organises co-operation between designers so their work is coordinated.
The programme clause matters on utility work. An outage window that is too short is a design-stage hazard, and Regulation 11 puts it inside the PSDP’s remit. Regulation 11(2) also lets the PSDP appoint a competent health and safety co-ordinator for the design process to assist.
Regulation 12: the preliminary safety and health plan
The PSDP prepares a written safety and health plan on a preliminary basis, to give the PSCS the information it needs. The plan must specify a general description of the project and its intended timescale, other work activities on the site, work involving particular risks, the basis on which the timescale was set, the conclusions designers and the PSDP drew about the general principles of prevention, and the location of electricity, water and sewage connections for welfare.
The plan has to be ready in time for the client to give a copy, under Regulation 9, to everyone being considered or tendering for the PSCS role. The PSDP keeps a copy available for inspection for the duration of the project. Regulation 12(2) adds a condition: where the project is not notifiable, a plan is only required where the work involves a particular risk.
Regulation 13: the Safety File
The PSDP prepares a written Safety File appropriate to the project, containing the safety and health information anyone doing later construction work on the structure will need. That includes information the PSCS supplies under Regulation 21. The PSDP delivers the file to the client promptly on completion, and Regulation 8 then requires the client to keep it available for inspection.
Regulation 14: the power to give directions
The PSDP may give directions to designers, contractors and other relevant people where that is necessary to comply with its duties. If a direction is not carried out, the PSDP confirms it in writing with a time frame. If it is still not carried out, the PSDP notifies the Authority, the client and the person concerned in writing, and keeps copies with the safety and health plan.
What Designers Owe the PSDP
The PSDP cannot coordinate information it never receives, so Regulation 15 puts matching duties on every designer. Each designer must take account of the general principles of prevention and of any relevant safety and health plan or Safety File. Each must co-operate with the PSDP and with other designers, and comply with the PSDP’s directions.
Designers must also provide in writing what they know about particular risks, the nature and scope of the project, information needed for the Safety File, and anything needed to make the design safe to build. Regulation 15(5) adds a safeguard: a designer who is not aware of a PSDP appointment must promptly tell the client about its Regulation 6 duties. In practice, that is often how a late appointment surfaces.
Design-Stage Decisions on Utility Projects
On energy and utility jobs, the PSDP’s value sits in a short list of decisions that are fixed at design freeze and expensive to change afterwards. Across our energy projects, the same 4 come up on substation builds, plant upgrades and grid connection works:
- Maintenance access. Can a technician reach transformer tops, gantry fittings and plant without a MEWP or a harness as the default method? Fixed platforms and anchor points drawn in at design remove work-at-height exposure for the life of the asset.
- HV clearances. How far are new works from live equipment, and can the construction sequence keep that separation without repeated outages? Work near high voltage power lines is a Schedule 1 particular risk, so the answer belongs in the preliminary plan.
- Outage sequencing. Does the programme allow each stage enough time to isolate, prove dead and reinstate safely? Regulation 11 makes the time estimate a safety decision.
- Lifting and laydown. Where will heavy prefabricated components such as transformers and switchgear be delivered, lifted and stored?
These decisions also shape the operational risk profile covered in our guide to power plant safety, because the access designed in at the start is the access maintenance crews use for decades.
A real example shows the cost of skipping the design step. During an engagement covering 63 substations in Ireland, our Health and Safety Advisor found that construction designers were not fully complying with client procedures or with the design risk assessment requirements of the construction regulations. We worked with the client’s Asset Management team to develop a Design Standard Hazard Register, so designers could eliminate or reduce risk at source on every site.
PSDP and PSCS: How the 2 Roles Hand Over
The PSDP and the PSCS are 2 separate appointments with a defined handover between them. The PSDP’s preliminary plan goes to every candidate for the PSCS role under Regulation 9. Under Regulation 16, the appointed PSCS develops that plan into the construction stage safety and health plan before work starts. Under Regulation 21, the PSCS then gathers information from contractors and passes it to the PSDP in writing for the Safety File. Our guide to PSCS duties covers the construction side of that chain.
Regulation 6(2)(b) allows a client to appoint a single individual or body corporate as both PSDP and PSCS, provided it is competent for both roles. This is common on design and build contracts. Holding both roles does not merge the duties, so the client still needs 2 written appointments, each made on time, with written acceptance of each.
4 PSDP Failures We Find on Live Projects
Most PSDP problems trace back to the appointment itself. These are the 4 we find most often:
- Appointed after design is finished. The PSDP arrives once drawings are issued for tender, so Regulation 11 coordination never happens and the preliminary plan describes risks nobody tries to design out.
- A plan copied from the last job. A preliminary plan that does not set out the basis for the programme, the particular risks or the designers’ conclusions does not meet Regulation 12.
- Designers working without the PSDP. Specialist designers, often for temporary works or protection and control, submit packages directly to the client and never send risk information to the PSDP.
- No route for Safety File information. Nobody agrees at the start how as-built and maintenance information will flow from contractors through the PSCS, so the file is assembled from memory at handover.
Each one is cheaper to fix at concept stage than to explain to an inspector after an incident.
How the PSDP Compares With the UK Principal Designer
This section covers the UK for contrast only. The Irish rules above do not apply in Great Britain, where CDM 2015 governs. Under regulation 5 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, the client must appoint a principal designer in writing where more than 1 contractor is, or is reasonably expected to be, working on the project. The principal designer must be a designer with control over the pre-construction phase, and the appointment must be made as soon as practicable and before the construction phase begins.
The Irish PSDP does not have to be a designer, has extra appointment triggers for particular risks and notifiable projects, and must be in place at or before the start of the design process. The documents differ too, and a CDM pre-construction information pack has a different scope from a Regulation 12 preliminary plan. Clients running projects in both jurisdictions can use our CDM advisory service for the UK side.
Already past concept on a grid connection or outage project and unsure the preliminary plan will stand up at PSCS tender? Request a utilities safety consultation and we will review it against Regulation 12.
Request a Utilities Safety Consultation
Getting the PSDP Appointment Right at Design Start
The PSDP test is short. If the work involves a particular risk, more than 1 contractor or a notifiable project, the client appoints a competent PSDP in writing at or before the start of the design process and gets written acceptance. From then on, the PSDP coordinates designers, writes the preliminary safety and health plan in time for the PSCS tender, directs anyone who holds up compliance and delivers the Safety File on completion.
On utility projects, the decisions that matter most are access, HV clearances, outage time and lifting routes, and each of them is set before construction starts. If you want a chartered advisor to check the appointment and the design risk register before your drawings are frozen, request a utilities safety consultation and we will start with who holds the PSDP role today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): PSDP
Before you appoint a PSDP on your next project, here are the questions clients, designers and project managers ask us most often about the role.
What does PSDP stand for?
PSDP stands for Project Supervisor Design Process. It is the duty holder a client appoints under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 to coordinate safety and health during the design of a construction project in Ireland. The PSDP organises co-operation between designers, prepares the preliminary safety and health plan where the regulations require it, and prepares the Safety File for the client.
What is the difference between a PSDP and a PSCS?
The PSDP covers the design process and the PSCS (Project Supervisor Construction Stage) covers construction. The PSDP identifies hazards in the design, writes the preliminary safety and health plan and compiles the Safety File. The PSCS develops that plan before work starts, coordinates contractors on site and passes Safety File information back to the PSDP. Both are appointed in writing by the client under Regulation 6.
Can the same person or company be both PSDP and PSCS?
Yes. Regulation 6(2)(b) allows a client to appoint a single individual or body corporate as project supervisor for both the design process and the construction stage, provided it is competent for both roles. This is common on design and build contracts, where the main contractor controls the design. The appointments are still separate duties and each must be made in writing at the right time.
Who can act as a PSDP?
An individual or a body corporate, such as a limited company, can act as PSDP. Health and Safety Authority guidance says this will usually be a firm of architects, chartered surveyors, consulting engineers or project managers, or the main contractor on design and build or small projects. The client can also self-appoint if competent. In every case the client must be reasonably satisfied that the PSDP has allocated adequate resources.
Do small projects need a PSDP?
Project size alone does not decide it. A PSDP is required where the work involves a particular risk such as work near high voltage power lines, where 2 or more contractors are involved, or where the project is notifiable. A short job with a main contractor and a single subcontractor therefore needs a PSDP even if it lasts only a few weeks. Where none of the 3 conditions applies, the appointment duty does not arise.
How much does PSDP advisory cost?
It depends on the scale of the design, the number of designers and how far the project has progressed. Testing an existing appointment and preliminary plan costs less than acting as PSDP from concept to handover. Coyle Group scopes the work on the first call and confirms the chartered advisor, the deliverables and the timeline before any fee is agreed.
What does a PSDP review from Coyle Group involve?
A CMIOSH-chartered Coyle Group advisor checks the written appointment and acceptance, tests whether the PSDP has the resources and competence for the design, reviews the design risk register and the preliminary safety and health plan against Regulation 12, and confirms how Safety File information will flow from contractors. Coyle Group then returns a marked-up gap list, or acts as PSDP where the client needs one appointed.
