How far does the duty of the designer extend?
Designers are responsible for those elements of the design over which they can exert influence. Many building elements, items of plant and other products (eg, lintels, window frames and air handling units) are produced in a factory in a range of standard sizes and designs. These products are then selected and used by the project designers as those designers think fit on the basis of their expertise and the information available on the project. Designers must take account of health and safety issues in their designs, including those arising from product specifications and how they are incorporated into the design. When designers identify a significant hazard they should do what is reasonably practicable to eliminate it or reduce the risk. If they cannot do this because of constraints imposed by other designers, the consequences of these constraints should be bought to the attention of those other designers. All project designers have a duty to co-operate with each other to eliminate haz
