CDM supervisors come at a price

Fees for the newly-created planning supervisor role under CDM have been coming in at 0.5-3% of project costs - twice initial expectations - according to early market testing by clients and contractors.

Some samples have found the cost as high as 5%, yet opinion is split over whether professionals should really need to charge anything at all.

Several local authorities, such as Camden, in London, have advertised for planning supervisors to work across a number of contracts, and have found bidders responding with fees of 1-3%.

Project managers asked by private clients to provide the service as a bolt-on are similarly reported to be asking for 0.5-3% extra.

But rival project managers are critical of higher fees, claiming they are overpriced or evidence of lack of experience and ability. John Gidman, head of CPC Capital Project Consultancy, said his company had decided to provide the additional service free: 'A competent project manager should already be meeting the requirements of the planning supervisor role as part of his normal job, and so there's no need to charge it as an extra cost.'

But Laurie Perry, senior project manager at Osprey Project Management, commented: 'My company is quite clear the duties of planning supervisor are onerous and wide-reaching, and clearly justify an extra fee. It would not be complying with the spirit of the regulations to say the work can be absorbed within existing project management services.'

He added that the cost could vary from 'a fraction of a percent' for a œ100 million project to 'several percent' for a small job.

Contractors have also been examining the feasibility of buying-in planning supervisor service on behalf of over-stretched clients. Wiltshire is understood to have taken bids from six consultants on three 'model' jobs and come up with prices of 0.5-5%

Meanwhile some designers are reported to be putting up their fees because of the additional cost of meeting CDM requirements. CPC's Gidman commented: 'Designers will say they want their fee to go up because of the work involved in checking the safety of their designs. But if their designs are safe, they only have to demonstrate that to the supervisor. It's just a couple more lines on the business agenda.'

Nick Terry of architect BDP said: 'CDM is a new statutory requirement. As people get into it, they will want every 'i' dotting and every 't' crossing. That will require the architect and engineer to do some pretty extensive validation.' He estimated the cost to an architect of responding to an external planning supervisor's demands would be equal to 6% of their fee.