Health and safety consultants for contractors
Health and safety on a live project is not an administrative function. We give contractors experienced consultants who manage inspections, RAMS, permits and subcontractors on site throughout delivery.
Based in Liverpool. Supporting contractors across the North West and the UK.
Discuss your health and safety supportWhat we do
As Principal Contractor, the main contractor is responsible for health and safety across the whole site, however many subcontractors are working within it. Permanent resource is not always available when a project needs it.
Matthews & Roberts is a health and safety consultancy based in Liverpool, supporting contractors across Liverpool, Manchester, the wider North West and the rest of the UK. We work alongside your existing team to keep your health and safety position current from mobilisation to handover.
Need the wider CDM arrangements covered too? See our CDM 2015 support.
What we provide
How we help
Open any service to see what it covers.
Regular, structured site inspections identifying hazards, nonconformances and good practice across the project. Reports, findings and close out actions are documented and tracked so the site team always knows what needs doing.
Review of method statements and risk assessments submitted by subcontractors and specialist contractors. We check they describe the actual sequence of work, identify the genuine hazards and propose controls that are practicable and proportionate.
Development and ongoing maintenance of a Construction Phase Plan that reflects the actual risks, arrangements and people on the project rather than a generic template. We keep it aligned with the wider CDM arrangements.
Setting up and managing permit systems for hot works, confined spaces, working at height, excavations, live services and isolations. Each system is proportionate to the project and its specific activities.
Structuring and supporting the site induction process. We deliver toolbox talks and workforce briefings around specific risks, activities and seasonal hazards, with records kept for each session.
Supporting the contractor's response to incidents, near misses and unsafe conditions. We carry out investigation and root cause analysis, manage corrective actions and support RIDDOR reporting where required. Formal RIDDOR reporting remains the responsibility of the dutyholder.
Helping the Principal Contractor or main contractor keep sight of subcontractor arrangements, RAMS, inductions, toolbox talks and site behaviour across every package on site.
Ongoing retained support for contractors who need experienced health and safety consultancy across multiple projects or tenders without the fixed cost of a permanent health and safety manager.
Ways to work with us
Contractors with several live projects, a pipeline of tenders or changing demand can choose the level of support that fits.
Health and safety support around a defined project from mobilisation through to completion and handover.
A consultant working within your existing project team, following your systems and reporting lines.
A defined level of consultancy covering inspections, RAMS, advice and reporting across multiple projects and tenders.
Health and safety methodology, RAMS framework, permit strategy and mobilisation input during the tender phase.
Need health and safety support on a live project?
Speak to our teamHigh risk activities
Generic controls do not manage specific risks. We help contractors set up arrangements for each activity, referenced to the regulations and guidance that apply.
Risk assessment, RAMS review, equipment checks, rescue plans and permit requirements.
Permit system, edge protection, inspection regime, support design coordination and services identification.
Entry permits, atmospheric testing, rescue arrangements, communication and lone working controls.
Permit system, fire watch, fire detection, extinguisher provision and clearance times.
Permit to dig, service drawing review, CAT and Genny scanning, safe digging practice and emergency arrangements.
Structural survey before demolition, RAMS coordination, temporary propping interfaces and public exclusion zones.
Lift plans, appointed person arrangements, thorough examination records and exclusion zones.
Refurbishment and demolition survey review, licensed contractor interfaces and controls for unexpected finds.
COSHH assessments, exposure controls, storage arrangements and health surveillance interfaces.
When you need us
Some contractors bring us in at tender or mobilisation. Others call when site conditions or programme pressure need urgent attention.
Several specialist contractors working at the same time. Controlling RAMS, inductions, permits and site behaviour needs active management.
Confined spaces, hot works, working at height, excavations and live services must be properly controlled before the activity starts, not after.
Work within or next to occupied buildings brings extra risk from public interfaces, building users and live building services.
Highway, rail, utility and industrial sites where work runs alongside live operations create access, isolation, permit and sequencing risk.
When the programme tightens, controls can slip. Permits, RAMS and site rules need to stay active whatever the delivery pressure.
The project has started before permanent resource is available, workload has spiked or the work needs sector experience you do not have internally.
The detail
Inspections, permits, RAMS and subcontractor control work together. Each one needs to reflect the real work and the real site.
Structured inspections create a record of site conditions, identify hazards before they cause harm and show active management to clients, insurers and regulators. Our graded action lists separate immediate actions from advisory and good practice observations.
A permit records what work is to be done, by whom, under what conditions and with what controls. It also records who has authorised it. We set up permit systems proportionate to the project, not generic templates.
The Principal Contractor is responsible for checking that subcontractor RAMS suit the work actually being carried out. We review each submission against the activity, site conditions and project environment. We issue comments, approvals or rejections with clear reasons and keep a RAMS register throughout delivery.
A subcontractor's prequalification does not transfer responsibility from the Principal Contractor. We help you keep active sight of subcontractor performance throughout the construction phase.
Health and safety on a live factory upgrade looks different to a school refurbishment during term time. A highway scheme under live traffic differs again from a data centre MEP installation. The Construction Phase Plan, permits, RAMS and inspection focus all need to reflect the project.
Contractor health and safety management works in the construction phase alongside the Principal Contractor. Principal Designer duties under CDM 2015 relate mainly to the preconstruction phase. The roles are legally distinct but meet around the Construction Phase Plan, preconstruction information, design risk management and the Health and Safety File.
CDM 2015 support and Principal Designer servicesRelated services
Site inspections are how contractors find out whether their health and safety arrangements are working. This guide separates the inspections the law requires from the monitoring a Principal Contractor should carry out. It also explains what a good construction site inspection covers.
Read insightReviewing subcontractor RAMS is one of the main ways a Principal Contractor controls the construction phase. This guide explains who is responsible for a RAMS review, what a competent reviewer should check and how to run the process without holding up the programme.
Read insightRAMS are the most common health and safety documents on any construction site. This guide explains what RAMS are, which parts the law actually requires, who is responsible for them and how to keep them working from approval through to the workface.
Read insightFAQ
A contractor side health and safety consultant supports the Principal Contractor or main contractor in meeting their obligations across the whole site. This includes site inspections, RAMS review, Construction Phase Plan development, permit to work systems, subcontractor monitoring, toolbox talks, incident support and management reporting.
Yes. Matthews & Roberts is based in Liverpool and supports contractors across Liverpool, Manchester and the wider North West. We also support projects elsewhere in the UK.
No. A Principal Designer is appointed under CDM 2015 to plan, manage and coordinate health and safety in the preconstruction phase, including preconstruction information, design risk and the Health and Safety File. A contractor health and safety consultant works in the construction phase alongside the Principal Contractor. We can provide both where appropriate.
Yes. We support contractors who are already acting as Principal Contractor or main contractor. We add health and safety capability alongside your existing organisation, not in place of it.
Yes. Contractors with several live projects or tenders can retain us on an ongoing basis for consistent health and safety governance without adding permanent overhead.
Yes. This covers segregation, noise and dust controls, fire strategy, emergency procedures, the interface with building management and the extra permit and inspection requirements of working in or next to an occupied building.
Yes. RAMS review is a core part of our service. We review method statements and risk assessments against the actual hazards and controls on the project rather than treating approval as paperwork.
Yes. We set up permit systems for the project's high risk activities, including hot works, confined spaces, working at height, excavations, live services and any other work that needs formal authorisation before it starts.
Yes. We support investigation, root cause analysis, corrective action management and RIDDOR reporting where applicable. Formal RIDDOR reporting remains the responsibility of the dutyholder.
Yes. Through our tender and preconstruction support we can provide health and safety methodology, a RAMS framework, permit strategy, mobilisation planning and the Construction Phase Plan approach before the project reaches site.
We work across commercial and fit out, data centres and utilities, education and the public sector, housing, industrial and manufacturing sites as well as transport and highways. Each sector has its own high risk activities and interfaces that the arrangements need to reflect.
Construction health and safety
Whether you need a consultant for one project, retained support across several contracts or extra capacity during mobilisation and live delivery, we can provide experienced contractor health and safety management proportionate to your project.
The Client Portal provides secure access to project documents, progress updates, and direct communication with your Matthews & Roberts team.
Request access: info@matthewsroberts.com
Portal access is provided to approved clients. Contact us if you need support.
Access your project portal to view documents and track progress.
Tell us about your project and we'll respond within 24 hours.
