CDM Training Records: What to Keep

Focus on role clarity before course lists

CDM is about planning, managing and monitoring construction work safely, with clear dutyholder appointments. Training records sit underneath that system: they help show that people allocated to roles have received the information and learning your organisation assigns. Start from the construction phase plan, appointments and site rules, then decide which portable courses, site inductions and briefings you will track centrally. Avoid copying a generic “CDM trained” column that does not describe what was actually delivered.

Records contractors often retain

• Site induction acknowledgements with project name and date
• Role-specific courses assigned by your company (for example supervisory development where used)
• Trade cards and plant categories required for the planned activities
• Toolbox talks or briefings tied to significant residual risks
• Evidence that subcontractors received relevant parts of the plan or rules
• First-aid and emergency-arrangement briefings where tracked as requirements
• Retention notes showing how long induction records are kept after demobilisation

Workflow from pre-start to demobilisation

Connect the matrix to the mobilisation checklist so inductions and assigned courses are verified before work starts, then closed cleanly when people leave.

1. Extract the named gang from the programme and map each person to a role.
2. Check assigned portable training and card expiry through the planned works period.
3. Schedule inductions and capture acknowledgements as project-specific requirements.
4. Brief significant residual risks and record attendance where your process requires it.
5. Update records when methods, plant or subcontractors change.
6. At demobilisation, archive project inductions and remove people from live site filters.

Keep information flow visible without overloading the matrix

Not every CDM document belongs in a training cell. The construction phase plan, risk assessments and method statements live in document control. Use the matrix for people-status questions: who has been inducted, who holds assigned cards, who is missing a briefing. Link to the controlled plan rather than attaching obsolete plan PDFs to every worker. When a principal contractor requests evidence of workforce information, supply a named induction extract plus the relevant plan section—not a claim that green matrix cells equal CDM compliance.

For designers and contractors sharing interfaces, agree who records what. A designer’s CPD log is not the same as an operative’s CSCS card; keep systems appropriate to each population. Temporary works coordinators, lifting leads and other specialist roles may carry extra assigned learning—add those requirements deliberately when the temporary works or lifting plan demands them. Review records after significant incidents or near misses only through your formal investigation process; do not silently alter training history to look better after the fact.

What the matrix cannot certify

FieldClear tracks assigned inductions, courses and dates. It does not appoint CDM dutyholders, approve construction phase plans, or guarantee legal compliance. Organising evidence supports your management arrangements; it does not replace them. This guide is not legal advice—refer to current HSE CDM guidance and competent advisers.