Sample: Health and Safety Plan

Sample: Health and Safety Plan

HEALTH AND SAFETY PLAN

Client/agent

Contract and brief description of work

Contract reference

Designer(s)
Architect
Structural engineer
Project manager

Contract supervisor

Safety appointee

INDEX TO CONTENTS

Introduction
Definitions
Notification and appointments
Training and induction
Personal protective equipment (safety equipment)
Public and environmental issues
Plant and equipment
Contractors
Method statements
Risk assessments
Incidents and accidents
Monitoring, review and updates

1. INTRODUCTION

This document has been prepared for the guidance of principal contractors and contractors and should form part of any tender or quote procedure as the tenderer must demonstrate his competence to comply with the applicable legislation and also his ability to do so. Compliance with the Occupational Heath and Safety Act and the Construction Regulations is mandatory and this plan with the necessary additions and amendments is to be submitted to the client/agent prior to commencing work and after the written appointment of the principal contractor has been made in writing by the Client.

An agreement framed in terms of Section 37(2) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act must be signed by the principal contractor (and where applicable Contractors) after appointment and before commencing work. Note that where there is more than one principal contractor the same conditions apply to each principal contractor. (Each principal contractor has to repeat this procedure in a “downwards cascade” system whereby he supplies to the Contractors a Health and Safety Specification and they in turn provide him with a fully documented Health and Safety Plan.) These subsidiary plans form part of the main plan which must be kept on site and handed to the Client with all drawings and specifications on completion of the contract.

The objective of the Health and Safety Plan is to assist the principal contractor in providing documentary proof of compliance with the Regulations, which require the principal contractor to do the following:

1)To provide and implement a suitable and sufficiently documented Health and Safety Plan, which shall be applied from the date of commencement of and for the duration of the construction work; and these ands could be deleted, except for the last one

2)To notify in writing all necessary authorities of the proposed construction work; in the case of the Department of Labour the prescribed form must be used (only certain works have to be notified to the Department of Labour as prescribed in the Construction Regulations) but irrespective of this requirement, the provisions of the Regulations apply to all work other than the construction of a single storey dwelling designed for occupation by the owner; and

3)To notify the appropriate authorities of any reportable occurrences that may occur during the construction work; and

4)To appoint, in writing, suitably competent employees to assume responsibility for implementing and monitoring the Health and Safety Plan; and

5)To identify and quantify any hazards or hazardous tasks to its employees, contractors, the general public or the environment and to develop operating methods that will minimise the risk; and

6)To ensure that only suitably competent employees are used to perform construction tasks; and

7)To perform and document safety induction for all employees before the commencement of work and ensure that all employees carry proof of such training with them; and

8)To ensure that all employees have access to the appropriate personal protective equipment required for the task they are performing; and

9)To ensure that only suitable plant and equipment is used during construction and to monitor the plant and equipment regularly; and

10)To appoint in writing only competent contractors and to require each contractor to implement a Health and Safety Plan, similar to that required of the principal contractor; and

11)To monitor and ensure that all contractors are implementing their respective Health and Safety Plans; and

12)To perform regular and comprehensive checks to ensure that all aspects of the Health and Safety Plan are being adhered to and to document changes to the plan as and when they occur.

13)To ensure that a copy of the Health and Safety Plan, as well as the Health and Safety Plans of any contractors are available on request to an employee, inspector, contractor, client or client’s agent.

On completion of the construction work, the principal contractor is required to hand over a consolidated Health and Safety File to the Client which shall, in addition to the documentation referred to above, include a record of all drawings, designs, materials used and other similar information concerning the completed work.

2. DEFINITIONS (These are taken directly from the legislation)

The following general definitions shall apply to this Health and Safety Plan. Where required, in order to clarify a specific activity, further definitions are provided throughout the documentation.

Agent means any person who acts as a representative for a client in managing the overall construction work.
Client means any person for whom construction work is performed.
Competent person, in relation to construction work, means any person having the knowledge, training and experience specific to the work or task being performed: Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the provisions of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995), these qualifications and training shall be deemed to be the required qualifications and training. (Note that these have not as yet been defined and standards are in the process of being set up.)
Construction work means any work in connection with
the erection, maintenance, alteration, renovation, repair, demolition or dismantling of or addition to a building or any similar structure;
the installation, erection, dismantling or maintenance of a fixed plant where such work includes the risk of a person falling;
the construction, maintenance, demolition or dismantling of any bridge, dam, canal, road, railway, runway, sewer or water reticulation system or any similar civil engineering structure; or
the moving of earth, clearing of land, the making of an excavation, piling, or any similar type of work.
Contractor means an employer, as defined in Section 1 of the Act, appointed by the Principal Contractor to perform construction work.
Designer means any person who -

prepares a design;
checks and approves a design;
arranges for any person at work under his control (including an employee of his, where he is the employer) to prepare a design.
Health and SafetyFile means a file, or other record in permanent form, containing the information required as contemplated in this document.
Health and Safety Specification means a documented specification of all health and safety requirements pertaining to the associated works on a construction site, so as to ensure the health and safety of persons as drawn up by the client.
Principal contractor means an employer, as defined in Section 1 of the Act, who performs construction work and is appointed by the client to be in overall control and management of a part of or the whole of a construction site.

3. NOTIFICATION AND APPOINTMENTS

GENERAL

In terms of the Regulations the principal contractor shall, before carrying out construction work:

Notify the Provincial Director (in terms of Regulation 3(1)).
Appoint each contractor in writing for the part thereof of the project on a construction site (in terms of Regulation 5(3)(b)).
Appoint a full-time competent employee in writing as the Construction Supervisor, with the duty of supervising the performance of the construction work (in terms of Regulation 6(1)).
Appoint one or more competent employees to assist the appointed Construction Supervisor, if necessary (in terms of Regulation 6(2)).
Appoint a full-time or part-time construction Safety Officer in writing to assist in the control of all safety related aspects on the site (in terms of Regulation 6(6)).
Appoint a competent First Aid Officer for the construction work who will be available on site during normal working hours (in terms of General Administrative Regulation).
Appoint competent persons to supervise all excavation work, formwork operations, demolition work and scaffolding operations (in terms of Regulations 11(1), 10(1), 12(1) and 14(2)).
Appoint in writing all persons authorised and competent to operate plant and equipment for the construction work (in term of Regulation 21(1)(d)).
Appoint a competent person to control, supervise and monitor all electrical installations, both temporary and permanent, for the construction period (in terms of Regulation 22(e)).
Appoint a competent person in writing to supervise all stacking and storage of materials or consumables for the duration of the construction work (in terms of Regulation 26 (a)).

DOCUMENTATION

The following documentation is required to ensure compliance with the Regulations in terms of the necessary appointments and notifications (tick where appropriate).

Description / Required / Where kept
3.1 / Notification to Provincial Director, Department of Labour
3.2 / Appointment of Construction Supervisor
3.3 / Appointment of Safety Officer (full or part time)
3.5 / Appointment of Excavation Work Supervisor
3.6 / Appointment of Formwork Operations Supervisor
3.7 / Appointment of Scaffolding Supervisor
3.8 / Appointment of Demolition Work Supervisor
3.9 / Appointment of Plant Operators
3.10 / Appointment of Electrical Installations Supervisor
3.11 / Appointment of Stacking and Storage Supervisor
3.12 / Letter of good standing with the Compensation Commissioner

4. TRAINING AND INDUCTION

GENERAL

Only suitably trained and competent persons may be employed on construction works. The Principal Contractor and any Contractor involved must provide written proof of general safety induction training and of task specific training.

The Principal Contractor undertakes to fulfil these requirements by:

Providing initial safety induction training to all employees involved in the construction work before they commence work on site;
Providing weekly safety talks to all employees involved in the construction work on the general aspects of health and safety
Providing specific safety talks aimed at addressing the risks and methods involved in a specific task, before work commences on the specific task;
Issuing each person having completed the initial safety induction training with proof of training to be carried on their persons while on site indicating their employee number and the fact that they have completed the induction; and
Providing skills related training, as required, to all persons involved in specific tasks.

The principal contractor will issue certificates to all employees on completion of the safety induction course, in accordance with Regulation 7(9). The principal contractor shall also keep records of each safety talk held, noting the contents of the talk, who presented the talk and who attended.

DOCUMENTATION

The following documentation is required to ensure compliance with the Regulations in terms of the necessary training and induction (tick where appropriate).

DESCRIPTION / REQUIRED / WHERE KEPT
4.1 / Register of persons completing safety induction
4.2 / Safety induction training outline
4.3 / Copies of completed and signed Site Regulations
4.4 / Register of safety training talks
4.5 / Register of attendance at safety training talks
4.6 / Outlines of safety training talks
4.7 / Register of skills training provided
4.8 / Register of attendance at skills training
4.9 / Outlines of skills training courses
4.10 / Copies of Certificates issued for skills training

5. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (SAFETY EQUIPMENT)

GENERAL

In terms of the Act and the Regulations the principal contractor is required to ensure that all persons working or visiting site are equipped with appropriate health and safety equipment (PPE) to reduce the risks of injury or illness as a result of their visit, duties or exposure to the construction site and conditions. Compliance with these requirements will be achieved as follows:

All employees, once completing the safety induction course, will be issued with two sets of overalls, one set of safety boots and one high visibility tunic which they will be required to wear at all times while working on site;
A minimum of five pairs of safety boots and five high visibility jackets will be kept on site for use by visitors to the construction works;
All other PPE and PPC necessary in terms of the Risk Assessments and Methods Statements for particular tasks will be made available to those employees or visitors directly involved in or affected by the task, for the duration of the task. In the event that the equipment may be safely used by others without posing a hygiene risk, the equipment shall be returned by the employee or visitor on completion of the task;
The Safety Officer will make weekly inspections of the condition of PPE issued and in use on the site. In the event that the equipment is no longer suitable for providing protection, it shall be withdrawn from the employee and a replacement issued;
Any person found not to be wearing appropriate PPE will be warned and the warning recorded in the Health and Safety File. In the event that a person is warned more than three times for failing to wear PPE or any other safety related issue, that person shall be removed from site and disciplined in accordance with their employer’s disciplinary procedures;
A register of all PPE issued during the construction work will be maintained; and
A budget for the provision of PPE will be drawn up and presented to the Client as part of the overall quote/tender cost calculated for health and safety.

DOCUMENTATION

The following documentation is provided and appended hereafter to confirm compliance with the Regulations in terms of the necessary training and induction (tick where appropriate).

DESCRIPTION / REQUIRED / AVAILABLE
5.1 / Assessment of PPE required for construction
5.2 / Register of PPE issued on site
5.3 / Weekly inspections of PPE
5.4 / Register of employees failing to wear PPE

6. PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

GENERAL

In addition to safeguarding the health and safety of its employees and visitors to site, the Regulations also require the Principal Contractor to develop and implement measures to safeguard the general public and environment from hazards that may arise as a result of the construction work. To ensure compliance with this aspect of the Regulations, the Principal Contractor shall:

Implement a Traffic Management Plan that indicates potential risks to the public or environment posed by all vehicles travelling to and from the area(s) of construction for the purposes of the construction work, and proposes methods to eradicate or minimise these risks;
Establish whether there is any potential cross-boundary nuisance that may arise on site as a result of construction operations, such as dust or noise nuisance, and if there is a potential for such nuisance, implement measures to eradicate or minimise the impact;
Develop an emergency plan in the event of a fire, explosion, spill or any other incident that could impact on the environment or the general public;
Notify, in writing, all local emergency services, traffic authorities and environmental agencies of the intended work programme before the commencement of the work and on completion;
Implement measures to ensure the safe accommodation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic across or along the area(s) of construction;
Ensure that all Records of Decision that may be required in terms of Environmental Legislation for the construction work are in place and available for inspection;
Ensure that the location of all storage areas for flammable or hazardous materials are properly designed and constructed to prevent the contamination of any water source, including groundwater and the environment in general;
In the event that the construction work includes tasks that involve the using of chemicals or materials that may give rise to vapours or particles that can be transported by the wind, the Principal Contractor will endeavour to perform these tasks in a controlled environment. If this is not possible or practical, the Principal Contractor will situate these tasks in an area where the prevailing wind direction will minimise the spread of the vapours or particles to local communities. If this is also not possible, the Principal Contractor will modify his operations and implement procedures to reduce the risk of contamination. In all situations, however, the Principal Contractor shall implement measures to monitor the spread of such vapours or particles and shall present a written report on completion of the construction work.

DOCUMENTATION

The following documentation is required to ensure compliance with the Regulations in terms of dealing with the safeguarding of the public and environment (tick where appropriate).

DESCRIPTION / REQUIRED / WHERE KEPT
6.1 / Traffic Management Plan
6.2 / Emergency Plan
6.3 / Protocols to minimise dust nuisance
6.4 / Protocols to minimise noise nuisance
6.5 / Record of Decision for construction work
6.6 / Record of Decision for storage of diesel on site
6.7 / Record of Decision for storage of chemicals on site
6.8 / Pedestrian and Vehicle Traffic Accommodation Plan
6.9 / Air monitoring report and results
6.10 / Environmental Scoping Document for construction
6.11 / Environmental Impact Assessment for construction
6.12 / Environmental Management Plan for construction

PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

GENERAL

Regulation 21 requires that all plant and construction vehicles:

Are of an acceptable design and construction;
Are maintained in a good working order;
Are used in accordance with their design and the intention for which they were designed, having due regard to safety and health;
Are operated by workers who -
Have received appropriate training, have been certified competent and been authorised to operate such machinery;
Are physically and psychologically fit to operate such construction vehicles and mobile plant by being in possession of a medical certificate of fitness;
Have safe and suitable means of access;
Where appropriate, are fitted with structures designed to protect the operator from falling material or from being crushed should the vehicle or mobile plant overturn;
Are equipped with an electrically operated acoustic signalling device and a reversing alarm; and
Are inspected on a daily basis prior to use, by a competent person who has been appointed in writing and the findings of such inspection are recorded in a register.

DOCUMENTATION

The following documentation is provided and appended hereafter to confirm compliance with the Regulations in terms of plant and equipment (tick where appropriate).