OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
GUIDELINES TO COMPILE A HEALTH AND SAFETY FILE
SCOPE
A Health and Safety File is a legal document required in terms of the provisions of the Occupational Health and
Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993) and all Regulations thereof, from each company or business, however big or
small the enterprise may be, for the health and safety of persons in connection with the use of plant and
machinery; the protection of persons other than persons at work against hazards to health and safety arising out
of or in connection with the activities of persons at work; to establish a record of occupational health and safety
procedures and practices at the work place; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
PURPOSE
A Health and Safety File is a legal document containing written proof of vital Health and Safety information,
method statements and procedures / practices in the work place, as required in terms of the provisions of the
Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993) and all Regulations thereof.
LIABILITY
The Law is very clear in Section 38 (Offences, penalties and special orders of court) of the Occupational Health
and Safety Act of 1993, (Act 85 of 1993) and demonstrate the necessity for everyone in business to comply with
this requirement. Failure to comply with the requirements may lead to fines ranging between R 50 000 – R
100 000 or one to two years imprisonment or both on conviction in a court of law. (Think about the legal costs
and the loss of man hours involved in any court procedure.)
It serves to note that even the State is bound by the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,
1993 (Act 85 of 1993) and all Regulations thereof. (Section 47)
RESPONSIBILITY
The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993) and all Regulations thereof place a responsibility
on each and every employer and employee under Section 13, 14 and 16: General duties of employers and
employees at work and certain duties of a Chief Executive Officer of a company –

Every employer shall as far as is reasonably practicable, cause every employee to be made conversant
with the hazards to his/ her health and safety attached to any work which he / she has to perform, any
article or substance which he / she has to produce, process, use, handle, store or transport and any
plant or machinery which he /she is required or permitted to use, as well as with the precautionary
measures which should be taken and observed with respect to those hazards

Every employee shall take reasonable care
for the health and safety of himself / herself and of other persons who may be affected by his / her acts
or omissions;

The Chief Executive Officer of a company
shall as far as is reasonably practicable ensure that the duties of his employer as contemplated in the
Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993), are properly discharged.
REALITY
The average person charged with the duty to compile a Health and Safety File views the Health and Safety file
as a one to five page document (which cannot be further from the truth).
The problem in general is that the person tasked with the compiling of the Health and Safety File normally knows
very little about Health and Safety and knows even less about what a Health and Safety file is all about and what
the content must be.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
WORD DEFENITIONS FOR THIS DOCUMENT
In this document, unless the context otherwise indicates –
“chief executive officer”
in relation to a body corporate or an enterprise conducted privately or by the State, means the person who is
responsible for the overall management and control of the business of such body corporate or enterprise;
“employee”
means any person who is employed by or works for an employer and who receives or is entitled to receive any
remuneration or who works under the direction or supervision of an employer or any other person;
“employer”
means any person who employs or provides work for any person and remunerates that person or expressly or
tacitly undertakes to remunerate him, but excludes a labour broker as defined in section 1 (1) of the Labour
Relations Act, 1956 (Act No. 28 of 1956);
“fall protection plan”
means a documented plan, of all risks relating to working from an elevated position, considering the nature of
work undertaken, and setting out the procedures and methods to be applied in order to eliminate the risk;
“hazard”
means, a source of or exposure to danger;
“hazard identification”
means the identification and documenting of existing or expected hazards to the health and safety of persons,
which are normally associated with the type of construction work being executed or to be executed;
“health and Safety Committee”
means, a committee established under section 19 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85
of 1993);
“health and safety equipment”
means, any article or part thereof which is manufactured, provided or installed in the interest of the health or
safety of any person;
“health and safety file”
means a file, or other record in permanent form, containing the information required as contemplated in the
Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993);
“health and safety plan”
means a documented plan which addresses hazards identified and includes safe work procedures to mitigate,
reduce or control the hazards identified;
“health and safety representative”
means, a person designated in terms of section 17 (1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993
(Act 85 of 1993);
“health and safety specification”
means a documented specification of all health and safety requirements pertaining to the associated works on a
construction site or other place of work, so as to ensure the health and safety of persons;
“health and safety standard”
means, any standard, irrespective of whether or not it has the force of law, which, if applied for the purposes of
the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993), will in the opinion of the Minister, promote
the attainment of an object of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993);
“incident”
means, an incident as contemplated in section 24 (1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act
85 of 1993);
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
“letter of good standing”
A letter of good standing is an official document, issued by the Compensation Fund, in terms of the provisions of
Section 89 of the COID Act, 1993 (ACT 130 of 1993), to state that a business is currently registered and does
not owe the fund any money and is "in good standing" with the Compensation Fund;
“machinery”
means, any article or combination of articles assembled, arranged or connected and which is used or intended
to be used for converting any form of energy to performing work, or which is used or intended to be used,
whether incidental thereto or not, for developing, receiving, storing, containing, confining, transforming,
transmitting, transferring or controlling any form of energy;
“major hazard installation”
means an installation where any substance is produced, processed, used, handled or stored in such a form and
quantity that it has the potential to cause a major incident;
“major incident”
means an occurrence of catastrophic proportions, resulting from the use of plant and machinery, or from
activities at a workplace;
“mandatary”
includes an agent, a contractor or a subcontractor for work, but without derogating from his status in his own
right as an employer or a user;
“medical certificate of fitness”
means a certificate valid for one year issued by an occupational health practitioner, issued in terms of these
regulations, whom shall be registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa;
“method statement”
means a document detailing the key activities to be performed in order to reduce as reasonably as practicable
the hazards identified in any risk assessment;
“occupational health practitioner”
means, an occupational medicine practitioner or a person who holds a qualification in occupational health
recognized as such by the South African Medical and Dental Council as referred to in the Medical, Dental and
Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974), or the South African Nursing
Council as referred to in the Nursing Act, 1978 (Act No. 50 of 1978);
occupational hygiene”
means, the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of conditions arising in or from the workplace, which
may cause illness or adverse health effects to persons;
“occupational medicine practitioner”
a medical practitioner as defined in the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions
Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974), who holds a qualification in occupational medicine or an equivalent
qualification which qualification or equivalent is recognized as such by the South African Medical and Dental
Council referred to in the said Act;
“premises”
includes any building, vehicle, vessel, train or aircraft;
“prescribed”
means, prescribed by regulation;
"pressure equipment"
means a steam generator, pressure vessel, piping,
pressure accessory and safety accessory, transportable gas container, and fire extinguisher and includes, but is
not limited to, an accumulator, a hot water geyser, and hyperbaric chambers;
"pressure vessel"
means a housing designed and manufactured to contain a fluid under a design pressure equal to or greater than
50 kPa;
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
“reasonably practicable”
means, practicable having regard to –
(a)
the severity and scope of the hazard or risk concerned;
(b)
the state of knowledge reasonably available concerning that hazard or risk and of any means of
removing or mitigating that hazard or risk;
(c)
the availability and suitability of means to remove or mitigate that hazard or risk;
and
(d)
the cost of removing or mitigating that hazard or risk in relation to the benefits deriving there from;
“risk assessment”
means a program to determine any risk associated with any hazard at a construction site, in order to identify the
steps needed to be taken to remove, reduce or control such hazard;
and
“workplace”
Means –
(1)
Any premises or place where a person performs work in the course of his employment;
(2)
The Minister may by notice in the Gazette declare that a person belonging to a category of persons
specified in the notice shall for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof be deemed to be an
employee, and thereupon any person vested and charged with the control and supervision of the said
person shall for the said purposes be deemed to be the employer of such person.
FORE WORD
The content of this document is not to be taken as the hard and fast rule for the compilation of a Health and
Safety File.
Though great care was taken in the compilation of this guide lines, the individual needs of different companies in
this respect may differ vastly.
It stands to reason that one size does not fits all when it comes to legal matters as serious and current as the
compilation of a Health and Safety File.
When in doubt, drop us a line at: [email protected] or phone Bayteck’s toll free number – 0860 770 770 for
assistance in this regard.
Be assured of our friendly professional advice and service whenever you may need it.
IMPORTANT RULES
1.
All self generated documents to be filed in the Health and Safety File must bear your company’s name
and contact details in the header of the document.
2.
Each self generated document must be dated and dually signed by a person responsible for the
completion / administration of the document at the time.
PROPOSED CONTENT OF A HEALTH AND SAFETY FILE
A Health and Safety File should include, but is not limited to:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
Any document reflecting on legal matters should have a table of contents in order to direct any person reading /
examining the document directly to a specific chapter or page in the said document.
We suggest that a typical table of contents should be set out in the following sequence but is not limited to:
(It may be altered to suit individual needs)
1)
Names and contact details
A list containing the legal particulars and contact details of your company’s management
structure. (Start with the CEO and include junior management)
2)
Organogram
Provide an organogram of your company’s organizational structure reflecting all names listed
in paragraph 1) above.
A TYPICAL EXAMPLE OF AN ORGANOGRAM
3)
Legal appointments and certificates of competence
Here is a comprehensive list of all legal appointments that may be applicable to your line of
business in terms of the provisions of the Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993).
3.1)
Section 16 (1) appointment – CEO of the company or the head of a department in the
case of a department of state.
3.2)
Section 16 (2) appointment – Any person under the control of the CEO may be
appointed as a Section 16 (2) appointee and this person will then act subject to the
control and direction of the CEO.
3.3)
Section 17 (1) appointment – Health and Safety Representative.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
3.4)
3.5)
Section 19 (3) appointment – Health and Safety Committee Member.
Construction Regulation 4 (1) (c) appointment – Principal Contractor - for each phase
or project.
3.6)
Construction Regulation 4 (5) appointment – Client Agent.
3.7)
Construction Regulation 5 (3) (b) appointment – Contractor.
3.8)
Construction Regulation 5 (11) appointment – Contractor appoint another contractor.
3.9)
Construction Regulation 6 (1) appointment – Construction supervisor.
3.10)
Construction Regulation 6 (2) appointment – Assistant construction supervisor.
3.11)
Construction Regulation 6 (6) appointment – Safety officer.
3.12)
Construction Regulation 7 (1) appointment – Risk assessment officer.
3.13)
Construction Regulation 7 (4) appointment – Induction training officer.
3.14)
Construction Regulation 8 (1) appointment – Fall protection planner.
3.15)
Construction Regulation 10 (a) appointment – Form and support work supervisor.
3.16)
Construction Regulation 11 (1) appointment – Excavation supervisor.
3.17)
Construction Regulation 11 (3) (b) (ii) (b) appointment – Professional engineer or
technologist.
3.18)
Construction Regulation 11 (3) (k) & 12 (11) appointment – Explosives expert.
3.19)
Construction Regulation 12 (1) appointment – Demolition work supervisor.
3.20)
Construction Regulation 14 (2) appointment – Scaffold supervisor.
3.21)
Construction Regulation 17 (8) (a) appointment – Material hoist inspector.
3.22)
Construction Regulation 18 (1) appointment – Batch plant supervisor.
3.23)
Construction Regulation 19 (2) (g) (i) appointment – Power tool supervisor.
3.24)
Construction Regulation 21 (1) (j) appointment – Construction vehicle and mobile
plant inspector.
3.25)
Construction Regulation 22 (e) appointment – Electrical installations controller.
3.26)
Construction Regulation 26 (a) appointment – Stacking and storage supervisor.
3.27)
Construction Regulation 27 (h) appointment – Fire equipment inspector.
3.28)
General Administrative Regulation 9 (2) appointment – Incident investigator.
3.29)
General Machinery Regulation 2 (1) appointment – Supervisor of machinery.
3.30)
General Machinery Regulation 2 (7) appointment – Assistant supervisor of machinery.
3.31)
General Machinery Regulation 4 (3) appointment – Shiftsman.
3.32)
Lift, Escalator & Passenger Conveyor Regulation 6 (1) appointment – Competent
person / competent firm.
3.33)
Pressure Equipment Regulation 13 (1) (b) appointment - Competent person /
competent firm.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
4)
3.34)
General Safety Regulation 3 (4) appointment – First aider.
3.35)
General Safety Regulation 13 A appointment – Ladder inspector.
3.36)
Diving Regulation 3 (1) (c) appointment - Diving Contractor for each phase or project.
3.37)
Diving Regulation 4 (3) (5) appointment – Client agent.
3.38)
Diving Regulation 4 (3) (c) (i) red with Diving Regulation 9 (2) appointment – Diving
supervisor
3.39)
Diving Regulation 7 (4) appointment – Life support supervisor.
3.40)
Diving Regulation 8 (2) appointment – Systems technician.
3.41)
Diving Regulation 11 (2) appointment – ROV supervisor.
3.42)
Diving Regulation 13 (2) appointment – Airlock operator.
3.43)
Diving Regulation 14 (2) appointment – Hyperbaric operations supervisor.
3.44)
Driven Machinery Regulation 16 (1) (b) appointment – Transportation plant operator.
(This document must be applied for in writing to: The Divisional Inspector subject to
the requirements of Driven Machinery Regulation 16.)
3.45)
Driven Machinery Regulation 18 (11) appointment – Lifting machine operator
certificate of competence.
(This certificate of competence must be obtained from a reputable training institution
on an individual basis by each operator)
a)
Letter of good standing
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
b)
5)
Incident / Accident reporting and recording documentation.
[Employer’s report of an incident W.CI.2 and Employer’s report
of an occupational disease W.CI.1 (E) forms]
Company policies
a)
SHE Policy of company – signed by CEO of company.
b)
Environmental policy of company – signed by CEO of company.
6)
SHE Standards and Rules of Company – signed by CEO of company.
7)
Company plans
a)
Health and Safety Plan.
b)
Risk Assessment Plan.
c)
Fall Protection Plan.
d)
Emergency Evacuation plan.
e)
Safety, Health and Environment agreement between employer
and contractor
f)
Environmental plan.
8)
HIV Program of Company.
9)
Section 37 (2) Agreement with Mandatory.
10)
Proof of induction training on company rules and standards.
11)
a)
Safety Representatives
1)
Nomination forms for Safety Reps
2)
Election / Ballot forms for election of Safety Reps
3)
Agendas and minutes of Safety Rep meetings
4)
General SHE meetings – agendas & minutes.
4)
Task Safety Training records of Safety Reps.
b)
Incident investigation and reporting.
c)
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment.
d)
General on the job Safety Training.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
e)
Incentive scheme to promote Safety.
12)
Certified copies of Valid South African ID documents or valid South
African working permits for every person employed by your company.
13)
Entry and exit medical certificates (issued by a medical practitioner) for
every person employed by your company.
14)
a)
16 point Material Safety Data Sheets for every chemical /
dangerous substance / gas on your premises / site. (MSDS)
b)
A copy of the Registration and Certificate of Approval for your
dangerous substances / flammable liquid store room issued by
your local authority. (Original must be displayed at the facility)
c)
A copy of the Registration and Certificate of Approval for your
LP Gas installation / storing facility / filling facility. (Original must
be displayed at the facility)
15)
Register for the issuance of PPE.
16)
Checklists.
a)
Checklist for Ladders.
b)
Checklist for First aid box.
c)
Checklist for Fire fighting equipment and symbolic safety signs.
d)
Checklist for Scaffold and support work.
e)
Checklist for Flammable liquid stores and other dangerous
substances facilities.
f)
Checklist for Site audit inspection.
g)
Checklist for Excavation work.
h)
Checklist for Demolition work.
i)
Checklist for emergency lighting.
j)
Checklist for diving operation.
k)
Checklist for angle grinder.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
l)
Checklist for electric drill.
m)
Checklist for explosive powered tool.
17)
18)
n)
Checklist for welding machines.
o)
Checklist for oxy acetylene sets.
p)
Checklist for hand tools.
q)
Checklist for company vehicles.
r)
Checklist for Noise induced hearing loss.
s)
Checklist for Evacuation.
t)
Checklist for Housekeeping.
u)
Checklist for compliance with Department of Labour
requirements.
v)
Checklist for PPE of personnel. (Daily checklist)
w)
Checklist for facilities. (Toilets, canteens, change rooms, etc)
x)
Checklist for general hygene.
Permits, reports and procedures.
a)
Hot work permit.
b)
Confined space entry permit.
c)
Indemnity agreement.
d)
Safe work permit.
e)
Company incident report.
f)
Notifiable incident report.
g)
Address list and telephone numbers for the Department of
Labour
h)
Form to fill out when receiving a bomb thread by telephone.
Toolbox talks and attendance registers for it.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
19)
Registers
a)
Register for scaffold inspection.
b)
Register for support work inspection.
c)
Register of personnel training.
d)
Register for barricading inspection and maintenance.
e)
Register for hoarding inspection and maintenance.
f)
Register for edge protection and maintenance.
g)
Register for emergency and fire safety evacuation drills.
h)
Register for hand tools.
i)
Register for power tools.
j)
Register for explosive powered tools.
k)
Register for certificates of competency.
l)
Register for appointment of contractors.
m)
Register for the issuance of dangerous substances.
20)
Annual legal compliance audit.
21)
Safety, Health and Environmental inspections.
22)
Site / premises security and excess control.
24)
Fire safety inspections.
25)
Environmental inspections.
26)
Ergonomic inspections.
28)
Lockout procedure.
29)
List with vital Emergency telephone numbers
[Fire Department, Ambulance, SAPS, Hospital, etc.]
30)
Compressors and boilers. (Pressure equipment)
a)
Certificate for compressor / steam generator / hyperbaric
chamber.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REULATIONS: 85 OF 1993 (FULL VERSION)
b)
2012 edition
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND REGULATIONS
Register for compressor inspections and maintenance.
c)
Register for steam generator inspection and maintenance.
d)
Register for hyperbaric chamber.
CONCLUSION
We sincerely hope that this document will enable you to understand and comprehend the essence of
occupational health and safety and albeit, successfully compile a health and safety file that answer to
the specific needs of your enterprise.
If still in doubt about any aspect in this regard, please drop us a line at: [email protected] or phone
Bayteck’s toll free number – 0860 770 770 for assistance in this regard.
Copyright Authority Number 11556 to reproduce The Health and Safety Act and The COID Act
Including Regulations