The first 3-day Health and Safety Plan workshop was facilitated by Wanda Lodi from 22-24 February.

The Construction Regulations make reference to the Health and Safety Plan as well as the Health and Safety File and our workshop is designed to assist with the Regulations’ requirements.

There is a common misperception that the Safety File and the Safety Plan are one and the same thing. This is incorrect. The Health and Safety Plan forms part of the Health & Safety File and therefore the content of the two must be different.

You will see there is a slight overlap between the two, however the Safety Plan is much more condensed than the Safety File. It is almost as if the Plan is an executive summary of the File.

Wanda Lodi (Advantage ACT), Johan Vosloo (SAA Technical), Angelique Collins & Mike Collins (Parsons Brinckerhoff Africa)

After the first workshop, Michael Collins from Parsons Brinckerhoff Africa said that although he works with Health and Safety plans and files on a regular basis, this workshop presented an opportunity to refresh and benchmark his knowledge and skills in this area.

Advantage ACT’s Health and Safety Plan workshop looks at the differences in more detail and aims to empower the workshop participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to compile their own plan and file with confidence.

The Health and Safety Plan Workshop

Wanda Lodi, the workshop facilitator, says that on the first day of the workshop, he generally looks at the first half of the Health and Safety Plan content and theory. “We look at notifications, appointment letters and we look at the Health and Safety training aspects such as Induction and general Safety skills training.” says Wanda.

“We also look at PPE and the assessment of PPE requirements, registers for PPE and the inspection of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).”

“Then we look at public and environmental issues which include the Traffic Management plan, the Emergency Plan and Vehicle Traffic Accommodation plan.”

On the last part of the day, delegates will learn more about Plant and Equipment. “Here we discuss the register for Plant & Equipment, the approved operators and also the records for daily inspections.” says Wanda.

On the second day, delegates will start to draft the Safety Plan, based on the theory covered this far. A case study will be used as the basis for this exercise and all the delegates will then work together to finish this assignment.

This is a very powerful exercise because all the delegates usually come from different backgrounds and experience and all the interactions in the workshop bring this experience to the fore and every-one in the workshop benefits from it.

Wanda adds that on the second day participants will specifically look at contractor appointments, Method Statements and Risk Assessments.

Health and Safety Plan Monitoring Checklist

The third day will see the delegates finishing the Health and Safety plan.

What is important about this day is the monitoring checklist that we compile. The aim of the checklist is to act as an audit plan for the Health and Safety Plan.

The Construction Regulations requires the Principal Contractor to audit the Health and Safety Plan to see that it is properly implemented. So we do this very important step to ensure that everything is covered in the plan and to identify opportunities for improvement.

Health and Safety Plan Contents

Wanda said that his experience showed that a Health and Safety Plan should consist of the following:

1. Introduction
2. Reference Documents
3. Definitions
4. Responsibilities
5. Objectives and Targets
6. Planning and procedures
7. Implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Specification
8. Application of the Health and Safety Specification
   1. Compensation for Occupational Injury and Diseases
   2. Occupational Health and Safety Policy
   3. Hazard identification and Risk Assessment
   4. Health and Safety Training
   5. General Record Keeping
   6. Incentives
   7. Penalties
   8. Emergency procedures
   9. Hazards and Potentially Hazardous Situations
   10. Personal Protective Equipment and Clothing
   11. Safety Signage
   12. Permits
   13. Contractors & Suppliers
9. Health and Safety in Practice
   1. Excavations
   2. Demolition
   3. Explosives and Blasting
   4. Stacking of materials and housekeeping
   5. Hazardous Chemical Substance
   6. AsbestosPlant and Machinery

Generally, the Health and Safety Plan will make mention of annexures. These annexures usually include the Health and Safety Policy, Hazardous Task Identification, Risk Assessment, Induction, Toolbox Talks and the Audit Schedule.

First Safety Plan Workshop A Success

All the delegates on the first Safety Plan workshop was impressed with Wanda Lodi’s subject knowledge and the content of the workshop. Special mention was made of the quality of the food and refreshments delegates received.

The workshop will be held throughout 2010 on the following dates: 26-28 May, 10-12 August and 9-11 November.