What do the OHS Act and the Construction Regulations 2014 require on site?
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 and its Construction Regulations 2014 set the safety duties on a South African construction site. The client applies for a construction work permit at least 30 days before permit-scale work starts. The principal contractor runs the health and safety plan and file, and incidents go to the provincial director.
The job, in order
- The permit, or the notice. Apply in writing to the provincial director for a construction work permit at least 30 days before permit-scale construction work is to start (r 3(1), (2)). Work with no permit that includes excavation, work at height, demolition or explosives is notified 7 days before.
- The plan and the file. Give the client a site specific health and safety plan based on its specification, apply it from the start of the work, and review and update it as the work progresses (r 7(1)(a)). Open and keep on site a health and safety file holding every document the Act and these Regulations require, available on request to an inspector, the client, the client's agent or a contractor (r 7(1)(b), (2)(b)). Have health and safety audits and document verification of each contractor carried out at least once every 30 days (r 7(1)(c)(vii)).
- Incidents. Give the provincial director notice of an incident in which a person was killed, injured or made ill within 7 days, on form WCL 1 or WCL 2 (r 8(1)(a)).
Every duty the library holds from the three instruments
In the order the library holds them: the Construction Regulations, 2014, the General Administrative Regulations, 2003 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993). Each is on its instrument's page too, with how it was read.
| Duty | Window and section | If missed |
|---|---|---|
| Apply in writing to the provincial director for a construction work permit at least 30 days before permit-scale construction work is to start | 30 daysr 3(1), (2) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Do not start permit-scale construction work until the permit is issued and the site specific number assigned; display the number at the main site entrance and keep a copy of the permit in the health and safety file | none setr 3(4), (6), (7)A standing duty with no window. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Notify the provincial director in writing at least 7 days before construction work that includes excavation, work at height with a risk of falling, demolition or the use of explosives | 7 daysr 4(1) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Prepare a baseline risk assessment and a site specific health and safety specification for the intended work, and include the specification in the tender documents | none setr 5(1)(a), (b), (f)The client's duty, before tender, with no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Give the client a site specific health and safety plan based on its specification, apply it from the start of the work, and review and update it as the work progresses | none setr 7(1)(a)No day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Before performing construction work, give the principal contractor a health and safety plan based on the relevant sections of the client's specification, and review and update it as the work progresses | none setr 7(2)(a)Before work, with no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Open and keep on site a health and safety file holding every document the Act and these Regulations require, available on request to an inspector, the client, the client's agent or a contractor | none setr 7(1)(b), (2)(b)A standing duty with no window. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Hand the client a consolidated health and safety file on completion of the construction work, including a record of the drawings, designs, materials used and similar information about the structure | none setr 7(1)(e)"Upon completion", with no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Appoint each contractor in writing, and only once reasonably satisfied it has the competencies and resources to do the construction work safely | none setr 7(1)(c)(iii), (v)Before appointment, with no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Before work starts on site, make sure every contractor is registered and in good standing with the Compensation Fund or a licensed compensation insurer | none setr 7(1)(c)(iv)Before work starts, with no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Have health and safety audits and document verification of each contractor carried out at least once every 30 days | 30 daysr 7(1)(c)(vii) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Give the principal contractor a copy of each health and safety audit report within 7 days after the audit | 7 daysr 5(1)(p) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Appoint in writing one full-time competent construction manager for each site, and an alternate for when the manager is absent | none setr 8(1)A standing duty with no window. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| After consulting the client, appoint in writing a full-time or part-time construction health and safety officer registered with the statutory body the Chief Inspector approved, where the project's size or hazards call for one | none setr 8(5), (6)A standing duty with no window. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Before construction work starts, and while it continues, have risk assessments performed by a competent person appointed in writing, as part of the site health and safety plan | none setr 9(1)Before work, with no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Review the risk assessment when a change to the design or construction changes the risk profile, or when an incident has occurred | none setr 9(7)It runs from any incident, not only a reportable one, so the notifiable incident event type would miss most of them and no trigger is set; no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Allow no employee or other person onto site until they have had health and safety induction training on the hazards on site at the time, and keep the induction records on site | none setr 7(5), (7)A standing duty with no window. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Make sure every employee holds a valid medical certificate of fitness for the construction work they do, issued by an occupational health practitioner in the form of Annexure 3 | none setr 7(8)The regulation sets no validity period for a certificate, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Where a fatality or permanent disabling injury occurs on site, make sure the contractor reports it to the provincial director under section 24 of the Act, including the measures it intends to take to keep the site safe | none setr 5(3)The regulation states no day count of its own: it requires the report in accordance with regulations 8 and 9 of the General Administrative Regulations, which set 7 days for an injury or death, so no window is recorded here. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Give the provincial director notice of an incident in which a person was killed, injured or made ill within 7 days, on form WCL 1 or WCL 2 | 7 daysr 8(1)(a) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Report forthwith, by telephone or similar means, an incident in which a person died, became unconscious, lost a limb or was likely to die or suffer a permanent physical defect, and any major incident or dangerous occurrence | none setr 8(1)(b)"Forthwith", with no number, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Keep at the workplace, for at least 3 years, a record in the form of Annexure 1 of every incident reportable under section 24 of the Act and every other incident needing medical treatment beyond first aid | 36 monthsr 9(1) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Have every recordable incident investigated within 7 days from the incident, and enter the findings in the Annexure 1 record as soon as the investigation is complete | 7 daysr 9(2), (3) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Do not disturb the site of an incident in which a person died, is likely to die or lost a limb or part of a limb, or remove anything involved, without an inspector's consent | none sets 24(2)It lasts until an inspector consents, with no day count, so no window is recorded. | an offenceLapsed compliance |
In this guide
- Construction work permitThe construction work permit in South Africa: apply at least 30 days before work starts, no work until it is issued, and the notice of work 7 days before.
- Health and safety plan and fileThe health and safety specification, plan and file under South Africa's Construction Regulations 2014, the handover, audits every 30 days and appointments.
- IncidentsIncident reporting under South Africa's OHS Act: notice within 7 days, the forthwith report, the site left undisturbed, investigation within 7 days, records.
What this page is, and is not
It is the section text this library holds for South Africa's Construction Industry Development Board Act, 2000 (Act 38 of 2000), Construction Industry Development Regulations, 2004, Construction Regulations, 2014, General Administrative Regulations, 2003 and Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993), with the window and the consequence. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Acts, the Regulations and the contract you signed.
Demiton does not yet track South African projects. These pages set out the duties; the product does not run these checks on a South African job today.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.