SACPCMP CHS Officer cheat sheet
SACPCMP CHS Officer · Keep the key ideas within reach.
Occupational Health & Safety Legal and Regulatory Framework
The OHS Act 85 of 1993 is South Africa's primary occupational health and safety statute; the Construction Regulations 2014 are issued under it.
Section 8 imposes a general duty on every employer to provide a working environment that is safe and without risk to health.
Section 16(1) places the duty on the CEO; Section 16(2) permits written assignment of duties to a competent employee, but the CEO remains accountable.
Section 17 requires health and safety representatives where 20 or more employees are employed; Section 18 requires a health and safety committee.
Section 24 requires reporting of fatal injuries, serious injuries, and dangerous occurrences to the chief inspector, with records kept.
COIDA 130 of 1993 governs compensation for occupational injuries; the employer must report a workplace accident to the Compensation Commissioner, normally within seven days.
SACPCMP is established by the Project and Construction Management Professions Act 48 of 2000 and registers construction health and safety professionals, including CHSOs.
Construction Regulations 2014 reg. 4 requires notification of construction work; reg. 7 requires a site-specific health and safety plan.
Section 14 requires employees to obey safety rules, use PPE, and report unsafe conditions to the employer or health and safety representative.
Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Management
Risk is assessed as likelihood multiplied by severity or consequence; the score is ranked on a risk matrix to prioritise controls.
HIRA sequence: identify hazards, assess risks, determine controls, implement controls, record findings, and monitor and review.
Hierarchy of control: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment.
Residual risk is the risk remaining after controls are applied; it must be compared with the site's risk acceptance criteria.
Construction hazards commonly include falls from height, excavation collapse, mobile plant, electrical contact, noise, dust, and hazardous substances.
Risk assessments include baseline, issue-based, and continuous assessments; baseline assessments inform the project health and safety plan.
ALARP means reducing risk as low as reasonably practicable by weighing the cost and difficulty of controls against the risk reduction achieved.
Stop-work authority allows workers and supervisors to stop work when an imminent danger exists until the hazard is controlled.
Health & Safety Planning and Management Systems on Construction Sites
The health and safety plan must be site-specific and based on a baseline risk assessment for the project.
Typical plan contents: scope of work, hazard identification, risk assessments, controls, emergency arrangements, legal appointments, training, PPE, and monitoring.
The plan must be reviewed and updated when scope, hazards, controls, or incident findings change.
A safety management system follows the PDCA cycle: Plan, Do, Check, Act, linking planning, implementation, monitoring, and management review.
Legal appointments must be in writing, accepted by a competent person, and supported by authority and resources.
Emergency preparedness covers first aid, evacuation, emergency contacts, drills, and rescue arrangements, and must be tested.
Leading indicators are proactive measures such as inspections and training; lagging indicators are reactive measures such as injuries and lost-time incidents.
Document control ensures that only current versions of plans, assessments, and appointments are used on site.
Site Inspection, Auditing, Incident Investigation and Reporting
An inspection is a routine physical check of conditions, equipment, and work practices; an audit is a systematic evaluation of system compliance.
Inspection findings must record the unsafe condition or act, corrective action, responsible person, and due date.
Audit evidence includes documents, interviews, site observations, and sampling; findings must be traceable to evidence.
A nonconformity is a failure to meet a legal, system, or contractual requirement; observations and opportunities for improvement are lower-level findings.
Close-out requires verification that the corrective action has been implemented and is effective, supported by evidence.
Auditors must be competent and independent of the activity being audited to avoid bias.
Inspection and audit checklists must cover applicable legal requirements and significant site hazards.
Inspection and audit records must be retained and used to track trends and repeat findings.
Incident Investigation and Reporting
An incident includes accidents, near misses, and dangerous occurrences; a near miss is an unplanned event with potential for harm.
Immediate causes are unsafe acts and unsafe conditions; root causes are underlying management or system factors.
Common investigation methods include Five Whys, fishbone diagrams, and ICAM (Incident Cause Analysis Method).
Preserve the scene, secure evidence, photograph conditions, and obtain signed witness statements as soon as practicable.
OHS Act Section 24 requires reporting of fatal injuries, serious injuries, and dangerous occurrences to the chief inspector.
COIDA requires the employer to report a workplace accident to the Compensation Commissioner, normally within seven days.
Corrective action addresses the cause of an identified incident; preventive action addresses potential causes before an incident occurs.
An investigation report should include the timeline, findings, immediate and root causes, recommendations, and responsible persons.
Professional Ethics
SACPCMP's code of conduct requires integrity, competence, objectivity, confidentiality, and respect for public safety.
Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed or avoided; improper inducements must not be accepted.
A professional must sign off only on work within their registered competence and must seek expert advice when a task exceeds it.
Public safety takes precedence over commercial pressure or client instructions that would compromise safety.
Unsafe practices should be reported to the appropriate authority, including the client, employer, or regulator where required.
Registered professionals must maintain continuing professional development and keep accurate records of their work.
Misrepresentation of qualifications, registration status, or experience is a breach of professional ethics.
Confidentiality applies to client and worker information, except where disclosure is required by law or necessary to prevent serious harm.
Communication and Safety Training
Safety induction is completed before site access and covers site hazards, rules, emergency procedures, PPE, and reporting.
Toolbox talks are short, task-focused briefings on hazards, controls, and safe procedures before work starts.
Training needs analysis compares required task competencies with workers' current knowledge and skills to identify gaps.
Competency combines qualification, training, experience, and assessed ability to perform specified tasks safely.
Communication barriers include noise, language, literacy, and shift patterns; methods must match the workforce.
Two-way communication with feedback and worker participation is more effective than one-way instructions.
Training records should include attendance, content, date, trainer, and assessment results.
Emergency drills test communication, evacuation, first aid, and rescue arrangements.
Signage and safety data sheets communicate hazards but do not replace engineering controls or training.
Occupational Health & Safety Legal and Regulatory Framework
The OHS Act 85 of 1993 is the primary statute; the Construction Regulations 2014 are issued under it.
Section 8 requires employers to provide a safe working environment.
Section 16(1) places the duty on the CEO; Section 16(2) allows written assignment to a competent employee.
Section 17 requires health and safety representatives where 20 or more employees are employed.
Section 24 requires reporting of fatal, serious, and dangerous incidents to the chief inspector.
Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Management
Risk = likelihood × severity; the score is ranked on a risk matrix.
Hierarchy of control: elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, PPE.
Residual risk is the risk remaining after controls are applied.
Baseline risk assessment is a broad project-level assessment that informs the health and safety plan.
ALARP means reducing risk as low as reasonably practicable.
Health & Safety Planning and Management Systems on Construction Sites
The health and safety plan must be site-specific and based on a baseline risk assessment.
PDCA means Plan, Do, Check, Act and supports continuous improvement.
Legal appointments must be in writing and accepted by a competent person.
Leading indicators are proactive measures such as inspections and training.
Emergency preparedness covers first aid, evacuation, contacts, and drills.
Site Inspection, Auditing, Incident Investigation and Reporting
An inspection checks physical conditions; an audit evaluates system compliance.
Findings must record the unsafe condition or act, corrective action, responsible person, and due date.
A nonconformity is a failure to meet a legal, system, or contractual requirement.
Close-out requires verification that corrective action is implemented and effective.
Audit evidence includes documents, interviews, observations, and sampling.
Incident Investigation and Reporting
A near miss is an unplanned event with potential for harm but no injury or damage.
Root cause is the underlying management or system factor that allowed the incident.
Five Whys repeatedly asks why until the fundamental cause is identified.
ICAM is a structured method examining defences, individual, task, and organisational factors.
COIDA requires the employer to report a workplace accident to the Compensation Commissioner, normally within seven days.
Professional Ethics
Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed or avoided.
Practise only within registered competence and seek expert advice when needed.
Confidentiality applies except where disclosure is required by law or to prevent serious harm.
Registered professionals must maintain continuing professional development.
Public safety takes precedence over commercial pressure.
Communication and Safety Training
Safety induction occurs before site access and covers site-specific hazards and rules.
Toolbox talks are short, task-focused briefings before work starts.
Training needs analysis identifies gaps between required and current competencies.
Competency combines qualification, training, experience, and assessed ability.
Two-way communication with feedback improves hazard identification.