Health and Safety
Guide for the Tendering
Process
Best Practice Guidelines for
Health and Safety in the
Construction Tendering Process
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
2
Published by Site Safe New Zealand
Level 5, Anvil House
138-140 Wakefield Street
Wellington
New Zealand
First Edition: March 2000
ISBN 0-473-06655-6
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
3
Contents
A Word About Site Safe
5
Acknowledgments
6
About This Guide
7
The Health and Safety in Employment Act – A Brief Introduction
9
Health and Safety in the Tendering Process – In Brief
11
Key Tasks and Who Does Them
14
Further Information
20
Key Terms and What They Mean
28
Appendix – Pre-qualification Health and Safety Checklists
32
Become a Site Safe Member
35
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
4
Site Safe is a small, independent, not-for-profit organisation set up by the entire construction
industry. We continue to work with all sectors of the construction industry in every facet of
health and safety, by taking the lead in promoting construction health and safety. This guide
is one in a series and another step towards the goal of reducing construction injuries and
deaths.
Site Safe is governed by a Board of Directors with the following representatives from
throughout all the major sectors of the construction industry:
! Peter Neven (Chairman) – General Manager, Fletcher Construction
Representing the commercial construction sector.
! Ray Barbara – General Manager, ECANZ.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Representing the electrical contractors.
Bill Grace – Managing Director, Bill Grace Ltd.
Representing the masonry and bricklaying sectors of the industry.
Dave Hardman – Regional Secretary, Building Trades Union.
Representing the BTU and the Central Amalgamated Workers Union.
Peter Hay – Executive Director, Beca Carter Hollings & Ferners Ltd.
Representing the engineering and quantity surveying sectors of the industry.
Peter Heaphy – Company Director, Graham Ilich Ltd.
Representing the painting sector.
Hank Lieshout – Director, Pukekohe Developments Ltd.
Representing the Building and Construction ITO.
Keith McLea – Chief Executive, PRISM.
Representing PRISM (formerly ACC).
Gordon Moller – Director, Craig Craig Moller Architects.
Representing the architecture sector of the industry.
John Pfahlert – Chief Executive, Contractors Federation.
Representing the civil construction sector.
Peter Tunnicliffe – Manager, H.W. Coyle Ltd.
Representing the plumbing and gasfitting sector of the industry.
Geoff Wilson – Manager Strategic Development, OSH.
Representing OSH, Dept. of Labour.
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
5
A Word About Site Safe
A Word About Site Safe
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgements
Site Safe would like to thank the industry project team who worked on the development of
this guide:
! Kevin Lockley, Health and Safety Manager, Fletcher Construction
! Paul Maynard, Representative – New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors
! Rex Moir, Business Adviser – Development and Operations, OSH
! John Rogers, Representative – New Zealand Institute of Architects
! Brian Smith, Associate, Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner Ltd.
! Grant Wilson, Construction Inspector, OSH
We would also like to thank the many associations, organisations, companies and
individuals from throughout the construction industry who were involved in the development
and consultation of the guide, in particular, OSH staff who assisted with the formatting and
editing. Site Safe and the construction industry thank all those involved.
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
6
There are hazards when working in many industries. When injuries occur, the costs are high
– in people, profits and productivity.
One of the best ways to avoid injuries and minimise costs is through good planning,
communication and coordination – both before and on the job. This should start when the
decision is made to go ahead on the project, and should consider all stages and the parties
involved.
The tendering process is one of the stages where health and safety should be addressed
on a project.
This guide is intended as a useful tool for all those involved in the tendering process –
including clients, their agents, designers/advisers, contractors and suppliers. It provides all
parties involved in the tendering process with a better understanding of what they can do to
introduce health and safety into the tender stage of a project.
In being ‘best practice’, this guide goes beyond simply compliance and what is stated in
the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE Act), Regulations and Standards. It
encourages the highest possible standards for health and safety in the tendering process.
What’s in the Guide?
The guide has been developed in consultation with representatives from throughout the
construction industry, including OSH policy and operational staff, contractors and
subcontractors, architects, engineers and quantity surveyors. However, it will have many
applications outside the construction industry.
We are confident that the Site Safe best practice guidelines and other Site Safe products
and services will be instrumental in helping to create a New Zealand-wide safety culture.
The guide includes:
! a brief overview of the purpose and requirements of the HSE Act (1992)
! an overview of the tendering process, with health and safety as one of the priorities
! an explanation of key health and safety tasks for everyone involved in the tendering
process
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
7
About This Guide
About This Guide
About This Guide
! a list of key terms and what they mean
! a checklist to consider for health and safety pre-qualification
[Note: Throughout this guide, terms in italics are defined in the section ‘Key Terms
and What They Mean’ (see page 27).]
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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The main purpose of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE Act) is to make
workplaces safer through better management of health and safety.
In short, everyone involved with a project of any kind – from clients, planners and
designers through to contractors and on-site workers – has a role to play in health and safety
during the project – from concept to construction completion.
Anyone who contracts another party for any part of a project (that is, engages anyone to
work on the project for gain or reward other than an employee) has a duty as a principal.
Principals are required to take all practicable steps to ensure the health and safety of people
contracted by them to carry out work of any kind throughout all stages of a project.
As you can see from the flow chart on the following page, although the client has
responsibility as a principal, several parties can be principals at any one time, and all key
people have a duty to provide for the health and safety needs of their own areas of operation.
So remember: you may be wearing more than one ‘hat’ at any particular
stage of a project.
[Note: this does not apply, however, when work is being done on or in your own
home – though the information found in this guide may still be useful in this situation.]
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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The Health and Safety in Employment Act - A Brief Introduction
The Health and Safety in Employment Act – A Brief
Introduction
Principal relationship
Possible principal
relationship
Duty link you may have
Though you may not have
directly engaged the groups
several removed from you, you
still have a duty to ensure their
safety to a level that could be
reasonably expected of you.
You are required to do what
could be reasonably expected
given the circumstances (i.e.
take all practicable steps).
CLIENT
Principal
!
!
DESIGNER/
ADVISER
!
!
HEAD CONTRACTOR
Principal
(Responsible for
construction process)
!
The Health and Safety in Employment Act - A Brief Introduction
The client may choose to engage
a designer/adviser to act on their
behalf, or they may choose to
directly engage a contractors(s).
In either case, the client has the
role and responsibilities of a
principal to the groups below. In
some instances, the designer/
adviser will simply act as the
client’s agent.
The Principal to Contractor Relationship
Similar principles in this guide can be used for the selection
of subcontractors (the area below this text), however this is
covered ore thoroughly in the Contractor/Subcontractor
Safety Management Workbook, to be released in support of
the Construction Safety Management Guide and this guide.
!
!
If the head contractor then
engages subcontractors to
assist in the construction, the
head contractor then takes on
the role and responsibilites of a
principal to the subcontractors
and the groups below.
!
!
SUBCONTRACTORa
SUBCONTRACTORa
Principal
!
SUBCONTRACTORa
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
Where a designer/adviser directly
contracts with the head contractor, the
designer/adviser may take on the role
and responsibilities of a principal to the
contractor(s) and the groups below.
Designers/advisers may also be
engaged by the contractor(s)
(essentially as a subcontractor) to
design the works, the construction
processes and temporary works.
10
If the subcontractor(2) then
chooses to engage a further
subcontractor(a) to assist with
their work, they too take on the
role and responsibilities of a
principal to the subcontractor(a)
Before You Start
Incorporating health and safety into tendering and the tender documents, and adequately
assessing the health and safety credentials of potential contractors, is one way to introduce
health and safety into a project in the early stages.
Contractor selection and appointment is critical in determining the overall success and
management of a project. Health and safety are important aspects that need to be considered
in this process.
A Special Word to Clients
As a principal, you have a duty under the HSE Act to make sure that the
people or organisations you may contract to carry out the various stages
of your project are safe while working on the site. You are the person
who has the authority and responsibility to make sure that health and
safety is managed and coordinated and to ensure that the necessary steps
are taken to make this happen by all those involved in the project. So it
is in your best interests to make sure that health and safety are integral to
the total planning for the project.
If you are a client with a limited knowledge of construction work, it is
important for you to appoint a designer/adviser with experience and
knowledge of the design and construction process, as well as an
understanding of the relevant health and safety issues. Designers/
advisers should be able to provide
advice, where requested, to the client on the health and safety
performance of potential contractors and organisations tendering for the
work. With help here, the client can be satisfied, as well as they
reasonably can, that health and safety is adequately allowed for and a
competent contractor selected.
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Health and Safety in the Tendering Process - In Brief
Health and Safety in the Tendering Process – In
Brief
Health and Safety in the Tendering Process - In Brief
Stage 1 – The Process Begins
The Team: Client, Designers/Advisers
A decision is made to obtain tenders for the project. Awareness of the need for health and
safety is discussed and preliminary consideration is given to the level of health and safety
required on the project and how this will be included in tendering. The client, with advice
from their designers/advisers, decides on the most suitable form of tendering for the project.
Stage 2 – Pre-tender Stage
The Team: Client, Designers/Advisers
Development of the tender documentation begins. Consideration is given to how health and
safety will be included in the tender documents.
A pre-qualification procedure may be carried out during the pre-tender stage to establish
a shortlist of tenderers. This can be based on a number of things, such as past health and
safety performance and industry credibility relating to health and safety. A checklist can
often be used to develop this shortlist, (refer Appendix, page 31) building up a profile of the
health and safety practice and performance of potential tenderers.
At this early stage of the project, any significant health and safety information that is
available should also be provided to potential tenderers.
[Note: while pre-qualification to establish a shortlist of tenderers may not be adopted in
all cases, it can have a number of benefits (refer page 19). Where a shortlist is not utilised at
this part of the process, the information will still need to be requested and examined during
the following stages.]
Stage 3 – Tendering
The Team: Client, Designers/Advisers, Tenderers
Work is finalised on information about the significant known health and safety risks of the
project (the project health and safety information, refer page 21).
Tender documentation is finalised and forwarded to the tenderers (the short-listed
tenderers where pre-qualification has been carried out). This documentation
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Establishing a shortlist of tenderers through pre-qualification, followed by
evaluation of their response to the project health and safety information
within the tender documents, are two means, even on the smallest jobs, by
which clients can be satisfied as well as they reasonably can, that
prospective contractors have made (and are able to make) adequate
provision for health and safety and are competent to carry out the job.
Stage 4 – Tender Review, Evaluation and Selection
The Team: Client, Designers/Advisers, Tenderers
Tender submissions are received, evaluated and assessed by the client and their designers/
advisers to make sure that potential contractors have complied with the tender documents –
including the requirements relating to health and safety for the project – and are competent
to carry them out.
Once the contractor is appointed, a Project Site-specific Health and Safety Plan is
developed by the contractor and provided to the client and their designers/advisers. The
construction process on-site is managed by the contractor. The plan also provides a means
for the client (in conjunction with the contractor) and their designers/advisers to monitor the
maintenance of a continued appropriate level of health and safety competency.
[Note: Detailed information and advice to help in the development of the Project Sitespecific Health and Safety Plan can be found in Site Safe’s Contractor/Subcontractor Safety
Management Workbook. Information and advice to assist in the evaluation and assessment
of contractors by designers/advisers can also be found in Site Safe’s Designer/Adviser
Safety Workbook. Both of these publications are to be released in support of the
Construction Safety Management Guide and this guide].
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Health and Safety in the Tendering Process - In Brief
incorporates the project health and safety information, included and identified in appropriate
parts of the tender documents.
Potential contractors are requested to outline their approach regarding health and safety
for the work as defined in the tender documents – outlining how they will deal with specific
risks and hazards during the project. (Essentially a preliminary Site-specific Health and
Safety Plan).
[Note: much of this information will contribute to the Site-specific Health and Safety
Plan, developed by the selected contractor once appointed.]
Key Tasks and Who Does Them
Key Tasks and Who Does Them
Stage 1 – The Process Begins
Clients: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
! sufficient knowledge and experience of the construction process?
If not, have you:
! appointed a designer/adviser with experience and knowledge of the design and
construction process, and an understanding of the health and safety requirements
for the type of activity?
Designers/Advisers: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
! considered the level of health and safety required on the project
(see pages 20 and 22)?
! considered how this will be included in the tendering process?
Stage 2 – Pre-tender Stage
Clients: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
! provided the designer/adviser with relevant health and safety information (such as
existing drawings and any existing site safety plan – including any known hazards,
! made sure that consideration is given to how health and safety will be included in
the tendering process?
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
14
! adopting a pre-qualification procedure to help establish a shortlist of appropriate
tenderers. (Refer page 19).
[Work may also begin on the project health and safety information (a collection of
information about the significant known health and safety risks of the project) to be
incorporated into the tender documents. (Refer page 21)].
Designers/Advisers: Questions You Need to Ask
Where pre-qualification is to be used, have you:
! developed a pre-qualification procedure and forwarded this, (along with any
significant health and safety information that is available at this stage) to potential
tenderers to help establish a shortlist of tenderers? (Refer page 19).
! provided advice to the client on the short-listed contractors who have the required
health and safety competence?
Also have you:
! begun to prepare the project health and safety information? (Refer page 21 ).
! obtained sufficient information from the client and other parties to make sure the
project health and safety information is prepared competently (such as drawings,
job specifications and product specifications)?
Potential Tenderers: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
! familiarised yourself with any pre-qualification health and safety requirements?
! responded by providing the client with health and safety information requested in
any pre-qualification procedure (such as completing a pre-qualification checklist if
requested by the client)?
! forwarded supporting documents providing evidence that company practices and
procedures for health and safety are in place?
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Key Tasks and Who Does Them
This may include:
Key Tasks and Who Does Them
Stage 3 – Tendering
Clients: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
ensured the health and safety selection criteria has been finalised?
! made sure sufficient time has been allowed for tenderers to adequately present
their tender and respond to the requirements for health and safety?
! considered whether the proposed time period for the project would adversely affect
health and safety?
! made sure that the tender documents include sufficient information for tenderers to
effectively develop and cost a health and safety plan to complete the project safely?
This should include:
! ensuring that the project health and safety information has been prepared and any
significant known health and safety risks and hazards of the project have been
included and identified in appropriate parts of the tender documents.
Designers/Advisers: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
! prepared appropriate project health and safety information on behalf of the client?
(Refer page 21)
! ensured that the project health and safety information is included in appropriate
parts of the tender documents, identifying any significant known health and safety
risks and hazards of the project?
! developed the health and safety criteria for evaluating tenders and considered
whether to include this in the tender documents?
! considered whether the proposed time period for the project would adversely affect
health and safety?
! where necessary, held a face-to-face meeting or site visit with tenderers to explain
health and safety requirements?
! allowed time for potential contractors to adequately present their tender to meet the
requirements for health and safety?
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Have you:
! familiarised yourself with the tender documents, the construction site and the
health and safety requirements of the project?
! received adequate information to determine what is necessary for health and safety
on the project?
! developed a clear specification of the resources needed to control and manage the
health and safety risks and hazards of the project?
! included with your tender, information outlining how you will deal with any specific risks
and hazards during the project and provided evidence that your tender meets the health
and safety requirements of the project and the tender documents?
This may include:
! developing a preliminary site-specific health and safety plan, outlining how you
will manage and deal with the risks and hazards during the project.
! providing evidence that the subcontractors you nominate are committed to health
and safety and are able to perform their role safely.
! providing evidence that health and safety has been acknowledged and included in
your tender.
! providing any additional health and safety information you consider relevant to the
project which has not been asked for.
[Note: much of this information will contribute to the Site-specific Health and
Safety Plan developed by the selected contractor once appointed.]
Finally, have you:
! ensured that your tender shows a full understanding of the level of health and
safety required for the project?
Stage 4 – Tender Review, Evaluation and Selection
Clients: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
! made sure that tenders are assessed by those with skills and knowledge relevant to
the health and safety requirements of the project?
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Key Tasks and Who Does Them
Tenderers: Questions You Need to Ask
Key Tasks and Who Does Them
! made sure that the tender assessment criteria includes evaluation of health and
safety requirements?
! ensured sufficient allowances have been made for health and safety in the
successful tender?
! considered whether the proposed time period for the project would adversely affect
health and safety?
! received advice, where necessary, from designers/advisers on the health and safety
performance of potential contractors and organisations tendering for the work?
Designers/Advisers: Questions You Need to Ask
Have you:
! where necessary, held post-tender meetings with potential contractors to further
assess their competence and attitude towards health and safety on a one-to-one basis?
! allowed time to assess the health and safety requirements of the tender?
! thoroughly reviewed all tenders, benchmarking the potential contractor’s health
and safety competence against tender requirements? (Refer page 24)
! ensured the tender selection process has included health and safety?
! considered whether the proposed time period for the project would adversely affect
health and safety?
! provided advice to the client on the health and safety performance of potential
contractors and organisations who have tendered for the work?
! ensured tenders contain adequate health and safety requirements for the project
and taken this into account in your tender evaluation process?
! on appointment of the contractor, and before the contractor starts work, made sure
that the contractor has in place an appropriate health and safety plan?
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Once appointed, have you:
! developed a Project Site-specific Health and Safety Plan (this sets out the
arrangements for securing the health and safety of everyone carrying out the work
and all others who may be affected by it)?
Remember: It is essential to monitor the project to ensure that a continued
level of health and safety competence is maintained.
[Note: Detailed information and advice to help in the development of the Project Sitespecific Health and Safety Plan can be found in Site Safe’s Contractor/Subcontractor Safety
Management Workbook. Information and advice to assist in the evaluation and assessment
of contractors by designers/advisers can also be found in Site Safe’s Designer/Adviser
Safety Workbook. Both of these publications are to be released in support of the
Construction Safety Management Guide and this guide].
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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Key Tasks and Who Does Them
The Selected Tenderer: Questions You Need to Ask
Further Information
Further Information
Pre-qualification
[Note: a pre-qualification procedure may not be adopted in all cases, although it can have a
number of benefits. Where one is not used, the information will still need to be requested and
the questions below considered during the tendering stage.]
What is Involved?
A pre-qualification procedure to help establish a shortlist of tenderers generally involves the
request for certain supporting documents prior to the tendering and selection process (the pretender stage).
Pre-qualification should look at the general ability and competence of the contractor for the
type of activity that will be undertaken. Health and safety commitment and procedures should
also be a part of the criteria, for the benefit of all those who will be working on the project.
This is one way to build up a profile of the health and safety performance of tenderers so that
only contractors who have appropriate health and safety practices in place are invited to tender.
Why?
The following are some of the benefits of looking at health and safety of potential tenderers at
the pre-tender stage:
! it makes it clear from the beginning of the project that health and safety is an
important issue
! it limits the number of tenderers, so only contractors who have appropriate health
and safety practices in place are invited to tender. (i.e. it will generally prevent
contractors with little health and safety practice in place from tendering for the work).
! it comes at a stage when there is more time to begin to assess health and safety
credentials (the tendering stage can be very busy).
! it can be used to build up a profile of the health and safety practices and
performance of potential tenderers, so that the initial process may not need to be
carried out in full on every project. This means that if you are a client, a
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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What to Ask
The level of detail to go into for pre-qualification on each project is a matter for clients and
their designer/advisers to assess by looking at a number of factors, including, among other
things, the complexity of the project. The level of pre-qualification should be appropriate
for the type of project being undertaken.
Listed below are some of the areas that can be considered for pre-qualification at the pretender stage. Remember though, where pre-qualification is not used, these questions will
still need to be considered at the tendering stage.
Have you considered:
! company health and safety documents (such as general health and safety policy,
risk assessment and safety procedures)?
! injury and ill-health records?
! records of previous enforcement actions?
! training records (such as safety induction procedures, national qualifications,
certificates of competency)?
! quality assurance procedures?
! whether project review and monitoring of health and safety practices are documented?
Other areas to consider could include details and evidence of:
! past health and safety performance
!
!
!
!
!
management commitment to health and safety
delegations for health and safety
key personnel and their level of training
management of subcontractor safety
planning and monitoring processes and procedures to conduct risk assessment
(how the results are controlled and procedures to reduce risk monitored)
It is worth remembering: lengthy or glossy brochures on their own may look nice,
but there are no guarantees that the organisation follows the procedures, or that it
even wrote the documents itself.
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
21
Further Information
designer/adviser or a contractor regularly involved in the tendering-out of work,
you may be able to bypass most of this stage and go directly to an already
established shortlist of tenderers, developed from past similar projects.
Further Information
Many in the industry already use question schedules or checklist-type tools. These can
be integrated with supporting documents or may stand alone. You can begin to picture what
a schedule or checklist might look like for your project by looking at the example provided
in the Appendix (refer page 31), considering the areas that were identified above, as well as
incorporating any health and safety information specifically required for your organisation or
project.
The Project Health and Safety Information
What’s It For?
The project health and safety information is important information about the known health
and safety hazards and issues that will have to be managed for the specific project. It is
generally issued with, or included within, the tender documents. The information ensures
that tenderers know their minimum obligations with regard to health and safety, and enables
allowances for health and safety to be factored into their tender.
The project health and safety information can be used as key material in the process of
tender assessment, raising specific health and safety issues for tenderers to provide
responses to, within their tender submissions. These responses need to be considered by the
client and their designers/advisers in making a judgement about whether potential
contractors have both adequate provision for health and safety and are suitably competent to
carry them out.
The main purpose of the project health and safety information is:
! to provide a focus for bringing the health and safety issues of the project and the
design to the attention of parties likely to be affected (such as potential
contractors/tenderers )
! to enable contractors submitting tenders to be fully aware of the project’s health
and safety requirements
! to provide a benchmark against which the tender submissions can be measured
The information will mainly come from:
! The client, who provides the designers/advisers, or contractor with information
relevant to health and safety, such as existing drawings, surveys of the site, a
description of hazards known specifically to the client, and so on; and
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
22
cannot be avoided and which will have to be controlled by the head contractor and
other contractors.
What Should Be Considered in the Project Health and Safety
Information?
The level of detail, size and format of the project health and safety information will depend
on a number of factors, such as the nature of the project, the types of known hazards and
potential risks involved, as well as client requirements.
Obviously, some items listed below will not be relevant to all projects. Projects with
minimal risk call for simple straightforward approaches. On the other hand, large projects
involving significant risk will require more detail. Each collection of project health and
safety information should be specific to the individual project, and the form tailored to be
appropriate for that type of project
Areas to consider include:
! what is the nature of the project (location, type of work, time scale for completion
and so on)?
! what is the site like with regard to location and local environment (such as existing
!
!
!
!
!
services, surrounding land use and premises such as schools, shops and so on;
existing traffic systems and restrictions; ground conditions and other buildings and
structures)?
are there any existing drawings and what relevant information do they show (such
as available drawings of the building or structure)?
what is the planned design and what information exists on the hazards which
cannot be avoided?
what other site-wide factors are there (for example: any special client needs such
as access for school children; the positioning of the site access or exit points;
location of unloading, or layout and storage areas; temporary site accommodation;
traffic/pedestrian routes and so on)?
will there be any overlap with the client’s own activities during the project
(particularly where construction work is to take place at the client’s premises that
might be occupied)?
how will you satisfy yourself that the tenderers are competent to deal with health
and safety on the project?
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
23
Further Information
! The designers/advisers, who provide information about the known risks which
Further Information
! what site rules relating to the client do you need (such as emergency
procedures, permit-to-work rules and so on, when work takes place at the client’s
premises)?
! how will you maintain continued liaison and coordination for health and safety on-
site (such as procedures for dealing with design work prepared after the work has
started)?
! is there provision for the health and safety plan to be incorporated into an existing
health and safety plan for the site?
What Should it Look Like?
Those preparing the project health and safety information (generally the client, designer/
adviser) will need to determine its most suitable format.
The project health and safety information should be drawn up so that it requires specific
responses to issues. There is little advantage in simply outlining hazards or risks. What is
needed is how the contractor will manage and deal with them during the work.
Factors to consider when thinking about this may include:
! the nature of the work or type of work activity
!
!
!
!
the requirements of the client
hazards that will be introduced through the design
the requirements of current site users
the requirements of adjacent site users.
Where Does it Go?
The project health and safety information can be included in the tender documents in a
number of ways, depending on what is most appropriate. It can be included as part of the
specifications for a project, as a totally separate document, or could also be a documented
discussion with potential contractors on particularly small jobs. The key point is that it
needs to be appropriate to the project so that it effectively builds health and safety
requirements into tender documents and the project in some form – addressing health and
safety from the beginning of the process, clearly defining and acknowledging the safety
requirements in the tendering and award process.
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
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The assessment process for health and safety on a large or complex project may have to be
quite detailed. But on the other hand, for a small project, or one with little risk, it may be
very simple. The level of questioning and detail will very much depend on the nature and
the risks involved in the project.
Assessment of the appropriate level of health and safety competence is important for
selection and appointment of contractors. Though past performance relating to health and
safety, for example, is an area to consider, it shouldn’t be the only consideration.
Competence should not be limited to one deciding factor. Issues that focus on the health and
safety requirements for the project need to be raised, and answers sought. You may require
documentary proof of further health and safety performance, but there is no point simply
providing and collecting documents. They need to fulfil a clear purpose in the total project
process from concept to completion.
Consider the contractor’s ability to manage, implement and monitor health and safety
procedures on-site. Think about:
! the contractor’s past performance
! their safety history
! whether they have health and safety plans and procedures in place
! whether they have the training, qualifications and resources to implement these
on-site
! whether subcontractors they use are likewise committed to health and safety, and
how they are managed
Also, ask yourself whether the tender includes site-specific procedures for:
! the assignment of health and safety responsibilities for implementation on-site
! methods for hazard identification (such as task analysis)
! incident and accident investigation and reporting methods
! on-site emergency procedures (such as fire, earthquake, chemical spills)
! strategies for site communications (such as site meetings)
! a site safety audit programme (from full audits to site inspection)
! the system for co-ordination of on-site trade activities (such as methods for
information sharing).
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Further Information
Assessing Health and Safety Competence
Further Information
[Note: Detailed information and advice to assist in the evaluation and assessment of
contractors by designers/advisers can also be found in Site Safe’s Designer/Adviser Safety
Workbook, to be released in support of the Construction Safety Management Guide and this
guide.]
Selection of Subcontractors
The selection of the right subcontractors for the project is also extremely important.
Selecting the right ones can bring many positive results.
The selected head contractor will need to supply potential subcontractors with
information about the project, the site, relevant parts of any existing health and safety plans
and any other relevant information. This could include:
! the arrangements for the health and safety management of the project
! monitoring arrangements
! site rules and procedures (such as wearing personal protective equipment, training
or competency requirements)
! rules for further subcontracting of work.
Requirements for health and safety need to be made clear so that potential
subcontractors have enough information to ensure that site-specific provision for health and
safety is included in their own tender submissions, demonstrating that they are competent in
health and safety matters relevant to the project.
[Note: Similar principles in this guide can be used for the selection of subcontractors.
However, this is covered more thoroughly in the Contractor/Subcontractor Safety
Management Workbook, to be released in support of the Construction Safety Management
Guide and this guide.]
Possible Costs of an Inappropriate Selection
In all tendering it is important to remember that value for money does not automatically
mean the lowest possible price.
If there are delays and difficulties on the job, this can cause things to be rushed, which is
often where health and safety is overlooked, and when injuries can occur. So selecting the
right contractor is an important factor – not just from a health and safety perspective.
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Remember: value for money does not automatically mean the lowest possible
price; and cost savings and time reductions should never be sought at the
expense of site safety.
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Further Information
Delays and extra costs incurred due to time lost through worker injury are just a few of
the consequences of not adequately addressing health and safety when selecting a
contractor:
Key Terms and What They Mean
Key Terms and What They Mean
[Note: in this section, key terms as defined under the HSE Act (1992) or the HSE
Regulations (1995) are identified with the symbol!.]
All practicable steps !
“All practicable steps”, in relation to achieving any result in any circumstances, means all
steps to achieve the result that it is reasonably practicable to take in the circumstances,
having regard to –
(a) The nature and severity of the harm that may be suffered if the result is not
achieved; and
(b) The current state of knowledge about the likelihood that harm of that nature and
severity will be suffered if the result is not achieved; and
(c) The current state of knowledge about harm of that nature; and
(d) The current state of knowledge about the means available to achieve the result,
and about the likely efficacy of each; and
(e) The availability and cost of each of those means.
This means, in effect, actions that are reasonably able to be taken in
the specific circumstances to achieve the result.
Client
Party for which work is being carried out.
Construction work !
(a)
Means any work in connection with the alteration, cleaning, construction, demolition,
dismantling, erection, installation, maintenance, painting, removal, renewal, or repair, of
(i)
Any building, chimney, edifice, erection, fence, structure, or wall, whether
constructed wholly above or below or partly above and partly below, ground
level;
(ii) Any aerodrome, cableway, canal, harbour works, motorway, railway, road, or
tramway;
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Anything having the purpose of drainage, flood control, irrigation, or river
control;
(iv) Any distribution system or network having the purpose of carrying electricity,
gas, telecommunications or water;
(v) Any aqueduct, bridge, culvert, dam, earthwork, pipeline, reclamation, reservoir
or viaduct;
(vi) Scaffolding.
And:
(b) Includes any work in connection with any excavation, preparatory work, or site
preparation carried out for the purposes of any work referred to in paragraph a) of this
definition.
(c) Includes any work referred to in paragraph a) or paragraph b) of this definition carried
out underwater, including work on buoys, obstructions to navigation, rafts, ships, and
wrecks.
(d) Includes the use of any materials or plant for the purposes of any work referred to in
any of paragraphs a) to c) of this definition.
(e) Includes any inspection or other work carried out for the purposes of ascertaining
whether any work referred to in any of the paragraphs a) to c) of this definition should
be carried out.
But:
(f)
Does not include any work in any mine, quarry or tunnel.
While work in mines, quarries and tunnels is excluded from the definition of
‘construction work’ given in the HSE Regulations, this document will still
provide a useful guide for these types of work.
Contractor !
A person engaged by any other person (otherwise than as an employee) to do any work for
gain or reward.
Designers/Advisers
Individuals or organisations who carry out the design of any work to be constructed, or
anyone who provides advice to a client. This may include architects, engineers, quantity
surveyors, specifiers, project managers, planners, health and safety consultants or others
providing specialist advice to the project.
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Key Terms and What They Mean
(iii)
Key Terms and What They Mean
Duty
What you are required to do under the HSE Act and Regulations. The duty of each duty
holder involved in a construction project does not go beyond the measures that are
reasonably practicable for them to take in the individual circumstances. However, they are
responsible for ensuring that duty holders contracted or employed by them adequately fulfil
their duties, and must provide adequate resources for them to do so.
Duty Holders
All individuals or parties who exercise control over all or part of the workplace activity at
any stage between concept and completion, including clients through to contractors,
subcontractors and employees.
Head Contractor
For the purpose of this document, the head contractor is the contractor directly engaged by
the client to perform the construction work and take overall responsibility for the
management of site operations for the project, and this includes monitoring of health and
safety.
[Note: Some projects may not have a head contractor. In this situation the client takes
responsibility for overall project management.]
Person Who Controls a Place of Work !
This means a person who is:
(a) the owner, lessee, sublessee, occupier, or person in possession of the place of work or
any part of it;
or
(b) the owner, lessee, sublessee, or bailee of any plant in the place.
Principal !
A person who engages any person (other than an employee) to do any work for gain or reward.
Project
Any planned construction work, from concept to completion, and includes preparation of
plans and specifications, obtaining and deciding on tenders, as well as the actual
construction stage.
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Important information about the significant known health and safety risks and hazards of the
project. This information is generally issued with, or included within, the tender documents.
Site
Any place, or area within a place, where construction is being, (or is to be) carried out. This
includes parts of the place where plant and materials are being stored temporarily and where
vehicles and people may pass for the purpose of doing the construction work.
Subcontractor !
A person engaged (otherwise than as an employee) by any contractor (or another
subcontractor) to do for gain or reward any work the contractor (or other subcontractor) has
been engaged to do.
Tender, Tendering
The process for obtaining work, including prices, bids, quotations and proposals.
Tenderer
A party submitting a tender.
For more information you can visit the Site Safe New Zealand website at
www.sitesafe.org.nz or contact Site Safe New Zealand, Level 5, Anvil House,
138-140 Wakefield Street, Wellington, phone (04) 499 2509, fax (04) 499 2508
or e-mail: comments@sitesafe.org.nz.
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Key Terms and What They Mean
Project Health and Safety Information
Appendix - Pre-qualification Health and Safety Checklists
Appendix – Pre-qualification Health and Safety
Checklists
Below is an example of some of the questions that might be used when developing a health
and safety checklist for pre-qualification during the pre-tender stage. This is by no means
definitive and organisations should only use this as a guide in developing their own
checklists.
Response to health and safety information in a pre-qualification checklist will assist in
the development of a health and safety profile of potential tenderers, helping to evaluate
their commitment and plans for pro-active health and safety management. This will help
ensure that only those with an appropriate level of health and safety practice in place are
short-listed and invited to tender.
[Note: Where a pre-qualification check list is not used at the pre-tender stage, the
information will still need to be requested and the questions below considered during the
tendering stage. It is important to remember though: supporting documentation will also
need to be provided with the checklist as evidence that health and safety procedures are in
place and that they are carried out.]
1. Safety Policy and Management Commitment
! Do you have a written safety policy? (If yes, please enclose a copy).
! If the above answer is yes, is the safety policy communicated to employees?
! Do you have particular people who are responsible for ensuring safety? (Please
supply organisation chart and staff description).
! Who is the most senior person coordinating safety matters, and what is their
experience? (name/experience...)
2. Procedures
! Do you have a safety manual?
! Do you have written working practices and safety instructions?
! How often are these audited?
! Do you have procedures for maintaining plant, equipment and vehicles in a safe
condition?
! Are employees actively involved in the development of safety procedures?
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4. Safety Training
! Is formal safety training given to employees?
! What form does it take?
! Is there an induction/orientation programme for new employees/contractors?
! Have the personnel who will undertake specific work received formal training in
all relevant areas?
5. Safety Records
! What types of safety records are kept by your organisation?
- Fatalities?
- Serious harm?
- Accidents (including near misses)?
- Hazards?
- Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)?
! Please supply your organisation’s safety record for the last five years.
- Fatalities.
- Lost days from injury to worker/s.
- Accidents resulting in environmental damage or pollution
! Have you or your company received any caution or been prosecuted by an
enforcement authority (including OSH) in the last 5 years?
6. Accident Investigation
! Does your organisation maintain a register for recording injuries and/or cases
where an employee suffers serious harm?
! Do you conduct an investigation into any incident that results in harm to an
employee?
! Do investigations include remedial action plans to initiate future prevention?
! Do you advise the following parties of the accidents:
- The employees?
- Where relevant, OSH?
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Appendix - Pre-qualification Health Safety Checklists
3. Hazard Identification
! Do you have a system to identify hazards during the project?
! Where hazards are identified, do you have a system to assess significant hazards?
! Do you have a system for identifying new hazards?
! Do you have procedures for eliminating significant hazards?
Appendix - Pre-qualification Health and Safety Checklists
7. Safety Awareness
! Do you have in-house safety meetings?
! Does your organisation conduct safety inspections?
! Are all staff involved in safety programmes?
! Do you have procedures for control of the safety performance of subcontractors?
! Does your organisation supply personal protective equipment to all employees?
8. Emergency Procedures
! Do you have an emergency plan?
! Does the emergency plan identify responsibilities and procedures to be followed?
! Have all staff received training in emergency procedures?
! Have emergency drills been carried out within the last 12 months?
9. Proposed Safety Management Personnel for this Project
! Please supply the name, qualifications and experience of the person who you
propose will be in control of the place of work for this project.
Name:
Qualification/Experience:
! Please supply details of staff who will be engaged on the project, who possess a
formal safety qualification, and state the qualification.
Name:
Tender Title:
Qualification:
Name Completed by:
Position:
Company:
Contact Details:
Date:
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
Signed:
34
You can become a member of Site Safe simply by filling in the form on the opposite page
and either faxing or posting it with your payment to:
Site Safe New Zealand
Level 5, Anvil House
138-140 Wakefield Street
Wellington
Ph (04) 499 2509
Fax (04) 499 2508
Your membership includes (among other things):
! Our quarterly newsletter, ‘Toolbox Talk’ with important health and safety information
and advice
! Free copies of each of the Site Safe Guidelines — the Construction Safety Management
Guide, the H&S Guide for the Tendering Process, and the Working at Height Safety Guide
! Regular mailouts with free copies of many industry magazines and newspapers
! All Site Safe Products and Services at reduced costs — including significant discounts on
the Passport, Supervisor Gold Card Safety Training, Height Safety Training and
Construction Management Course
! Discounted fee if you use our specialty Consultancy Services
! Access to our Regional Safety Advisors
! Access to member-only information and services on www.sitesafe.org.nz
! A Certificate of Membership
! Your company name and details on the Site Safe Directory of Membership on our website
- an excellent marketing tool
! Site Safe Member stickers for your vehicles
! Use of the Site Safe Member logo for marketing purposes — in your advertising, on your
stationery, in your tender documents
! Promotional posters for your offices, site sheds etc.
See our website for more details: http://www.sitesafe.org.nz or contact us here at Site Safe.
Health and Safety Guide for the Tendering Process
35
Become a Site Safe Member
Become a Site Safe Member