Construction SHE Site & Safety File Audit Template

Overview

The Construction SHE Site & Safety File Audit Template (Digital Download) is a practical Excel tool for auditing both:

The site-specific health and safety file, and

The implementation of controls on the construction site.

It supports the legal duties of clients, principal contractors and contractors under the Construction Regulations, 2014, issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993.

The template is ideal for:

Principal contractors who must prepare and implement a suitable, documented health and safety plan based on the client’s specification, and conduct periodic audits at least once a month.

Contractors and sub-contractors who must prove compliance with the health and safety plan, site rules and client specification.

Client representatives / construction health and safety agents who need structured evidence that audits are being done and findings are being closed out.

What this template helps you do

Using this template, you can:

Audit construction safety files against the requirements of the Construction Regulations, client baseline risk assessment and site-specific health and safety specification.

Verify that key appointments, registers, method statements, risk assessments, training, medicals and other mandatory documents are in place, current and signed off.

Conduct monthly site condition audits as required for principal contractors, including housekeeping, access/egress, excavations, scaffolding, fall protection, mobile plant, electrical installations, fire precautions and welfare facilities, as appropriate to your site.

Identify non-conformities, observations and improvement actions and track them to closure, in line with continuous improvement principles in ISO 45001.

Maintain a clear audit trail to present to clients, the Department of Employment and Labour inspectors, or certification bodies as part of an ISO 45001 OHS management system.

Typical Construction Use Cases

Pre-mobilisation audit of the safety file and site readiness before work starts.

Monthly principal contractor vs contractor audits as required by Construction Regulation provisions that call for periodic audits at least once every month.

Client or agent verification audits against the health and safety specification and baseline risk assessment.

Pre-handover / close-out safety file audit prior to project completion.
Key Features & Benefits

You can use these as bullet points on the product page:

Construction-Specific SHE Audit Template
Focused on construction work as defined in the Construction Regulations, 2014, and intended for use with site-specific health and safety specifications and plans.

Safety File & Site Conditions in One Tool
Allows you to structure your audit around both documentation (file) and physical site conditions, ensuring that the file content matches what is happening on the ground.

Supports Monthly Legal Audits
Assists principal contractors in demonstrating that periodic audits, at least monthly, are being carried out as part of their duty to ensure compliance with the health and safety plan.

Excel-Based and Fully Editable
Delivered in .xlsx format, allowing you to add or modify audit questions to match your company procedures, client requirements and trade-specific risks.

Evidence, Findings & Actions in One Place
Space to record objective evidence, non-conformities, risk ratings, responsible persons, due dates and status, which aligns with ISO 45001 and ISO 19011 expectations for internal audits and audit records.

Supports Legal Due Diligence
Helps employers and principal contractors show they have taken reasonably practicable steps to identify hazards, assess risks and implement control measures as required under the OHS Act and Construction Regulations.

Legal & Standards Alignment

You can place this under “Legal & Standards Alignment” on the product page.

This Construction SHE Audit Template is designed to support compliance with:

South African Law

Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 – general duties on employers to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of employees.

Construction Regulations, 2014 – applicable to all persons involved in construction work, including duties on clients, designers, principal contractors and contractors regarding health and safety specifications, plans, risk assessments, audits, site conditions and facilities.

Client duties to prepare a baseline risk assessment and site-specific health and safety specification (Regulation 5) and to appoint competent principal contractors and agents.

Principal contractor duties to develop and implement a suitable and sufficiently documented health and safety plan and to conduct periodic audits at least once every month on contractors.

International Standards & Best Practice

ISO 45001:2018 – Occupational health and safety management systems – particularly Clause 9 (performance evaluation) and 9.2 (internal audit), which require planned internal audits and retention of audit records as documented information.

ISO 19011:2018 – Guidelines for auditing management systems – principles of auditing, managing audit programmes and conducting management system audits, applied here to construction OHS and safety file audits.

Note: This template is a professional tool to assist with construction SHE audits. It does not replace the legal duty of a competent person to interpret and apply the OHS Act, Construction Regulations and standards correctly for each project.

What’s Included

1 × Construction SHE Site & Safety File Audit Template – Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)

The template is structured so that you can (for example) create sections for:

Project and site details (client, principal contractor, project description, phases)

Audit type (pre-start, monthly, client audit, close-out)

Safety file documentation (appointments, risk assessments, method statements, registers, proof of training and medicals, inspections, permits, etc.)

Site conditions and activities (excavations, scaffolding, work at height, cranes and lifting, mobile plant, electrical, fire precautions, housekeeping, welfare, traffic management, etc., as applicable).

Compliance / non-conformance status

Evidence / comments

Corrective and preventive actions, responsible person, due date, status

(You can rename or add sections to match your own OHS management system and client requirements.)

Digital Delivery

Delivery format: Digital product – no physical items will be shipped.

After successful payment, you receive instant access to download the Excel template (.xlsx).

You will need Microsoft Excel or compatible spreadsheet software to open and edit the file.

The file can be duplicated and adapted for different projects and sites within the scope of your licence.