Safe Working Practice

Safe Working Practice Safe Working Practice was voted the Best Health and Safety Consultancy in South Africa in 2019

SWP (Safe Working Practice) provides you with safe systems of work, safety audits, health and safety officers, safety inspections, safety documentation, safety advice and health and safety training. Safe Working Practice, is a consultancy specialising in health and safety issues affecting the construction and road work industries in particular, but we also service other sectors including Wholesale

and Retail offices, warehouses, transporters, farmers, franchises, schools, golf courses, restaurants, w**e estates, to name a few. Safe Working Practice has been in operation since 2004 and is an established and progressive Health and Safety consultancy with offices nationally. Our staff and franchisees are professional, motivated and qualified to assist you with your every health and safety requirements. Our vision is to provide a cost effective and professional Health and Safety advisory service with a strong emphasis on quality and customer satisfaction.

Who Must Apply for a Construction Work Permit?The Safety Nut has a question: when a Construction Work Permit is required...
07/09/2026

Who Must Apply for a Construction Work Permit?

The Safety Nut has a question: when a Construction Work Permit is required, who is the applicant?

Apparently, it is the designated PrCHSA. There is only one small problem—Construction Regulation 3 names someone else.

The Safety Nut applies his three-part test to the reported Western Cape DoEL position: Where does it say that? Does it actually say that? And does it apply here?

Read the full article to see why preparing or submitting an application is not necessarily the same as being the statutory applicant.

Read the full article https://course.safepractice.co.za/post/who-must-apply-construction-work-permit-south-africa

07/09/2026

Can a company be appointed as the client’s construction health and safety agent?

A company cannot personally visit a site, conduct an audit or inspect a safety file. It must act through people.

Interestingly, the official Construction Regulations Guidelines expressly describe an agent as a person or an organisation—and contemplate management through a registered competent person.

The Safety Nut asks whether that wording supports organisational delivery with proper professional accountability, rather than an absolute rule that one person must personally perform every task.

Read the full article for the Safety Nut.

Your business changed. Did your OHS arrangements change with it? ✅Three signs a focused review may be timely:→ The busin...
03/09/2026

Your business changed. Did your OHS arrangements change with it? ✅

Three signs a focused review may be timely:

→ The business has grown, moved or changed its activities since your last OHS review
→ Roles and responsibilities in the system no longer match your current team
→ You are not confident the documents reflect how the business actually operates today

A focused review helps management identify gaps, set priorities and plan sensible next steps — without committing to a major overhaul before the picture is clear.

Contact SWP to discuss a review of your current arrangements. Visit www.safepractice.co.za or call 0860 111 540.

Mobilisation should confirm readiness — not reveal what was missed during planning. 🏗️Before people and equipment arrive...
02/09/2026

Mobilisation should confirm readiness — not reveal what was missed during planning. 🏗️

Before people and equipment arrive on site, confirm these six things:

1. Is the scope, sequence and project requirements understood?
2. Are roles, competence and supervision clearly in place?
3. Are key risks and work methods identified and ready to communicate?
4. Are equipment, access, welfare and emergency arrangements ready?
5. Is subcontractor information and coordination confirmed?
6. Are reporting, inspection and corrective-action routes understood?

This is a discussion guide — not a full compliance checklist. Adapt it to your project.

Save this before your next mobilisation. SWP can help you identify and close the gaps before work starts. 👷

On a construction project, three different roles need to work together — and confusion between them creates problems. 🏗️...
01/09/2026

On a construction project, three different roles need to work together — and confusion between them creates problems. 🏗️

At a high level:

→ The client commissions the project and stays engaged in governance and key decisions
→ The safety agent provides professional H&S oversight and reporting within the agreed appointment
→ The contractor plans, manages and implements the construction work and on-site controls

These are high-level descriptions — exact duties depend on the specific project, appointments and applicable requirements.

At your next project meeting, ask each party to clearly state its responsibilities, deliverables and escalation route. A simple step that prevents a lot of confusion later.

SWP can help clarify roles and scopes from the planning stage. 👷

You don't need a long meeting to start a useful risk conversation. ✅Before a routine task begins, try these four questio...
27/08/2026

You don't need a long meeting to start a useful risk conversation. ✅

Before a routine task begins, try these four questions with your team:

1. What has changed since we last did this?
2. What could make today's task more difficult or less safe?
3. Do we have the people, tools and information we need?
4. If something changes, who must be told — and what stops?

This is not a replacement for formal risk assessments, procedures or training. It is a practical daily habit that keeps the team aware of the actual conditions they are working in.

Save these four prompts and try them before one task this week. 👷

The safest approach should also be the most straightforward one. ✅If your team needs one specific person present before ...
26/08/2026

The safest approach should also be the most straightforward one. ✅

If your team needs one specific person present before a safety process gets followed, the process probably needs attention — not the people.

Strong contractor systems work because the controls make sense, the documents reflect the actual work, and the responsibilities are understood without consulting a flow chart.

Try this: ask a supervisor to explain one of your key safety processes without opening the file. What happens?

If the answer is vague or inconsistent, the system may need to be made more workable — the controls stay, the complexity goes.

Identify one process your team finds difficult and ask why. SWP can help. ⚙️

Good oversight is not only about finding faults — it is about asking the right question at the right time. ❓A well-place...
25/08/2026

Good oversight is not only about finding faults — it is about asking the right question at the right time. ❓

A well-placed question at a project meeting can surface assumptions, clarify responsibilities and prompt information nobody had thought to share.

Three worth adding to your next project meeting agenda:

→ What has changed since our last review — and has anyone checked the health and safety implications?
→ Are the right people in place with the right competence for what is being planned?
→ Which outstanding findings are still open, and when will they be resolved?

Which of these questions is most often skipped at your project meetings? Drop it in the comments. 👇

The right OHS support should fit your workplace — not force it into a generic template. ✅Practical support generally cov...
20/08/2026

The right OHS support should fit your workplace — not force it into a generic template. ✅

Practical support generally covers five areas:

→ Understand — getting to know your workplace, activities and what already exists
→ Review — checking risks, responsibilities and current arrangements
→ Improve — updating documents and processes to reflect how the business actually works
→ Support — helping with inspections, training coordination and action tracking
→ Follow up — helping management prioritise sensible next steps

The right scope depends on your workplace and what you already have in place.

If your current documents no longer reflect how the business operates, start with a focused review. SWP can help. 👷

Does your workplace OHS system still match the business you run today? ✅Most systems don't fail all at once — they slowl...
19/08/2026

Does your workplace OHS system still match the business you run today? ✅

Most systems don't fail all at once — they slowly drift out of step as the business changes. Here are seven signs it may be time for a review:

1. Responsibilities are unclear or appointments outdated
2. Risk information doesn't reflect what you actually do anymore
3. New equipment or premises added without a review
4. Staff have training records but aren't sure what to do in practice
5. The same inspection findings keep coming up
6. Contractor controls are inconsistent
7. Emergency arrangements haven't been tested in a while

These are conversation starters — not a compliance verdict. Save this list and raise the most relevant point at your next management meeting. SWP can help you prioritise. 👷

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11 Boundary Road
Gordon's Bay
7140

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Monday 08:00 - 16:30
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:30
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:30
Thursday 08:00 - 16:30
Friday 08:00 - 15:00

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