Health and safety files for construction projects

The health and safety file holds the information anyone will need to maintain, clean, refurbish, alter or demolish the building safely in future. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 it's required on any project with more than one contractor, and the client keeps it for the life of the building. I compile health and safety files alongside O&M manuals, so both are ready at handover.

What goes in a health and safety file

The file should give enough detail for future work to be done safely, without burying it in routine operating information. On a fit-out it typically covers:

• A description of the work carried out
• Residual hazards that couldn't be designed out, and how they're dealt with
• Structural limits and where services run
• Hazardous materials used
• As-built drawings and safe access routes
• Anything a future contractor couldn't see or wouldn't expect

Routine operating and maintenance instructions stay in the O&M manual. The two documents refer to each other rather than repeat each other.

Who is responsible for the CDM health and safety file?

The principal designer prepares it. If their appointment ends before the project does, the principal contractor takes it over. The client has to keep it up to date and pass it on to any new owner or leaseholder. Designers and contractors feed information into it, and on a fit-out much of the compiling tends to land with the contractor at the end of the job.

Health and safety file or O&M manual?

The O&M manual tells the occupier how to run and maintain what was installed. The health and safety file tells future contractors what they need to know to work on the building safely. They're usually asked for together at handover, but they're separate documents with a different legal basis. Collecting the information for both at the same time, from the same suppliers and subcontractors, is the quickest way to get both accepted.

How it works

• You send the pre-construction information, specification, drawings and supplier details.
• I compile the file and issue a draft, then an amended draft with your comments.
• I issue the final file as an electronic PDF, print ready, alongside the O&M manual.

Health and safety file FAQs

Is the health and safety file the same as the O&M manual?

No. The O&M manual covers how to operate and maintain what was installed. The health and safety file covers the information needed to work on the building safely in future. They're often handed over together, but they're separate documents.

Who prepares the health and safety file?

Under CDM 2015, the principal designer. If their appointment ends before the project finishes, responsibility passes to the principal contractor.

Does every project need a health and safety file?

It's required on projects with more than one contractor. Subcontractors count, so most fit-outs need one.

Can you produce the health and safety file and the O&M manual together?

Yes. O&M manuals now include the Health & Safety File, compiled from the same information at the same time.

Read: O&M manual or health and safety file? The difference, explained