OHS File for Tenders in South Africa: What to Submit
An OHS file for a tender is the set of occupational health and safety documents a buyer asks for to see that you can work safely and legally. In South Africa that usually means a signed OHS policy, a baseline risk assessment, a valid Letter of Good Standing, proof of training and an organogram. Construction tenders add a health and safety plan. The full health and safety file is normally built after you win. Get the first set right and you stay in the evaluation. Get it wrong and you may be out before anyone looks at your price.
TL;DR
- Most buyers want OHS returnables with the bid: policy, risk assessment, Letter of Good Standing, training proof and organogram.
- The health and safety plan goes in with a construction bid. The full health and safety file is usually prepared after the contract is signed.
- The OHS policy must be signed by the CEO or MD, dated and reviewed regularly. A SHE officer's signature is often not accepted.
- Missing mandatory documents can end your bid. Never count on being allowed to hand them in later.
- Read each tender's own safety annexure. Requirements are scope-specific and differ between buyers.
Table of Contents
- What an OHS file means in a tender
- The documents buyers ask for most
- Who signs what
- Pricing safety into your bid
- When to submit what
- What happens if documents are missing
- Construction versus other contracts
- How to build your OHS file once
- Where to find OHS tenders
- Put your tender process in one place
- FAQ
- Sources
What an OHS file means in a tender
People use "OHS file", "safety file" and "SHEQ file" for different things. In a tender notice, the term usually points to one of three documents.
- The tender returnables. The OHS or SHE documents the buyer wants in the bid envelope or upload, so it can score or screen you.
- The health and safety plan. The Construction Regulations 2014 define it as a site-, activity- or project-specific documented plan, prepared in line with the client's health and safety specification.
- The health and safety file. The same regulations define it as a file or other record holding the information the regulations require, in writing. It is the working record of the project.
The difference is timing. The plan and returnables prove you are capable. The file proves you are compliant as the work happens.
For construction work the principal contractor must open and keep a health and safety file on site, and hand a consolidated file to the client at the end, according to a summary of Regulation 7. Non-construction contracts, such as cleaning, maintenance or IT installation, rarely use that term. They ask for site-specific safety requirements and an OHS system or manual.
The documents buyers ask for most
A public-sector safety annexure of the kind published on eTenders lists the same core items again and again. Based on a published HVAC services tender requirements document and the SHE returnables Google surfaces for this search, expect the following.
| Document | What the buyer looks for |
|---|---|
| Letter of Good Standing | Valid COIDA letter (or equivalent) showing your workers' compensation is in order |
| OHS or SHEQ policy | Signed by the CEO or MD, dated, with a review date, aligned to Section 7 of the OHS Act |
| Baseline risk assessment | Hazards and controls for your type of work, not a generic template |
| Proof of training | Certificates for your safety representatives, first aiders, supervisors and other key people |
| Organogram | Shows who holds the key SHE responsibilities |
| Health and safety plan | Construction bids: site- or project-specific, matched to the client's specification |
For a fuller walk through each item, our 20-point safety file audit checklist is a good companion to this article.
Who signs what
Signing is where many otherwise complete bids fail.
- The OHS policy should be signed and dated and endorsed by management. Eskom-linked specifications, for example, say the contractor's policy must be signed, dated, endorsed by management representatives and reviewed annually.
- Some SHE annexures state outright that the signatory is the CEO or MD and not the SHE officer, and that the policy must show its next review date.
- The health and safety plan is usually approved by the buyer's contract custodian or an OHS professional before you start work, and your file is then evaluated against it, per Eskom's contractor OHS management standard.
A policy with a stale review date, an unsigned page or an old company name looks like a template, and evaluators treat it as one.
Pricing safety into your bid
Safety is not only paperwork. Under the Construction Regulations 2014, a client has a statutory duty to make sure potential principal contractors have made adequate provision for the costs of health and safety measures during tendering.
In practice, that means a bill of quantities or pricing schedule line for safety. If your price leaves out PPE, signage, induction, medicals, barricading or a safety officer's time, an evaluator can read it as under-provision. Cost it from your risk assessment, so the paperwork and the price agree. Our piece on linking your risk register to contingency shows how to do that.
When to submit what
Timing differs by buyer, but the pattern is consistent.
- With the bid. Returnables and, for construction, your health and safety plan, submitted in response to the tender enquiry. This is what Eskom's standard describes.
- After award, before work starts. The plan is approved, and the contractor prepares the OHS file. The same Eskom document gives seven working days or an agreed timeframe after contract signature.
- During the contract. The file is kept up to date and audited.
That is one buyer's rule, so check yours. Buyers also split the bid itself. ATNS, for instance, uses separate parcels for administrative and mandatory requirements, technical proposals, and price and specific goals. Put your OHS documents in the parcel the tender document names, not where it seems logical. Our electronic submission checklist and the guide on submitting on eTenders cover the upload mechanics.
What happens if documents are missing
There is no single answer, and that is the danger.
Some buyers are strict. Eskom's standard states that only tenderers who meet the mandatory and functionality thresholds are evaluated. If an OHS item is mandatory and absent, you may never reach the price stage.
Other buyers allow a window to cure. One safety requirements notice that ranks for this search says tenderers get an opportunity to submit outstanding documents within 7 working days after the first evaluation. Treat that as a courtesy that depends on the tender, never a plan.
The safe approach:
- Read the evaluation criteria and find which documents are marked mandatory.
- Assemble those first, before pricing.
- Ask a clarification question before the deadline if a requirement is unclear. The answer is usually shared with all bidders.
Construction versus other contracts
The same buyer asks for different things depending on the work.
| Construction work | Services and supply | |
|---|---|---|
| Governing rules | Construction Regulations 2014 | OHS Act and the buyer's site rules |
| Core bid document | Health and safety plan against the client's specification | OHS policy, risk assessment, site-specific requirements |
| After award | Health and safety file kept on site | OHS system or manual applied to the site |
| Typical extras | Appointed construction manager, subcontractor files | Induction, permits, medical fitness |
How to build your OHS file once
Most small contractors rebuild their safety paperwork for every bid. A better approach is a master pack you adapt.
- Keep the evergreen documents current. Letter of Good Standing, signed policy, organogram and training certificates, each with a diary reminder before expiry.
- Write a risk assessment per service line. Not per tender. Adapt the site-specific part when you read the scope.
- Hold a plan template. Keep a structure for the health and safety plan, with the sections the client's specification will ask you to answer.
- Review each tender's annexure line by line. Tick every item off against the pack, and mark anything the buyer wants in a special form.
- Check signatures and dates last. Then scan in the order the tender document gives.
Evaluators also read your OHS material alongside your quality and environmental documents. Certifications can help, and our notes on ISO 9001 in tenders, quality plans and environmental plans show how the pieces fit.
Good evaluation teams involve safety professionals early. Health and safety people in cross-functional procurement teams put site risk into the original enquiry, which is a lifecycle approach in Eskom's wording. Expect your claims to be checked, in the same way buyers verify supplier claims in RFPs, so keep every certificate real and every date current.
Where to find OHS tenders
OHS work appears in two ways: as stand-alone tenders (safety audits, fire equipment servicing, occupational health services, medical surveillance, SHEQ consulting) and as a safety annexure inside every other tender. Both are advertised by national, provincial and municipal buyers and by state-owned entities, mainly through the eTenders portal and buyer websites. Aggregators also group them in an occupational health and safety category.
In each notice, check:
- the scope and contract period (some run over 24 or 36 months);
- the compulsory briefing or site visit;
- which documents are mandatory and which are scored;
- the CIDB grading, B-BBEE and CSD requirements where they apply;
- the submission method, whether electronic or hand delivery;
- who to send clarification questions to.
ProTenders collects live tenders from national, provincial and municipal buyers in one place that you can search by keyword, region or category without signing up. Our tender alerts page explains how to be told when a new one appears.
## Our view: safety paperwork is a pipeline problem>
We see small businesses lose bids they could have won, and the cause is rarely the work. It is a signature in the wrong place, a letter that expired in the week of the closing date, or a risk assessment copied from another trade. These are process failures, not capability failures.>
That is why we built ProTenders around the whole lifecycle: finding the tender, preparing the bid, then delivering. Compliance scorecards, document templates and a bid workspace are designed to turn a scramble in the last two days into a routine you repeat. The same pack, kept current, goes into every submission.>
Our advice is simple. Treat your OHS pack as a product you maintain all year, and look for tenders your pack already fits. You will bid more often, with less stress, and your price will actually be read.>
Dolene April
Put your tender process in one place
If you are bidding on OHS-heavy work, the weak link is usually organisation, not knowledge. ProTenders lets you search live government tenders for free. Paid plans add alerts and bid tools: Pro is R1 990 per year, Business is R3 990 per year and Enterprise starts from R999 per month. Compare them on the pricing page, or start with the live government tenders.
Won a contract and need cash to mobilise, buy PPE or pay for safety measures up front? Our business funding programmes page lists funders that work with awarded contractors.
FAQ
Is an OHS file the same as a health and safety file?
Not always. In a tender notice, "OHS file" often means the safety returnables you submit with the bid. A health and safety file, as defined in the Construction Regulations 2014, is the record of required information kept for construction work. Read the tender's own wording to see which one is meant.
Who should sign my OHS policy for a tender?
The CEO or MD, not the SHE officer, according to published SHE returnable instructions. It should also be dated and show a review date. Management endorsement and an annual review are standard expectations in Eskom's specification.
Do I need a full health and safety file before I bid?
Usually not. Buyers generally ask for the plan and returnables at bid stage and the file after award. One Eskom standard allows seven working days after signing, or an agreed timeframe. Confirm this against your tender's conditions.
Can I submit missing OHS documents after the closing date?
Only if the tender allows it. Some buyers give a short window after first evaluation, while others evaluate only bids that meet the mandatory thresholds. Submit everything on time and ask for clarification early.
Where do I find OHS tenders in South Africa?
Search eTenders, buyer websites and aggregators for health and safety, occupational health, SHEQ and fire categories. ProTenders brings live national, provincial and municipal tenders into one searchable list, and you can set alerts for the keywords you care about.
Sources
- Occupational Health and Safety Act: Construction Regulations 2014 (gov.za)
- HVAC services tender requirements (eTenders)
- Health and safety specification (eTenders)
- Contract and Contractor OHS Management standard (eTenders)
- ATNS Volume 1A bid document (eTenders)
- Health and safety file South Africa checklist (Swift Skills Academy)
- Occupational Health and Safety Tenders (Tender Bulletins)
- Supplier Diversity in Event RFPs: Verifying the Claims (Eventist)