In creating our Standard Health and Safety File (H&S), we consulted various leading industry bodies including the Health and Safety Executive and the Construction Industry Training Board and, of course, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (2015) themselves.
All sources identify that the same content is required in a H&S File and so we simply arranged our Standard H&S Files in a manner to mirror these requirements and a form which complements our building services Operating and Maintenance Manuals (O&M) and Building Fabric Manuals (BFM).
NB Due to the overlap of information and the input into the H&S File from the O&M Manual and BFM, we only offer our H&S Files to clients who also engage our services to produce the O&Ms and BFMs.
Office-Scope produces its H&S Files in two broad stages.
The first stage is a draft copy, and contains all the text elements of the file, together with a proposed contents list for any inserted items (eg certificates). This first draft is produced in-house, without direct involvement from the client, and using the base information they provide, such as drawings and copy quotes/technical submissions as part of the information required for the O&Ms and BFMs - ie little or no additional information is required for the H&S File at the draft stage.
The second stage involves the production of final copies of the manual, following on from feedback received from the client's project team and some further information, such as drawing schedules, provided by the client.
The whole process is controlled by TOMMS® (Total O&M Management System) - our online production control system. TOMMS® enables clients to track progress of their manual, forward missing information and access the various files online whilst the document is still in production.
Production times for the first stage are dependant on the size of the project, but they begin at 1 week and rarely exceed 2 weeks for all but the largest projects (those in excess of £5m), where a 3-week time frame is usually more than sufficient.
The production time for the second stage is normally 1 to 2 weeks.
The interim phase (if required) will in general last only a few days.
All of the time frames above are based on the receipt by Office-Scope of all the information required to produce the manuals.
The
cost of our H&S Files is determined on a job by job basis and
guide prices cannot be provided other than to say they are
considerable cheaper than either the O&Ms or BFMs. Obtaining a
cost is very simply, just send us the specifications and drawings
for the job (full set, latest revision, PDF preferably) and we'll
provide a fixed price quotation by return.
The Office-Scope Standard H&S File has 10 sections: 8 text-based and 2 inserted items.
We produce all of the textual content for our manuals, as well as sourcing all the required information for Section 7. Sections 4 and 5 are documents which are provided by the Structural Engineer and Architect respectively who may also produce the information for Section 8 depending on the contractual arrangement for the project.
Section 12 contains record drawings, usuallly reduced copies of the architectural general arrangent and services schematics, for which we allow sufficient space within the manual itself and also provide enough plastic pockets to hold the drawings. If time allows, the client may send the drawings to us, already folded to A4 size, so that we may include them in the manual. As an additional service, we can also plot, fold and insert the drawings on our clients' behalf at a nominal cost.
Unlike our Standard O&Ms and BFMs, the format of H&S Files is stipulated by the above mentioned statutory bodies and regulations and as such is only available in our Standard H&S File format.