Why dates get missed
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) and its regulations put the duty on the employer, and an inspector will ask to see the records. In a small workshop those records usually live in one person’s head, a folder, or a spreadsheet nobody opens until something is due. When that person is on leave, or leaves, the dates go with them.
Below are the inspections and certificates most fabrication and manufacturing workshops deal with. Your list depends on your equipment and your work, so treat this as a starting point, and check the current regulation for anything you rely on. This guide isn’t legal advice.
Cranes, hoists and other lifting machines
Under the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (regulation 18), a lifting machine has to be tested by a lifting machinery inspector from an approved lifting machinery entity before it is first used, after it is taken down and put up again, and then at intervals of no more than 12 months. The regulations also call for inspections in between, at six-monthly intervals, by a competent person.
Track each machine on its own: an overhead crane, a chain hoist and a jib crane each have their own date. Keep each inspector’s report on file, not just the date.
Air receivers and other pressure vessels
The Pressure Equipment Regulations (regulation 11) require pressure vessels in use, such as a compressor’s air receiver, to be inspected by an approved inspection authority at intervals of no more than 36 months. Some low-risk (Category I) equipment can be inspected by the user instead, and an inspection authority can approve longer intervals in writing for equipment that doesn’t deteriorate.
Three years is long enough to forget completely. It’s worth an early reminder, because inspection authorities can be booked up.
Fire extinguishers and hose reels
Portable fire extinguishers and hose reels are serviced to SANS 1475, and the usual practice, which most insurers and municipalities expect, is a service at least once a year by a service provider registered with SAQCC Fire. Each serviced unit gets a dated label.
Track the service as one item for the site rather than one per extinguisher, and keep the provider’s certificate on file.
First aiders
Under the General Safety Regulations (regulation 3), a workplace with more than 10 employees needs at least one person with a valid first aid certificate for every 50 employees (every 100 in a shop or office), from an approved training provider.
First aid certificates from approved providers are usually valid for three years. Track each first aider as their own certificate, so you can see when your count of valid first aiders will drop.
Welders, forklift drivers and other operators
Some certificates belong to people rather than equipment:
- Welder qualifications. A welder qualified to ISO 9606-1, for example through SAIW, needs their qualification confirmed every six months and revalidated, usually every two or three years, depending on the route used.
- Forklift and crane operators. Operators need training and a certificate of competence. Training providers usually issue these for a limited period, so the renewal date is on the certificate.
- Safety appointments. Health and safety representatives, fire marshals and first aiders are appointed in writing. Keep the letter with the record.
Name the person on the record, such as “Forklift licence, R. Petersen”, so it moves with them and nothing is lost when someone leaves.
Audits and your own checks
Beyond the legal minimum, most workshops run their own checks: a monthly fire safety walk-round, a quarterly housekeeping audit, or a customer’s supplier audit. These are easiest to keep up with as a checklist with a due date, each item marked passed, failed or not applicable.
A simple way to keep track
- One list for everything, equipment and people, each with an expiry or due date and who looks after it.
- Reminders well before the date. Two months’ notice gives you time to book an inspector or a course.
- Reminders that keep coming once it’s overdue, to the person who has to act, not only to the office.
- The certificate on file for each record, so you can show an inspector the document, not just a date.
- One report with every certificate and audit, ready to hand over.
A spreadsheet can hold the list, but it won’t remind anyone. Fabristack’s Compliance Tracker watches each date and sends the responsible person a reminder on WhatsApp and by email, from 60 days out until it’s renewed.