The standard objection to proper safety file preparation is practical: it takes too long and costs too much. A professional safety consultant charges between R2,000 and R5,000 per file, and takes two to three days to produce it. For a small contractor running multiple projects, the economics do not work.
MySafetyFile was built to solve that problem. This article explains how the system works, what it produces, and why the output is legally compliant.
The problem with existing approaches
Before MySafetyFile, contractors had three options:
Hire a safety consultant. Professional, but expensive (R2,000–R5,000 per file) and slow (2–3 days). Fine for a large project; impractical when you have five sites running simultaneously.
Download a free template. Inexpensive, but the output is generic — it lists every possible hazard for any construction site, without addressing what is actually present on your specific site. The Department of Labour has become increasingly strict about generic files.
Build the file manually. The most work-intensive approach. Producing 314 correctly structured, site-specific documents from scratch requires safety expertise, document management discipline, and significant time.
MySafetyFile is a fourth option: structured, site-specific generation that takes 8 minutes.
How the system works
The process has four steps:
1. Register. Creating an account is free. No credit card required at registration.
2. Enter your project details. You provide: the site address, the contractor's name and registration details, the scope of work, the project start and end dates, and the responsible persons for key appointments.
3. Generate. The system populates all 314 required documents with your project details. Every document references your specific site, your contractor details, and your scope of work.
4. Pay and download. The file costs R500. Once payment is confirmed, the complete file is available for immediate download. Each document carries a unique identification code for verification purposes.
The total time from registration to download is approximately 8 minutes.
What the system produces
A MySafetyFile output contains 314 documents across the eight categories required by the Construction Regulations 2014:
| Category | Documents |
|---|---|
| Policies | 12 |
| Procedures | 42 |
| Risk Assessments | 47 |
| Inspection Registers | 51 |
| Safety Plans | 43 |
| Legal Appointments | 63 |
| Construction Documents | 15 |
| Toolbox Talks | 41 |
| Total | 314 |
Every document is populated with the project details you provided. None are generic templates — they reference your site address, your contractor name, your scope of work.
Why this is legally compliant
The output is legally compliant because it meets the requirements of the Construction Regulations 2014 and the OHS Act 85 of 1993 in three ways:
Completeness. All required documents are present. The 63 legal appointment letters, the 47 risk assessments, the 51 inspection registers — every required category is covered.
Site-specificity. Each document references the actual project details you entered. The risk assessments address the hazards relevant to your scope of work. The site address, contractor details, and project dates appear throughout the file.
Current. The legislation underpinning the documents — the OHS Act and Construction Regulations — is kept current. When regulations change, the document templates are updated.
Who uses MySafetyFile
Independent contractors generating safety files for their own projects. The R500 cost is a fraction of consultant fees, and the 8-minute generation time fits around project timelines.
Safety consultants generating files for their clients. The platform includes a members discount that reduces the per-file cost for volume users, making it commercially viable for consultants to use MySafetyFile rather than building files manually.
Resellers — construction industry professionals who recommend MySafetyFile to contractors and earn commission per file generated through their referral.
The verification system
Each document in a MySafetyFile output carries a unique identification code. This code allows the Department of Labour, clients, or principal contractors to verify that the document is genuine and was generated through the MySafetyFile platform.
The verification system addresses a growing concern: the circulation of fraudulent safety files. A verifiable document is harder to copy and present as something it is not.
Register free and generate your first compliant construction safety file in 8 minutes for R500.