Starting a job: contract, site documents and safety file
How the Construction pack starts a South African job: contract acceptance signed electronically, site documents requested and a safety file checklist.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Construction businesses in South Africa
Launching soon. The Industry CRM add-on described in this article is launching soon. This article describes it as it will work at launch.
The letter of award arrives on a Thursday and the client wants the site handed over on Monday. In between, a South African contractor has to get the contract accepted, collect the drawings and site information, and pull together a health and safety file that the client's representative will want to see before anyone breaks ground.
Under that pressure, steps get skipped. Work starts on a verbal go-ahead, the acceptance is signed a month later, and the safety file is assembled after the first site inspection asks for it. Each shortcut is small. Together they leave the contractor exposed on the two things that matter most at the start of a job: the contract and the safety of the people on site.
The job-start workflow in Achekam's Construction & contracting pack turns that scramble into a sequence. This article explains each step and what remains your responsibility.
Step one: the contract acceptance, signed electronically
The workflow begins with the contract acceptance, signed electronically by the client. The document is sent from Achekam with signature and initials fields placed on it. Signers can sign in a set order or all at once, and the request can carry an expiry date and reminders. When everyone has signed, the signed PDF and a completion certificate are filed back into Documents.
The completion certificate lists each signer's e-mail address, the times they signed, their IP address and browser, and the document's fingerprint, so you can later show which version was signed and by whom. Because the client is already the job's customer, the requirement that an outside signer be linked to a client or a CRM lead is met before you start.
Be clear about what kind of signature this is. Achekam's e-signatures are simple electronic signatures. The certificate cites section 13 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act and states that they are not advanced electronic signatures. If your contract or your client calls for a different kind of signature, take advice before relying on this one.
Some documents may need ink. A document that the pack marks to be signed in ink is never offered for electronic signing; its step only tracks the paper copy, so the workflow still knows whether the signed original has come back.
Step two: asking for the site documents
Next, the workflow sends the client a request for the site documents. The request goes to the client directly, and the client's answer moves the task on, so nobody has to chase an e-mail thread to find out whether the drawings arrived.
What you ask for depends on the job. Contractors typically want the current construction drawings, site access and working-hours arrangements, information about existing services on site, and any health and safety requirements the client has set for the project. Asking for all of it in one structured request, at the start, is better than discovering a missing drawing when the setting-out team is already on site.
Step three: the health and safety file checklist
The workflow then runs a health and safety file checklist. The checklist includes notifying the Department of Employment and Labour where the Construction Regulations require it.
Two points are worth stressing. First, the checklist records that each item was done; it does not decide whether a particular job needs a notification or what your file must contain. Those questions are answered by the Construction Regulations, the client's own specification and your health and safety practitioner. Second, because tasks can have subtasks up to three levels deep, a large file can be broken down sensibly, for example by section of the file and then by individual document, without one long undifferentiated list.
A checklist in the job record has a practical benefit: the contracts manager can see, before site handover, which items are still open, instead of finding out from an inspector.
Starter wording you must review
Every contract or agreement in the industry packs is marked as starter wording that the business must review before use. That includes the contract acceptance in the Construction pack.
Many South African contractors work under a standard form of building contract chosen by the client, and the acceptance you send must fit the contract it refers to. The CIDB publishes the four forms of construction contract it endorses, with a consolidated guide to choosing the right one for a project. Read the starter wording with your attorney or contracts manager, adjust it to the forms you actually use, and save your version before the first live job. Starter wording is a starting point, not legal advice.
Who does what at job start
| Step | Done by | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| Contract acceptance | Client signs electronically | Signed PDF and completion certificate in Documents |
| Site documents | Client answers the request | The request answered and the task moved on |
| Safety file checklist | Your safety officer and site team | Each checklist item done or still open |
| Notification, where required | Your team, on the Department's channel | The checklist item marked done |
| Starter wording | Your attorney or contracts manager | Your reviewed version in use |
Before the first day on site
Use this as a final check:
- The acceptance is signed and the certificate is filed.
- Any document that needs ink has its signed original back.
- The site documents request has been answered, and the drawings are the current revision.
- Every safety file item is done, including the notification if the job requires one.
- Payroll is ready for the crew, with bank details verified by a second person, as described in stopping ghost workers and bank detail fraud.
- Buying controls are agreed for the job, including any rule on competing quotes from requiring several quotes on big purchases.
Once work starts, the first change to scope will follow soon after. Read change orders priced, approved and signed before it does, and agree with your client how variations will be instructed.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
