By Eamonn Ryan
New HVAC contractors often discover health and safety the hard way – at the site gate, when their safety file is rejected and work is delayed. In the SAIRAC workshop on safety leadership in HVAC, this reality came through strongly, and health and safety officer Tegan Beer set out how leaders can better support supervisors and emerging contractors without taking on their liability. This is part nine of a ten-part series.
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Beer has seen many small or new subcontractors arrive on site only to discover they must “do a safety file first” and have no idea where to start. “I have very much seen that. Me being me, I am very, very helpful, and I try to assist where I can,” she explains.
Her approach is to guide and support, but with clear boundaries. On many occasions she has shared baseline templates and soft‑copy information to help subcontractors get started, and has sat with them to explain what a compliant file should contain. But she is careful not to take responsibility for their legal obligations.
She emphasises that contractors should be encouraged to engage a competent consultant, especially when they are new to the industry or working for high‑risk clients like major pharmaceutical or food companies. This is particularly important when subcontractors have under‑budgeted for safety at tender stage and cannot afford the level of support they now need.
For Beer, the real leverage point is supervisors. She argues that supervisors are often undervalued in safety systems, yet they are central to whether safety files translate into meaningful control on site. “As much as safety officers are very vital, the importance of having supervisors being trained is very important,” says Beer.
She recommends that supervisors complete at least short legal liability and industrial relations (IR) courses – typically one‑day programmes that are affordable and valid for two years. Combined with their experience and CV, these courses help to deem them competent in the eyes of clients and auditors. Competent supervisors can:
- Conduct basic on‑the‑job risk assessments
- Understand and apply the client’s H&S specification and file index
- Recognise when work has shifted from routine service to construction‑level risk
Beer also points out that new sites constantly change the context. Different environments – bulk fuel storage, pharmaceutical production, new‑build construction – alter the risk profile, so supervisors must learn to adapt rather than rely on a single generic approach.
To avoid repeated frustration for new contractors, Beer suggests a few practical steps:
- At award stage, ask for the client’s safety specification and file index early
- Clarify work duration and risk level to size the safety file (full vs mini)
- Invest in supervisor training so on‑site leaders can translate paperwork into real control
- Direct new contractors to reputable safety consultants, while making it clear that legal accountability remains with them
By empowering supervisors and guiding new contractors in this way, HVAC leaders can help raise industry standards without absorbing other companies’ risks. Beer’s message is that subcontractors are “just as important as getting the job done”– their competence and compliance directly impact whether projects are delivered safely and successfully.
When supervisors are trained, new contractors are properly supported, and expectations are made clear up front, safety stops being a late‑stage obstacle and becomes part of how HVAC businesses grow and thrive.
