Getting onto a Skanska or Budimex Site: OSH File

You've landed a job with a big general contractor. Skanska, Budimex, Strabag or another developer with deep pockets. Congratulations, because that's good money and months of work. But before you drive your excavator onto the site, the general contractor's OSH department will ask you for a full set of papers. And this is where a lot of foremen come unstuck. Not because they do the work badly - they do it well. They simply don't have the document file the general contractor requires. And without the file there's no pass, without the pass there's no entry to the site, and without entry - there's no job. Just like that. In this article we'll go through what a big general contractor typically requires from a subcontractor, and how to assemble the package so you pass verification the first time. If you want it sorted on the spot, the FULL package from BudoReady (749 zł, 45 files) includes a separate set of documents prepared specifically for entering big developers' sites - occupational risk assessment (ORZ), safe work execution instructions (IBWR) in 6 types, declarations and registers. But first things first.

Key points at a glance

• A big general contractor won't let a subcontractor onto the site without a complete OSH file - it's not a formality, it's a condition of entry.
• Typical set: occupational risk assessment (ORZ), IBWR (safe work execution instructions) for the works on site, OSH training records, medical certificates, qualifications (electrical SEP, machine operators), PPE register, declarations.
• Every one of your people goes through site induction training and only then gets a pass.
• Missing papers is not a fine - it's a blocked entry and a lost job. Sometimes permanently.
• From 8 July 2026 the PIP (Polish Labour Inspectorate) reform tightens inspections, and general contractors will scrutinise subcontractors' documentation even more strictly.

Why a big general contractor is so meticulous

Picture a site where five, ten, sometimes twenty subcontractors work at the same time. Groundworkers, steel fixers, electricians, roofers, installers. All in one place, often at the same time. Someone has to coordinate it from a safety point of view. The general contractor and its OSH coordinator do that - it stems from the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 6 February 2003 on occupational safety and health during construction works, and from the duty to draw up a BIOZ plan (a safety and health protection plan).

From the general contractor's point of view, every subcontractor is a potential risk. If your worker gets cut, falls off scaffolding or gets an electric shock, the accident investigation knocks first on the general contractor's door. That's why the general contractor wants it in black and white that you have OSH sorted at your end: that your people are trained, healthy, hold the right qualifications and know how to do their job safely. Your file is their insurance policy. The bigger the firm, the thicker the procedure. No point being offended - that's the world of big sites.

Occupational risk assessment (ORZ) - the first thing they'll ask about

The ORZ is the document that shows you've analysed the hazards for each post in your firm and know how to prevent them. Bricklayer, carpenter, operator, helper - each post has its own assessment. The general contractor's OSH department typically requires an ORZ for all posts that will enter its site.

This is not a one-off scrap of paper. The ORZ must be signed, current and matched to what you actually do. If you send a roofer to the site, and your documents contain no risk assessment for work at height - verification will stall. The general rules for risk assessment and the employer's duties stem from the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 26 September 1997 on general occupational safety and health regulations.

IBWR - without it there's no moving on site

The IBWR, i.e. the Safe Work Execution Instruction, is the document big general contractors watch most closely. The ORZ talks about the risk at a post in general. The IBWR says specifically: how you, on this particular site, will safely carry out a given task. Excavations, work at height, works in the excavation, structural assembly, electrical works, works using powered equipment - each type of work has its own instruction.

The general contractor typically requires an IBWR before starting each stage of works, and the OSH coordinator must approve it. If you don't know when an IBWR is mandatory and how to do it properly, we've laid it out step by step: IBWR - when it's mandatory. In the FULL package from BudoReady you get the IBWR in 6 ready-made types - you enter your site details and it's done.

OSH training and medical certificates - papers for every person

Here the general contractor is ruthless, and rightly so. Every worker who enters the site must have:

• Current OSH training - initial (general and job-specific instruction) and periodic, depending on length of service and post. The training record must be signed and dated.
• A valid medical certificate from preventive checks, clearing them to work in the given post. If someone works at height, the certificate must reflect that.

The general contractor's OSH department typically makes a named list of your people and checks the papers one by one. One person without a valid medical check - and that particular worker doesn't get in. And if it happens to be your operator, the work stops. So review the validity of medical checks and training before you send the crew. Not at the gate.

Qualifications - SEP, operators, certificates

If your people operate equipment or do specialist works, the general contractor will demand proof of qualifications. Typically:

• SEP qualifications (E and D) for works on electrical installations.
• Machine operator qualifications - excavators, loaders, mobile platforms, cranes, compactors. Operator's logbook or certificate.
• Qualifications for work at height, in confined spaces, welding qualifications and others, depending on scope.

You put copies of these documents into the subcontractor file. The general contractor wants them on hand before anyone touches a machine. A missing operator qualification isn't just your problem - it's the reason the OSH coordinator will halt all your machine-based work.

PPE register, declarations and the remaining papers

The set typically also includes:

• Table/register of personal protective equipment (PPE) - who received what PPE. Helmet, boots, goggles, harness, gloves. The general contractor wants to see that you kitted your people out and that they confirmed it with a signature.
• Declarations - most often on having read the BIOZ plan, on the workers being trained, on sobriety, on complying with the site rules.
• List of workers and equipment entering the site.
• Company third-party liability insurance - often required by the purchasing or OSH department.

It looks like a lot of paper, because it is a lot of paper. But once you have ready-made templates, filling it in takes an evening, not a week.

Induction training and passes

Even if your file is perfect, your people won't get onto the site "straight off the mark". A big general contractor typically runs site induction training. It's a short informational session: where the danger zones are, where the assembly point is on the alarm, what rules apply on this particular site, where the first-aid point is. No induction, no pass.

The pass is your entry ticket. The general contractor issues it after a positive verification of documents and after induction training. Often personalised, sometimes with a validity date tied to the validity of medical checks and training. That's why the wrong order hurts most: the crew arrives in the morning, and the OSH coordinator sends them back to base because the documents didn't pass. A whole day lost.

Checklist - the subcontractor file "for the gate"

Print it out and tick off before you drive in. This is your minimum set that typically opens the gate at a big general contractor:

Document	For whom / what	Got it?
Occupational risk assessment (ORZ)	Every post entering the site	☐
IBWR	Every type of work on this site	☐
OSH training records (initial + periodic)	Every worker	☐
Medical certificates	Every worker, current	☐
SEP electrical qualifications	Those working on electrical installations	☐
Machine operator qualifications	Equipment operators	☐
PPE register / table	Every worker, with signature	☐
Declarations (BIOZ, training, sobriety)	Company / workers	☐
List of workers and equipment	The whole crew entering	☐
Company liability insurance	Company	☐

If everything's ticked - you've got a good chance of passing verification the first time. And a first impression with the general contractor's OSH department is worth its weight in future jobs.

How to pass verification the first time

A few tips, foreman to foreman:

• Gather the file before you sign the contract. Don't wait for the email from the OSH department. If you're ready earlier, you'll get ahead of the competition.
• Keep everything in one folder - on paper and on disk. Scans signed, legible, dated. OSH departments hate blurry phone photos.
• Watch the expiry dates. A medical check that expired a week ago is the same problem as one that never existed.
• Match the documents to the actual scope. If you do excavations, have an IBWR for excavations. A mismatch is the most common reason for rejection.
• Prepare for PIP too. The same papers will come in handy during a Labour Inspectorate inspection. We have a ready-made 9-area checklist worth going through in parallel - especially since from 8 July 2026 the PIP reform tightens the inspection rules.

Missing papers isn't just the risk of a fine. On a big general contractor's site, a missing file means you simply won't get in. And a firm that once "fell over" on its documents lands on the list of those the OSH department prefers not to invite back. That's real lost money, not a hypothetical penalty.

Have the file ready - the FULL package for developers

You can assemble all of this yourself, post by post, instruction by instruction. Or take a ready-made set and just enter your company and site details. The FULL package from BudoReady (749 zł, 45 files) is the complete set for PKD 43 (Polish business activity code), in Polish and Ukrainian, and within it a separate set of documents prepared for the typical requirements of big general contractors and developers: ORZ for posts, IBWR in 6 types, PPE register, declarations and templates for the OSH department's verification. This is exactly the file the whole article is about - only you don't have to write it from scratch.

You've also got smaller packages: STARTER for 299 zł and STANDARD for 449 zł, if for now you're not entering big general contractors' sites. But if you're aiming for jobs with developers, FULL pays off at the first passed verification. The promotion runs until 7 July 2026.

See the FULL package and enter the site with a ready file →

This article is informational and does not replace advice from an OSH specialist or an assessment of the current legal position. Document templates require individual adaptation to the realities of your company and specific job posts, and the current legal position is worth verifying as of the date of use.