The policy is a PDF in a folder
It was e-mailed at the start of the job, replaced twice, and the subcontractor who joined in month four has the first version. Nobody can say which version anyone has read.
Project policies
Health and safety policy acknowledgement, version by version
A project policy is only worth what the people on site have read. The contractor needs two things: a way to put the current version in front of every participant, and a way to see how many have confirmed reading it. Fidrel’s Quality, safety & environment page in each project publishes a policy in numbered versions, and each participant presses “I have read this version” on the one that applies.
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Why policy reading is hard to evidence
A sign-in sheet that proves attendance, not reading
A signature at the gate shows a person was there. It does not show that the current site rules were put in front of them as a document, or which edition.
A new version resets nothing
When the policy changes, the people who read the old one are still marked as having read it. The record has to be per version, so a new version starts the count again.
Versions, drafts and what “published” means
A policy has a title, country, region, language and project type, and under it a list of versions numbered 1, 2, 3. A version is a Draft until an administrator publishes it, and only a published version can be acknowledged. Publishing is a deliberate act: the administrator must tick that they have reviewed the project’s responsibilities, risks and local requirements first. The published date and time are shown on the version, so the project can show when a given edition of the rules came into force.
H&S forms
The acknowledgement is the person’s own click
A participant who opens a published version sees its text, a link to the imported document if there is one, and the button “I have read this version”. Pressing it records their account and the time against that version, and the version then shows Read with a tick for them. It is their own act, under their own login, not something an administrator can do on their behalf. An administrator sees the count of acknowledgements on the version; the figure says how many have read it.
Publishing a policy and collecting acknowledgements in Fidrel
Step 1
Create the policy
On the project’s Quality, safety & environment page an administrator chooses Create new, gives the Title, Country, Region, Language and Project type, and either imports a PDF or Word file already in the project’s documents or chooses Use starter template.
Step 2
Complete the text and save a draft
The starter template has seven sections, from Scope and responsibilities to Follow-up and changes, with a prompt in each to describe the project’s procedures, responsible person and timing. Write the Policy text and save; the version is a Draft.
Step 3
Review and publish
Open the draft, tick “I have reviewed project responsibilities, risks and local requirements before publishing” and choose Publish. Only a project administrator can publish, and the version shows Published with the date and time.
Step 4
Participants confirm, and you see the count
Each participant opens the published version and chooses “I have read this version”; a tick marked Read then shows on that version for them. The administrator sees the number of acknowledgements beneath the text.
Step 5
Issue a new version when the policy changes
Choose New version, edit the text and publish again. Acknowledgements belong to the version they were given on, so the new version starts with none and the old ones remain on record.
Starting from a document or from the starter text
Many contractors already have a policy as a PDF or a Word file. Upload it to the project’s documents and choose it under Import from project documents; the version then links to that file and the participant downloads it from the version. Alternatively, the starter template gives seven headed sections to fill in: scope and responsibilities; quality objectives and inspections; environmental objectives, waste and chemicals; risk assessment and protective measures; induction, competence and coordination; emergency response, incidents and deviations; follow-up and changes. Its notice says plainly that it does not certify legal compliance, and that responsibilities, project risks and local requirements must be completed before publishing.
Who sees what
The policy page belongs to the project and needs its documents module. Every member of the project can open it and acknowledge published versions. Creating a policy, saving a new version and publishing are for project administrators, and the import list of PDF and Word files is offered to administrators. The policy text can run to sixty thousand characters, and a long policy is still one version with one count.
What policy acknowledgement does not do
The administrator sees how many have acknowledged a version, not a list of who has and who has not. Nobody is reminded by e-mail, and no deadline is set for reading. The acknowledgement is a click, not a signature and not a test of understanding. Documents are not automatically translated, so a policy in another language is a version of its own. The starter template does not certify legal compliance; what a policy must contain is for your H&S adviser.
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Project policies
Frequently asked questions
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usPublish it as a version in Fidrel and ask each participant to press “I have read this version”. The administrator sees the number of acknowledgements on that version; each person sees their own Read tick.
They stay with the version they were given on. A new version starts with none, so the count shows reading of the current text only.
No. The administrator sees the count on the version, not the names of those outstanding. Ask on site, or at the next meeting, who has not yet read it.
Yes. Upload the PDF or Word file to the project’s documents and choose it when creating the version. Participants open the file from the version and acknowledge it there.
A project administrator, after ticking that they have reviewed the project’s responsibilities, risks and local requirements. Other members read and acknowledge.
No. It gives seven headed sections and prompts. Its own notice says it does not certify legal compliance and that responsibilities, risks and local requirements must be completed before publishing.