What to include in a health and safety file for buggies

What the file is for

A health and safety file is not box-ticking; it is the evidence that you thought about the risks of running a buggy on your site and controlled them. If a venue, an auditor, an insurer or, in the worst case, an investigation asks how the operation was managed, the file is the answer. Assembled properly it also makes the operation itself safer, because putting it together forces the thinking.

For a hired buggy the file is straightforward to build, because much of it comes from the supplier and the rest from your own planning. The point is to have it in one place, current, before the buggy is used rather than after.

The documents from the supplier

Two things should come from the supplier. First, the public liability certificate, kept with the cover level and dates. Second, where the supplier provides one, their own risk assessment or method statement for the operation of the vehicle. Ask for these and check they are honest and specific rather than generic. A supplier who can produce clear documents is showing you how they work.

Your own risk assessment

The core of the file is a risk assessment for buggy use on your specific site. It should identify the real risks, pedestrians and vehicles sharing space, the ground conditions, crowds, children, the weather, and set out the controls: routes, speeds, marshalling, a nominated driver, and anything the site particularly needs. A generic assessment lifted from elsewhere is worth little; the value is in it being specific to your site and your event.

Where a venue or the setting requires it, add a method statement setting out how the operation will actually be run, the sequence, the routes, the speeds, who does what. For simpler situations the risk assessment alone may suffice, and it is worth asking the venue what they expect.

Driver briefings and records

The file should show that whoever drove the buggy was briefed. Record who was authorised to drive, that they were briefed on the routes, speeds and rules, and that they were fit to do so. It need not be elaborate, a short signed record is enough, but it closes an obvious gap: a controlled operation on paper undone by an unbriefed driver in practice.

Keep the plan and any incidents with it

Finally, keep the transport plan in the file, since it shows how the operation was designed, and record any incidents or near-misses that occurred, with what was done. Together these turn a folder of certificates into a genuine account of a controlled operation, which is exactly what the file is meant to be.

Common questions

What documents belong in the file

The supplier's public liability certificate, a site-specific risk assessment, a method statement where the setting needs one, records of driver briefings, the transport plan, and any incident records. Keep them current and in one place.

What is the difference between a risk assessment and a method statement

A risk assessment identifies the risks and the controls; a method statement sets out how the operation will actually be run, step by step. Some settings need both; simpler ones may need only the assessment. Ask the venue what they expect.

Do we need to record driver briefings

Yes. Record who was authorised to drive, that they were briefed on the routes, speeds and rules, and that they were fit to drive. A short signed record closes an obvious gap between the plan and the practice.

Who provides the risk assessment

The site-specific one is best owned by you, since it reflects your site and event, though a supplier may provide their own for the vehicle's operation. The value is in it being specific rather than generic.