HSE plan and SHA plan for construction and civil engineering, why is it important?
📌 Created : 22.08.2025 Reading time : 6 minutes
HSE stands for health, safety and environment. HSE is required by law in Norway through the Working Environment Act.
HSE is about:
Take care of the employee's health (prevent injury)
Protect the external environment (e.g. prevent pollution)
Ensure a safe and secure working environment (e.g. routines for protective equipment).
What does the law say about HSE?
In the construction industry, HSE is required by law, and there are several key laws and regulations that regulate this. Here are the main points:
🗹 Working Environment Act
Chapter 3 (§ 3-1): The employer shall ensure systematic health, environment and safety work. The HSE work shall be planned, organised and documented. The employer is responsible for ensuring that employees receive training.
🗹 Internal Control Regulations
All businesses must have an internal control system to ensure that the requirements of HSE legislation are followed. The HSE plan is part of internal control.
🗹 Building regulations
The client must ensure that a SHA plan (Safety, Health and Working Environment) is prepared for each project. The plan must describe the organization, risk factors and measures. The client is responsible for coordinating the HSE work between contractors.
🗹 Labour Inspectorate
Supervises that construction companies comply with HSE requirements. Can issue orders, stop work or impose fines if HSE rules are violated.
Who must have HSE?
In Norway, there are legal requirements for all businesses. Who must have what depends on their role and size:
🗹 Employer
Must have systematic HSE work (internal control) in accordance with the Working Environment Act and the Internal Control Regulations. Must create HSE plans, carry out risk assessments, provide training and protective equipment.
🗹 Builder
Must ensure that a SHA plan is prepared in accordance with the construction client regulations. The construction client is responsible for coordination and that the contractors follow HSE requirements.
🗹 Sole proprietorship without employees
Are not required by law to have a formal HSE system, but must follow the laws and regulations that apply to the workplace. If you work on a construction site, you must follow the client's or contractor's HSE requirements.
🗹 All employees
Have a duty to cooperate with HSE by using protective equipment, reporting deviations and following routines.
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What is an HSE plan?
An HSE plan is a written plan that describes how the business will safeguard health, environment and safety at work.
We will also look at what should be included in an HSE Plan:
Examples of what should be in an HSE plan
A construction site health and safety plan should show how to safeguard health, the environment and safety on a construction or construction site. The plan should be project-specific and easily accessible to everyone on site.
Typical content of an HSE plan is:
🗹 Basic information
Project name, client, contractor and responsible parties.
Organizational chart and role distribution.
🗹 Risks and measures
Identification of risks in the project (working at height, machinery, blasting, etc.)
Measures to reduce risk (protective equipment, security, routines, etc.)
🗹 Routines and procedures
Safe Job Analysis (SJA) Procedures
First aid, fire protection and emergency plan
Waste management and environmental measures
Procedures for handling deviations
🗹 Laws and regulations
Reference to relevant laws/regulations (Working Environment Act, Building Owner Regulations, etc.)
Documentation that all requirements have been assessed and followed up.
🗹 Follow-up and control
Plan for safety rounds, inspections and meetings
Responsibility for updating and revising the plan
Signatures from responsible persons
In short: An HSE plan in construction should be specific to the project, show who is responsible, what risks exist and how they should be handled.
Full HSE plan ➔
What is a SHA?
SHA Stands for safety, health and the working environment. It is used in connection with the Building Owners' Regulations, which require the building owner to ensure that a SHA plan is prepared for each building or construction project.
Who should create the SHA plan?
According to the Building Owner's Regulations SHA plan, it is the building owner (client/project owner) who is responsible for ensuring that there is a SHA plan in a building and construction project.
In practice, the task can be delegated to:
🗹 Client: Main responsibility for the SHA plan being prepared and followed up.
🗹 SHA Coordinator: The developer can give this role responsibility for preparing and updating the plan.
🗹 Contractors: Must contribute input, risk assessments and follow the plan in practice.
Check out our complete system for SHA, HSE and KS ➔
The difference between HSE and SHA
The difference between HSE and SHA can be summarized as follows:
HSE is the company's permanent system for safety and the working environment, while SHA is the builder's project plan that ensures everyday work on the construction site.
Why are both important?
🗹 HSE is important because..
HSE is about the company's overall work to take care of its employees over time. This systematic work ensures that all employees receive training, that the working environment is monitored and that routines are in place to handle accidents or deviations.
Without a good HSE system, there will be no stable and safe basis for conducting sound business.
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🗹 SHA is important because..
SHA is linked to the individual building or construction project. Each project has its own specific risk factors. These can be, for example, working at height, heavy lifting, blasting or the use of machinery/tools. The SHA plan ensures that these risks are mapped out, and that there are specific measures to reduce the risk of accidents. It also makes it clear who is responsible for what within the project.
Without a SHA plan, it easily becomes unclear how safety will be handled at the construction site in question.