Safety Knights

I know a lot of our clients require contractors to do our training before they come to the site, then do an in-person once-over that are site-specific. Some will even call us to verify a certificate number.

Some places will require every person go through a full day training before they can step out onto the field!

Kind of all of the above. Contractors are included in our quality management system and safety management system.

Our ISO 9001 QMS requires us to consider external providers of goods and services. One requirement is that we evaluate and approve them. The nature of ISO is that it is not prescriptive and it is up to the organization to develop the criteria. The criteria may also differ based on the service. For example, the contractor you select to perform high risk live electrical work may be held to a higher standard than the contractor who delivers your bottled water. ISO simply requires that you define the process and stick to it.

Once a provider is selected, you must monitor their performance. Again, you decide what performance indicators are important to you. Any non-conformities must be addressed with the vendor, root cause identified, and corrective action taken. When contracts are re-evaluated, the vendor performance must be considered.

Lastly, your organization's requirements must be clearly communicated. If you expect all contractors to have certain training, to wear certain PPE, to follow certain procedures, to obtain work permits, whatever else, the expectation must be clear.

Both ISO 9001 and 45001 require you to consider risk from external providers. They require you to consider hazards introduced by the contractor. The contractor must meet the requirements of your quality management system and your safety management system.

What that means for us in practice is that each contractor is vetted. The actual supervisor/foreman/whoever who will be on site (and they're required to be on site whenever work is being done) is a part of any planning meetings so that the expectations are clear. It's not just emailing the job spec and hoping someone reads it, it's making sure that the folks who are doing the work are involved early and aware of all of our safety requirements. Anyone who has badge access must go through an orientation, which is good for a year.

I have found that the spot checks that are not so randomly random on them helps to keep them honest. When they know someone is going to be popping in and looking around they will tend to follow the rules and regulations more closely. I have found that what looks good on paper during our vetting process is not always what shows up on the Job sites with the subs they send to do their work.

Think about when a police officer is on the highway, they dictate speeds, not many people are going to be willing to pass them even when they are doing under the speed limit, but they will also speed up when they are trying to keep the pace of traffic moving.

It’s certainly a combination of things. One of the most effective methods I have found is the Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP). A well written SSSP puts everyone on the same page. Everyone has the same guidelines to work from and the GC is still going to have the most input but, with an SSSP you are better able to avoid conflicts. IMO.

Without writing a book, and you easily could on a topic like Contractor Management, the very first thing you need is Culture, because I learned the hard way one person can not totally manage a good Contractor Safety Policy Management System by themselves! You might lead the program but it takes everyone, especially Management. The second thing is you need a good robust process of Contractor Management! Finally you need a good audit process. It must be not just you, but in my game (manufacturing), the Area Ops Supervisor, the Maintenance Manager, the Engineering Manager, the EHS Manager, and most especially the Project Manager. In Lean we call it PDCA, Plan Do Check Act, a circular process.

We require a full day of training and also wearing high visible clothing additional to showing them are chemical hazards.

Most companies have a pretty well thought out safety plan that upper management put a lot of time and effort in to. For my company we have a lot of above OSHA requirements and points of emphasis. I think the key is holding our people accountable to the policies and procedure the company put in place. Many of our accidents have been involving activities that were not allowed in the safety plan. I think having too much “grey” areas gets us in trouble. Of course there is a time and place for grey areas but we need to keep it as black and white as possible and really hold ourselves and our employees accountable

Training upfront is always a must. But don't let it be a one and done. I've always practiced at least weekly safety meeting with all of the contractor crews, reviewing any relevant safety incidents from inside and outside of the business, as well as covering a safety training topic with a toolbox talk during the same meeting. Directly after those meetings, myself and the crew foremans all take an hour together to group walk the sites and identify and correct any immediate issues.