When contractors work for our company, either on the property or off property, it opens up the company to a very large amount of liability depending upon the type of work to be done. Having a solid contractor safety program in place can help reduce this risk.
When creating and implementing a contractor safety program, I believe that doing it in small steps is the best approach. Especially if you currently have nothing in place. In this week’s episode, I break up the program into phases, each one building on the other.
Contractor Program Implementation phases
- Collect Certificates of Insurance
- Verify the quality of the coverage
- Require a Hold Harmless Agreement or include in the contract
- Collect and review their OSHA logs; preferable 3-5 years worth so you can see trends
- Collect and review their safety program
- These four can be done in any order
- Pre-Project meeting to review safety policies and train them on your programs
- During project observation
- After project review – did they work safely and will we use them again?
- Annual training for regular contractors
When Contractors Don’t Meet Your Standards
At every step of the program, you want to ask yourself “What will we do if they don’t meet our contractor standards?” There will be cases where the only contractor that can do the job, does not have a safety program, has an awful safety record, or has limited insurance. What will you do?
Work needs to get done, therefore, you and your management team need to come up with a contingency plan ahead of time.
There are no set rules for a contractor safety program. But working with your management team you can come up with something that keeps everyone safe and protects your company sufficiently
TAKE ACTION
Take a look at the phases and determine which on you are currently in. Think about adding one more step to your program this year. Improving your program a little every year is a process of Continuous Improvement.
Highlights From This Episode:
- What is a contractor safety program
- Why it is necessary
- The phases to implement one
- Going from nothing to world-class
- Considerations for contractors with poor safety performance
Links Mentioned:
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Leave a comment below sharing your current contractor process. Maybe you can add to the phases and make it even better. And, don’t forget to share this post with your facilities manager and social network. I put some buttons on the side to help you do just that.
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Hi, I'm Brye (rhymes with sky)! I am a self-proclaimed safety geek with two decades of general industry safety experience. Specializing in bringing safety programs to a world-class level and building a safety culture, I have trained and coached many safety managers, just like you, on how to effectively manage workplace safety in the real world. I would love to help you too.
