Efficient Plant September 2021 - 32

column | safety insights
Establish a
Contractor
Safety
Management
Policy
Ryan Dobbins
CSP, CHST, CIT, CUSP
A
LL ESTABLISHMENTS and
industry leaders strive for a
common goal: Provide a work
environment free from hazards that cause
injuries, illnesses, and property damage. In
general industry environments, safety and
health programs primarily focus on routine
procedures and conditions. To maintain
these relatively stable environments,
contractors are often used for repairs,
renovations, and/or construction upgrades.
Contractor work introduces non-routine
activities and changing work conditions
that may create new hazards and expose
workers to unanticipated risk. An added
factor is that the contractor activities will
likely expose plant production workers to
new hazards, potentially creating additional
safety issues.
To best prepare your establishment and
When contractors do work in your plant, a
Contractor Safety Management Policy should
be an essential component of the project,
regardless of plant size.
Ryan Dobbins is a Safety Services Manager
at Safety Management Group, Columbus,
OH (safetymanagementgroup.com). He is a
Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Project
Management Professional (PMP), Construction
Health & Safety Technician (CHST), Certified
Instructional Trainer (CIT), and Certified Utility
Safety Professional (CUSP). Contact him at
RyanDobbins@safetymanagementgroup.com.
32 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
employees for construction activities, your
safety and health program should include
a Contractor Safety Management Policy.
This policy ensures that all contractors
who enter your facility are qualified and
prepared to safely perform work while
keeping production employees safe
throughout the project. At a minimum,
a Contractor Safety Management Policy
should include the following:
Pre-qualification: This process
should provide consistent procedures for
reviewing, assessing, and monitoring a
contractor's safety and health program;
safety performance, e.g., injury rates and
experience modification rates (EMR);
qualifications; and overall safety culture
prior to executing a contract for services.
This process ensures a contractor has the
proper qualifications to safely perform
work in your facility.
Orientation training: This ensures
all contractors are trained to understand
facility hazards, expectations regarding
safety and health, and procedures required
to maintain a safe work environment while
on site. Orientation training records should
be collected and maintained as you do for
your internal employee records.
Site-specific safety and health planning:
This process ensures that all contractors
have an execution plan that integrates
safety with production to complete the
desired goals of the project scope. The plan
should include:
+ contact information for key project
stakeholders and emergency contacts
+ a detailed project scope of work that
specifically describes how the work
will be performed
+ a hazard risk assessment to identify
site-specific hazards and procedures
to control or mitigate
+ an emergency action plan to prepare and
respond to emergency situations
+ a hazard communication plan to share
anticipated hazards, chemicals, or
other information that might expose
facility employees to potential risk
during the scope
+ any other procedures or information
that demarcate the construction work
area from normal facility operations
and employees.
Managing contractors and non-routine
work in your establishment is a critical
aspect of keeping your employees safe. To
best prepare your employees and establishment
for non-routine or contracted work
activities, proper evaluation, training, and
planning must be consistently performed
and communicated. The safety and well
being of contractors and service providers
should be valued just as highly as your
internal employees to establish a cooperative
safety culture. EP
SEPTEMBER 2021
http://www.safetymanagementgroup.com http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
Efficient Plant September 2021

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