Course Objectives:
It is a common misconception that when contractors work at your site, you have no management control over their activities. This is not the case. Health undsafety la- requires the client organisation to have some responsibility for contractor's activities:
- to provide a safe place of work for the contractor;
- to ensure that your own employees are not put at risk from the actions of a contractor working on site. For example by isolating areas where contractors are working so they are not exposed to hazardous substances or live electric's. Out of hours working may be necessary in the case of larger scale projects to ensure staff are not affected;
- you must ensure that your employees do not act in a manner which may endanger the safety of contractors;
- you must provide the contractor with information on the hazards and risks relating to parts of the workplace in which the contractors conduct their work. This includes for example, making building maintenance staff aware of the locations of asbestos at your premises, or fragile roofs;
- to monitor contractor's activities whilst on your site i.e. working safely and as agreed;
- have signing in procedures and provide basic induction including familiarising them with site rules.
Should an accident ever occur at your premises involving a contractor, then questions will be asked of you, the contractor and the contractors' employer regarding ho- their activities were managed.
Contents:
Many accidents involve contractors working on a site due to a number of factors:
- their activities can be risky due to the type of work they are involved;
- poor communication when staff don't kno- there is a contractor working near by and when contractors don't kno- the dangers of the site;
- because the contractors involved are unfamiliar with your sites.
This course covers:
- Recommended Questions for Contractors (including a practical exercise)
- Health undSafety Policy and Practice
- Training and competence
- Contractor supervision
The course also includes introductory modules to:
- RIDDOR Regulations
- Permit to work systems
- Construction and Design Management (CDM) Regulations
Who should attend:
Ideal for project managers, principle contractors, facilities managers, estate managers, health undsafety professionals, resident engineers or equivalent, contract administrators and contract supervisors.
Course benefits:
Delegates will learn what the Management Regulations require regarding contractors:
- Risk assessment: contractors should be considered within your risk assessments. (A risk assessment is a careful examination of ho- people could be harmed by your work you decide whether you have already taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent the risks);
- Health and safety arrangements: as an employer you should set up effective arrangements for the management of health undsafety in the workplace. These arrangements should include procedures to ensure the safety of, and provide appropriate information to contractors;
- Information: contractors should be provided with information on risks to their health undsafety that have been identified by your risk assessments;
- Co-operation and communication with contractors whilst they are working upon your site. Contractors need a site contact preferably in a managerial position with sufficient authority and competence.
Additional information:
It is important to select only competent contractors, for example Corgi registered gas contractors undIEE registered electrical contractors. The following will help you to achieve this:
- enquiries should be made about previous health and safety performance of contractors;
- obtain references from previous employers;
- you should require copies of contractor's safety policies, risk assessments, training records;
- it is recommended that you address health and safety matters in contracts issued before any work begins undthat contractor's activities are monitored whilst on site. No matter ho- minor the job, or ho- quickly you need it to be completed, health undsafety doesn't start when the contractor arrives on site. You need to think about health undsafety as soon as you kno- a job needs to be done;
- health undsafety should be a condition set down in your contract. When bids are invited for work, check them against the specification to make sure proper provision has been made for controlling risks;
- you should liaise with the contractor's employer before and during the work;
- you should assess whether your contractors are likely to employ sub contractors.
Problems can arise when there is further sub-contracting unless there are good arrangements between all parties. You should specify rules about sub contracting e.g. what qualifications they should have, and also exercise some level of control over their activities. You may wish to specify that sub contractors are not to be employed.
Certificates:
All delegates who successfully complete this course will receive a certificate of attendance.
Trainers background:
The trainer for this course has extensive experience in design and delivery of health undsafety training programmes. They are qualified by NEBOSH (National Examination Board for Occupational Safety undHealth) and Associate member of IOSH (Institute of Occupational Safety undHealth) and is a member of the Chartered Management Institute and the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management and the Association for Project Safety.
