Contractor Safety, Complex Busness Relationships

Contracting relationships vary from being the entity that hires a contractor, to being hired as a contractor, which sometimes hire sub-contractors to fulfill the work.  There are no national standards to apply when hiring contractors.  So, to what standards do you hold them?  It’s no secret that contracting and sub-contracting saves money and enhances small to medium sized business.  It helps drive economic growth.  Of course, we, as EHS professionals, do not believe that contractors should be treated any differently from our own employees.  However, business pressures from internal organizations like operations, sourcing or finance may apply pressure to hire contractors with less than optimal performance records.  Using a clearly-defined contractor selection process, including defined contract language and on-site activities and deliverables will help raise the bar of your contractors and sub-contractors.  The result is lower risk to your company, your customer and your sub-contractors.