First word: Dealing with contractors can be tricky in that there can be
many a slip twit the operational cup and the lips by way of whose or which safety
rule should apply, given that both parties have their own rulebooks on how safety
is to be managed in their respective businesses. Such that if the two sides do
not move to agree on a common front ahead of time they’re likely to end up with
gaps and conflicts potentially harmful to the common interest as a situation of
‘one rule for them and one for us’ can rapidly take shape which can in turn, translate
to different safety rules, different standards, different approaches, different
interpretations and different philosophies within same work enclosure. Nothing leads
to chaos and confusion faster than that, seeing how The Right to Choose is not exactly compatible with good
workplace safety management. It places a serious and conspicuous question mark
on the overall safety of the site. So if contractor employees feel that it is
ok to choose what rule applies instead of THE RULE to APPLY, in accordance with
approved procedures, then trouble can’t be too far away indeed.
Remember that in workplace safety, there is hardly a middle ground or
line of separation between the contractor and the contractee. What affects the
one affects the other and in equal measures. Therefore, it should make sound
business safety sense to have just the one rule book for all, even though it is
fairly common in practice for the contractor to defer to The Client. However,
the rule of the thumb should be to adopt the more stringent safety provisions
on the day. No point operating ‘double standards’ because it nurtures ‘smart
play’ which often means variable safety considerations and practices. Get your
worksite safety under control; operate a SINGLE RULEBOOK FOR ALL – make it
simple because SIMPLE IS SAFER!
Getting on same safety page
Getting everyone on same page for safety should start from
day one. If the contractor’s systems are
found to be incompatible with own safety management systems or are less than
adequate for the planned job after a
thorough review; corrective or harmonizing measures should immediately be embarked
upon to ensure the best foot forward from start. Immediate corrective action is
the key, otherwise critical items may just slip with time leaving everyone
startled and baffled in the end should something go wrong.
Typically, issues with personal protective equipment (PPE)
standard, type and use, are best spotted for correction or harmonization at
this point. For example, only the flame retardant-type coveralls may be
acceptable for work in an oil and gas facility due to the potential fire hazards
inherent in such facilities. But experience shows that some contractors may not
easily see the wisdom in such a requirement at the first instance; especially
if new to cross-industry exposure or experience. Getting them ‘onboard’ therefore
becomes all the more necessary to ensure there is shared knowledge and understanding,
plus a sense of purpose! Mind you, money issues of who pays for what could surface
at this stage?
Thorough reviews may also throw up safety critical control
issues such as who’s the designated person in charge of the worksite, Permit-To-Work
System (PTWS) signatories, access control, fire watch, auxiliary fire teams,
gas monitoring intervals, communication with control room, ER Duty Personnel , Incident
Reporting, First Aid arrangements, etc. Nothing promotes getting everyone on
the same safety page like good and round communication with all parties from
pre-qualification, pre-mobilization through to execution and de-mobilization
stages. The more the open and complete the communication, the happier and
trusting the people irrespective whether they’re contractor or own company
employees. And it has been said that a happy workforce is a potentially safer
workforce.
What is and what is not
Applying one set of safety rules to your own and another to
your contractors simply doesn’t make sense from operational safety point of
view. It muddles up things to the point that no one is sure of ‘what
is’ or ‘what is not’ after a while. If people are unsure of what rules
apply to given situations then they’ll be open to choice by simply making up
their own rules on the go. There is no clearer path to workplace chaos and
confusion where that is allowed to happen. If there’s no uniformity in workplace
rules application then there is not much else left to expect on that site by
way of safe operations or the lack of it, thereof.
If the site rule, for instance, says that all must wear hard
hats on open decks at all times, think ABOUT what will happen to believability,
discipline, trust and morale if any of the site’s company managing staff appear
on a deck not wearing a hardhat, with no
challenge, no consequence. What happens then? What becomes of all the safety
systems, rules, policies and procedures? And what happens to all the talk about
‘safety being our numero uno priority on this site? What? Zero!
Where would the justification come from to call anyone to order
for any safety violations or non-compliance in that same work site thereafter?
Where would the principal’s credibility be? Who will be justified to apply
management’s corrective muscle as should be the case in the aftermath? It’s as easy
getting everyone on same safety page as getting them off it because no one likes
to be taken for a ride; if you tout workplace safety compliance as the main
plank of your operations then stick with that at all cost and at all times.
There’s nothing clever in wanting to be a safety Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
because if you can’t walk the talk, don’t even start at all as a lot will depend
on it when it comes to it.
It’s a fact of life that relationships between the clients
and contractors can be colourful at times but it is in the best common interest
of both parties to tow the same line in workplace safety as anything else is
fishing for trouble in the form of accidents, injuries and interrupted
productivity. Having different safety rules for different people in the same
work enclosure is simply not a viable option unless the idea is to sow discord,
mistrust and disharmony. In which case, one should only have oneself to blame
when it all comes crashing down as sure it will.
Don't let monetary considerations take your safety front seat.
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