In 2015, 937 construction workers were killed according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s 21.4 percent of all worker fatalities – the most deaths of any industry sector. Safety and Health Magazine puts those numbers into perspective: “Every week in 2015, 18 construction workers went to work and did not return home.”
Good Safety Management Goes Beyond Workers Comp & Contractor Insurance
As a contractor, you should be committed to creating and maintaining safe construction sites for the protection of your workers and your business. A good safety management program helps strengthen your reputation, attract the best employees, allow your workers to be more productive, comply with OSHA and local regulations, reduce liability exposure, keep your workers compensation insurance and contractor insurance costs down, and – of course – keep your employees safe.
Safety for Contractors and Subcontractors
Hopefully, you have and enforce a safety management program for your employees, but what about contractors and subcontractors? Your contractors could bring workers to your job site who don’t have the training or certifications that you require of your employees. They may not understand site-specific issues or their responsibilities. And if an injury does occur, it could become your responsibility.
While it may take a little more effort, a good Contractor Safety Management program can prevent many safety issues created by contractors and may be even more critical if the Protecting America’s Workers Act – an amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 – is passed.
The Protecting America’s Workers Act
Part of this Act includes requirements relating to an “employer's duty to furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm that the employer creates or controls or in which the employer exposes any individual (not just an employer's employee) performing work there” and “site-controlling employer's duty to keep a site log for recordable injuries and illnesses of all employees, including employees of the site-controlling employer or others (including independent contractors) performing work there.”
Here is a 5-Step Process for Creating an Effective Contractor Safety Management Plan:
- Prequalification – Any potential contractors should complete a prequalification process that includes safety requirements such as basic EHS (Environments, Health, and Safety) metrics like their recordable incident rate and days away from work, the quality of their services and their technical qualifications and competencies. Look at the contractor’s internal training programs and ask if they use safety as criteria for employment.
- Planning – Take an EHS assessment of every job site identifying specific hazards and what additional requirements might be needed from a sub-contractor.
- Orientation and Training – Inadequate training is often the cause of contractor fatalities. Even if the organizations you’re hiring provide safety training (which they probably do if you’ve considered their safety record), you should provide site-specific training that addresses hazards, emergency procedures, and safety requirements.
- Monitoring and assessment – Monitor the progress of work to identify any safety issues and address those issues promptly. Provide timely feedback on the contractor’s safety performance early on.
- Performance evaluation – Evaluate and document the contractor’s performance including if the work was done safely, if it was completed on time, and if the quality is acceptable. This can make it easier to choose contractors for future projects.
Taking these five steps, aligning your safety strategies with your contractors, and creating a culture of safety across all of the workers on your work site will create a safer environment for everyone on your job site, help you can comply with any future regulations, help protect your business, and save you money.
Protect Yourself With Workers Compensation & Contractor Insurance
Regardless of your best efforts to create the ultimate safety management plan, accidents can happen. At American Insuring Group our independent insurance agents will help you get the precise level of commercial insurance coverage you need, including Workers Comp Insurance and Contractor Insurance at the best possible price.
So contact us online or call today at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848.
