How to Help Critical Contractors Improve Safety Compliance

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the US workforce includes 10.6 million independent contractors or approximately 6.9 percent of the total working population. In addition, US companies make use of 2.6 million on-call workers, 1.4 million temporary help agency workers, and 933,000 workers supplied by contract firms.

Such workers come to your company with a wide range of safety awareness and competencies, resulting in a serious contractor management issue: how do you ensure your critical contractors meet your health safety hiring prerequisites and comply with OSHA safety regulations? Should an independent contractor be injured on the job, your organization is held responsible. 

Contractor management software, a specialized type of workforce management software, helps evaluate contractor safety training, tracks, and monitors contractor safety performance, and ensures contractors don’t enter your workspace without all relevant safety training and certifications. 

What is Workforce Management?

Workforce management describes the processes used to maximize the performance, productivity, and safety competencies of an organization. Contractor management must be part and parcel of any workplace management system.

What is Workforce Management Software?

Workforce management software describes any software tools designed to improve productivity while ensuring compliance with both a company’s safety policies and regulatory bodies. EHS software (Environment, Health, and Safety software) is often used within a workplace management system to track, monitor, and improve safety practices. 

Contractor management software falls into this family of tools and is designed to maintain appropriate levels of safety among contractors while reducing the risk of company liability in the event of a contractor-related safety incident. 

How Contractor Management Software Reduces Risk

Contractor management software takes a multi-pronged approach to reduce the risk of contractor-related injuries, work disruptions, or damage. Features of a robust contractor management system include:

• Clearly defines processes for managing risk and making hiring exceptions.
• Provides tools to help contractors improve safety compliance.
• Manages risks associated with contractor hiring decisions.
• Accelerates contractor time to work.
• Provides a repository of data and documents related to contractor hires, including OSHA injury rates, safety manuals, and the results of any safety audits.
• Offers a central hub for conducting risk assessment of tasks prior to contractor work.
• Flags concerns, such as repeatedly hiring contractors with poor safety records.
• Establishes and communicates Key Performance Indicators to all contractors and tracks safety compliance.
• Alerts company to the need for contractor training and orientation.
• Provides a repository for all contractor-related licenses, permits, and certifications. 

Safety Audits and Contractor Management Software

Contractor workforce management requires ongoing safety audits by your EHS team. Contractor management software helps complete such audits by verifying the implementation of contractor safety programs while identifying program gaps. This allows you to implement formal corrective action processes, track adherence to such processes, and provide follow up audits to provide direction and feedback.  

The right Contractor management software allows you to gather, centralize, and analyze all data related to your critical contractors. The result is a safer, more productive workspace for contractors and employees alike.