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Contractor Management and Case Studies

Les Henley, an experienced OHS and Compliance Manager shares some insights into Contractor Management and legislation, and highlights its application through some case studies.

Many employers are now using contractors for non-core work tasks. Some larger organisations are even ‘contracting out’ their facilities maintenance and management processes.

This raises significant issues in terms of where the boundaries fall for the responsibility for safety of people in workplaces.

A couple of case studies:

An academic institution has contracted out their facilities maintenance. The Principle Contractor manages both direct employees and sub-contractors in the delivery of the maintenance services.

Case 1:

A task was allocated by the principle contractor to a sub-contractor. That sub-contractor then sub-sub-contracted another organisation to deliver the service. (Complicated? Wait for it…).

Use PPE to Protect EyesAn employee of the sub-sub-subcontractor was found by an officer of the academic institution to be sanding the joints of a patch in a gyprock ceiling panel. He was working on a step ladder and was not wearing any PPE to protect his eyes or respiratory system from the dust. When challenged, and it was pointed out that his eyes were red, he shrugged off the suggestion to use PPE and claimed his eyes were ‘red from beer not dust’.

A subsequent investigation identified that:

  • The work was being performed off a 3.6 metre step ladder under a 3.9 meter ceiling in a hallway surrounded by offices opening into the hallway. No effort had been made to protect anyone from falls/falling objects – NEITHER the worker on the step ladder OR the surrounding office workers passing underneath in the hallway.
  • There was no adequate job safety analysis (JSA), no safe work method statement (SWMS) and no MSDS on hand. (Gyprock contains a hazardous substance).
  • The JSA, such as it was, DID require the use of eye and respiratory protection.

Case 2:

A bundle of similar tasks in various plant rooms was allocated by the principle contractor to a sub-contractor. The sub-contractor had provided a proposed work method stepping out how they would perform the work and developed a Safe Work Method Statement from this. After the job had commenced the employees of the sub-contractor decided to change from a manual process using a wire brush to using a powered grinder with a rotary wire brush attachment.

One employee commenced using the grinder with attachment in a certain plant room and generated sufficient dust to set off a smoke detector (not a local area smoke alarm). This resulted in an evacuation of the building and the fire brigade responded.

A fire brigade officer eventually found the sub-contractor employee still diligently working in the plant room.

A subsequent investigation found:

  •  the smoke detector was not clearly defined on the fire control panel and hence the fire wardens could not locate the source of the alarm and so evacuated the building.
  • Added to this, there was no audible or visual fire/evacuation alarm indicator in the plant room, hence the employee was not aware that an alarm had gone off or that an evacuation of the building had been initiated.

What makes this second case even more interesting is that the plant room in question is a confined space and the access route to get into it is a utilities tunnel that also is a confined space.

None of these safety issues had been identified in the job safety risk assessment. Neither were these spaces listed in what otherwise is a very comprehensive confined spaces register.

Who’s responsible?

Under section 8(1) of the NSW OHS Act (the relevant jurisdiction) the academic institution has primary responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL people on their site. This extends to ensuring that any work performed by contractors does not affect the safety of others on the work site.

They MUST implement a safety management system that ensures all risks are identified and controlled BEFORE work begins. This responsibility CANNOT be contracted out. They CANNOT rely on someone else to do it.

Under section 8(1) of the NSW OHS Act the principle contractor is responsible to ensure that its operations do not adversely affect the health and safety of its own employees.

Under section 8(2) of the NSW OHS Act the principle contractor is responsible to ensure that its operations do not adversely affect the health and safety of any other person in the workplace.

They MUST implement a safety management system that ensures all risks are identified and controlled BEFORE work begins. This responsibility CANNOT be sub-contracted out. They CANNOT rely on someone else to do it.

Under section 8(1) of the NSW OHS Act the sub-contractor is responsible to ensure that its operations do not adversely affect the health and safety of its own employees.

Under section 8(2) of the NSW OHS Act the sub-contractor is responsible to ensure that its operations do not adversely affect the health and safety of any other person in the workplace.

They MUST implement a safety management system that ensures all risks are identified and controlled BEFORE work begins. This responsibility CANNOT be sub-sub-contracted out. They CANNOT rely on someone else to do it.

Under section 8(1) of the NSW OHS Act the sub-sub-contractor is responsible to ensure that its operations do not adversely affect the health and safety of its own employees.

Under section 8(2) of the NSW OHS Act the sub-sub-contractor is responsible to ensure that its operations do not adversely affect the health and safety of any other person in the workplace.

They MUST implement a safety management system that ensures all risks are identified and controlled BEFORE work begins. They CANNOT rely on someone else to do it. They CANNOT rely on someone else to do it.

Under section 20 of the NSW OHS Act EVERY employee MUST ensure they do not place themselves at risk and do not expose any other person to risk arising from their actions or omissions. This means EVERY employee MUST be satisfied that ALL risks, to themselves and to others, have been identified, assessed and controlled BEFORE starting work.

How well does your workplace do?

Les Henley
OHS and Compliance Manager
Organisation Name withheld to protect the guilty

About the Author

Safety Concepts is an online resource providing up to date insights and covering issues in the field of Workplace Safety.

Comments (1)

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  1. A very timely article and a sound summary of the legis;ative obligations of the contractor/sub contractor relationship.

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