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Chapter 2: General Guidelines

2.9 Managing Construction and Maintenance Contractors

Construction and maintenance contractors may perform long- or short-term work that may endanger employees or property, expose the contractors’ employees to hazards in areas where contract work is performed, and include hazardous operations. Management should do the following to help manage potential health and safety risks during contract work:

  • Ensure that a contract exists and that the contract includes requirements to follow safety and health standards, provides adequate insurance coverage, and requires other safety items. Items that could be in the contract include requiring the contractor to:

    • Follow and enforce all local regulatory standards regarding safety and health.

    • Create and submit a site-specific safety plan for the project. This exercise will help the contractor review the scope of the project, identify hazards, and list the controls he or she plans on using to mitigate the hazards.

    • Use applicable safety permits, such as hot work, red tag (fire suppression system impairment), and confined space.

    • Use the appropriate PPE for the work.

    • Verify that tools and equipment are in good condition and properly guarded.

    • Ensure on-site superintendents or supervisors have attended an appropriate certification course for work-site safety for medium to large construction projects.

    • Provide safety data sheets (SDS) of the chemicals the contractor plans on bringing to the project.

    • Hold regular safety and health trainings, and document that they have taken place.

    • Report all incidents to the owner representative. An owner representative is authorized by the Church to make project, contract, and financial decisions.

    • Appoint an on-site safety representative for training and communication purposes.

  • Designate an owner representative to coordinate safety and health issues for the duration of the project. Some duties of this representative could include:

    • Attending preconstruction meetings to ensure the contractor understands the owner’s minimum safety and health requirements.

    • Holding regular contractor coordination meetings and ensuring that safety and health issues are discussed.

    • Receiving and addressing incident reports.

    • Ensuring safety permits are issued and used.

    • Walking the project regularly to observe safe work practices.

    • Helping coordinate hazardous work between the contractor, the owner, and occupants; examples of this work are activities that produce loud noises and dust or involve chemicals.

    • Identifying and communicating regularly with the contractor safety representative.

    • Being the designated contact if governmental, regulatory, or other agencies visit the project.

  • Hold preconstruction or preservice meetings. These meetings must be held at the beginning of the project or the drafting of the maintenance contract. They should provide an opportunity for the owner representative to inform the contractor of minimum safety requirements and the owner’s site-specific emergency action plan. This meeting is also for the contractor to discuss and get approval for his or her submitted site-specific safety plan before work begins. This plan should include the scope of the project, the identified hazards, and the controls. Some safety items in the plan may include the following:

    • Contractor orientation

    • Housekeeping

    • Mobile equipment

    • Physical agents, such as dust and noise

    • Waste management

    • Working from heights

    • Chemical safety

    • Hot work and fire detection

    • Electrical hazards, including lockout/tagout

    • Emergency and injury reporting

    • Personal protective equipment

    • Confined spaces

    • Other site-specific hazards

  • Hold ongoing contractor coordination meetings that include safety as an agenda item.

  • Hold contractors accountable for safety. This can be done through enforcing the contract language as well as asking contractors to address safety violations. Contractors should not be told how to fix the safety hazard (means and methods), but they should be told that they must fix the hazard and that if they don’t, they may be in breach of contract and could be removed from the job.