External contractors endanger plant safety standards. How can you ensure personnel protection?

I actually disagree with the view that external contractors damage the plant. The external contractors must be onboarded correctly in the first place, after they have met the highest compliance standards set and put in place by the resident officials. When the site officials have set the tone of no compromise on daily safe work compliance and SOPs in the plant, the employees, contractors and external contractors will definitely comply. Correct safety standards, SOPs and compliance of work done must be enforced by site officials for all workers on a particular site or plant.

In my experience running a plant, conducting comprehensive safety audits before external contractors start work is essential. We always start by evaluating the contractors' safety plans to ensure they align with critical standards like OSHA, ISO 45001, and ANSI. Reviewing their safety compliance track record is a must, and we provide a thorough briefing on our plant's specific hazards and protocols. This approach sets clear expectations, identifies potential risks, and ensures a safe working environment for everyone involved.

Safety Equipment and PPE: Ensure contractors are provided with or have access to the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety gear required for their tasks.

Before contracts are signed, this should be spelt out in the contract form. Inspection should follow next before mobilization. In between all of these, safety culture of the organization should also be communicated to the contractor. This keeps everyone on the same page.

mediante el seguimiento a los procedimientos, el despliegue del feeback y la comunicación directa, son crucial para la concientización de los trabajadores, refrescando el conocimiento impartido para poder realizar la labor con toda seguridad y compromiso.

Establish clear and effective communication channels between your plant staff and external contractors. This includes regular safety meetings, briefings, and a clear hierarchy for reporting safety concerns. Open communication helps in identifying and addressing safety issues promptly.

Commutation helps to connect the contractor with the relevant knowledge thereby ensuring that messages are well conveyed to the right people. It also gives an avenue for effective discussions regarding how updates and, lessons form incidents (LFIs) and goals are relayed.

Establish clear lines of communication between contractors and your safety management team. Ensure all parties are aware of safety protocols and emergency procedures.

En mi experiencia laboral, puedo mencionar que me ayudado bastante el trabajar siempre en la prevención, en este caso Cuando ingresan contratistas a laboral en la planta se tiene que revisar que todos cuentan con la actitud para laboral en la actividad, que cuenta con las habilidades y grado de conocimiento de identificar y controlar peligros, darles charlas de reforzamiento, medir sus conocimientos, revisar y validar sus materiales y instrumentos, enseñarles a llenar los formularios previos y la importancia de la misma, supervisar antes, durante la actividad y parar el trabajo si se evidencia incumplimiento de los estándares de seguridad. volver a repasar las normas y provocar compromiso de todos los involucrados, de repetirse se cancela.

Continuously monitor contractors' adherence to safety standards through site inspections and safety audits during the project. Use checklists and regular reporting to ensure compliance. Immediate corrective actions should be taken if any deviations are observed.

Establish a robust incident reporting system for contractors. Analyze incidents to identify root causes and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

redirigiendo el enfoque al orden y limpieza, punto clave para mantener una área y proceso seguro, podremos analizar las mejoras propuestas para una mejora continua

Foster a culture of continuous improvement by regularly reviewing and updating safety policies, procedures, and training programs based on feedback and incident analysis.

Sin lugar a dudas que el impacto que genera la intervención de terceros en los activos y procesos productivos de la industria, tienen un impacto directo sobre los resultados de ella, en particular las practicas de estos en el ambito de la Seguridad y el Medio Ambiente, guardan relación directa con la cultura establecida al interior de la empresa de servicios, muchas veces las actuaciones de nuestros equipos corrigiendo desviaciones, solo es un parche que no reduce la probabilidad de accidentes, mas aun cuando los mandantes, tienen incoherencia entre lo declarado y las conductas de los miembros de la organización, debemos elegir empresas que compartan la cultura de la empresa principal, mas que llenar de controles la ejecución de actividades

Mandating external contractors to send a comprehensive method statement ahead to the site project team or section head for proper safety audit. Mandatory site safety induction for external contractors where safety culture and expected standards of behaviour as regard to safety are clearly communicated and a reward system setup for hazard observations and near-misses reportage. Conduct daily toolbox meeting where all safety related issues such as near-misses/ incidents can be discussed. And finally, continuous monitoring of external contractors to ensure compliance to the site safety standards will help in protecting site personnels and assets.