Employing the services of a contractor is a little bit like marriage – you don’t really know what you are getting until 12 months later!
On many occasions, issues reported by the HSE on where something has gone wrong involve an external contractor. Take for example the recent incident where a construction project had to replace hundreds of gas meters because the contractor had fitted not only the wrong ones but had fitted them incorrectly. This resulted in a prosecution and a costly undertaking to correct the mistake. How much would the contracts manager like to turn the clock back on that one?
At SAMS Ltd we encourage clients to look very closely at who they are using and put in place a reasonable system to get the contractors themselves to provide evidence of competence. It is for this reason that companies, particularly those who engage in construction activity to get themselves pre-accredited with organisations such as CHAS, Safe Contractor or indeed up to ISO level. By doing so the contractor is being forced to look at their own safety systems, training needs etc. which in turn are being looked at by an independent auditor who then decides whether or not to accredit the company. In this way the contractor makes themselves a better candidate for prospective clients. For example such accreditation requires candidates to have undertaken a reasonable level of training that includes Asbestos Awareness.
From the clients perspective they are now dealing with a pre-accredited company which provides them far greater protection in the event that something goes wrong and their selection procedure is questioned by enforcement agencies.
A recent incident certainly brought this home where during a construction project the site manager needed a contractor to urgently come a complete some work. Going to a directory he cold called a builder who said he would come and have a look a bit later when his wife could bring him to the job as he was disqualified from driving. On contacting us at SAMS we recommended a client who holds Safe Contractor who was appointed to the job and is now undertaking more work for the same people.
Disqualified Driver v Safe Contractor – who would you rather have???
