Peter Henderson
The Challenge:
What is contractor management?
At it's core, contractor management means:
- Ensuring that contractors working on a client site have the required documentation and competencies to do the job
- Ensuring that contractors arriving on site are expected, approved and ready to work
- Ensure that they have the appropriate tools and access<
- Evaluation of their quality of work
Many companies struggle with inefficient and fragmented contractor management processes.
This can lead to several critical challenges:
- Lack of Visibility: Limited oversight into contractor activities across numerous sites results in inconsistencies in safety protocols, performance, and compliance.
- Manual Processes: Time-consuming manual processes, such as paper-based inductions, documentation checks, and contractor evaluation, hinder efficiency and increase the risk of errors
- Siloed Information: Data fragmentation across various departments and systems makes it difficult to track key performance indicators (KPIs), identify trends, and make informed decisions
- Increased Risk: The lack of standardised procedures and inadequate risk assessments exposes the company to potential safety hazards, legal liabilities, and reputational damage
Implementing Contractor Management
(This presents a fictionalised scenario to illustrate key concepts and best practices)
To address these challenges, P.S.P FM ( Scotland) a large facilities management company embarked on a comprehensive initiative to implement a centralised cloud based contractor management system integrated with Permit to Work
Hugh McRoss, HSE manager described the company's approach
Handling Documentation:
'We had our own existing permit to work processes and documentation but because our system was paper based it was quite difficult to ensure that everything was always in date, since paperwork always had to be manually checked - insurances and certificates etc. We found we were spending a lot of time on this step and it was one of the most frustrating areas, especially when you are holding up a contractor who is on site to do an urgent task'
'With the new system we are able to log details of insurances etc and have the system automatically flag any issues - so when a contractor was assigned to the work task the system would immediately let us know if there was a problem and we'd be able to address it before the contractor arrived. The system is fully integrated with the Permit to Work system so we are able to assign contractors to permits and manage the process from start to end'
Ensuring competence:
'A key issue for any contractor management system is ensuring that the personnel arriving on site have the right competencies to do the job' said Hugh. 'Again our paper system required contractors to carry their certificates for inspection when they first arrived on site, and we'd then have to create a record of expiry date and check it on subsequent visits, as well as ensuring that the certificates were appropriate for the job. The new system allows contractors to upload their documents so when we are organising a task we know which contractors are qualified to do it. We are also able to mark that site inductions have been completed so there's no time wasted'
Monitoring Performance:
'With our paper based system the person signing off the work was usually busy and we found that performance issues weren't being completed- managers would file the paperwork to address it later but lots of things slipped through the net. The new system allows a much more detailed record of performance to be kept, and the information is immediately available to everyone without having to consult a paper copy'
Integration with PTW:
'Because the system is integrated as part of the Permit system we can see contractor data at all stages of a permit - for example when we are creating a permit we can allocate contractors to the task and immediately see individual certifications and also any company insurance details which are required. Having access to individual certification is great because we get situations where although a contractor may be able to perform e.g. hot work, not all their staff have the required qualifications, so we need to know about the competence of all staff. When permits have been issued we can see the location of the work so we can make sure that contractors are only working in permitted areas. It also makes it very easy for us to contact their employer if there are any issues during the completion of the work'