Like an employee orientation, introducing a new sub-contractor into your company is an important part of your health and safety management system. It is vital because it provides the workers with relevant safety information about their job position and task, as well as informing them of workplace hazards. Therefore, all sub-contractors and their employees must complete a contractor safety orientation before they can begin work on a job-site.
What is the purpose of sub-contractor orientations?
Sub-contractor orientation is designed to:
1.Ensure that all sub-contractors and their employees undertaking physical work know about the safety requirements of the job-site and are able to work safely
2.Ensure that workers are safe while working on the job-site and that the organisation’s customers, visitors and team members are also kept safe
3.Provide a complete, correct and consistent safety message to all sub-contractors and their employees.
4.Ensures that sub-contractors are provided with important information about the company’s requirements, procedures and common hazards to ensure their continued safety when working at the company’s job-site.
Who should attend the orientation sessions?
All sub-contractors and their employees, who undertake physical work on the job-site must successfully complete the safety orientation. Additionally, all sub-contractors must maintain on the work site a detailed outline of the orientation and safety training, as well as a signed and dated roster of all employees who have completed the safety orientation and training.
Who is responsible for delivering the orientation sessions?
Orientation should be a hands-on approach and therefore, should be not be a single session but a series of sessions. As such, different staff members of the contracting organisation, such as managers, supervisors and members of the joint health and safety committee can conduct different orientation sessions.
What topics should sub-contractor orientation sessions cover?
The topics covered in sub-contractor orientations are unique to the job-site. Here are some examples of topics that can be covered in the top three leading industries – Construction, Oil and Gas, and Manufacturing.
Making a Safe Job-site
Studies show that sub-contractors injured at work often lack one vital tool to protect themselves, that is, information. Orientations can take on a variety of forms, all of which aim to provide sub-contractors with sufficient training so that the risk of an on-site accident can be reduced. Types of orientations include:
- General Orientations – these provide sub-contractors and their employees with the relevant company and health and safety information needed for working on-site.
- Site-Specific Orientations – these allows companies to hone the research that is applicable to their site only. Therefore, they are specific to the job-site and provide the sub-contractors and their employees with information on the current hazards of the site, as well as inform them about the site rules.
- Task Specific Orientations – these types of orientations provide sub-contractor with the relevant training for undertaking a particular job task.
Remember, it is an OHS legislative requirement to complete an appropriate orientation!
