Outlined below are some tips on how to manage contractors in schools from a health and safety perspective.
Select the right contractor
When selecting a contractor, it is imperative to choose one which has a good health and safety record. You should also check that the contractor is competent to carry out the work that you need them to do.
Ensure a contract is in place
The contract between you and the contractor should clearly set out the health and safety requirements for the work being carried out. This should include the following:
- The contractor’s responsibilities for health and safety
- The school’s responsibilities for health and safety
- The procedures that will be followed to manage risks
- The communication procedures that will be used
Provide information to the contractor
The school should provide the contractor with all of the information that they need to carry out the work safely. This may include information about the school’s health and safety policy, the school’s site plan, and any specific hazards that they may need to be aware of.
Supervise the contractor’s work
The school should supervise the contractor’s work to ensure that they are complying with the health and safety requirements set out in the contract. This could involve carrying out regular inspections of the works and talking to the contractor’s workers about health and safety.
Monitor the contractor’s performance
The school should monitor the contractor’s performance on health and safety throughout the duration of the contract. This may involve reviewing the contractor’s risk assessments and method statements and carrying out audits of the contractor’s work.
Coordinate with other contractors
If there are multiple contractors working on the school site at the same time, the school should coordinate their activities to ensure that they are not putting each other at risk.
Communicate with staff
The school should communicate with staff and if applicable, pupils, about any contractors who are working on the site. This will help to ensure that everyone is aware of the potential hazards and can take steps to protect themselves.
Provide training to staff
The school should provide training to staff on how to work safely around contractors. This may include training on how to identify hazards and how to report them.
Keep records
The school should keep records of all the health and safety measures that have been taken in relation to the work being carried out by the contractor. This will help to demonstrate that the school has taken its duty of care seriously.
By following these tips, schools can help to ensure the health and safety of their staff, pupils, and visitors when contractors are working on the site.
Specific examples of health and safety measures that schools can take
- Ensure that contractors have the appropriate insurance
- Require contractors to carry out risk assessments and method statements for all work
- Ensure that contractors have the appropriate equipment and training to carry out the work safely
- Provide contractors with access to the school’s health and safety policy and procedures
- Supervise contractors’ work to ensure that they are complying with the health and safety requirements
- Monitor the contractor’s performance on health and safety throughout the duration of the contract
By taking these precautions, schools can help to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries occurring when contractors are working on the site.
The iProtectU health and safety software provides:
- An inspection and Audit App which allows for safety inspection of the workplace and associated report
- eLearning on a wide range of EHS topics, covering contractor management where applicable
- Scheduling functionality for managers to send eLearning, risk assessments and documents out to all staff via the software with tracks completion and compliance
- Risk assessment templates covering contractor management
- Management system to document control the policy on managing contractors
- Method Statement module for the creation of various working instructions
- Legal register that provides legislation guidance on managing contractors at school
- Incident investigation module that tracks incidents involving contractor activities and/or equipment, both with an app and via desktop
- Hazard observation app where staff can report and record any concerns regarding contractors to the organisation
- Asset management App ensuring assets are recorded in the software
