How to Manage Contractors’ Health and Safety on a Construction Site

Contractors’ health and safety on a construction site is a joint responsibility between the client, principal contractor and the contractors themselves. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 state that clients must ensure the construction work is carried out — so far as is reasonably practicable — without risks to the health or safety of any person affected by the project. Here, we look at what those responsibilities are and how employers should manage contractors on site. 

Providing Contractors with Explicit Instructions from the Start of the Project

Contractors must know what is expected of them on a construction project. Employers should set out clear expectations and ensure contractors have a written copy to refer to throughout the project. Employers should fully establish what the role of the contractor is concerning the project and make it clear how they plan to manage contractors on site. 

The first step in setting an example of what you expect from contractors is the provision of pre-construction information. This provides contractors with relevant information regarding the project and will assist with the tender process — helping contractors with planning and how the work will be managed and supervised. 

Work with the Contractor to Carry Out a Joint Risk Assessment

By law, you should have carried out a risk assessment before work commenced on your construction site. Contractors should also complete their own risk assessments and method statements relevant to the works they will be undertaking. From here, both of you must get together to consider any risks from each other’s work that could affect the health and safety of the workforce or anyone else.

Contractors coming to work on your construction project will be less familiar with the site and some hazards may be less obvious to them. You should consult with the contractor about risks specific to your site, for example, a confirmed risk of the presence of asbestos. This information could be included within the pre-construction information and could form part of the site induction for all workers on the project. 

Have Contingency Plans in Place

When considering how to manage contractors on-site, it’s important to take precautions. These include emergency procedures, and also clear processes for if there is a workplace injury or incident. If there is any incident on the construction site, it’s important everyone — contractors included — know what to do. 

To avoid any risks escalating, make sure contractors and workers know what they’re responsible for, but also when they should not try and intervene. Trying to rectify a risk that they are not qualified to fix can have the opposite effect and increase the danger. Make sure there are clear isolation procedures for electrical works and any plant or machinery operations that require them.

Communication with Contractors Is Key

Ultimately, one of the greatest threats to health and safety on your construction site is a breakdown in communication. While contractors have a responsibility for their own health and safety processes on-site, compliance affects more than just the contractors. All workers on site and potentially members of the public will be affected by non-compliance, so it’s in employers’ best interest to keep open communication with everyone on site. 

Communicating with, and engaging contractors on site regarding the importance of health and safety will encourage compliance and help reduce risks. It sets the standard for what you expect on-site and what you will deem unacceptable standards from all workers — including contractors. 

A great tool for managing contractors’ health and safety on a construction site is establishing clear reporting processes. Consider having contractors on-site as an opportunity to have more eyes on potential hazards for your risk assessment. To benefit from additional people on site who can potentially spot risks, it’s crucial everyone is familiar with your reporting processes. If workers and contractors are aware of how to report hazards — and that they must escalate that information — you can help act fast and reduce risks.

Clients and principal contractors should also make themselves available to any contractor that may want to engage with them regarding pre-construction information or any site-specific concerns. Holding regular project meetings with contractors and their supervisors is a great way to keep health, safety and environmental matters on everyone’s agenda.  

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