Industry Leaders Debate Global Contractor Safety

Oct. 20, 2000
Find out what global practitioners attending the Institution of Occupational Safety\r\nand Health and the American Society of Safety Engineers \r\nfirst-ever joint forum had to say about contractor safety.

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Agreeing that safety planning must begin at the earliest design stage of any construction project, the importance of ongoing communications between clients and all contractors including worker and management, continuous training, and checking references and experience of contractors were just some of the points made by key global practitioners attending the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) first-ever joint forum on the subject of contractor safety.

Nearly 100 people from the construction, toy pharmaceutical, oil and telecommunications industries representing multi-national organizations attended the joint IOSH-ASSE international forum "Global Best Practices in Contractor Safety," held last week in London.

Citing the explosion in construction around the globe and an increase in construction injuries and fatalities, attendees came together to share best practices for managing contractor safety in a global workplace.

"We are pleased that we have this opportunity to begin an ongoing dialogue on this very important topic," ASSE Vice President Kathy Seabrook said in her opening address. "This issue affects everyone, everywhere and we-re here to look at solutions and to share ideas."

"This meeting provided a unique development opportunity for senior occupational safety and health personnel, not only from the excellent presentations, but also by debating the collective wisdom and experience of fellow professionals," said IOSH President Ian Waldram.

At the forum, the attendees heard from business owners and how they work with contractors; from UK''s Health & Safety Executive-Head of Construction Rodger Evans on the health and safety challenges which the construction industry faces today; and from the global construction industry on what best practices they use to integrate safety into all of their projects.

Some of the best practices presented at the meeting included Hasbro''s three-pronged contractor safety process which included post-work requirements, and Hasbro''s process for managing contractor safety risks along with communicating and integrating safety practices from the beginning of all projects.

For instance, one attendee noted following the group discussion on how to improve global best practice in contractor safety in third world countries said, "I have found in my research that developing world projects can outperform European and U.S. projects in terms of safety."

"Contract workers in these countries have no preconceived ideas of what is a bad practice and through education from the companies represented here today, they learn only how to work in a safe way," echoed another attendee.

"I challenge all of you to take this information and experience that we''ve shared and learned today and communicate this to others," said Paul Weida, Black & Veatch vice president of loss management. "Because if its stays in this room, it''s useless. We need to pass on this knowledge and engage others in participating in our ongoing efforts to increase global best practices in the area of contractor safety."

by Virginia Sutcliffe

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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