Recently, Professional Safety magazine had a sit-down question-and-answer session with Jared Smith, co-founder of global technology firm Avetta (www.avetta.com), with the main topic being about hiring and vetting contractors for various jobs – including health and safety roles on worksites.

The contracting economy has grown in recent years, in that it is becoming a new way for businesses to grow and expand without adding large overhead costs. After all, when a company hires a contractor, the company isn’t paying retirement or vacation benefits, no medical or dental insurance, and no sick days. A contractor could cost 30-40 percent less in payroll for a company without losing any productivity.

However, a contractor can be difficult to vet and trust that it is highly qualified to do the job for which you are hiring it. Some contractors have gotten themselves, and thus the hiring company, in a lot of trouble. One of the prominent examples was with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which had a number of contractors on that platform at the time.

Companies have taken a little less care with hiring contractors than they seem to when hiring full-time or part-time employees. There can be some explanations for that, and Smith looked to address those and encourage some possible solutions.

This is an important topic, so we will include key highlights from the entire interview in this and the next post, as I know many of you have contractors either in safety roles or in other parts of your company.

The very first question Smith got in the interview was in regards to the BP oil spill. When asked about what that tragedy teaches us about contractors and the vetting process, he said, “Deepwater Horizon highlights the need for a cohesive and systematic approach to vetting … especially when dealing with a project in which the risk of loss … is substantial.” Even in general, however, Smith said that the idea of vetting contractors is not a job to be taken casually, and no matter the job there will be safety risks and so it is necessary to ensure that the contractors working for a company have the proper qualifications.

Smith was quick to recognize a number of unknowns that come from hiring contractors, and notes several issues that a company should address adequately before hiring a contracting firm:

  • Level of training, certification or experience the contractor has with the job being performed;
  • Contractor culture aligning with company goals and values;
  • Contractor’s policies and procedures are already compliant with local laws and regulations;
  • Contractor has an adequate level of insurance coverage;
  • Contractor’s history of employing the right number of people to finish a project on time and according to specifications; and
  • Contractor’s legal history (civil and criminal).

If these questions are not answered adequately, a company may end up assuming greater risk of loss of life or a major environmental impacts should an incident occur with this contracting firm on-site. It is important to take the time necessary to make sure all this information is gathered before moving forward with a contractor.

Answering this last question led smoothly to the next important question for Smith: Is there a process by which employers should vet contractors?

Smith admitted that there is no standard vetting procedure, but that some best practices have come to the fore in recent years. In general, wh he called a “rigorous” pre-qualifying step should be employed before any contractors set foot on-site; continuous monitoring of any changes that are required as a project moves along; and annual audits of incident records of the contractor (noting that OSHA requires contracting firms of more than 10 employees to have incident records kept and available). Asking questions regarding regulatory compliance and management in relation to the prior issues that Smith brought up, should be part of any good vetting process.

Friday, we will look into more of Smith’s answers, as he addressed questions about hiring a safe contractor, steps to take to ensure proper hiring, and the role of technology in the process.