Clients’ Ohs Duty Of Care For Contractors By Greg Fitzgerald At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

As far OHS is concerned the law makes no distinction between responsibilities for employees and contractors working on-site for an organization. These laws are primarily state based but they differ very little. For more information go to the relevant work safety website in your state.

The general safety requirements apply to the IT industry as to any other. Computer safety issues apply such as ergonomic chairs, non-glare screens and safe lifting and moving of computer equipment.

However some IT contractors may be at additional risk, particularly those working with hardware such as computer engineers. Electrical safety is essential as there is a real risk of injury or death. Any employee or contractor working with electrical equipment is required to hold an appropriate electrical licence. Check the appropriate state government websites for licensing requirements. Management has a responsibility to ensure that anyone conducting electrical work holds the appropriate license and that it is current.

All people working on electrical equipment should receive written material outlining safety procedures regarding electric shock and related hazards. This information should include avoiding electric shock such as procedures for indicating whether wires are live (carrying current) or not. Also advice should be provided as to what action to take if someone is suffering an electric shock. Other safety considerations include not working on live equipment where an employee or contractor could bang their head on a sharp object such as a shelf.

The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) study Evaluation of Contractor OHS Compliance Initiatives looked at how various organizations have implemented contractor OHS Management Systems. The study found that companies usually classify their contracts according to the level of risk involved in the work as low, medium or high. Monetary value, size and duration of the contract are taken into account as well as the level of risk.

A Contractor OHS Management System consists of four main stages in the contracting process. These are:

1. Writing tender and contract specifications.
2. Evaluating tenders.
3. Pre-commencement planning of work.
4. On-site control and monitoring.

When writing the tender and contract specifications you should comply with OHS legislation and obtain demonstrated evidence, such as company forms and records, of the tenderer’s own OHS management system and OHS performance record. This information should be used in evaluating the tender. For medium to high risk contracts (which may include work on computer hardware) the tender and contract should require the contractor to develop a project specific Health and Safety Management plan before starting the job. This plan must be developed in consultation with site management and set out the OHS practices and procedures that will apply during the contract. Once approved by management, the plan becomes the basis of work inspections and internal and external audits for the duration of the contract.

On-site control and monitoring includes:

• OHS training of contractors’ employees.
• Inspection of plant and equipment and associated licences.
• Hazard, incident, and accident reporting.
• Regular site inspections by contractor, or site management, or jointly.

For more details go to http://worksafe.gov.au.

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