Contract workers

Event 9 Fire/Explosion—Sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid. Motiva Enterprises, LLC, Delaware City, Delaware (July 17, 2001). Collapse of a spent sulfuric acid storage tank (more than 250,000 gallons) triggered releases from nearby tanks, killed one contract worker, and caused a large fish kill. Other commonly bermed tanks were immersed in concentrated sulfuric acid for several days until they could be drained, but they did not fail ("News Link" Environmental 2008). 

At 1 14 p.m., the operator received a radio transmission from the PCC (Process Control Center) informing him that a "low" gas alarm had been received. Immediately, the operator was informed of two more gas alarms. Upon reaching the E l module, the operator noted the sound of gas escaping somewhere inside the production module. At approximately 1 22 p.m. he climbed the stairs to the E l control room and opened the door to check the fire and gas alarm panel which indicated a high gas atmosphere in the production modules. The operator then requested the Emergency Response Team be put on standby and went to inform three contract workers, in the area of the danger. 

Contractors. Employers must inform contract employees prior to the initiation of the contractor s work of the known potential fire, explosion, or toxic release hazards related to the contractor s work and the process. Contract employees and host employers must ensure that contract workers are trained in the work practices necessary to perform their jobs safely and are informed of any applicable safety rules of the facility work and the process. 

In an era of temps and contract workers, of 401 (k)s instead of pensions, Merck is the classic paternalistic company. Mother Merck works her employees ragged, expects long hours and utter loyalty, checks everything to the tiniest molecule, grants a large degree of freedom, pours on the perks—and as a result, has always attracted some of the most brilliant and egotistical people in the business. 

An outbreak of Stevens-Johnson syndrome has been reported in 52 Filipino overseas contract workers (aged 20-30 years, 50 women) working in China who used mebendazole for helminthic prophylaxis (11). All took mebendazole at least once after the appearance of rashes and fever. Three women eventually died, primarily due to septicemia. 

Ajonuma LC, Chika LC. Outbreak of Stevens-Johnson syndrome among Filipino overseas contract workers using mebendazole for helminthiasis prophylaxis. Trop Doct 2000 30(1) 57. 

Contract workers may be employed to perform certain activities. 

Current curriculum vitae and training records should be kept for full-time and contract workers. 

Hourly workers struggle to maintain production in the face of disabled or ignored alarms, undocumented and often uncontrollable bypasses of established components, operating levels that exceed design limits, postponed and severely reduced turnaround maintenance and increasing maintenance on hot units by untrained, temporary non-union contract workers.156... 

HIGH Analyze current actions and immediately increase efforts to reduce rating- concentrate on those areas that you have immediate control over (e.g., MOPP levels and hygiene). If you do not have operational control of detection assets, determine where these assets are and if you are inside the detection umbrella or if these assets can be repositioned to cover your operation. Determine if immunization rates are satisfactory for the total force. Typically contract workers will require more immunizations than US military personnel. Provide immunizations as soon as medical and political situations allow. Remember that immunizations require time to work effectively. ... 

Process Safety Management is an ongoing process, involving all managers, employees and contract workers that aims to minimize uncontrolled change from design and/or operating intent and to keep the process within its safe limits. 

This paragraph provides guidance as to what constitutes a contract worker. Subcontractors and their employees are included. 

Although OSHA separates contract workers who are providing incidental services from those who are working with hazardous chemicals, it is important to ensure that their work is indeed incidental to the process and that they do not become inadvertently involved with the process in some manner. For example, if a contract worker is supplying snacks and soft drinks for the lunch room inside a plant, he or she will probably need to know about the use of basic safety clothing and what to do in the event of an emergency. 

The regulation makes it clear that the investigation is a team effort and that the team members must be properly qualified to participate. The team must include someone who understands the process and someone who is trained in incident investigation and analysis. Contract workers must be involved where appropriate. 

For example, on one plant a particular compressor started to vibrate slightly. The long-term employees knew that this vibration was the precursor to a more serious problem, and that immediate corrective action was needed. However, these employees had been replaced with outside contract workers. The new workers did not recognize the seriousness of the vibration, hence they did not take corrective action quickly enough, and a serious leak of process fluids occurred. 

The loss of experienced personnel also reduces the chance of developing long-term solutions to operational or maintenance issues. A contract worker is less likely to care about such long-term issues, and so is less likely to make suggestions and contributions. Yet the involvement of all employees is cmcial to the success of a process safety program. 

Create a culture throughout our organization where the importance of personal health, safety and environmental ethics, and decision making is clearly understood at all levels, both among employees and contract workers. 

Create a business environment in which our emphasis is on the prevention of incidents and releases that could endanger our employees, our contract workers, the public, the environment, or our facilities. 

The PSM program will involve all employees and contract workers, as appropriate to their job function and experience level. 

Employees includes not only full-time workers, but also temporary, part-time, and contract workers. 

The response that hazards analyses are not intended primarily to find hazards but to create awareness among all employees and contract workers on how to look for hazards aU the time is generally too abstract, even if it is tme. 

A facility s MOC program may look good on paper, but, if the people working there do not understand its fundamental purpose then that program will not be effective. MOC is not just a program—it is a way of life for all employees and contract workers. 

If it appears that the event may have involved someone working under the influence of drugs or alcohol, then that person should be tested immediately by an independent laboratory. Given the sensitivity of this topic it is important that the company has a clear policy in place ahead of time, and that the policy is applied equitably to all employees and contract workers. 

Many events involve contractors and subcontractors. The companies involved, and their reporting stmctures, should be identified. The investigators will need information to do with the contract companies and contract workers in areas such as ... 

Ensure that contract workers were provided with improved procedures, and that they were trained in the implementation of those procedures... 

The auditor will then pursue the question in more detail, often using the other elements of the standard for guidance. So, using the above example of emergency response to small releases, the auditor will ask the interviewee for copies of the procedures to handle this scenario, evidence that the operators have been trained in it, documentation that contract workers know what to do in the event of a small release, and so on. 

The auditor should use a mix of open and closed questions. An open question such as How are contract workers trained invites a discursive response. A closed question such as Are the contract workers trained invites a Yes/No response. Leading questions such as Have you started training contract workers, yet should be avoided because of the bias that they introduce. 

Companies that strive for excellent safety performance aim to treat contract workers—particularly long-term contractors—as if they are full members of the organization. However, there can be no denying that there are differences between permanent workers and those on contract. These differences include the following ... 

Contract workers will not generally know and understand the culture of the host company. They... 

Considerable effort has to be spent ensuring that each contract worker has been properly trained and is in compliance with a myriad of rules and regulations. 

Contract workers—even those on long-term assignment—are not an integral part of the facility on which they are working. Therefore, their standards and values will not necessarily be those... 

Contract workers move on. Even if the chent wishes them to stay, they will always be looking for the next assignment in the knowledge that they have no security where they are. 

Because contract workers are paid by the contract company for which they work, they will act so as to satisfy the goals of their employer, not the client facility. 

Contract workers, particularly those who are present on the site for only a short time, will not be familiar with the facility s overall safety culture, nor with its internal organization. 

Contract workers often receive instructions from both the facihty supervision and their own employer. This division creates the potential for divided responsibility and confusion. 

Similarly, a contract worker often receives training from both parties, leading to the possibility of overlap, confusion, or something being left out. 

On a more positive note, being outsiders, contract workers can bring an outside perspective and fresh ideas to the facility— provided the management is willing to listen. 

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