Contractors employees

DOE Order 5483.1 A, Occupational Safety and Health Program for DOE Contractor Employees at Government-Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) Facilities. ... 

This incident shows the need to define the limits within which contractors can work and to explain these limits to contractors employees. 

Employers must, as far as is reasonably practicable, have regard for the health and safety of contractors employees or the self-employed who may be affected by the company s operations and for the health and safety of the general public. This covers, for example, the emission of noxious or offensive gases and dust into the atmosphere, or danger from plant and equipment to which the public or those not directly employed by the company have access. 

This is to be issued to an individual on arrival at a company s premises. All contractors employees must adhere to the following procedures. 

HSPD - 12 Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors. Establishes a mandatory, government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the federal government to its employees and contractors (including contractor employees). 

Person assigned within the area of the incident who is knowledgeable about the process. Contractor employee, if appropriate. 

Immediate Cause. There was a release of flammable process gases during the unplugging of Number 4 Reactor Leg on Reactor 6 while undergoing a regular maintenance procedure by contractor employees. The unconfined flammable vapor cloud was ignited and exploded with devastating results. 

An effective safety permit system was not enforced with Phillips or contractor employees, especially line opening and hot work permits. 

NCTR employs 230 full-time federal employees, supplemented by 250 contractor employees providing animal diet, maintenance, and pathology computer and information management services facilities maintenance onsite occupational health care and administrative services (e.g., supplies receiving and warehousing, mail delivery, and document reproduction). 

The safety of contractors who may be exposed to process hazards has become a great concern since the occurrence of very serious incidents at Pasadena, Texas (October 23, 1989), and Chan-nelview, Texas (July 5, 1990). Employers are now required to (1) evaluate the safety performance of contractors (2) inform contract employers concerning fire, explosion, and toxicity hazards (3) ascertain that contractor employees understand the site s emergency plan (4) control the presence of contractors in process areas and (5) maintain an injury and illness log related to a contractor s work in process areas [1(h), 2(87), 5, 42]. 

Unauthorized or unexpected entry of employees, contractors, employees of service organizations (such as postal and utilities), or other visitors, and the activities of these persons, could cause process upsets, could aggravate the consequences of hazardous incidents, and could interfere with emergency or rescue activities. A procedure should be established to control the entry and document the exit of persons from areas in which hazardous materials are handled. 

Personal hygiene procedures induding the use of protective clothing should apply to afl persons entering production areas, whether they are temporary or full-time employees or nonemployees—e.g., contractors employees, visitors, senior managers, and inspectors. 

DOE 0 440.1 Worker Protection Management for DOE Federal and Contractor Employees Requires the identification, evaluation, and control of all workplace hazards. Worker protection programs (including analysis of worker hazards, as needed) to implement applicable requirements. 

U.S. Department of Energy, DOE G 440.1-1, Worker Protection Management for DOE Federal and Contractor Employees Guide for use with DOE O 440.1, 7-10-97... 

DOE 0 440.1A, "Worker Protection Management For DOE Federal And Contractor Employees". 

Does the written program provide employees (including contractor employees) and their representatives access to PHAs and all other information developed as required by the PSM standard . 119(c)(3) ... 

Based on interviews with a representative number of employees (including contractor employees) and their representatives, have they been informed of their rights of access and provided access to PHAs and to all other information required to be developed by the PSM standard (Ask about unreasonable delays in access to information and whether time is given during the working hours to access information required by the PSM standard.) 119(c)(3) ... 

The employer shall develop and implement safe work practices to provide for the control of hazards during operations such as lockout/tagout confined space entry opening process equipment or piping and control over entrance into a facility by maintenance, contractor, laboratory, or other support personnel. These safe work practices shall apply to employees and contractor employees. 

A readiness review is a team activity. The leader of the team must be someone who represents the operations department because, as already discussed, the whole purpose of the exercise is to ensure that the operations people are provided with a plant that is safe. Contractor employees and representatives may assist the team, but basically the work should be organized and mn by the operating company. 

Clarification of HSE responsibilities of the facility employees, contractor employees, service/ support personnel, and site visitors... 

Any significant HSE hazards which contractor employees are likely to encounter while on company premises. This disclosure should be in writing and contain sufficient information to allow a reasonable person to determine how to conduct the work in a safe manner. 

Training can also be a problem area. Most companies only provide basic hazard communication (HAZCOM) training to contractor employees and then rely on the contract company to provide any job-specific training to their own employees. In many instances this leaves the contract employees with gaps in their training, especially when it comes to unique issues and concerns related to the process or chemicals handled at the facility. When outsourcing functions which impact process safety, the details of the training provided to the contract employees should be carefully reviewed and customized or enhanced as needed. 

For OCS workplace safety, OCSLA proclaims that any company holding an offshore lease or permit is required to protect the health and safety of their workers and contractor employees by complying with occupational safety and health standards, the general duty to maintain workplaces free fi om recognized hazards, relevant health and safety regulations of other agencies, and additional safeguards that may be required as a condition for approval of the company s work plan (s.1548). 

In order to carry out hazardous activities safely a permit to work system is used. It describes the activities, which require a permit to work, and the necessary safety measures as well as their implementation. The notification, communication and authorization of hazardous activities shall apply to both, site and contractor employees. In this way the permit to work is formalized and documented clear responsibilities are created. Table 5.2 gives some examples of activities which should be authorized in the context of a permit to work system. 

Employers who use contract employees in and around hazardous processes have the responsibility of choosing contractors with the proper skills and monitoring their performance. Contractors should be screened for safety performance in other work, skill in the required tasks, and knowledge of the process or types of systems on which they will work. It is sometimes useful for an employer to include contract employees in existing training programs. Contractor employees often perform specialized and hazardous tasks. Examples are nonroutine repairs and entry into confined spaces. It is therefore important to control their activities. A permit or work authorization system is a usefril vehicle toward this end. 

A crane being operated by an employee of one of the contractors came into contact with an energized 7,200 volt overhead power line as two of the other contractors employees were attempting to attach the crane s rigging equipment to a section of a modular home. One of the employees was killed and the other seriously injured by the electric current. 

If a company or organization hires a contractor to do work, it is critical to identify protections for contractor employees. A contract should state which safety and health laws, regulafions, standards, rules, and procedures apply to the contractor and the work provided. 

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