Step 2
Look Beyond Your Core Workforce
Health and Safety and the consequences of unsafe working conditions can cause considerable disruption throughout your entire supply chain.
Many organisations use contractors, or suppliers deemed ‘high risk’ for a whole host of reasons. However, independent analyst group, Verdantix, report that recordable safety incident rates are typically three times higher for contractors compared with permanent staff. This is likely due to the high-risk nature of their work, or they are unfamiliar with the business and any hazards. Therefore, the right prequalification for health and safety, RAMS, capabilities and insurance is critical.
The 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, and the 1999 Management of Work Regulations stipulate that you need to make sure that the contractors you use have the skills, knowledge, experience and training to do the work that you’re asking them to do. This was added to by the 2015 Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM 2015).
The injury of a sub-contractor who broke his jaw while working at Tesla’s California facility is just one high profile example which contributed to the value of the company dropping by two percent (equivalent to more than $1 billion dollars at the time).
Improving health and safety prequalification and visibility of your supply chain will help you to mitigate the risks around injuries and accidents, prevent financial and indirect costs of getting it wrong and remain compliant.
Better understanding of contractor management and sourcing safe, reliable contractors and suppliers could have a significant impact on achieving ‘target zero’ and helping to create a winning health and safety culture. By taking the right actions, businesses can turn complexity and supply chain disruption into meaningful change.
Workers suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety (new or longstanding) in 2021/22
Workers suffering from a new case of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021/22
