With more organizations worldwide using contractors to perform specialized work and essential business operations, managing the safety of contracted workforces is more critical than ever. According to some estimates, contractors currently comprise 20% of the labor market in the U.S. and could make up half of the American workforce within a decade. Recordable incidents can be up to three or four times higher for contractors than for full-time employees performing the same tasks.
This is why companies need a contractor safety management software solution to hire the best qualified contractors for the job, guide and monitor their safety performance, and improve collaboration. Implementing contractor safety software is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risks associated with hiring contractors and to increase the occupational safety of both contractors and workers alike.
An effective contractor safety solution enables you to manage contractors across all sites, ensure high safety standards, and review contractor safety performance through advanced reporting and analytics. When hiring contractors, a software solution can help you develop an in-house database of contractor information to evaluate on stringent prequalification criteria unique to your organization. Within this database, you can upload assessments like competencies and qualifications to ensure compliance.
Contractor safety software can simplify the contractor onboarding process with a learning management system (LMS) with digital tracking to ensure contract workers on site have the proper training and qualifications. You can issue site security passes to those with qualified safety records and active permits. A digital LMS can also make suggestions for additional trainings and track pass/fail rates of required training courses.
During the contractor work stage, your contractor safety software can help you provide contractors access to on-site and digital corporate safety resources, and deliver micro-learning or just-in-time learning to keep all workers safer on the job. By granting contractors access to electronic permit-to-work systems, processes for isolation, de-energization, and LOTO can be completed more efficiently and safely. This reduces safety risks and increases operational excellence.
Safety monitoring during the contractor work stage becomes more efficient and thorough with contractor safety software and mobile devices. With these technologies, you can leverage AI and IoT-connected devices to better supervise contractors and monitor site conditions in real time. Mobile worker solutions like wearables, biometric monitors, IoT sensors, and smartphones with mobile apps can be used to enhance contractor engagement and safety.
With comprehensive contractor safety management software, you can effectively manage contractors and related safety issues, and make sure contractors follow the same safety standards as your regular workforce. Implementing the right solutions helps you gain visibility over all contractors and contract works, perform risk assessments, analyze incidents, and benchmark contractor safety performance against your industry peers.
Find out more about Enablon’s Contractor Safety Management Software by requesting a demo today.
