Getting a company’s own employees to take full responsibility for the safety effects of their actions is a big challenge. Doing the same with the employees of subcontractors and other third parties not directly employed by the company is even tougher. I’d like to describe some of the things I’ve done to meet this challenge. I’ve also provided some model forms that other safety professionals can adapt to accomplish the same results at their workplaces.

Subcontractors and the Middle East Safety Environment

I’m an HSQE (Health, Safety, Quality and Environment) Manager for a Facilities Management Company located in Qatar, in the Middle East. Accident rates in the Middle East are high and generally go unreported.

Many of the unreported problems involve employees who work for subcontractors and other third parties. In fact, based on evidence and my experience, up to 98% of accidents, near misses and dangerous occurrences were attributed to local sub contractors and associated third parties.

HSE culture, awareness and education is very poor in the Middle East. What counts most are deadlines and financial pressures. Clearly, this is due to the lack of robust HSE legislation and enforcement. The old line HSQE Managers that have worked out here for many years are used to and, in many cases, resigned to this situation.

Holding Subcontractors Accountable for Safety

When I relocated here in January 2009, I anticipated that many challenges lay ahead. I was aware of the safety culture problem and knew that I was in no position to “reinvent the wheel.” However, I was determined to make a difference.

One of the places where I had some leverage was over the awarding of contracts to subcontractors. So I set about looking for ways to influence subcontractors. I felt that in addition to low rates, we should select bidders based on their willingness and ability to work safely.

Accordingly, I required subcontractors to include essential safety information in their bid packages. Of course, this is routine practice in North America. But in the Middle East, it’s not par for the course. I developed a robust pre-tender submittal Method Statement document. This document was adopted by the company and the company’s client for all tender submittals.

I worked quickly to roll out the document and invited all existing subcontractor directors, managers and supervisors to attend workshops on the use, intent and submittal process for the document. This coincided with existing subcontractors’ contract renewals so it was a good time to have them to buy in to the initiative.

Making Progress on Subcontractor Safety

It wasn’t long before the less reputable sub contractors—the ones who had no intent of taking the HSE aspects of their operations seriously and were interested only in profits—fell by the wayside. But the subcontractors that bought in to the incentive prospered by acquiring new contract awards and a 90% reduction in accident rates.

The document is now part of the best HSE practice and is considered one of the most important documents of the pre-tender process. The document is also used as part of the audit process and during site safety inspections.

Conclusion

Companies have less than 100% control over the workers of the subcontractors they hire. Yet, it’s always been the HSEQ Managers of the hiring company that has had to carry the burden and responsibility of policing and managing subcontractors. This is true in most parts of the world. But the lack of strong HSE laws in the Middle East makes this an especially hard challenge out here. I feel that the processes that we’ve introduced have made a big difference in getting our subcontractors to understand and accept their safety responsibilities and that we’re seeing them work much more safely as a result.

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