Utility companies understand the importance of having properly oriented contractors on their worksites. It helps you:
- Avoid risk of accidents
- Save on labor costs
- Keep projects moving forward
The challenge: finding the right contractor orientation system that will close all the necessary knowledge gaps while requiring less on the part of the utility owner.
What do you look for? How do you know when you’ve chosen the right solution? Use this contractor safety orientation checklist as you choose which system to mandate on your worksites.
Contractor safety orientation checklist
Not all contractor orientations are equal. Many aren’t standardized or compliant – and often, they’re complicated to create, implement and maintain. You want to outsource your safety orientations to a system with the following benefits.
1. Easily implemented
Implementing a better safety orientation shouldn’t be a big undertaking. Find a provider that offers expert support for the entire implementation process, end-to-end. A system that comes with initial setup, contractor communications and call center support (even after hours).
Long story short, you don’t need ample time and resources to make your worksites safer. The right system and support should do it for you.
2. Online and mobile-friendly
The priority of the workplace today is health and safety – and remote whenever possible. While in-person kickoffs and training are valuable, online orientation platforms can offer a streamlined approach to contractors’ onboarding conveniently and safely.
Your contractors don’t have to be tech-savvy to go through an online orientation. For instance, many PowerSafe students take the orientation right from their phones, with multiple support resources they can refer to. Our support team is there for individual help and provides detailed tutorials you can distribute prior to launch.
As an example of a resource contractors receive, read our PowerSafe Mobile Walkthrough infographic.
3. Cost-efficient
Safety programs shouldn’t break the budget. In fact, they should produce long-term cost savings.
Properly oriented contractors:
- Reduce the number of costly accidents
- Show up ready to work (saving on labor costs)
- Spend more time on tools once they arrive
4. Low maintenance for the utility owner
When it comes to jobsite safety orientation, your only role should be to mandate the course for your worksite. The rest should be on the contractors to complete, and on the orientation system provider to implement and maintain it.
Without exhaustively auditing contractor safety certifications, you should be able to trust that contractors are getting the knowledge they need and that their records are automatically verified, managed and always secure.
Mandate contractor safety orientation that makes your life easier through:
- Securely stored and managed records
- Contractor liasoning and onboarding
- Fewer contractor safety audits
5. Complementary to existing programs
You’ve been in the business a while, which means you probably have other educational programs in place. A fresh contractor safety orientation doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul. In fact, it should complement your existing safety courses and help you leverage your safety coordinators on the most important tasks in the field.
Keep your in-person kick-off meetings and training that help your team stay connected, while eliminating redundancy and making sure contractors show up ready for their first day.
6. Industry- and site-specific
The utility industry faces unique challenges and risks when it comes to ensuring safe worksites. Therefore, you would expect there to be proper orientation curated for the utility industry specifically.
You should also be looking for customization. You may already have the content and site-specific standards outlined, so your orientation provider should take that and apply it to the industry-developed curriculum.
7. Standardized
Often, contractors sit through inconsistent orientations as a result of instructor preferences, other participants or other variables. Look for consistent safety orientation options that put all contractors through the same verifiable, OSHA-compliant material.
8. Legally defensible
Worksite safety is all about reducing risk, costs and liability. With online contractor orientation, the utility owner can verify that students have been exposed to and exhibit an understanding of the materials presented.
This means that if an injury were to occur and a company gets subpoenaed, they have training records they can provide – offering the utility owner protection.
