OHS Management of Contractors in Capital Works and Maintenance

OHS Management of Contractors in Capital Works and Maintenance Physical Resources/Risk, Health and Safety Prepared by: Physical Resources/Risk, Health and Safety Version: 08/04/2008

Contents Page 1. INTRODUCTION... 1 1.1. SCOPE... 1 1.2. PURPOSE... 1 1.3. DEFINITIONS... 1 1.4. ELEMENTS OF CONTRACTOR OHS MANAGEMENT... 2 2. CLASSIFICATION OF CAPITAL WORKS AND MAINTENANCE AS MAJOR OR MINOR... 3 2.1. GENERAL... 3 2.2. LEVEL OF RISK... 3 2.3. LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY... 4 2.4. DURATION OF WORKS... 4 2.5. VALUE OF CONTRACT... 4 3. CONTRACT SPECIFICATION: OHS REQUIREMENTS... 5 3.1. GENERAL... 5 3.2. MAJOR WORKS... 5 3.3. MINOR WORKS... 5 Attachments: Model OHS Specification and Tender Document Requirements Tenderer OHS Management System Questionnaire Capital Works and Maintenance Risk Assessment Form 4. TENDER EVALUATION... 6 4.1. GENERAL... 6 4.2. EVALUATION AND VERIFICATION OF TENDERER S OHS SYSTEM... 6 4.3. REVIEW OF RISK ASSESSMENT... 7 Attachments: Guidelines for Review of Tenderer OHS Management System Questionnaire Capital Works and Maintenance Risk Assessment Form (Sample) Contract OHS System Acceptance Form 5. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT... 8 5.1. GENERAL... 8 5.2. HEALTH AND SAFETY CO-ORDINATION PLAN... 8 5.3. CONTRACTORS REGISTRATION AND INDUCTION... 8 5.4. MONITORING AND SUPERVISION MAJOR AND MINOR WORKS... 8 5.5. WORKSITE INSPECTIONS... 10 5.6. CONTRACT RECORDS... 11 Attachments: Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan General OHS Inspection Checklist 6. CONTRACT PERFORMANCE REVIEW... 12 6.1. GENERAL... 12

1. Introduction 1.1. SCOPE This procedure applies to all Capital Works and Maintenance jobs where the University of Ballarat has engaged contractors to perform all or part of the works. 1.2. PURPOSE This procedure aims to ensure the health and safety of all members of the University community including staff, students, visitors and contractors in the context of Capital Works and Maintenance managed by the University. It also aims to ensure that the University of Ballarat complies with all relevant health and safety legislative and regulatory requirements, in particular Parts 5.1 and 6.2 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007. 1.3. DEFINITIONS Capital Works and/or Maintenance (usually referred to simply as Works in the document): All works performed in connection with the construction, alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation, refurbishment, decommissioning, or demolition of any structure, building, or associated infrastructure, or any similar activity. Contract: Agreement (which may or may not be written) between the University of Ballarat and a Contractor for the Contractor to perform specified Works. Contract specification: A detailed written description of the specific Capital Works and/or Maintenance required to be performed under a contract for which tenders are being invited. Contractor: Person or organisation engaged, but not employed, by the University of Ballarat to perform some Works on behalf of the University. Sub-contractor: Person or organisation engaged by a Contractor to perform Works. Tender: Written proposal to provide goods or services based on specifications. Tender documents: Complete set of documents (including specifications) which sets out the tendering process, conditions of tender, describes the Capital Works or Maintenance, and provides any other information. Works Manager: A University of Ballarat employee who manages Capital Works and/or Maintenance, as defined above. Version: 08/04/2008 Page 1 of 12

1.4. ELEMENTS OF CONTRACTOR OHS MANAGEMENT There are five important steps in the management of health and safety issues related to Contractors in Capital Works and/or Maintenance: Works required minor Determine what elements of the procedure apply Classify Works as minor or major major Include: Contract specification: OHS Requirements Tenderer OHS MS Questionnaire Risk Assessment Form Step 1 Works Classification Step 2 Contract Specification Evaluate and verify Tenderer OHS MS Questionnaire and Risk Assessment Record outcomes on Contract OHS System Acceptance Form Step 3 Tender Evaluation Obtain Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan Ensure Contractor inductions are conducted Monitor and supervise Contractor(s) Ensure JSAs are completed and implemented Ensure worksite inspections are conducted Keep contract documentation Step 4 Contract Management Review Contractor OHS performance against KPIs Step 5 Contract Performance Review Works completed Version: 08/04/2008 Page 2 of 12

2. Classification of Capital Works and Maintenance as Major or Minor 2.1. GENERAL The University of Ballarat is involved in tendering and managing a very broad range of Capital Works and Maintenance. These can include long term service contracts and large construction projects through to quite small jobs for routine maintenance or repair. Works Managers must classify Works as major or minor on the basis of a range of factors including: level of risk complexity duration value. 2.2. LEVEL OF RISK Death or permanent disability Very likely Could happen any time Likely Could happen sometime Probability Unlikely Could happen, but very rarely Very Unlikely Could happen, but probably never will 1 - HIGH 1 - HIGH 2 - HIGH 3 - MEDIUM Severity Long-term illness or serious injury Medical attention and several days off work 1 - HIGH 2 - HIGH 3 - MEDIUM 4 - MEDIUM 2 - HIGH 3 - MEDIUM 4 - MEDIUM 5 - LOW First aid needed 3 - MEDIUM 4 - MEDIUM 5 - LOW 6 - LOW Table 1: Assessment of risk levels based on likely severity and probability of harm (from University of Ballarat HIRAC Guidelines) Works involving high-risk Works (levels 1 or 2) are automatically classified as major. Examples of high-risk Works include activities: (a) where there is a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres; (b) on telecommunications towers; (c) involving demolition; (d) involving the removal or likely disturbance of asbestos; Version: 08/04/2008 Page 3 of 12

(e) involving structural alterations that require temporary support to prevent collapse; (f) involving a confined space; (g) involving a trench or shaft if the excavated depth is more than 1 5 metres; (h) involving a tunnel; (i) involving the use of explosives; (j) on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping; (k) on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines; (l) on or near energised electrical installations or services; (m)in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere; (n) involving tilt-up or precast concrete; (o) on or adjacent to roadways or railways used by road or rail traffic; (p) at workplaces where there is any movement of powered mobile plant; (q) in an area where there are artificial extremes of temperature; (r) in, over or adjacent to water or other liquids where there is a risk of drowning; (s) involving diving. The Works Manager must insist on more sophisticated management systems when engaging Contractors to perform high-risk activities. Contractors who undertake this type of activities are expected to be familiar with concepts such as risk assessments, Job Safety Analysis (JSA), work permit systems, etc. Works with lower levels of risk may still need to be classified as major on the basis of the other factors listed below. 2.3. LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY The Works Manager must assess the complexity of the tasks and demands associated with the Works, and include these considerations in the classification process. For instance, where several Contractors have to interact on a worksite or where the use of sub-contractors is likely, the Works are generally classified as major. Similarly, Works that have to interact with other operations of the University are often classified as major. 2.4. DURATION OF WORKS Contracts which extend beyond 3 years are considered sufficiently large to be classified as major. 2.5. VALUE OF CONTRACT Although contracts cannot be classified on cost alone, contracts over $50,000 are generally considered as a major. Version: 08/04/2008 Page 4 of 12

3. Contract Specification: OHS Requirements 3.1. GENERAL Works Managers should incorporate health and safety requirements as early as possible in the specification development stage. They should consult with all relevant personnel to ensure that as many applicable health and safety issues as possible are identified and considered when preparing specification documentation. 3.2. MAJOR WORKS The Works Manager must refer to the Model OHS Specification and Tender Document Requirements (provided at the end of this section) and incorporate its clauses into contracts for major Works, with any necessary adaptation. In addition, the Works Manager must include the following documents (also provided at the end of this section) in specification documents for completion by tenderers: Tenderer OHS Management System Questionnaire Risk Assessment Form 3.3. MINOR WORKS The classification of Works as minor does not diminish the legal obligations of the Contractor and the Works Manager to ensure that the contract works are conducted in a safe manner. The Works Manager must determine what documents and processes are appropriate when drafting OHS specifications for minor Works. The Works Manager should select from the various forms provided in this document which ones are applicable to the minor Works. (It is recognised that some minor Works are undertaken without a formal tender process or a written contract.) In all cases, the Works Manager must verify that: The Contractor has a good understanding of the hazards, risks and control measures associated with their activities. The Contractor has attended a University of Ballarat s Contractor Induction in the past year. The Contractor has established systems and procedures for managing the OHS risks, although these may not be formalised. The Contractor is licensed for the relevant activities and employees have appropriate competencies and licences required for the works. Plant and equipment is appropriately licensed or registered and maintained/inspected on a regular basis. The Contractor has undertaken a works-specific Job Safety Analysis to ensure risks are identified and controlled for the works. Version: 08/04/2008 Page 5 of 12

4. Tender Evaluation 4.1. GENERAL The Works Manager must: evaluate and verify the tenderer s OHS management system and performance; determine the tenderer s understanding of the OHS requirements of the specification; and review how the tenderer will manage OHS issues associated with the contract works and services (ie: with particular regard to the Risk Assessment Form and Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan). The Works Manager may elect to conduct the tender evaluation process with the help of a team, which may include Risk, Health and Safety staff or an external OHS consultant. The tender evaluation process involves several stages as outlined below. 4.2. EVALUATION AND VERIFICATION OF TENDERER S OHS SYSTEM This is a critical task which should be undertaken in a systematic way. Steps in this process include: Review of completed Tenderer OHS System Questionnaire and associated documentation (manuals, procedures, work methods, training/competency records). Verification of the operation of the tenderer s OHS management system. Interviews with tenderer to clarify particular issues and areas where more information is required. An important outcome of this process is that the tenderer is able to demonstrate the active implementation and operation of their OHS management system. Impressive OHS documents are not in themselves a guarantee of satisfactory performance. The Works Manager should seek verification of this by examining various tenderer records, including: Health and safety audits: copies of completed audit reports, details of audits undertaken. Hazard inspection records: copies of completed hazard inspection reports showing corrective actions to be undertaken. Plant maintenance and inspection records: evidence of completed maintenance logs, pre-start daily safety inspections, risk assessment reports. Safety meetings: evidence of minutes of meetings, meeting schedules, personnel involved. Accident investigation: evidence of completed accident investigation reports. Training: records of health and safety training, competency certificates. Guidelines for the Review of Tenderer OHS Management System Questionnaire are provided as an attachment to this section. The Works Manager should use them to Version: 08/04/2008 Page 6 of 12

systematically undertake the evaluation process. Confirmation of the evaluation process can be noted on the Contract OHS System Acceptance Form (also provided as an attachment). 4.3. REVIEW OF RISK ASSESSMENT Important issues to be considered when reviewing the risk assessment relate to the following: relevant hazards associated with the contract have been identified; risks have been appropriately assessed in terms of potential for injury and damage; proposed control measures are adequate and can be supported by relevant documentation; and specific tasks that will require a more detailed Job Safety Analysis have been identified. The Works Manager must review, assess and approve the Risk Assessment completed by the successful tenderer prior to commencement of the contract. Assistance and input on health and safety issues from the University of Ballarat Risk, Health and Safety Manager or external specialist consultant should be considered. Where appropriate, the Contractor should be provided with the relevant University health and safety procedures. A completed sample Risk Assessment Form is provided as an attachment to this section. It demonstrates how the risk assessment form can be completed. Approval of the Risk Assessment as satisfactory should be confirmed by the Works Manager on the Contract OHS System Acceptance Form also provided at the end of this section. Where the Works Manager does not consider the Risk Assessment to be acceptable, he/she should notify the Contractor for appropriate modifications to be made to the risk assessment. When dealing with small Contractors for minor Works, it is likely that the Works Manager will need to provide guidance and assistance to Contractors in completing the Risk Assessment and/or subsequent Job Safety Analyses. Version: 08/04/2008 Page 7 of 12

5. Contract Management 5.1. GENERAL The University has important legal obligations to monitor and supervise the activities of Contractors with regard to health and safety aspects of their work, irrespective of whether works have been classified as major or minor. In order to perform this function, Works Managers should have: access to the contract documents and specification; a good understanding of the health and safety requirements set out in the contract documents; access to other documents referred to in the contract, eg: Risk Assessment Form and Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan; and adequate contract supervision training, and suitable health and safety knowledge and skills relevant to the contract. 5.2. HEALTH AND SAFETY CO-ORDINATION PLAN Contractors appointed by the University for major Works must develop a Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan. The Plan should be reviewed and approved by the Works Manager prior to work commencing on the contract. Where the Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan does not meet the University requirements, the Works Manager should notify the Contractor for appropriate modifications to be made to the Plan. 5.3. CONTRACTORS REGISTRATION AND INDUCTION All contractors engaged to perform Works at the University of Ballarat must comply with the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 that relate to registration and induction training. In addition, contractors must have attended a University of Ballarat Contractors Induction in the previous year. The Works Manager must ensure that Contractors meet these obligations. 5.4. MONITORING AND SUPERVISION MAJOR AND MINOR WORKS The extent to which the Works Manager should monitor and supervise Contractors is influenced by the risk classification for the works. Specific key elements of the Works require special attention, for example: contract start-up: ensuring that suitable systems and procedures are in place and the workplace is appropriately established; high risk or complex activities: monitoring conformance with safe work procedures and risk assessment control measures; high level of interaction with other parties: review of co-ordination and notification systems operating at the workplace; and introduction of new plant, substances, equipment or systems of work: may require separate JSA and monitoring of control procedures. Version: 08/04/2008 Page 8 of 12

Monitoring and supervision of Contractor activities include: Regular review of Contractor health and safety documentation. This may involve review of: o induction records o plant maintenance/inspection records o health and safety inspection reports o risk assessment documents o employee training/competency records o safety meeting minutes Regular site inspections to monitor compliance with health and safety procedures, considering: o legislative requirements o conformance with Risk Assessment control measures o conformance with Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan o conformance with the University health and safety policy and procedures Providing Contractors with advice on unusual or unexpected risks and feedback on areas of non compliance. This may arise from: o inspections undertaken by the University o inspections or reports from other parties o the University s experience from similar contracts Reviewing Contractor health and safety performance. This may include review of: o accident/incident reports o third party reports or complaints o review of monthly OHS performance reports Ensuring that corrective action is taken where non conformance is identified by: o issuing of non-conformance report o reviewing and confirming that corrective action implemented o issuing formal notice (ie: site instruction) when action not taken within reasonable timeframe Incorporating health and safety issues as part of regular contract review meetings. This may include: o health and safety as an agenda item o safety inspections undertaken after/before site meetings o health and safety issues considered as high priority in relation to overall contract performance Version: 08/04/2008 Page 9 of 12

5.5. WORKSITE INSPECTIONS 5.5.1. General To determine which aspects are priority areas for inspection, Works Managers should refer to the Job Safety Analysis completed by the Contractor. The JSA identifies the hazards associated with the works and the particular control measures to be implemented by the Contractor. Works Managers and Contractors must refer to the control measures in the JSA form and to the General OHS Inspection Checklist provided at the end of this section for regular worksite inspections. Note: The Contractor as an employer has a duty of care to provide and maintain a safe workplace and consequently has an important responsibility to conduct workplace inspections on a regular basis. The inspections should generally be undertaken by a team comprising management and employee representatives. The Contractor should make available copies of health and safety inspection reports for review when requested by the Works Manager. Works Managers also have a responsibility to monitor health and safety aspects of Contractor operations. Although Works Managers are not required to be expert in all matters, they should check that the Contractor has adequately fulfilled its health and safety obligations, as far as they can reasonably establish. Through inspection and monitoring of Contractor operations, the Works Manager should raise with the Contractor any health and safety issues that come to their attention. Inspections should be conducted in conjunction with a representative of the Contractor to enable discussion and resolution of issues as they are identified. The Works Manager may seek advice from specialist health and safety staff during and after inspections. 5.5.2. Frequency of Inspections The Works Manager establishes an inspection schedule prior to commencement of the Works. For short duration contracts from several days up to several weeks it may be appropriate that the Contractor undertake daily health and safety inspections. For longer term contracts weekly or monthly health and safety inspections are likely to be more practicable. However, daily pre-start safety inspections may be required for particular high risk plant, equipment and processes. 5.5.3. Works Completion Inspection The Works Manager must conduct a worksite inspection upon completion of the Works, prior to allowing any member of the general University community into the area. This inspection must be conducted with the Contractor. If applicable, management representatives and the elected Health and Safety Representative from the customer School or Directorate should also be included. Version: 08/04/2008 Page 10 of 12

5.6. CONTRACT RECORDS Effective contract management involves adoption of a systematic approach to record keeping during the period of the contract. Relevant health and safety records retained by the Works Manager provide documentary evidence of the University s due diligence in relation to the health and safety of Contractors. These records will be particularly important in situations where the Contractor is in breach of health and safety requirements or a significant incident or accident occurs from activities performed by the Contractor. Where the Works Manager identifies a breach of health and safety, he/she should promptly notify the Contractor. He/she should record relevant details on an inspection checklist or as a file/diary note and a copy retained by the University. Works Managers should retain all relevant health and safety records in the contract/project/works file. These are important documents that may be required even some time after the contract has been completed. Such records include: Contract documents Risk Assessment Forms Health and Safety Co-ordination Plan Job Safety Analysis forms Health and safety inspection reports (e.g. completed General OHS Inspection Checklists) Minutes of safety meetings and site meetings Incident investigation reports Monthly OHS performance reports Non-conformance reports Photographs and test results Site instructions and diary notes Version: 08/04/2008 Page 11 of 12

6. Contract Performance Review 6.1. GENERAL Works Managers should assess the performance of Contractors against Key OHS Performance Indicators (KPIs) at the end of Works. Typically, OHS KPIs include: Number of days lost as a result of injuries Number of Improvement or Prohibition Notices issued by WorkSafe Overall Contractor s compliance with OHS systems, JSAs, permits, inspection results, etc Number of stakeholder (staff, students, neighbours, etc) complaints. Unsatisfactory OHS performance should be factored into decisions to re-engage the Contractor for future Works. Version: 08/04/2008 Page 12 of 12