Managing Contractor Safety at Complex Multi-Employer Worksites

Managing Contractor Safety at Complex Multi-Employer Worksites 
Steven R. Trammell – Motorola (SSA Journal Volume 12 Number 3 – Fall 1998 pp. 31 – 34 )

For many years, the popular trend among large and growing organizations has been to hire contract labor in lieu of permanent company employees. In many cases, such as the Motorola Austin Ed Bluestein site, the contractor population is a very significant percentage of the total employee population. Although this is a rapid method of increasing resources in critical need areas, it also increases the complexity of managing these dynamic groups from an ESIH perspective. OSHA has emphasized that contractor training, knowledge and awareness of workplace hazards is a critical issue. For complex worksites which contain multitudes of different processes and facilities which have evolved and built up over many years, the challenge of meeting the area-specific awareness requirements for an ever-changing, transient contractor workforce is extremely challenging. Through partnering with local industry associations, suppliers, and contract company management, the Motorola Ed Bluestein site has made a significant effort towards meeting the challenge of managing these contractor groups from an ESIH perspective. This paper will detail the programs currently in place which are functioning successfully to meet this challenge, and provide insight into program development and lessons learned along the way.