HEALTH AND SAFETY IN SCOTTISH WATER
A Handbook for External Contractors
HEALTH AND SAFETY IN SCOTTISH WATER: A Handbook for External Contractors
CONTENTS
1)INTRODUCTION
About Scottish Water
The Scottish Water 4 Step Strategy for Managing Contractors
Purpose of this handbook
Scottish Water Health and Safety – General Policy Statement
Content
Definitions
2)CONTRACTORS RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY
Responsibilities
Liaison Procedures for Work on Operational Sites
3)IDENTIFICATION OF SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS
Contractor’s Responsibilities
Hazards Common to the Water Industry
4)GENERAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
Requirements
Precautions and Instructions
5)EXTERNAL CONTRACTOR’S ACCESS/TRANSFER CERTIFICATE & PERMITS TO WORK
General
External Contractor’s Access/Transfer Certificate
Permits to Work
Obtaining an Access/Transfer Certificate or a Permit to Work
6)RECORDS AND DISPLAYS
General
Records to be Retained (and where appropriate, displayed)
7)INCIDENT REPORTING
General
Incidents to be reported
8)APPENDICES
Appendix A – Contractors Induction and Safe working Checklist
Appendix B – List of applicable Scottish Water Policies & Arrangements
INTRODUCTION1
About Scottish Water
Scottish Water is a Public body.
We are regulated by the Water Industry Commissioner, Scottish Government and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that we continue to:
- Provide clean and safe drinking water
- Drain, collect and treat sewage and surface water from household, commercial and industrial
premises.
In addition, we are constantly monitored by the people we supply with these services, i.e. business customers and members of the public, when we are carrying out work on their premises or in public areas.
It is important that any work that you carry out on our behalf is conducted in a safe and courteous manner in order to avoid complaints which may affect our reputation as a supplier of these services.
Scottish Water believes that a contractor’s capability to manage health and safety is indicative of their overall management capability. As a major Scottish client, we are committed to promote high standards of Health and Safety management within the contractors we employee.
In 2007 we launched our “Health and Safety Charter for Contractors” which indicates our commitment to not only improve our own health and safety performance, but also that of the contractors we engage.
We have a legal duty to ensure that any work undertaken by contractors on our behalf does not affect the safety or health of our employees or anyone else affected by the work and we will therefore only use contractors who have demonstrated that they are competent to work safely in, or behalf of, Scottish Water.
INTRODUCTION 1
The Scottish Water 4 Step Strategy for Managing Contractors
Step 1 – Selection of a suitable contractor
As part of the initial selection process, the Scottish Water Procurement Team (in conjunction with the Health and Safety Team) has developed a Health and Safety “Approved Contractors List” and only contractors on this list will receive regular work from Scottish Water.
In order to be included on the Health & Safety “Approved Contractors List”, all contractors are required to demonstrate that they have a robust H&S Management system by completing a SW “Competency Form” AND achieving CHAS accreditation or an Achilles Verify score of at least 75% or OHSAS18001 certification.
Please note: there may be some instances where external accreditation is not required, or where industry specific accreditations will be acceptable, however this is only in the minority of cases and will be confirmed upon receipt of your completed SW “Competency Form”.
It should also be noted that, in some cases, Scottish Water may consider adding contractors to the “Approved List” whose H&S Management System has been accredited by other schemes (i.e. SAFEContractor).
In order to be included on the “Approved Contractors List”, a contractor should:
- Receive an invitation to register from a Scottish Water employee or be awarded a contract following a formal procurement process
- Demonstrate competence to carry out specific types of work by downloading and completing the Competency Assessment Form
- Confirm that they have read and understood:
- Scottish Water’s Health & Safety Charter for Contractors (included within this handbook)
- Scottish Water’s Health & Safety Information for Contractors (this handbook)
Step 2 – Assessing risks & sharing information
Although contractors who are included on the “Approved Contractors List” have demonstrated that they have a robust H&S management System in place, there is still a need for any person in Scottish Water who engages a contractor, to ensure that they are competent to carry out the required work safely (i.e. a contractor listed as a “Networks Maintenance” contractor, will still need to demonstrate that he can provide competent employees and adequate control measures for working in deep excavations).
Contractors should be provided with adequate information on the hazards that they may encounter during the work, by the SW Person Responsible for the Contract (PRC) who engages them from the “Approved Contractors List”.
Please note: if you are not provided with this information, you should not proceed and should contact the PRC who is engaging you to carry out the work.
In return you are required to provide a specific risk assessment/method statement detailing the control measures that you will put in place to ensure the safety of your own employees and anyone else that
may be affected by the work. You will only be allowed to carry out the work once these have been read and approved by the PRC.
Your employees will require to have the specific risk assessment/method statement for the work in their possession at all times as they will be checked by the Site Occupier (when working on a SW operational site) or by any SW person carrying out an audit, inspection or spot check during the work.
Step 3 – Contractor does the work
Once you have been provided with information on the hazards, and you have detailed the control measures that will be implemented in a specific risk assessment/method statement, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that the work is carried out safely. It is your responsibility to ensure that the work is carried out to the agreed risk assessment/method statement (i.e. you must ensure that the identified control measures are implemented, your employees (or in some cases, where approved by the SW PRC, your sub-contractors) are competent to carry out the type of work required and are competent to implement and use the identified control measures).
Please note: it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that any sub-contractors you use, as agreed with the PRC, are competent to carry out work safely. You must be able to demonstrate how you have determined sub-contractor competency.
Your work may be subject to specific SW standards (e.g. Confined Spaces, Permits to Work, etc) laid down in our H&S Policies and Arrangements. For further information you should consult the PRC who can make copies of relevant Policies and Arrangements available.
You should also note that where control measures indicated in a specific risk assessment/method statement are not in place, or where your employees (or sub-contractors) are not able to demonstrate that they are competent to carry out the work and use the control measures, AND your (or your sub-contractors) working methods are deemed to be of a seriously unsafe nature (by any person carrying out and audit, inspection or spot check), then the work may be immediately stopped until necessary improvements are made. Where work needs to be stopped under these circumstances, then you may be temporarily suspended from carrying out future work OR permanently removed from the “Approved Contractors List”.
Where the working methods are not deemed to be of a seriously unsafe nature, you may still be required to make some improvements in safe working practices, AND may still be temporarily suspended from future work until these improvements have been made.
Please note: your employees will be required to provide evidence of required competencies to the Site Occupier (when working on a SW operational site) and to any SW person carrying out an audit, inspection or spot check during the work.
Step 4 – Monitor performance and review
Contractors have a responsibility to monitor the health and safety performance of their own employees and safety management systems.
In order to maintain and manage the “Approved Contractors List”, Scottish Water will carry out on site monitoring, through periodic checks, on contractors to ensure that the work is being done safely (i.e. in line with agreed risk assessments/method statements, the safe systems of work are adequate, and the control measures are being applied and are working).
Monitoring will be carried out by the Person Responsible for the Contract but may also be carried out by any other Scottish Water employee (e.g. members of the Corporate Health & Safety Team).
In addition, Scottish Water has developed a form for use by any of our employees where any “unsafe activity” is observed.
Where contractors are performing poorly on health and safety, they may be given the opportunity to make improvements within agreed timescales and in these cases, then the frequency and level of monitoring may be increased to ensure that any necessary improvements are being made.
Please note: this may be decided on as an alternative to being temporarily suspended from future work, OR permanent removal from the “Approved Contractors List” but only where your working methods have not been deemed to be of a seriously unsafe nature.
The decision on whether to allow improvements to be made, temporary suspension from future work, or permanent removal from the “Approved Contractors list” will be made in conjunction with all relevant persons in Scottish Water. This decision on what action to take will depend on the nature of the health and safety performance failure, the criticality of the contractor to Scottish Water, and the impact on the contractor’s business of losing work in SW.
Any wilful disregard for health and safety will result in the termination of the contract and suspension of the contractor from the “Approved Contractors List”.
Information on monitoring will be used by SW Functions as part of an overall periodic review of their contractor’s (collectively and individually) health and safety performance. The review will determine which contractors are performing to agreed health and safety standards and those who need to improve.
In addition to periodic reviews carried out by SW Functions, the SW Procurement Team (in conjunction with the Health & Safety Team) will conduct an annual review of all “frameworks” contractors on the “Approved Contractors List”.
This review will consider some or all of the following:
- information from monitoring by other SW Functions
- any incidents reported by contractors to the SW Incident Reporting Line
- any “Contractors Unsafe Activity Forms” received by the Procurement Team
- information from the external accreditation sources (Achilles Verify, CHAS, etc)
- any information on an individual contractor in the HSE’s “Register of Prosecutions and Notices”
INTRODUCTION1
Purpose of this book
Under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, Scottish Water has a statutory duty, to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees and any other persons liable to be affected by its work activities and undertakings. You are reminded that it is your duty to consider, understand and implement all of your responsibilities for Health and Safety.
As a Contractor, you have a crucial and legal role to play in health and safety and you must ensure that you and your employees, sub-contractors and suppliers, comply with all Scottish Water Policies and Arrangements and Procedures relevant to the type of work to be carried out, and with any specific instructions from Scottish Water personnel whilst working for us, or on our behalf.
This handbook contains information to assist you in establishing suitable safe systems of work and a safe working environment, and ensuring that employees, sub-contractors and suppliers are aware of their responsibilities with regard to health and safety, and includes:
- guidance on contractors responsibilities (including use of sub-contractors) with regard to health and safety
- general information on hazards you may encounter whilst working in, or on behalf of Scottish Water
- information on Scottish Water’s Health and Safety Policies and Arrangements.
Note: It will be the responsibility of the Person Responsible for the Contract to provide you and/or your employees with a basic Health and Safety Induction (which may be provided in the form of this handbook) and to provide you with basic information on general hazards, risks and procedures currently in place to manage and control these risks. This handbook is designed to provide general information and may not necessarily provide you with specific information for the type of work you are to carry out. It is your responsibility to ensure that you, your employees and any sub-contractors, are conversant with this handbook but it is not designed as a substitute for a site specific induction which you should receive when working on any Scottish Water sites.
For work on a Scottish Water sites, you will also be provided with further additional and specific site working details and requirements, in the form of a site specific induction, from the Scottish Water person in control of that site before starting work on that site. Where the work you carry out is on behalf of Scottish Water, but not on one of our sites (e.g. roadworks, etc) you will be the person in control of that site and will therefore be required to provide a form of site induction to any visitors to the site, including SW personnel.
Scottish Water will also effectively monitor the health and safety performance of Contractors to ensure that they meet suitable health and safety standards. Where any deficiencies are noted the Contractor will be required to agree and undertake prompt corrective action. Any serious failure to do so may result in the Contractor being removed from existing work and prevented from gaining any future work with Scottish Water.
INTRODUCTION 1
Scottish Water Health and Safety – General Policy Statement
H&S Principles - A Framework for Zero Tolerance
Scottish Water recognises the duties placed upon it under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and all other relevant legislation. We are committed to ensuring we at least comply with the minimum requirements and wherever reasonably practicable shall exceed them
We recognise our duties are not only to our staff but also include trainees, contractors, visitors and any others who may be affected by our activities and shall adopt the principle of zero tolerance with regard to accident prevention and work related ill- health. This principle is underpinned by the acceptance that no accident at work is acceptable and that we always follow our Golden Rules.
Scottish Water’s Safety Management System Manual provides specific health and safety responsibilities for the Chief Executive, Directors, Managers and other named roles, Health and Safety must be regarded as a mutual objective for Scottish Water, Trade Unions, employees at all levels and all contractors.
Operating in framework of Zero Tolerance, Scottish Water will:
- Provide and maintain a safe, healthy working environment for our people and at our workplaces;
- Ensure the safety of staff who are mobile workers or those who work from home.
- Provide safety training, information and instruction as required for all employees as appropriate for job role and circumstances.
- Ensure that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out and documented on all activities with significant risks and that adequate control measures are put in place.
- Provide adequate resources for safe working including all necessary safety equipment, personal protective equipment and ensure its use.
- Maintain a constant and continuing improvement in all aspects of Health and Safety, in particular by continual review and monitoring of Health and Safety Policy and Arrangements, actively challenging poor Health and Safety practices, establishing initiatives/campaigns and setting performance improvement targets.
- Consult Trade Unions and employees on matters relating to workplace health, safety and welfare, development and review of policy and procedures through safety committees and approved routes established throughout the business.
- Communicate relevant Health and Safety Policies and Arrangements and information through Wavelength, SW News, TeamVoice, Safety Flashes, InTouch, Text Messages, Team Meetings and Safety Noticeboards in the workplace.
- Take fast and effective remedial action on non-compliance including temporary measures to remove risk. Any person / Contractor that repeatedly fails or wilfully disregards Scottish Water procedures will not be tolerated and managed appropriately. e.g. removal of contractor from site.
Trade Unions, all Employees and Contractors have a duty to co-operate fully in the operation of Scottish Water’s Zero Tolerance framework by:
- Thinking and working safely and efficiently at all times, complying with any instruction, information and training in accordance with all Policy and Arrangements and statutory obligations.
- Immediately reporting incidents (including accidents, near misses, which have resulted in, or may lead to injury).
- Assisting with the investigation of accidents and aiding the introduction of measures to prevent a recurrence.
- Participating fully in initiatives aimed at reducing accidents and preventing work related ill health.
- Actively challenging poor Health and Safety practices.
- Suggesting potential improvements to working practices.
Issued by the Chief Executive, February 2009