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Contractor Safety Program

Overview

Contractor safety management is a critical component to ensuring a safe workplace. The purpose of the contractor safety program is to ensure the safety of students, faculty, staff and University of Notre Dame (ND) guests as contractors perform work for the University. ND has a responsibility to ensure we acquire contract companies and vendors who have demonstrated good safety performance and adhere to regulatory requirements. ND is also responsible to make certain contractors are informed of hazards they may encounter while working on Campus and held to ND’s safety program requirements.

The highlights of the Contractor Safety Program include:

  • Vetting contract companies’ safety performance and insurance levels then approving or rejecting them as an approved vendor based on this data.
  • Requiring contract employees who will work on Campus to attend a ND general safety orientation training session.
  • Requiring ND personnel who hire contractors to actively oversee and manage the contractor by ensuring they adhere to regulatory and ND safety requirements.
  • Prohibiting contractors from using ND equipment.
  • Requiring contractors to report all safety incidents to their ND contact person immediately and establish measures to prevent recurrence of other incidents.

Written Program

Process for ND Personnel using Contractors or Vendors

Contractor Process 3

Contractor Requirements

For a contract company to be eligible as an approved vendor they must meet certain requirements. The requirements below will be reviewed as a whole and weighted so a company may not meet one requirement but still be eligible to be placed on the approved list.

  • The contractor company’s incident rates (total case rate and days away, restricted and transferred rate) must be at or below their Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) incident rate averages. Link to the BLS
  • The contractor company’s experience modification ratio (EMR) must be 1 or less. Click here for a definition of the EMR.
  • The contract company must not have any willful or serious OSHA citations within the last 2 years.
  • Insurance requirements include:
    • A current Certificate of Insurance on file with ND meeting the required levels as noted in the Contractor Safety written program. Subcontractors shall possess their own insurance and may not work under the prime contractor’s insurance.
    • Insurance Requirements and Indemnification Agreement on file with ND.

All individuals from a contract company who will be working on Campus must attend the University of Notre Dame contractor safety orientation training and pass a quiz. This orientation and quiz will be provided online.

Forms and Documents

  1. Pre Job Safety Checklist (224 kb pdf) – This is required to be completed by a University of Notre Dame representative (typically the person who is overseeing the contractor). The checklist must be completed prior to the work commencing and shall be posted or kept at the job site.
  2. Contractor Site Safety Plan (184 kb pdf) – This is required when there are 5 or more contractors or their subcontractors working on a specific project simultaneously and the project involves activities with increased risk such as electrical operations, crane use, hazardous chemical use, etc.
  3. Job Site Safety Checklist (181 kb pdf) - This is required to be completed by a University of Notre Dame representative periodically to validate that the contractor is performing the work in accordance with the University's safety procedures and regulatory requirements.
  4. Contractor EHS Evaluation Package (259 kb, pdf) - This may only be used as approved by RMS for small companies (e.g., less than 10 employees) and if they are the sole provider of the service.