Clients' OHS Duty of Heed for Contractors

As far as OHS management plan is concerned the law makes no distinction between responsibilities for employees and contractors working on-site for an organization. These laws are primarily state based but they differ very little. For more information go to the relevant work safety website in your state.

The general safety requirements apply to the IT industry as to any other. Computer safety issues apply such as ergonomic chairs, non-glare screens and safe lifting and moving of computer equipment.

All people working on electrical equipment should receive written material outlining safety procedures regarding electric shock and related hazards. This information should include avoiding electric shock such as procedures for indicating whether wires are live (carrying current) or not. Also advice should be provided as to what action to take if someone is suffering an electric shock. Other safety considerations include not working on live equipment where an employee or contractor could bang their head on a sharp object such as a shelf.

A Contractor OHS Management System consists of four main stages in the contracting process. These are:

1. Writing tender and contract specifications.

2. Evaluating tenders.

3. Pre-commencement planning of work.

4. On-site control and monitoring.

When writing the tender and contract specifications you should comply with OHS legislation and obtain demonstrated evidence, such as company forms and records, of the tenderer’s own OHS management system and OHS performance record. This information should be used in evaluating the tender. For medium to high risk contracts (which may include work on computer hardware) the tender and contract should require the contractor to develop a project specific Health and Safety Management plan before starting the job. This plan must be developed in consultation with site management and set out the OHS practices and procedures that will apply during the contract. Once approved by management, the plan becomes the basis as a work method statement inspections and internal and external audits for the duration of the contract.