Completely outsourcing safety management to a third-party is an excellent way to focus on your core business while entrusting experts to ensure regulatory compliance and your employees’ safety. Companies already outsource vital business functions like human resources, accounting, IT, and marketing, so it’s time to view safety as another function that can be successfully outsourced.
Flexibility, agility, and adaptability have become cornerstones of successful organizations. The evolution of outsourcing has helped companies focus on their core competencies and let experts at other aspects of the business bring efficiencies and strategic value. This is reflected in the modern models of retainer-based functions like accounting, HR, marketing, and more.
This same concept, when applied to safety services, can provide the strategic value missing from traditional methods of staffing and contracting. By bringing in a safety management consultant with a complete focus on taking over the supervision and execution of safety services, companies turn safety from a cost center into a fundamental foundation of organizational culture that ultimately delivers a positive return on investment. Outsourced safety management offers:
Completely outsourcing the safety function transfers liability onto the safety organization, alleviating some of the legal burdens that come with safety compliance and incidents.
In addition to eliminating the need for highly paid, full-time staff, reducing the burdens of finding, hiring, and training temp or contract employees also eliminates the costs associated with these time-consuming tasks.
Outsourcing total safety management leaves just one partnership to manage instead of juggling multiple contracts and agreements.
The result is the efficiency and cost savings of traditional outsourcing with the strategic advantage of proactive safety management, meaning you’re always prepared.
Businesses in heavy industries and construction will always face understandable scrutiny over working conditions. The safety and security of employees has become a fundamental expectation in this country, and rightfully so. That said, a combination of reality and market forces present ongoing challenges for companies to maintain the safest workplaces possible. Some of these challenges to deal with include:
Companies have long managed these market forces through contracting and staffing, but the contracting approach fails to deliver all the benefits of a comprehensive outsourcing strategy and, in some cases, creates its own challenges and issues.
In addition to using a mix of temporary or part-time employees, companies have traditionally addressed their safety and staffing challenges by contracting or using staffing firms to provide subcontractors. While this may result in getting personnel into place, this approach has apparent deficiencies and doesn’t deliver the full benefits of a total safety management consultant. Deficiencies of this traditional approach include:
Especially in large businesses where staffing needs can be in the dozens to hundreds, juggling and administering all the contracts creates a burden that extends from your safety team to your HR department.
Temporary staffing companies, especially those working in high-demand and talent-depleted specialties like safety, may not require the highest level of expertise and qualifications. Furthermore, in many cases, these firms may look for general experience and not necessarily niche skills that apply to the different and particular aspects that appropriate safety preparedness demands. At the end of the day, you might end up with unqualified people in critical positions.
Contracting and staffing leave a company in reactionary mode, forcing you to react when a need arises — a process that could take more time than you have to address critical situations adequately. Reactionary staffing can delay timelines and create an overall culture of slow progress.
When employing a contractor, you accept the liability for that worker. A staffing firm might maintain the permanent employment status of an employee, but to what degree does the agency accept liability for that employee’s actions? These gray areas can create questions around liability in the event something happens involving that employee.
When temporary employees leave following a project or contract, that person is no longer available to answer questions or share institutional knowledge. The result can be significant information gaps throughout the company, which opens the door to dangerous situations down the line.
For deeper insights related to dealing with labor shortages and difficulty getting qualified safety experts on your staff, refer to our article Lacking Safety Professionals? Try an On-Site Safety Company.
The duties of safety personnel vary from site to site. Depending on the unique needs of your work, there could be a need for specific, specialized personnel or more general team members. The type of work being done and the scale of that work also changes the number of people required on any given site.
Most safety personnel act in an advisory capacity rather than operating anything on the job site. However, their role is critical due to OSHA, state, and federal requirements. Failing to meet any of these requirements can lead to fines, litigation, and other issues for your business.
While these roles and responsibilities vary, they can be defined as any combination of the following:
Note that these are just some of the responsibilities safety personnel perform on a job site, as their experience and abilities may make them able to do more tasks beyond these.Ultimately, their mission is to create a safe environment, which is detailed further in our article Safety Personnel: Reduce Risk On Any Job.
Safety compliance isn’t something nice to have; it’s the law. As such, it’s often looked upon as a necessary cost center. However, the right approach can make safety a cost-effective investment. Rather than assuming a reactive posture and gambling on avoiding incidents, an investment in the right safety consulting approach can be net-positive over the long term because it can minimize or eliminate expenses associated with:
Additionally, better morale and less churn from a workforce that appreciates the dedication to its safety enhances overall performance at worksites. Safety services delivery has modernized like other critical business functions, but companies still need to adjust their mindsets. Those that do will reap the benefits of simpler, more effective, and more cost-beneficial execution of EHS.
Full-time, dedicated safety personnel are expensive, which is why it’s useful to know how to find safety staffing services for your needs. SITEX offers you access to an extensive team of experts for any situation. Our safety staffing services include:
To successfully outsource your site or construction safety management, look for a full-service provider like SITEX that can offer access to an entire network of EH&S professionals. Contact us today for details on all the ways our services can ensure your site compliance and worker safety.
To successfully outsource your site or construction safety management, look for a full-service provider that can offer access to an entire network of EH&S professionals. With SITEX, even when you don’t have a CSP or CIH on site, you get the guidance of the most educated and trained experts in the field because every member of our teams knows they have the knowledge and support of the highest levels of CSPs and CIHs. If our field agents have questions, need advice, or second opinions, they can immediately connect with our certified experts to find the safest answers and solutions.
Contact us today for details on all the ways our services can ensure your site compliance and worker safety.
SITEX saves lives. For over 35 years we’ve delivered safety services, environmental services, industrial hygiene expertise, rescue solutions and training, and rental equipment to ensure compliance, reduce risk, protect workers, and promote safety in every industry. We invest in highly trained personnel and technology so you don’t have to.
