HEALTH, SAFETY and ENVIRONMENT
Contractor Management
The health and safety of contract workers must be considered during the planning and completion of contracted work at MacEwan University.
Academic departments and service areas that hire contractors have specific obligations when engaging in contractual relationships. These roles and responsiblities are outlined in MacEwan’s Contractor Management program and are in place for the duration of the contractual agreement.
All contractors are required to meet or exceed the requirements of the Alberta Occupational Health & Safety Act and regulations and codes and to conduct activities in accordance with applicable university policies and procedures.
The Contractor Management program
When the university identifies a need for external parties, the scope of work is defined to determine the level of contractor required. This decision is crucially informed by the Contractor HSE Classification Matrix, emphasizing our commitment to prioritizing contractor safety.
The contract sponsor is responsible for setting project expectations, defining scope. and considering factors such as project outcomes, involved parties, specific criteria for success, essential contractor criteria, potential risks, contractor roles and responsibilities, and site access requirements.
For capital projects, the scope is defined during the approval process; for other projects, it is defined by the contract sponsor and tailored to the needs of academic departments or service areas.
During the pre-qualification stage, MacEwan University follows a standard practice for selecting contractors based on the defined scope of work. The procurement and contract services (PACS) process must be followed when contractor services are needed.
For support, contact PACS at pacs@macewan.ca.
Pre-mobilization involves activities that must be completed before work begins, including ensuring all contractors complete the required training through the contractor learning management system (LMS). All contractors must undergo the foundational contractor HSE orientation. Level 2 and 3 contractors must also complete the supplementary contractor HSE orientation.
This stage involves verifying orientation training completion, providing emergency information and conducting a pre-mobilization kick-off meeting to review scope, work plans, HSE requirements, hazard assessments, risk assessments, worker competency and emergency response plans.
Hazard management is the core of the work-in-progress stage. A project hazard assessment must be in place for all projects to ensure that a safe environment is maintained at MacEwan University.
The MacEwan University representative ensures that hazard controls are maintained through regular monitoring of numerous potential hazards on university premises. Field observations are carried out to ensure compliance with safety requirements and the documentation of hazard controls.
Contractors must comply with the contractor access authorization process and working alone procedure throughout the work-in-progress stage.
After project completion, or annually for multi-year contracts, the contract sponsor and the MacEwan University representative meet with a contractor representative to review health and safety performance and to complete the contractor HSE performance report. This evaluation is based on health and safety documentation submitted during the project.
Stakeholder responsiblities
Prime contractors
Prime contractors are responsible for overseeing their respective employees and sub-contractors, ensuring compliance with legislation and the university's health, safety and environment (HSE) standards. They must ensure that equipment and work areas meet HSE requirements; provide safe work procedures, project specific work instructions and hazard assessments before commencing work; and ensure adequate availability of first aid services, equipment and supplies.
Contractors
A contractor is a professional or company hired to perform specific tasks or provide services to the university. Contractors must understand relevant policies for compliance and performance evaluation.
Contractors must follow their own HSE program, which must meet the university’s policies, practices, procedures, standards and regulatory requirements, especially if they are engaged in high-risk work or assigned as prime contractors.
During the pre-mobilization phase, the contractor must submit a project hazard assessment using their organization's template or MacEwan University templates.
Security Services manages the contractor access authorization process with extra access requirements for level 2 contractors.
All contractors complete the required training through the contractor learning management system (LMS). The instructions for accessing the learning management system are provided here.
Contractor sponsors
The contract sponsor is responsible for outlining the scope of work, ensuring compliance with MacEwan’s contractor engagement processes; defining contract roles, responsibilities, and qualifications; identifying project-specific risks, hazards, and HSE requirements; determining the need for a prime contractor role and jointly signing contracts alongside other evaluation committee members where applicable. They can either assign the prime contractor role to an organization that has passed the pre-qualification process or delegate the prime contractor responsibilities to the MacEwan University representative.
Contractor Health and Safety Pre-qualification form
MacEwan University representatives
The MacEwan University representative supports the evaluation of contractor submissions, maintaining direct communication with both the contractor and contract sponsor, overseeing contractor activities to ensure safe execution of work and assuming the role of prime contractor when necessary.
Consultation with the Office of Health, Safety, and Environment is recommended for contract sponsors and MacEwan representatives during the various stages of the contractor management program.
The MacEwan University representative checklist outlines requirements at all stages of the process.
The MacEwan University representative ensures that contractors complete all required training.
The instructions for accessing the learning management system are provided here.
Contractor Learning Management System Instructions For MacEwan University Representatives
The MacEwan University representative provides Security Services with the information required to manage the Contractor Access Authorization Process by completing the Contractor Access Authorization form.
During the Contractor Performance Evaluation stage, the contract sponsor and the MacEwan University representative complete the Contractor HSE performance report.
To support your roles as a contract sponsor and/or MacEwan University representative, you can complete the orientation course for each role.
The contractor learning managment system provides orientation training to support contractors in upholding our commitment to health and safety. Please log in to access orientation courses.