Why it matters

Contractors do much of the riskiest work on a site. They fix machines, work at height and clean tanks. They often arrive with little knowledge of your hazards. Several firms may work side by side, and one crew's job can endanger another.

The WSH Council warns that weak contractor management exposes people at or near the workplace to serious injury and death. A clear process gives everyone the same picture of who does what.

What the rules require in Singapore

Under the WSH Act, a principal is anyone who engages a contractor under a contract for service. MOM's guidance says the principal must make sure the contractor can do the work it was hired for. The principal must also make sure the contractor has made its machinery, equipment and processes safe.

If you tell the contractor's workers how to do the job, you take on employer duties towards them. Supervisors do this often without noticing. Each subcontractor remains the employer of its own workers. As occupier, you also answer for the safety of the premises, the access routes and shared plant such as hoists and lifts.

Risk assessment duties

The WSH (Risk Management) Regulations put risk assessment duties on employers, self-employed persons and principals. Each must assess the risks their work poses to anyone affected and control them. Records must be kept for at least 3 years. Affected people must be told the risks and the controls. The Code of Practice on WSH Risk Management adds that the employer should require contractors to carry out a risk assessment for their work.

Choose the right contractor

Define the job first. List every task, the hazards and the permits it needs. Then you know what competence to look for. Set tougher criteria for high-risk work.

The WSH Council guidelines suggest you check these points before you award the job.

  • Their safety and health plan for the job, reviewed by someone who understands the work.
  • Past safety performance, with references from previous clients.
  • Training and licences for each trade, such as lifting supervisors or scaffold erectors.
  • bizSAFE or another recognised safety management standard.
  • Sample risk assessments and safe work procedures from similar jobs.
  • Their plan for subcontracting, and how they vet their own subcontractors.
Keep an approved list

Keep a list of contractors with a good safety track record. You can call them in at short notice without starting the checks from scratch.

Put safety in the contract

Write your safety requirements into the contract. State the minimum competence, training and experience you expect. Ask for a safety plan with the tender. It should cover the site organisation, induction, risk assessment and safe work procedures. It should also cover inspections, PPE, the emergency plan and incident reporting.

Agree on subcontracting up front. You can set rules on who may be brought in and what checks they pass. Allow enough time and money for the job to be done safely. Rushed contractors cut corners.

Before work starts

Appoint one person to coordinate safety for the contract. Hold a pre-work meeting with the contractor and any subcontractors. Agree on roles, contacts, permits and how you will talk to each other.

Every contract worker needs a site induction before starting. Keep a signed record. The WSH Council lists what the induction should cover.

  • Site rules and the policies that apply to the job.
  • Site hazards and their controls, including any special hazards.
  • Permit-to-work arrangements.
  • Emergency procedures, assembly points and first aid.
  • Where safety equipment is kept.

Order of controls for shared work

Your risks and the contractor's risks meet on site. Assess them together. Hot work beside a solvent store is a classic clash. So is a crane lift over another firm's crew.

Work down the order of controls. Separate the jobs in time or space so the clash disappears. Swap a hazardous method for a safer one. Put up barriers, guards or screens. Use permits, sign-in and toolbox briefings to control who works where. Issue PPE last, as backup.

Monitor the work

Walk the job. The more risk, the more often you inspect. Agree on an inspection schedule with the contractor and keep the records. Log every non-conformance with an action and a deadline.

Hold regular coordination meetings, more often when several contractors share the site. Use sign-in and sign-out so you know who is on site. If the contractor cannot meet the safety requirements, the WSH Council guidance says stop the work until they do. Investigate injuries and near misses involving contractors. Share the lessons with every firm on site.

Common mistakes

  • Choosing on price alone and checking safety only after award.
  • Assuming the contractor's paperwork matches what happens on site.
  • Giving work instructions to contract workers without realising you take on employer duties.
  • Letting subcontractors arrive without induction because "they're with the main contractor".
  • No single coordinator, so nobody spots that two jobs clash.
  • Inspections with no record and no follow-up.
  • Skipping the end-of-job review, so the same problems return next time.
Close out every contract

At the end of the job, have the contractor hand back the area safely. Review their safety performance and record it. Use that record next time you choose a contractor.

In other countries

  • Malaysia: Section 18A of Act 514 gives the principal a duty to protect contractors, subcontractors and their employees, where they work under the principal's direction as to how the work is done. The duty covers safe plant and systems of work, enough time, budget and resources, and information, instruction, training and supervision. Section 18B requires every employer, self-employed person and principal to carry out a risk assessment and put the controls in place.

Use it on site: the contractor management checklist and the toolbox talk to brief your crew.

Sources

  1. WSH Act: responsibilities of stakeholders, Ministry of Manpower.
  2. Contractor management, WSH Council.
  3. WSH Guidelines: Contractor Management, WSH Council.
  4. Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations, Singapore Statutes Online.
  5. Code of Practice on WSH Risk Management, WSH Council.
  6. Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514), updated text to 1 June 2024, DOSH Malaysia.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Laws and codes of practice change; always check the current official text and your site's own procedures.