Communication & Coordination - Action Item 2

Action Item 2: Establish effective coordination.

Host employers, contractors, and staffing agencies must coordinate work planning, scheduling, and resolving program differences. This helps to identify and solve concerns or conflicts that could have a negative impact on safety or health.

To do this, OSHA suggests that each entity take the following actions.

Host employers:

• Include any safety-related specifications and qualifications in contracts and bid documents and ensure that contractors and staffing agencies selected for the work meet those requirements.
• Identify issues that may arise during on-site work and include procedures to be used by the host employer and contractors and/or staffing agencies for resolving any conflicts before work starts.

Host employers coordinating with contractors and staffing agencies:

• Ensure that work is planned and scheduled to minimize impacts on safety
• Ensure that staffing agency workers are adequately trained and equipped before arriving on the work site
• Harmonize their safety and health policies and procedures to resolve important differences, so that all workers at the site have the same protection and receive consistent safety information

Host employers and staffing agencies:

• Work together to deal with unexpected staffing needs by ensuring that enough trained and equipped workers are available or that adequate lead time is provided to train and equip workers.
• Make sure that managers with decision-making authority are available and prepared to deal with day-to-day coordination issues.

To learn more about HAZWOPER visit our HAZWOPER 40 Hour Online Training web page.