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Balancing the two can be extremely challenging and the reality is that many procurement departments do not take into sufficient account the safety and health credentials of a prospective supplier, or the working conditions under which the goods or materials are produced.

Unfortunately, with health and safety often coming so low down on the list of priorities when choosing contractors it is often overlooked altogether. Despite this reality the fact remains that a company cannot export their risks onto contractors; this is a nontransferable legal duty and the responsibility will always be theirs. The company also has a duty to protect both their clients and the end service users. In addition, due diligence and incorporating health and safety into the supply chain process directly protects the company’s reputation: a failure in this area which could prove disastrous, possibly even fatal for the company.

The procurement process can be broken into three important stages, which are: specify, select and monitor. By looking at these stages independently we can glean a better understanding of what could go wrong when HSE is not considered in the procurement processes.

Under “specify,” the appropriate health and safety components of any project are crucial as they aid in describing the services to be delivered. Highlighting the HSE roles of all stakeholders can be a key to the success of this stage in addition to answering pertinent questions helping to confirm that HSE considerations are adequately reflected within the procurement processes. Such questions could include: Are HSE responsibilities clear for the contractors? What evidence is required to demonstrate effective health and safety management?

Secondly, “selections” refers to key controls to be considered when selecting contractors or delivery partners, these include: HSE statistics i.e. historical records ? Competency of the responsible person with respect to the contract ? How effective and suitable is the potential suppliers HSE management system ? Do they have a record of adherence to local HSE standards such as OSHAD ? Or, do they have international standards in place such as ISO 45001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 ?

Finally, “monitoring” is the periodic review of the performance to evaluate the vendor. Within this should be measures in place and the contractual ability to manage/remove a contractor who demonstrates poor performance/compliance or breach of contract and/or HSE legislation.

How and Why Could Things Go Wrong ?
Potential health and safety failures during the procurement process could include:
- Not involving the companies health and safety staff in the procurement process
- Failing to describe the services required accurately during the procurement process
- Failing to understand the risks involved in the product or service being procured
- Failing to effectively monitor the contractor
- Cost being the final deciding factor
The above listed failures in addition to not giving proper consideration to health and safety issues could lead to a general increase in the incidence of injury and illness. Other outcomes could include:
- Equipment failure
- Defective products or even hazardous materials entering the supply chain
- Serious health and safety failures ie. Death or serious injury of project worker
- Loss of company reputation, contracts and revenue

Conclusion
A responsible procurement process should take a holistic approach and centre on other factors outside of cost to risk map suppliers and potential suppliers. This will surely go a long way towards achieving improvements which aid in the prevention and/or elimination of workplace injuries and fatalities.
Factoring in health and safety into the procurement process can be summed up to companies in one word – Protection. Protection for your employees, protection for your visitors, protection for your contracts, protection for your revenue and protection for both the company’s present and future.

Corporate OHS are UAE based Health and Safety Consultants offering expert resources and superior performance. We specialize in creating workable, user friendly HSE systems aligned to business activities and operations. Our range of health and safety consultancy services includes; risk assessments, hazard identification and control measures, HSE management system development, implementation and review including locally compliant systems such as OSHAD and/or accredited systems such as ISO 45001, HSE legal compliance reviews and audit, accident investigations, crisis management, long term or project based HSE outsourcing.
In addition to project work and to aid companies in need of HSE resource but without a full time headcount; Corporate OHS also offers the option of a flexible contract and a monthly retainer, meaning access to HSE services without the burden of permanent cost. For enquiries or to find out more about our services, please visit our website or send an email to [email protected]