How to foster a safe, sustainable working environment with a subcontractor? Establish trust. Right from the beginning.

On-site, the level of safety depends as much on the client’s safety culture as that of subcontractors. It is essential that there is a level of cooperation with respect to safety, from the very beginning of the contractual relationship.

Selecting a subcontractor based on their safety performance as soon as consultations begin is, thus, a determining factor in success. It makes it possible to establish sustainable, safe working conditions for the employees of both companies.

In his Thoughts on Safety Culture, Daniel Darets suggest some good practices to implement, and specifies several pitfalls to avoid. He presents the relationship between the client and subcontractor as a relationship of trust, in which safety is a topic that must be addressed jointly.

Joint safety visits, the right and duty to challenge practices, feedback from experiences, a shared vision and will to work safely... the challenge is to make safety a priority at all levels of the contractual relationship.