Full Cycle of Interaction with Contractors

Evolution of Control: From Formal Inspections to Digital Partnership

In modern industry, contractors are becoming an integral part of the production process. However, the integration of third-party personnel often carries the risk of lowering the overall safety culture. During the webinar, Rustam Azizov, Head of the Contractor Relations Department at OTEKO JSC, analyzes practical experience in transforming interaction with contractors — from the selection stage to the formation of the final reliability rating.

Multi-Stage Selection and Standardization of Requirements

Using his company as an example, the speaker shows how a formal approach to selecting counterparties is replaced by deep analytics. The key instrument becomes an on-site audit conducted before signing a contract.

• Digitized audit checklists. These allow for an objective assessment not only of documentation but also of the actual conditions at contractor bases: the state of equipment, PPE provision, and living conditions. This weeds out unscrupulous contractors at the tender stage.
• Interviewing executives. Assessing the commitment of top management to safety issues provides an understanding of whether the contractor is ready for long-term partnership and development.
• Strict standardization. The implementation of supplementary agreements with clear boundaries of responsibility and a system of fines (with the possibility of replacing them with proactive PPE purchases) creates transparent rules of the game.

Digital Integration and Permit Automation

Effective management of thousands of third-party workers is impossible without a unified information environment. The presentation details the process of integrating contractors into the customer's internal IT systems.

• Unified permit-to-work system. Contractors independently issue permits in the customer's corporate system. This ensures transparency: the customer sees in real time where and what high-risk work is being carried out.
• Automated testing before admission. The introduction of a knowledge assessment module eliminates the human factor. A worker is included in the permit-to-work only after successfully passing an electronic test specific to their job profile.
• Control heat map. Based on data regarding personnel numbers, risks, and the results of previous inspections, the system automatically calculates the required number of daily audits for each site.

Comprehensive Assessment and Rating

The final stage of the cycle is the formation of an objective rating, which directly affects further cooperation. The speaker emphasizes the importance of a balance between reactive and proactive indicators.

Instead of relying solely on incident statistics, the assessment system takes into account preventive actions: the timeliness of eliminating violations, the contractor conducting their own audits, participation in safety days, and initiative in personnel training. This approach motivates counterparties not to hide incidents but to systematically improve working conditions.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to organize an on-site audit of a contractor before signing a contract and what criteria to include in the checklist?
• How does the "yellow and red cards" system work for violators of cardinal safety rules?
• How can financial fines for contractors be replaced with proactive investments in safety?
• How to integrate third-party organizations into the internal digital system for issuing permits-to-work and registering incidents?
• How to build a heat map of facilities for the optimal allocation of inspector resources?