Contractor Management in EPC Projects. Approaches to Training, Motivation, and Development of Contractor Employees

Contractor Management in EPC Projects: From Chaos to System

The implementation of large EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) projects inevitably involves engaging a huge number of contractors. When the number of workers on a construction site reaches tens of thousands, standard occupational safety management methods stop working. Under such conditions, it is critical to build a system that allows controlling safety at all subcontracting levels, overcoming language barriers and the low level of basic personnel qualifications.

Oksana Kozlova, Director of Occupational Health, Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection at NIPIGAS JSC, shares practical experience in managing a multi-thousand army of contractors at Russia's largest construction sites. The speaker analyzes how the company transitioned from formally transferring requirements into contracts to creating an integrated training and control system.

Problems of Multi-Level Subcontracting and Their Solutions

One of the main problems in implementing large-scale projects is the loss of control over personnel qualifications at the lower levels of subcontracting. As the speaker notes, no more than five percent of the "mirror" contract requirements reach the third or fourth level. The situation is aggravated by the constant rotation of shift personnel and the language barrier (up to 11 languages are used on some projects).

To solve these problems, an integrated HSE team was formed to manage processes directly on site. An important step was the involvement of specialists who are native speakers of the contractors' languages, which made it possible to effectively communicate safety requirements and conduct training.

Training and Knowledge Verification System

The presentation details the approach to training contractor personnel. The company abandoned the formal recognition of certificates obtained in dubious training centers and implemented its own knowledge verification system.

• Entrance Testing: All arriving workers undergo mandatory knowledge testing after an induction briefing with the participation of native speakers. This allows filtering out unqualified personnel even before they are admitted to the site.
• Training Grounds: Special training grounds have been created to practice practical skills (working at heights, in confined spaces). If a crew commits a gross violation, the entire crew is removed from work and sent for retraining.
• VR Simulators: Virtual reality technologies are used for engineering and technical personnel and work organizers, allowing them to immerse themselves in real incident scenarios.

Control Automation and Behavioral Audits

Managing tens of thousands of workers is impossible without automation. Using the corporate occupational safety system as an example, the speaker shows how training and violation tracking modules help monitor the status of each employee. Contractors themselves enter data into the system, which automatically highlights risks and deadlines for retaking exams.

Special attention is paid to behavioral safety audits (BBS), the conduct of which is included in the KPIs of company employees. Regular communication with workers on site and explanation of safety rules yields a tangible positive effect.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to build an effective training system for tens of thousands of contractor workers?
• How to overcome the language barrier when conducting briefings and monitoring safety?
• How to automate the tracking of training and violations of contractor personnel?
• What methods of influence are most effective in case of gross safety violations by a crew?
• How to organize entrance qualification control of workers to prevent the admission of persons with "purchased" certificates?