To accommodate different learning styles, a step-by-step article with accompanying screenshots is provided directly below and a video tutorial is also available at the end of this document.

Introduction

This document provides best practices for setting and documenting safety approvals for contractors that do not meet minimum established criteria based on the results of their Highwire safety assessment.

Common thresholds for approval include:

• Highwire safety score ≥ 80 (standard)
• No critical safety flags triggered (specific flags are configured per client)

There are no Highwire clients today that use the safety score as a pass or fail mechanism. It is not typically used to eliminate contractors from consideration. Rather, the safety score and flags are viewed as indicators of risk. They are used to facilitate important conversations with contractors that occur before award and certainly before work begins on site.

Example Approval Criteria

Below are some examples of standard approval criteria as well as common critical flags that are set by clients:

Common Approval Criteria

Common Critical Flags

Surfacing a Contractor’s Risk Indicators

For each connected contractor, important risk indicators, including safety score, critical flags, and approval status are displayed prominently in the Partners tab. In this view a user can quickly identify whether or not a contractor needs a review based on the score, the presence of one or more critical flags, and the approval status note that is presented. In the next sections, we’ll use a fictitious contractor, District Plumbing, to provide a clear step-by-step process for setting and documenting a contractor approval:

Setting and Documenting an Approval

Approvals can be set for each contractor by starting at the Partners page and opening a contractor’s individual profile. That is the process that we’ll address below. But note that there is a separate article that details how to set an approval at the Project level.

Setting Approval at the Profile Level

To access a contractor’s individual profile, you simply click on that contractor’s name in the Partners view to access their individual profile. You will find the functionality to set/change a contractor’s approval status in Partners > Safety > Dashboard > Approval Status:

You simply click on the Approval Status dropdown, v, and approval status options will appear: 

 Approval options can be configured by a client, but typically include:

• Approved
• Provisionally Approved
• Corrective Action Plan Required
• Not Approved
• Safety Review Required

Adding Comments at the Profile Level

To document an approval, clients can add comments at the profile level. Common use cases for comments include:

• Documenting what went into the approval decision;
• Items discussed directly with the contractor; 
• High-level elements included in a corrective action or risk mitigation plan; and,
• Experience with the contractor on a past project.

Comments are a way for a client’s internal teams to share their experience and insights with a contractor across their organization. Note that comments are visible only to clients and can not be seen by a contractor

To add comments simply toggle to the Comments tab and a text box will open up for your notes. When you are finished, click Save. You will also be able to scroll through any prior notes that were added for this contractor:

Uploading Supporting/Supplemental Documentation

Clients can also upload any supporting or supplemental information that is related to a contractor’s approval, including:

• Project-specific corrective action plans.
• Conditional approval forms or exception documentation.

Project-specific corrective action plans are typically developed by the contractor and may be uploaded directly by the contractor (note that they have access to upload supporting/supplemental documentation directly),, but conditional approval forms or exception documentation may be developed by the client.

To upload documents, simply toggle to the Supplemental Information tab and a text box will open up for your notes. When you are finished, click Save. You will also be able to scroll through any prior notes that were added for this contractor:

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