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

• Average Recordable Rate > 25% Higher than Industry Average
• Average DART Rate > 25% Higher than Industry Average
• One or More Serious, Repeat, or Willful OSHA Violations
• Average EMR > 1.0
• Fatality within the Last 3 Years 
  
  

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 Contractors tab. In this view, a user can quickly identify whether a contractor needs a review based on the score, the presence of one or more critical flags, and the approval status note displayed.

In the next sections, we’ll use a fictitious contractor, Bancroft Brothers Steel, 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 Contractors page and opening a contractor’s individual profile. That is the process that we’ll address below.

*Please 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, click on that contractor’s name in the Contractors page. You will be brought to their Risk Overview, where the Approvals section is located on the right side of the page:

Then, simply click on the Approval Status dropdown next to the specific category you need (Safety, Finance, Insurance).

*Please note that if your company does not use Highwire’s Finance or Insurance modules, then those approval statuses will not be available.

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

• Approved
• Corrective Action Plan Required
• Needs Review
• Approved with CAP
• Not Approved
   

When to Add 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
• 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 one another.

*Please note that comments are visible only to clients and cannot be seen by a contractor.

How to Add Comments at the Profile Level

To add comments, first click the “Timeline” button: 

A side panel will open, displaying comments and various status updates regarding approvals and projects. At the bottom, click the text field to open the comments form. Enter your comments into the text box.

You can also attach documents via the paperclip button, select a project associated with the comment, and set comments as Negative or Positive. When you are finished, click “Add”:

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.

*Please note that they have access to upload supporting/supplemental documentation directly, but conditional approval forms or exception documentation may be developed and uploaded by the client.

Click HERE for an article on how to upload supplemental documents to a contractor’s profile.

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