1. Third Party Verification Services

3. Who are these people?  These are 3 rd party verification companies hired by large companies, often called Owner Clients to collect information from subcontractors, verify their qualifications and ensure their compliance with safety standards and practices.  You can have multiple Owner Clients associated with the 3 rd party verification service and all have access to the records you submit.  The standards for compliance are set by the Owner Client not the 3 rd party verification service.  Requirements for submittals are based on the scope of work submitted during the set up process.  There is a fee associated with subscribing typically based on 3 years of average number of employees.

4. What do they look for? The most common items these services look for are:  Safety Programs  Environmental Policies  Appropriate Certificates of Insurance  DOT Compliance  Verification of Employee Training  Historical Safety Data (i.e. OSHA logs, Citation History, Fatalities, etc…)

5. Safety Programs  You will be required to submit your corporate safety program for audit and review.  Your safety program must contain the most updated policies in accordance with state and federal safety standards.  Your safety manual should be applicable to your scope of work (i.e. if you are an electrical contractor you should not have a policy on hydro blasting in your manual.)

6. Environmental Policies  You must be prepared to provide your written corporate environmental policy.  Should include your general waste management practices;  Spill prevention practices and spill response practices;  Chemical inventory list and SDS for anything being brought on client property;  Verification of environmental training for employees.

7. Certificates of Insurance  Certificates of Insurance expire every year! Know your renewal date.  An updated COI with the proper endorsements must be submitted and on record in order to be considered compliant.  For work performed in Washington State you must provide a valid Certificate of Coverage for worker’s compensation.  A separate COI must be submitted for each client associated with the 3 rd party verification service.

8. DOT Compliance  If you have even one vehicle that is considered a commercial motor vehicle (GVW 10,001 or greater) you must have a written vehicle policy.  Your vehicle/fleet policy must be in compliance with FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) standards.  You must carry the appropriate Insurance endorsements for your vehicles.

9. Verification of Employee Training  One of the most important items to ensure that your company is compliant is your employee training program.  Many of you have internal ways of tracking employee training with software, spreadsheets, calendars or matrix’s.  Not all training or certifications expire. You must ensure that your records do not show unnecessary expiration dates or your documents will be kicked back.  Some 3 rd party services offer a training manager program to assist you in keeping track of training expiration dates, new employees, required training, etc....

10. Historical Safety Data  You will be graded on your historical data including 3 to 5 years of OSHA logs, 3 to 7 years of citation or violation history and both intrastate and interstate EMR.  Although OSHA logs are not a clear indicator of how “safe” your company is, there is high emphasis placed on the information contained in the logs.  You must ensure that the information contained on your OSHA logs is accurate. Be careful not to “over report”  Some services require you to submit OSHA log information on a quarterly basis. Failure to do so will reduce your grade or rating.  Your RIR, DART, LWD, etc… will be calculated and used in determining your rating or grade.

11. So, What do I Get Out of This?  Third party pre-qualification is growing significantly.  More Owner Clients are utilizing these services to pre-qualify all contractors working on their properties.  Once your information is entered multiple Owner Clients can see your profile and see that you are pre-qualified to work for them.  Your programs are maintained more frequently.