Contractor management

1. Set up the contractor review

1. Enable Contractor management and allocate it to the intended company. Open a workspace that its authorised owner and reviewer can both edit.
2. Create a contractor review. Enter a stable contractor reference, organisation, revision 1, service scope, site and exclusions.
3. Record the selection criteria, client and contractor responsibilities, interfaces and restrictions. Assign an accountable client owner and a different independent reviewer, then save.
4. Add evidence checks under the review. Use relevant categories such as insurance, competence, induction, equipment, subcontracting and performance.
5. For each accepted check, record the evidence source, date checked, expiry or recheck date and findings. Explain any Not applicable result. A Gap identified result needs follow-up before submission.

2. Review evidence and corrective work

Use View / upload evidence to attach files to Draft records. Evidence checks inherit the review owner. Once submitted, the evidence and reviewed scope are retained unchanged. An unrelated editor cannot replace the owner's evidence.

Add actions against the review or an evidence check and allocate an authorised owner and independent verifier. Linked actions must be Closed with a Closed allocation before contractor approval. Where the full action workflow requires effectiveness evidence, retain it through Assure. You can also raise a linked NCR from contractor findings.

The named owner submits; the independent reviewer approves. The reviewer can return Submitted work to Draft with a reason and a cleared decision. Approval requires current dates and completed checks. It is approval of the recorded scope only.

3. Set up a work engagement

1. Add an engagement under the approved contractor review. Record the location, work scope, planned start and finish.
2. Link the exact RAMS, JSA or SWMS revisions relevant to the work. They must be saved and independently approved, and remain within their review dates.
3. Record induction and competence evidence, supervision, communication, interfaces, permits and local permissions. Assign the engagement owner and independent reviewer.
4. Add every worker qualification required for this engagement. Complete the evidence before submitting the engagement.

4. Add multiple compulsory qualifications

Select Add worker qualification for each worker and each qualification. A worker may need several rows: for example, a CSCS card of a specified category and a well control qualification of a specified level. Different workers may need different qualifications. Use Other for further schemes, licences or authorisations.

Verify the correct holder, scope, level and validity using the appropriate evidence. Attach the retained evidence to the Draft qualification row. Avoid collecting unnecessary personal information. A certificate is not, by itself, proof that a person can safely perform every task.

Every compulsory qualification must be Verified before submission. An unverified or expired compulsory qualification blocks engagement approval and start. Each row is checked separately: one valid card cannot hide a second expired certificate. Qualification evidence is frozen on submission. The reviewer must return the engagement to Draft before corrections; the owner can then amend it and submit again.

5. Start, monitor and close

After independent engagement approval, the owner records the actual readiness checks and briefing evidence and changes the engagement to Active on or after its planned start. Current contractor review, current work plans and compulsory qualifications are checked again. Site-specific permissions, worker competence and local controls still need to be confirmed.

Later expiry, suspension or supersession of a prerequisite produces Review required in the register and shared queue. This does not silently rewrite historical decisions. Stop or restrict affected work through local arrangements and record suspension with a reason. There is no automatic email alert in this release.

At completion, the independent reviewer records performance, handback, lessons and the closure reason. Closed records remain retained. Approved scope cannot be rewritten as though it had always been approved.

6. Renew contractor reviews

Select Prepare next review. This creates a linked Draft revision and copies the check requirements. It clears people, approval decisions and evidence results so the new review must be assessed afresh. Approve and save the successor before superseding the earlier review. Existing engagements continue to reference the exact earlier review and must be reviewed if that review is suspended or superseded. Create a new engagement for a changed approved work scope.

Fictional practice exercise

Add the fictional Northbank inspection contractor. It starts unassigned and unapproved, with insurance, competence and induction checks awaiting assessment. Use fictional evidence only. Set up a linked engagement and add a CSCS requirement and a well control requirement for a fictional worker as a software exercise; this pairing is not a statement that either qualification is appropriate for pedestrian-route inspection. Confirm that leaving either compulsory item unchecked prevents submission, and that an expired item prevents approval or start.

Compatibility and recovery

Older clients must not edit contractor workspaces. The cloud rejects attempts to drop contractor records, including Drafts and qualification rows. Use the web workspace or the matched Contractor-compatible Desktop 2.1.5 RC1 supplied by your administrator. The desktop package is portable, not a signed installer. Retain current database, file and local-vault backups before upgrading. Staging acceptance covered independent approval, edited transfers, conflicts, evidence integrity and existing Safety & Assurance Case records. Restoring older code after contractor data has been saved requires a considered data-preservation plan.