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Contractors Program

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Pembina Trails School Division provides a safe environment for students, visitors and staff. To help ensure this and minimize disruptions, contractors are required to know, understand and apply the Divisional Safety Requirements while on site in addition to Federal and Provincial Acts, Regulations and Guidelines. 

The purpose of Pembina Trails contractor program is to establish the safety requirements for work performed by contractors while on divisional property and to protect the health and safety of contracted employees and school employees.  The contractor orientation booklet shall be used to provide a safety orientation  to prime contractors, small contractors and others when hired to perform construction jobs on any divisional property including schools, divisional offices and facilities and operations buildings. Management and supervisors are required to provide the orientation contractor prior to their starting work at Pembina Trails.

 
Contractors working at Pembina Trails shall not engage in work which may compromise the safety of students, staff and visitors at the division .
 

NOTICE TO PEMBINA TRAILS SCHOOLS:
Any schools within the Pembina Trails School Division that are hiring contractors must first notify the Director of Facilities and Operations for approval. The approval process is required to ensure the ongoing safety of the contractor activities while on site.  Once approved, all contractors must undergo the contractor safety orientation prior to starting work on divisional property. The orientation ensures that the contractor understand the requirements needed to carry out the work safely, the divisional safety requirements, as well as the Workplace Safety and Health Act and its Regulations.
 

WHAT IS A PRIME CONTRACTOR?

The prime contractor for a construction project is defined under the Workplace Safety and Health Act as any person who enters into a contract to serve as the prime contractor with the owner of the construction project site or if there is no contract, the owner of the construction project site. The prime contractor is responsible to ensure that a construction project is undertaken in a safe and healthy manner and in accordance with all applicable provincial and federal regulations. 

This includes:

  • Ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, that every person involved in work on the project complies with the Workplace Safety and Health Act and the Regulations.
  • Coordinating the activities of contractors, organizing and overseeing the performance of all work at the construction project site and conducting activities in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that no person is exposed to risks to his or her safety or health arising out of, or in connection with, activities at the construction project site.
  • Cooperating with any other person undertaking duties related to the project or exercising a duty imposed by the Workplace Safety and Health Act, or any other applicable Act or Regulations.


The prime contractor must ensure that a site supervisor is assigned and on site at all times while work is ongoing and must ensure that a Workplace Safety and Health Committee is formed and functioning on all projects as required by the Act and Regulations. The prime contractor shall also ensure that meetings of the committee are held on a regular basis and that copies of the minutes are forwarded to the divisional project coordinator and Safety Officer.


WHAT IS A CONTRACTOR? 

A "contractor" means a person who directs the activities of one or more employers or self-employed persons involved in work on a project. Contractors also:

  • have the same duties as prime contractors with respect to the workers they employ or any sub-contractor that works for them;
  • must advise the prime contractor of the name of every employer or self-employed person with whom the contractor has contracted to perform work on the project;
  • must ensure that all contractors and contractor employees undergo a an orientation with Pembina Trails School Division prior to starting work on site. 


Small Contractors:   The contractor orientation booklet shall be used to provide small contractors with a safety orientation when hired to perform small construction related jobs on all divisional property including schools, divisional offices and facilities and operations buildings. Management and supervisors are required to provide the orientation to the contractor prior to their starting work at Pembina Trails.

The following are examples of the small contractors the orientation applies to. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list:

  • painters, HVAC, electricians, flooring,
  • fire damper inspections, fire extinguisher inspections,
  • abatement contractors (asbestos & mold),
  • concrete upgrades, plumbers, roofers, etc.




FORMS:

Supervisors must review the orientation book, in its entirety, with their contractors  and review any explanations where required. All contracted employees that will be working on divisional property must participate in the safety orientation which may also be supplemented with a site orientation based on the scope of work required.  


The signed forms must be submitted by each contractor and any employees that will be working on site.  All paperwork must be returned to the Safety Officer. Note: each employee that will be working on Pembina Trails property must have a safety & health orientation given by the prime contractor (either ours or theirs) and must sign a separate agreement form. 








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