Protecting reputation across your supply chain
In the words of Benjamin Franklin: 'It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.'
Some of the key risks that can expose businesses to reputational damage are: health and safety, environmental performance, operational disruption and commercial problems.
While many companies have these risks well controlled within their own business, there can be cracks in their supply chain.
Key to removing these cracks is complete supply chain visibility and having in place a robust system of standards and pre- qualification checks, particularly when outsourcing to contractors in high risk areas such as construction and maintenance.
It is critical that supply chain visibility and robust assessment applies to sub-contractors as well as contractors. It isn't sufficient to delegate this task entirely to your contractors. If the cracks start to show, your company could be exposed to risk and liability and the reputational damage that follows.
In addition, it isn't sufficient to perform periodic compliance checks. There must be a dynamic system in place to ensure that your supply chain is in good shape 24/7/365.
Altius Vendor Assessment assesses supplier compliance against various key measures - from health and safety through to financial health, environmental performance, customer service and corporate social responsibility. This provides a suite of evidence-based live checks for both contractors and sub-contractors that are appropriate to the specific work they undertake and the level of risk they present
Some of the common pitfalls that you should check for in assessments include:
1. Do your contractors and sub-contractors have the necessary insurance for working at heights? (This is of course, no substitute for checks and supervision on your site).
2. Is your contractor's asbestos awareness training adequate? Have you checked the course content, or has it been approved by organisations such as UKATA or IATP? Is refresher training provided and are all new starters covered?
3. Have you checked that your contractors are competent to work with electricity? Do you know if they are a member of a recognised group such as NICEIC or the ECA?
4. Does your contractor have a sustainable and ethical sourcing policy?
5. Is your contractor disposing of waste responsibly? Do they have the up to date licenses?
6. How financially solvent is your supplier? Do you continuously track their financial health to ensure that they can fulfil their work commitments?
7. If you require work to be undertaken on licensed premises, even if that is not the primary purpose of the building, do your contractors and their sub-contractors have the right insurance cover?
8. If you are dealing with a large contracting business with multiple divisions, are you certain that their insurance cover applies to the individual business you are dealing with?
9. Is professional indemnity insurance set at the right level for the risks your supplier might face?
10. Can you be certain that insurances are always up to date?
The Altius online vendor accreditation and management system takes a thorough evidence-based approach to checking the competences of suppliers. Assessment can be tailored to the specific tasks the individual contractor will perform and specific criteria set by the client company to ensure relevance.
For further information contact Altius Vendor Assessment
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