One thing everyone in construction knows about a project is that it’s impossible to predict what will happen on any given day on a jobsite. The lesson? If you participated in Scouting as a kid, you know the answer: Be Prepared. And when it comes to subcontractors, that means you need to have all your documentation in order and readily available.
Of course, there’s a step you need to take before ensuring documents are accessible – you need to collect all that information in the first place, and that takes place during onboarding. So, what exactly should you collect, and why?
For each subcontractor, you should collect the following during the onboarding process:
- Basic demographic information: This may seem obvious, but it’s surprising how often subcontractors end up working on a site without having provided it. Especially when documentation is provided via pen and paper, it can get overlooked.
You’ll need:- Full name
- Phone number
- Email address
- ID or EIN number
- Work permits or proof of citizenship: In our industry, it’s common to have immigrants on the work site, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knows it, too. You definitely don’t want to be in the headlines if ICE conducts an enforcement action on your site and you’re unable to prove that everyone there is legally able to work.
- Proof of citizenship or U.S. work permit
- D/L or state-issued ID
- Emergency health and contact information: If there’s an accident or if the worker suffers a medical incident on site, you’ll want to have this information.
- Emergency contact information
- Health insurance information
- Primary care physician name, phone and email
- Known medication allergies
- Pertinent underlying health conditions
- Compliance documentation: Depending on the job, you may need to collect a wide array of background checks, license verifications or other documents. For example, if you’re working on a hospital expansion, the owner may require all workers to be current on specific vaccinations. If it’s the project is constructing a high-security data center or a federal building, you may need to prove that everyone has passed a background check.
And depending on local laws and your insurance requirements, subcontractors may need verification of licensure to operate machinery or perform specific jobs. You might even need to get them to provide signed NDAs.
Of course, collecting this information is just half the battle. You’ll also need to be able to access it when required, and in some cases, such as an on-the-job injury, you may not have much time at all to put your hands on it. If that information is stored on paper documents filed away in a cabinet somewhere, maybe on-site and maybe not, that’s going to take some time. And you’d best hope no one misfiled it or that there hasn’t been a fire, a flood or some other disaster that destroyed them.
GoContractor can assist you with the entire document lifecycle. Our web-based solution makes it simple to set up documents requirements for subcontractors, who can upload everything before they even arrive on-site. This not only saves time, but it also enables you to easily check to ensure that you actually have everything you need and that it’s all in good order.
And because these documents are electronic, they’re protected and backed up in case of disaster. You won’t need to worry about a leaky trailer roof dripping water into the file cabinet, destroying all your precious paperwork. We’ve got multiple, protected, secured digital copies. In the event you need to access them, they’re just a few clicks away from any device at any location.
Interested in learning more about how GoContractor can simplify and strengthen your subcontractor onboarding documentation process? Contact us and set up a demo today!
