Contractor Safety Requirements Manual Published
September 26, 2022 - Z. Hansmann
On September 21, 2022, the MSU Contractor Safety Committee voted to publish its inaugural Contractor Safety Requirements Manual, which will help the university communicate expectations for safety to contractors working on campus. This manual requires contractors to develop and follow safety plans specifically for their work on campus, which will not only improve safety for these construction workers, but will help to keep faculty, staff, students, and the public safe as the university sees an unprecedented increase in construction. According to John LeFevre, Director of Planning, Design, and Construction with IPF, “The University anticipates exceeding $500 million in construction billings over the next three to four years.”
The Contractor Safety Program and the Contractor Safety Requirements Manual were initially developed to safely deliver the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) Project. Lessons learned through the FRIB Project helped to improve the program for application to the broad range of construction operations which occur each day on campus. The Contractor Safety Committee publicly shared drafts of the manual with the contracting community as well as MSU stakeholders to ensure appropriate priorities were addressed. The Committee also met with many of the University’s current contractors to provide them an opportunity to provide honest feedback and propose creative solutions and alternatives. “The collaborative nature of the development of this document shows the university is truly interested in working as a partner with our contractors,” said EHS Director Kevin Eisenbeis.
The requirements manual and other resources for both contractors and the campus community are available at: https://ehs.msu.edu/contractors. Questions or comments about the program can be directed to Zach Hansmann, Contractor Safety Manager with Environmental, Health, and Safety at hansmann@msu.edu or (517)355-4094.
