30 health and safety procurement questions to ask suppliers

Byline: Ashley Cooper, Operations and Supply Chain Director

Onboarding new sellers is a complex process for an organisation of any size.

For enterprises, you need to ensure that any new suppliers adhere to company policies, are selected fairly, and meet complex needs across multiple departments.

For smaller businesses, the supplier selection process can be even more difficult: without the buying power and clout of the corporate behind you, it can be hard to find sellers that are willing to ‘jump through the hoops’.

So, knowing what procurement questions to ask suppliers can be hard.

Do you futureproof your business? Do you need to know what is happening in the here and now?

As a marketplace with over 550 sellers and counting, we know a few things about robust selection and procurement risk management. So, here’s 30 questions we think all businesses should ask their new or current suppliers, and why you need them answered.

Health and safety.

Evaluating sellers for defined health and safety policies, up-to-date risk assessments, and employee training processes is a mammoth undertaking in itself. And while enterprise organisations have the ‘luxury’ of greater buying power, smaller companies sometimes struggle to gain support from across the supply chain if sellers are reluctant to hand over sensitive information.

Supply chain support is key, because looking into the health and safety of suppliers requires detail, specifics and site visits. Employee training, competency and protection should be regularly reviewed, as should policy and risk assessment, in line with ISO 45001 or OHSAS 18001.

When selecting a new supplier, you should be able to see their policies in action first-hand. That means getting on-site to carry out pre-arranged health and safety reviews when requested.

7 health and safety procurement questions to ask suppliers.

1. Which health and safety standards do you adhere to?
2. What is your drugs and alcohol policy?
3. Have you had any RIDDOR incidents or near misses in the last twelve months?
4. Are all employees provided with suitable PPE?
5. Do you have written procedures for the safe handling of goods?
6. Do you use any third parties? If so, how are they vetted?
7. Do you hold any FORS accreditation? If so, to what standard?

HSS ProService Marketplace ensures the safety of all products sold through the marketplace by asking these seven questions, and many more. To find out how easy it is to hire, buy, and manage goods, explore our free to use platform now.

Business continuity.

It’s obviously important to understand the strength and stability of any supplier you’re engaging; especially if you’re planning to work with them on a long-term basis. These days, that means more than asking to see their business continuity plan (although you still should!) and getting a deep understanding of their supply chain and any weak links within it.

2 procurement questions to ask suppliers to understand business continuity.

1. Do you use third parties for any product or transportation? If so, how are they vetted, and what protections do you offer in the event they fall through?
2. Can you share your annual turnover and employee number?

Product quality.

Naturally, you need to know if the equipment and materials you buy or hire are going to be up to the job. There are some obvious questions to ask here around inspection and maintenance, as listed below. But also think about issues linked to handling and use by your own colleagues. Will equipment supplied be provided with written operating and safety guides describing the operation of equipment in line with HASWA 1974? Lifting equipment has its own set of rules, regulations and inspections in line with LOLER.

4 procurement questions to ask suppliers to understand product quality.

1. Are all items supplied CE-marked?
2. What procedures are in place to ensure products provided are fit for purpose?
3. Do you keep an up-to-date service history and/or maintenance logs for equipment?
4. How do you prevent the hire or use of equipment pending inspection or repair?

Dealing with data.

Data is currency for any business, and the more of it we store and process, the greater the responsibility we have to protect security and privacy. With cybercrime costing UK businesses an estimated £21 billion a year, seller data policies and processes must be vetted to minimise procurement risk.

Customer data must only be used for the purposes of the contract in place, in line with GDPR legislation, and defined in an organisation's own information security policy.

3 procurement questions to ask suppliers to understand how they deal with data.

1. Who is your data security manager or data governance officer?
2. How are applications and systems protected?
3. What firewalls and perimeter security measures do you have in place?

Protecting people.

Most importantly, health and safety extends beyond the physical well-being of people to their mental health and social and economic protections.

This is reflected in the way employees are treated in terms of payment and benefits, as well as the processes and systems in place to ensure they have the tools and information to do their jobs safely.

3 questions to ask suppliers to understand how they protect their people.

1. What’s your CSR policy?
2. Are all employees paid the minimum living wage?
3. What safeguards are in place to protect the physical and mental health of employees?

You shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of hired equipment. That’s why on HSS ProService Marketplace, we do all the vetting for you. So, all you have to worry about is the project at hand.

To find out more, explore our platform now.

Insurance.

Finally, you’ll want to see current insurance documentation across a number of areas in order to feel confident your investments are protected in the event something goes wrong.

6 procurement questions to ask suppliers to understand their insurance.

1. Do you have public and products Liability insurance and can we see your documentation?
2. Do you have employers liability insurance and can we see your documentation?
3. Do you have hired in plant insurance and can we see your documentation?
4. Do you have professional indemnity insurance and can we see your documentation?
5. Do you have contractors all risk insurance and can we see your documentation?
6. Do you have goods in transit insurance and can we see your documentation?

Finding the perfect procurement partner.

And that's 30 questions you need to ask your suppliers to ensure you better understand them.

By having the answers to these questions, you will have a well-rounded picture of their health and safety procedures, as well as if they’ll fit into your way of working.

However, this isn’t an exhaustive list of everything you need to know..

As each business is unique, you should ask suppliers as many questions as possible before they become your valued partner that are relevant to your business and projects. For example, at HSS ProService Marketplace, we ask our suppliers over 65 questions to ensure their products are safe and ready to use for businesses like yours.

To ensure your supplier is working for them, we’d advise you to ask these questions to your suppliers regularly. Depending on your business output, this could be anywhere between 6 months to a year.

Explore the platform now.

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HSS ProService Marketplace is reshaping the way businesses buy and hire equipment, building materials, fuel and more.

It’s free, easy-to-use and ready to explore now through demo videos or booking a call with a member of our team.