At HUBMASTER® Warehouse Automation Systems, we share a set of core values – fairness, honesty, integrity, and respect for people – which strengthen all the work we do. All employees and contractors are expected to understand and continually behave in line with equivalent core values and business principles.
Process for selection and management of our contractors and subcontractors
As an SME with an international presence and global activity, we rely on long established internal procedures and business management practices, which coordinate the different areas of our business. We rely in an internal continuous self-evaluation to adapt, correct, and improve our operation processes.
In regard to international subcontracting, it is important that we know our partners and we have a strict selection method based on the following criteria:
- Referrals: we primarily work with referred subcontractors with whom we have a long-standing working relationship.
- Safety: we only select subcontractors with an excellent track record in terms of accident avoidance and safety at the job site.
- Price: we follow a best-value selection, where we account for references, experience, level of service, quality, financial rating, safety records and price.
- Financial stability: we evaluate our subcontractors based on credit ratings and only accept subcontractors with sound financial stability.
- General Liability Insurance: We request minimum insurance covers amounting to 10 times the value of the contract of supply and at least the same amount as us.
- Subcontractor agreements and manufacturing capacity: our subcontract agreements include stringent penalties for late delivery of products and services.
- Production tracking: we track certificates of steel origin, steel quality and rely on strict production tracking systems from our manufacturing contractors.
- Quality Control: We require, where possible, that our subcontractors operate and maintain a quality management and control system to an agreed international standard (e.g. ISO9001). Otherwise, the contractor shall make available a quality statement for review and acceptance, as a statement of the subcontractor’s on-going quality policy.
- Certifications: competence certificates are requested for risk assessment purposes, when applicable (i.e. structural welding competence).
- Product testing: 100% product testing is conducted at the manufacturing facilities before product is shipped to customer.
- Confidentiality: We sign supply contracts with strict non-disclosure and confidentiality clauses.
Compliance with contract’s stakeholder requirements
- We identify and adapt the documentation and controls to fulfill the legal obligations required by our customers, product and market regulatory requirements each time.
- We identify risks and produce a Health Safety Security and Environment (HSSE) plan according to the specific requirement of the product and customer.
- In the HSSE plan we define the obligations and address the risks.
- We establish accountabilities and responsibilities within our own team and this of our subcontractors.
- We implement a compliance follow up system via regular meetings and documentation.
- We evaluate our performance and compliance on a regular basis and report this to our customers.
- Due to our relatively small structure, we quickly address any non-compliance and implement continuous improvements all the time.
Process of identification of hazards, assessment of risks and their controls
- Identification of hazards: every installation is analyzed to identify risks according to the required construction/installation operations. When required, this analysis is contracted to an independent risk prevention agency or HSSE expert.
- Risk prevention at the job site: all our job sites are manned with a certified risk prevention officer.
- Risk assessments and safety certifications on installed equipment are performed by specialized risk assessment agencies on request (i.e. Bureau Veritas, TÜV, or others).
- Our equipment is fully compliant to CE and the CE-mark self-certification is supported by risk assessment and certification authorities (i.e. Bureau Veritas, TÜV, or others).
HSSE and Emergency Plans
- As required by the type of installation, stakeholder requirements or local regulations, we produce a project specific HSSE plan, where we identify among others:
- Project details
- Stakeholders
- Resources (equipment and personnel)
- Environmental constraints
- Definition of the constructive process
- Identify risks and hazards and how they need to be managed.
- Individual and collective protection systems
- Signaling and definition of worksite areas
- Site access control measures
- An emergency response plan is developed according to the risk assessment and HSSE plan of the works to be performed at the specific jobsite.
- Accordingly, we determine the resource requirements and procedures to prepare the emergency response.
- The emergency plan will consider protecting employees, visitors, subcontractors, and anyone else in the facility.
- All our subcontractors prior to entering a site are informed of alarm and warning resources, evacuation routes and evacuation meeting points.
Worksite organization
- Our on-site project construction manager oversees the correct setup of the job site: placement of access ways, determination of offices, toilet facilities, temporary power and water supplies, material storage and staging areas, etc.
- Our on-site project construction manager liaises to:
- Manage efficiently the areas of activity and material storage:
- Eliminate duplicate handling of materials.
- Minimize distances that workers need to transport stored material to the point of use.
- Minimize the storage of materials.
- Eliminate bottlenecks to provide a uniform flow of materials around the site.
- Provide adequate controls on material wastage, breakage, and theft.
- Provide adequate controls on equipment theft.
- Facilitate movement of equipment on the site.
- Provide controls on worker attendance.
- Promote a safe working environment.
- Provide safe and non-disruptive site access for visitors.
- Manage efficiently the areas of activity and material storage:
Worksite visits, audits & internal inspections
- Our on-site project manager conducts daily meetings with our subcontractors and participates on weekly project reviews with the customer.
- Construction inspections are daily performed which include the following activities:
- Inspection of the construction process to make sure that all materials and procedures comply with the plan and specifications.
- Detailed inspections of the quality of installations to see if they comply to standards and specifications.
- Double-checking of drawings and specifications and discussing deviations and non-conformities.
- Keeping and maintaining inspection checklists and records in a complete, accurate, and orderly manner.
- Monitoring the schedule.
- Quality inspections.
- Field testing and materials sampling.
- Monitoring and documenting materials delivered and used in the construction works.
- Performing semi-final and final inspections upon building completion.
- Handover inspection for smooth project close-out
- Our project manager together with our field engineers conduct final testing on products.
- Commissioning inspections are performed by certification agencies (i.e. Bureau Veritas, TÜV, or others) to certify installed products when required.