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EHS-04 Contractor Safety Orientation

EHS-04 Contractor Safety Orientation

Revision 2 · Effective 2026-02-16

1 Purpose

This procedure makes sure contractors working at the Wichita plant know the site hazards and rules before they work, and that each contractor has a Tallgrass employee responsible for them.

2 Scope

Applies to all contractors, including service technicians, construction trades, calibration providers, temporary staff from agencies and contract programmers (for example, contract CMM programmers from Plains Metrology Services). Delivery drivers who stay at the Bay 1 dock and visitors who are escorted at all times are not required to complete orientation.

3 Definitions

  • Contractor: A person working at Tallgrass who is not a Tallgrass employee.
  • Sponsor: The Tallgrass employee who requested the contractor's work and is responsible for them on site.
  • Escort: A Tallgrass employee who stays with a contractor who has not completed orientation.

4 Responsibilities

  • EHS Coordinator (ext. 2250) delivers orientation, issues hot work permits and keeps orientation records.
  • Sponsors schedule orientation, arrange escorts, coordinate lockout and receive contractor injury reports.
  • Front desk signs contractors in and out and issues badges.
  • Contractors follow this procedure and all Tallgrass safety rules.

5 Procedure

5.1 Orientation

Contractors must complete the EHS-04 orientation before working unescorted anywhere at the plant. The orientation is about 45 minutes, delivered by the EHS Coordinator, and covers:

  • Emergency exits, assembly point (north parking lot) and alarms.
  • PPE rules (EHS-02).
  • Lockout/tagout (EHS-01).
  • Injury and near-miss reporting (EHS-03).
  • Hot work permits (section 5.5).
  • FOD awareness for the FOD-critical areas in Bays 6 and 7 (QP-7.7).
  • Export control and ITAR basics (EXP-01).
  • Tagged nonconforming material and the Bay 3 MRB cage (WI-610).

The contractor signs the orientation record. Orientation is valid for 12 months; contractors returning after that repeat it.

5.2 Badges and sign-in

Contractors sign in and out at the front desk every day and wear an orange contractor badge visibly at all times on site. Badges are returned at sign-out. Lost badges are reported to the sponsor the same day.

5.3 Escort rules

  • A contractor who has not completed orientation must be escorted at all times by a Tallgrass employee.
  • The escort keeps the contractor in sight and may escort no more than 5 people at once.
  • Escorted contractors may not operate equipment, apply locks or perform hot work.
  • In the FOD-critical areas (Bays 6 and 7), contractors are briefed by the area lead and remain escorted unless they have completed FOD awareness training (QP-7.7).
  • Foreign-national contractors require approval from the Empowered Official 5 business days in advance under EXP-01, whether or not they are escorted, and may not enter areas where ITAR work is in progress without that approval.

5.4 Contractor PPE

Contractors provide their own safety-toe shoes and any task-specific PPE (such as arc-flash or fall-protection equipment) and must meet the requirements of EHS-02. Tallgrass provides safety glasses and hearing protection on request. No gloves near rotating spindles or drill presses applies to contractors as well.

5.5 Hot work

Welding, cutting, brazing, grinding outside Bay 2 or any other spark-producing work requires a Hot Work Permit, EHS-F-07, issued by the EHS Coordinator before work begins. The permit is valid for one shift in one location. Combustibles within 35 feet are removed or covered, a fire extinguisher is at the work area, and a fire watch remains for 30 minutes after work ends. The completed permit is returned to EHS.

5.6 Lockout

Contractors performing servicing apply their own locks and tags and coordinate with the sponsor and the EHS Coordinator before starting, as described in EHS-01. Contractors never remove or operate a Tallgrass lock.

5.7 Injuries and near-misses

Contractors report any injury or near-miss to their sponsor and to EHS immediately, and injuries in all cases before leaving site that day. The sponsor makes sure EHS-F-03 is completed (EHS-03). The contractor also reports to their own employer.

5.8 Computer and data access

Contractors who need Tallgrass systems or data are set up under IT-04 with the sponsor named on IT-F-04. Contractor accounts expire after 90 days unless the sponsor renews them.

6 Records

Orientation records and EHS-F-07 permits are kept by EHS on the Operations SharePoint site for 3 years. Daily sign-in sheets are kept by the front desk for 1 year.

7 Revision history

Rev Date Change Approved by
1 2024-03-04 Initial release. Carl Brandt
2 2026-02-16 Orange badges replace paper visitor stickers; hot work permit EHS-F-07 required; orientation valid 12 months; added ITAR and IT access sections. Margaret Lindqvist