of work we perform and have thrown up figurative hands in frustration, resigned to submitting these work plans sim- ply to get a green checkmark in the required categories.” Suderman, and the representative of at least one other business who asked not to be identified publicly, said fur- ther problems have occurred when ISN sends up red flags about missing WSIB clearance certifications. Suderman says in many cases, the necessary paperwork has been filed in a timely manner, but ISN's digital systems sense for some reason (which she says isn't transparent) that the certificate isn't in order, and red-flag the client. She says she is concerned that Chant may have lost business, because bidding oppor- tunities won't be posted to the company when the flags are in place. Before the third-party services came into being, she says she could communicate directly with relevant staff at the owner organi- zations, clarifying points and re- solving any issues in a timely manner. Now everything is cov- ered in what she indicates is a dig- ital fog, where the relationships have been replaced by check- boxes and mandatory filings to comply with rules and policies of no relevance to her business scope of work. Ritchie from ISN says “Contrac- tor requirements in ISNetworld are determined by the hiring client and by applicable regulation.” She wrote that safety programs required for contractors are based on the province where they work, the type of work they are performing and the hiring clients requirements. “Contractors can request an exemption if they feel a program is not applicable to their scope of work,” she said. “These exemption requests are approved by the hiring client, not ISN.” However, several contractors wrote in emails and said in phone conversations that they discovered the exemp- tion process has been cumbersome and it is often easier for the contractor just to make up a policy, which will never be used. The problem, however, is that do do this right, the policy must be incorporated into the contracting com- pany's manuals and systems, and every change needs to be verified and communicated internally, creating a mas- sive, expensive and frustrating paper-burden to fulfill re- quirements that would never be experienced in real life. Ultimately, some contractors say the cost of the third- party services must be passed on to the client. “We have had to add the cost of this service to a prequal we've sub- mitted for Ontario Hydro,” one contractor wrote. “We re- cently had a request from the Region of York requesting our participation with ISNetworld if we intend to con- tinue puring projects with the region.” “I'm not sure what the value of this service will be to our company, as the onus has alwys been on us to supply written safety programs, insurance certificates, training documents, WSIB clearance certificates and/or SWIRs, MAP certificates and any audits we have participated in to the entity we are submitting the prequalification to.” “If we go to tender and win the bid, we are still required to submit all doc- umentation. For those contractors who are CoR certified, this is all a part and parcel of this requirement. This service may assist the entity with streamlining their paperwork, but what I see from my end is duplication of work, more cost to submit a prequal and less profit on the project.” Ritchie says ISN holds user group meetings across the county, to allow contractors to meet with their hiring clients and ISN repre- sentatives in person. “In addition to setting up help desk sessions for contractors that would like 1-1- support, hiring clients can also provide a presentation covering their con- tractor requirements and expectations. All current ISN contractor customers are invited to attend. Invitations are sent through their ISNetwork account.” www.merx.com/events merk@merx.com 6 – Fall 2014 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report www.merx.com