Generating Plant Requirements

Contractors working at Southern Company generating plants (non-nuclear) must comply with the Southern Company Generation Program for Drug, Alcohol and Background Testing presented in the contract and on this website.

This program requires that Contractors use designated "Providers". For independent contractors working on non-nuclear plant sites, Drug and Alcohol Testing must be done by Alere Toxicology Services. All Background Investigations must be done by Yale Associates, Inc. Testing requirements will be communicated to the contractor by Supply Chain Management or by each plant requiring services.

Contractors shall know their contract and upon contract award shall also be responsible for inquiring about drug, alcohol, and background investigations required for site access.

The contractor should discuss testing arrangements and testing methods with their plant contact and then proceed to set up an account with the designated Provider. Risk I Drug Screen and Background Investigation Toolkit for Southern Company Generation Contractors provides the contact information for the Providers and basic program information. The Providers will set up the account and give the contractor access to the database to view results. A list of approved collectors/ clinics will also be provided.

Contractor must have a renewal drug screen every 12 months. Background checks, if required, must be renewed every 7 years. Alcohol testing is only required under suspicion, post-accident or reasonable cause situations.

Authorization forms must be filled out by the contractor and given to the collector/clinic each time drug testing is performed. Please make sure the form includes the correct facility number and plant site location. Proper completion of this form will ensure that all appropriate information is used for testing, billing, and reporting.

All donors are required to show valid photo identification to the collector before a test will be performed. All donors must provide their full Social Security Number in order to take a drug screen.

There is a 3 hour time limit for contract workers to provide a specimen. If a specimen is not provided in 3 hours, it will be considered a refusal to test, which will be treated as a positive. If there is a medical reason as to why the donor is not able to provide a specimen, the donor may contact Alere's Medical Review Officer at 1-800-526-9341.

All collections must be "observed", except in the state of Florida.

Project Security Rules state "I agree to report to my employer any prescribed medication, any over-the-counter medication, or any substances taken which could adversely affect my ability to perform the essential functions of my job safely and efficiently." Contractor management shall provide Southern Company plant representative with the "Contractor Fitness-for-Duty Prescription Letter", at receipt of Non-Negative drug test result.

Contractor employees with non-negative drug tests as result of a prescription medication will not be allowed onsite until contractor management produces "Contractor Fitness-for-Duty Prescription Letter" (Subject to the conditions of the PHMA agreement). The MRO's confirmation of prescription medication does not relieve contract management of their responsibility to provide "Contractor Fitness-for-Duty Prescription Letter".

If the MRO's review of the non-negative test, results in a positive confirmation, the worker will be removed from site and barred from Southern Company property.

Documentation used to evaluate contract employees ability to safely perform his/her duties while taking prescription medication shall be readily available at the site until the completion of work. Southern Company reserves the right to conduct audits at any time during the term of the Contract to determine Contractor's compliance with this process.

Southern Company has developed this process to ensure a safe work environment for construction, maintenance, and other contracts where the safety of our employees, the public or our facilities may be at risk.

Boilermaker MOST program pays for drug testing for union boilermakers under the Southern Company/ Alere testing program requirements. The MOST program requires that a different Southern Company/ Alere authorization form and chain of custody form will be used. The MOST program will purchase quick test kits and chain of custody forms from Alere and forward those to contractors utilizing union boilermakers. Contractors utilizing union boilermakers must contact MOST to make arrangements to receive supplies. Results reporting will also be available through MOST.

Contractors utilizing union boilermakers should contact MOST in Kansas City at 913-281-5036 to order supplies and to obtain access to get the results on-line. After setting up access, contractors can call 1-800-432-5765 to get the results. MOST has a unique account/facility number that will be used on the chain of custody forms for billing.

Drug test results will be available to the contractor through MOST.

Southern Company has eliminated the requirement for Contractors to complete PowerSafe Training. It is still the contractual responsibility of all Contractors to ensure their employees have met all required (1) basic safety and (2) site-specific training. Southern Company expects that all Contractors will maintain a high standard of safety. Contractors can refer to their contracts or contract administrator with questions regarding required safety training.

The Contractors are responsible for communicating the designated Southern Company Generation Lockout Tagout Procedure Awareness Training to their employees. An additional resource, Lockout Tagout Training Video, has also been developed for use by Contractors. Lockout Tagout Procedures are lock-out/tag-out programs in compliance with OSHA 1910.147 Lock-Out/Tag-Out and OSHA 1910.269 (the OSHA Standard Governing Electric Utility Work). These procedures provide a system of accountability for non-plant personnel and maintain communications between working parties. Strict adherence to the designated clearance/lockout tagout procedure is a condition of employment for everyone working on plant equipment at Southern Company facilities. Violation of procedure will lead to being barred from all Southern Company facilities. The Lockout Tagout Procedure will be communicated to Contractors during the pre-bid and/or plant safety orientation. The Southern Company contract administrator will provide additional details.

Details

For Contractors working in and around Switchyards, they are responsible for communicating the designated Southern Company Generation Switchyard Access Awareness Training to their employees. This training defines the process for safe access into generating plant switchyards and substations located on a Generation site.

Contractors shall follow the generation hot work procedure. They are responsible for communicating the designated Southern Company hot work training to their employees. This training is required to perform hot work on generation plant sites.