OHS and SD evaluations: A three‑step procedure

To share their practices, bidders must fill out the questionnaires and submit different supporting documents on the platform operated by our external partner Alcumus SafeContractor (formerly Cognibox).

After analyzing the supporting documents, SafeContractor will create a validated assessment report that the bidders must then download and attach to their bid.

The process consists of three key steps.

Fill out the questionnaire(s)

Download the validated assessment report and attach it to your bid

Step 1: Register on the SafeContractor platform

Important

You need to go to your company’s Supplier Space to create a SafeContractor account, with Hydro‑Québec as the hiring client, even if you already have a SafeContractor account with another hiring client.

Log in to your company’s Supplier Space, go to your Supplier Record under the Identification heading and find the Register with SafeContractor section (see screenshot).
Click on Access SafeContractor form, fill it out and send it in. The external partner will send you an email within 24 hours with instructions about how to open an account.
Follow the instructions to create your company’s profile and pay the annual subscription fee.
- Have your Québec enterprise number (NEQ) on hand and make sure you use the same company profile (name, address, etc.) as the one in your Supplier Space.
- The subscription cost depends on the size of your company and any existing subscriptions with other hiring clients (see cost grid [PDF 433 ko]).
- As soon as the subscription fee is paid, you’ll have access to the questionnaire.

Step 2: Fill out the questionnaire(s)

Select the assessment area for which you wish to obtain a score: OHS and/or SD.
Answer the questions and submit all required supporting documents. Ensure compliance with established criteria.
- Consult the toolkit to identify the validation criteria for the supporting documents.
- All supporting documents must be presented in French (unless the provisions of the Charter of the French Language allow you to use another language).
Click on Submit my file once you have filled out the questionnaire. SafeContractor will send you an email within 48 hours with your score and information about any supporting documents that were refused, if applicable.
- Your score will be lower if any supporting documents are refused. You will nevertheless still receive a validated assessment report that you’ll be able to attach to your bid.
- At all times, you’ll be able to submit new supporting documents to replace the ones that were refused or to demonstrate that you have improved your practices. Click on Submit my file again to have the new documents analyzed. However, it is important to remember that this will require another validation period of up to 48 hours during which time you will not have access to your validated report.

Step 3: Download the validated assessment report and attach it to your bid

Once you’ve received confirmation that the assessment of your documents is complete, go to the Questions tab on the SafeContractor platform to download the validated assessment report(s) by clicking on the appropriate buttons (see screenshot).
Attach your report(s) to your bid by uploading it/them to the appropriate locations on Hydro‑Québec’s bidding platform.
- Make sure the document(s) contain the words “qualifié” (“qualified”) and “pointage validé” (“score validated”) as well as a validation date that is before the RFP closing date and an expiration date that is after the RFP closing date (see screenshot)
- If both questionnaires (OHS and SD) are requested, they must be downloaded and uploaded separately.

Tip

Start the process as soon as you can when you see a call for tenders that interests you, given the timeline for opening an account (24 hours) and obtaining validation (48 hours), as well as the time needed to gather all the supporting documents.