The mechanical contracting industry can be just as vulnerable to ethics violations as any other non-trade or service-related segment. In fact, there are some risks unique to those engineering, HVAC, plumbing, or electrical contracting companies. If you’re in the trades business, whether it’s residential, commercial, or industrial, here are a few risks and vulnerabilities your company leaders should consider. And it’s the ethics hotline that can help combat the potential pitfalls.

1. Conflicts of Interest

In your industry, there are opportunities to bid for projects. There could be unavoidable instances of impropriety or conflict of interest when suppliers, clients, or project managers make less-than-transparent contract award decisions. Your employees involved in these bidding processes should have an ethics hotline available to be able to anonymously and confidentially report any concerning behavior or negotiation issues.

2. Compensation Structures and Pay

Any industry can be at risk for financial missteps associated with pay, compensation structures, bonuses, or tips. How your company compensates various members of the team, from office staff to field technicians, could be vulnerable to violations. As the company leader or owner, you won’t always have insights into every payroll or compensation transaction. But having an ethics hotline in place can ensure that should any issues arise, anyone among the ranks can safely report them.

3. Financial Integrity

In the mechanical contracting industry, there are suppliers, clients, and vendors all supporting your end-result deliverable. With so many areas of financial management involved, there could be risks of fraud, theft, or money mismanagement. Purchase order and bid processes can be strict and transparent and require oversight. But there still could be room for financial integrity-related violations.

4. Safety Violations

You might feel your safety platforms and guidelines are robust for those members of the team who routinely work with equipment, are in the field, or who drive for your company. However, you also know there are opportunities for individuals to take safety risks without your knowledge, putting themselves and your company bottom line at risk for substantial costs associated with workers’ compensation claims or injury claims. Having an ethics hotline in place will allow and encourage anyone who witnesses safety violations to report them, allowing you to react and correct those instances before they result in serious injuries or implications.

5. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Electrical contracting, plumbing, HVAC, and engineering companies have to abide by laws and regulations unique to their offerings. Many of these services are heavily reliant upon compliance for proper and safe installation, removal, repair, or disposal practices. Maintaining compliance is a top priority, and any violation could result in safety risks and hefty fines. Enforcing legal and regulatory compliance can be challenging, which is why having an ethics hotline can be a tremendous resource.

If you’re in the mechanical contracting business, consider adding an ethics hotline to your toolkit of risk prevention. Regardless of your company’s niche offering, you still have ethics vulnerabilities to address. And the anonymous and confidential nature of an ethics hotline, whereby anyone from within or outside the company can report concerns, could be just the solution to help your company close any risky gaps. Let Ethical Advocate show you how.