In this article
- 1.What Is the MSQ?
- 2.Section 1: Management Leadership and Commitment
- 3.Section 2: Worker Participation and Communication
- 4.Section 3: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
- 5.Section 4: Training and Competency
- 6.Section 5: Contractor and Subcontractor Management
- 7.Section 6: Incident Reporting and Investigation
- 8.Section 7: Inspections and Audits
- 9.Section 8: Emergency Preparedness
- 10.Section 9: Regulatory Compliance and Corrective Action
- 11.The Bottom Line
If you've logged into ISNetworld and stared at the Management System Questionnaire wondering where to even start, you're not alone. The MSQ is one of the most confusing parts of the ISN process for contractors — partly because the questions are vague, partly because the consequences of getting it wrong aren't always obvious until your grade drops.
This guide walks through every section of the MSQ in plain English: what each section is actually asking, what the reviewers are looking for when they score it, and the specific mistakes that trip contractors up most often.
What Is the MSQ?
The Management System Questionnaire is ISNetworld's assessment of how well your safety program is managed — not just whether you have one. It's separate from your RAVS documentation (which covers written programs and procedures) and your injury statistics (EMR, TRIR, DART). The MSQ asks: does your leadership actually own safety? Do you have systems in place to keep it running?
Hiring clients weight the MSQ differently. Some treat it as a pass/fail gate; others fold it into a composite score. Either way, a poorly completed MSQ limits your grade ceiling regardless of how clean your EMR is.
The MSQ is made up of roughly eight to ten sections depending on your industry and the hiring clients you're connected to. Here's what each one covers.
Section 1: Management Leadership and Commitment
This section is asking whether safety is a leadership priority or just a poster on the wall.
What the questions cover:
- Does executive leadership sign off on your safety policy?
- Are safety goals set, tracked, and reviewed at the management level?
- Does leadership participate in safety activities (walkthroughs, incident reviews, toolbox talks)?
A signed safety policy statement from an owner or senior officer — not HR, not a safety coordinator. The signature needs to be current (within the last 12 months is safest). Reviewers also look for documented evidence that management sets measurable safety objectives and reviews performance against them.
Uploading a safety policy signed by a field supervisor rather than a company officer. Or answering "yes" to having safety objectives but having nothing in writing to back it up. If you say you do it, you need documentation.
Section 2: Worker Participation and Communication
This section asks whether your workers are actually involved in your safety program — or just subject to it.
What the questions cover:
- Do workers have a way to report hazards without retaliation?
- Are workers involved in hazard identification and incident investigations?
- How do you communicate safety information to the workforce?
Documented mechanisms for worker input — a hazard reporting form, a safety committee structure, or a signed acknowledgment process. Toolbox talk logs with signatures are strong evidence here. The more your documentation shows two-way communication (not just top-down announcements), the better.
Describing verbal communication as your primary safety communication method. Reviewers want paper or digital trails. "We talk about it every morning" doesn't pass; a toolbox talk log does.
Section 3: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
This is often the section that separates contractors who treat safety as paperwork from those who treat it as a system.
What the questions cover:
- Do you conduct formal job hazard analyses (JHAs) or job safety analyses (JSAs)?
- How are hazards identified before work begins?
- Who is responsible for ongoing hazard identification in the field?
A documented JHA process with actual examples — pre-task checklists, site-specific assessments, a process for workers to flag new hazards mid-job. The question isn't just "do you have JHAs?" but "can you demonstrate the system is working?"
Uploading a blank JHA template instead of completed examples. Reviewers know the difference. Show a sample completed JHA from a recent job. If yours are genuinely all verbal, it's time to get at least a few on paper.
Section 4: Training and Competency
Every contractor says they train their workers. This section asks how you know the training actually worked.
What the questions cover:
- What formal training do workers receive before starting work?
- How do you verify competency — not just attendance?
- Is training documented with dates, topics, and signatures?
A training matrix is ideal — a document that shows each role, the training required for that role, and records confirming each worker has completed it. Training logs with employee names, dates, and topic descriptions. Evidence that you track and renew certifications before they expire.
Answering that workers receive "on-the-job training" without documentation. OJT is fine, but it needs a sign-off. Also common: uploading a training schedule rather than training records. Schedules show intent; records show completion.
Section 5: Contractor and Subcontractor Management
If you hire subcontractors or work alongside them, this section applies to you.
What the questions cover:
- How do you qualify the subcontractors you hire?
- Do you verify their safety performance before bringing them on?
- How do you manage safety when multiple contractors share a site?
A documented process for evaluating subcontractors — even a simple checklist that asks for their EMR, insurance certificate, and safety program documentation before they start. Evidence that your safety expectations are communicated to subs before work begins (a subcontractor orientation form is a clean solution).
Skipping this section or marking it not applicable when they occasionally hire day laborers or sub out specialized work. ISN reviewers are skeptical of "N/A" on subcontractor questions for most trades.
Section 6: Incident Reporting and Investigation
This is one of the highest-weighted sections. It asks whether your company learns from incidents — or just records them.
What the questions cover:
- Do you have a formal incident reporting and investigation process?
- Are root causes identified — not just immediate causes?
- Do investigations result in corrective actions that are tracked to completion?
An incident investigation form that goes beyond "what happened" to ask "why did it happen" and "what changes will prevent it." Evidence that corrective actions are assigned to specific people with due dates and closed out. Even if you've had zero recordables, show you have the process.
Having an incident report form that only captures facts — date, time, what happened — without any root cause or corrective action fields. This tells reviewers your program is reactive, not preventive. Describing your investigation process in words also scores lower than showing a completed sample investigation form.
Section 7: Inspections and Audits
This section asks whether your sites are being actively monitored for hazards — not just when an incident happens.
What the questions cover:
- Do you conduct formal safety inspections of worksites?
- How frequently, and who conducts them?
- Are findings documented and acted on?
Completed inspection forms from recent jobs showing identified hazards, corrective actions taken, and sign-off by a supervisor. The frequency expected varies by risk level, but quarterly at minimum is the floor; monthly or per-project is better for higher-risk trades.
Not having any formal inspection process at all, or having one that only supervisors conduct verbally without documentation. A walkthrough is not an inspection unless there's a record of it.
Section 8: Emergency Preparedness
Shorter section, but still scored. This is one most contractors leave thin.
What the questions cover:
- Do you have a written emergency response plan?
- Do workers know what to do in case of a serious incident?
- Is the plan site-specific or only generic?
A written emergency action plan that includes emergency contacts, evacuation procedures, communication protocols, and first-aid resources. Ideally, it's adaptable to specific sites — some companies include a fillable section for site-specific emergency numbers.
Using a completely generic plan with no site-specific fields. Also common: plans that don't include first-aid resources, or that list outdated emergency contacts that are no longer accurate.
Section 9: Regulatory Compliance and Corrective Action
The final section is a gut check: are you tracking your regulatory obligations, and what happens when something falls short?
What the questions cover:
- Do you maintain a list of applicable OSHA regulations for your scope of work?
- How do you track and close out compliance findings?
- Do you have a process for addressing near misses proactively?
A compliance tracking document — even a simple spreadsheet listing applicable regulations, your current status, and any open action items. Evidence that near misses are recorded and treated as learning opportunities, not swept under the rug.
Not having a compliance register at all. This is one of the most commonly skipped or unanswered sections, which automatically limits your overall score.
The Bottom Line
The MSQ is not looking for perfection. It's looking for evidence that your safety program is a real, managed system — not a binder on a shelf. The contractors who score well are not necessarily the ones with the most elaborate programs. They're the ones who can show their work: signed policies, completed forms, training logs, investigation records, and inspection reports.
If your current documentation is thin, start with the sections weighted most heavily by your primary hiring clients. Most ISN users can see which clients are reviewing them — check those client profiles to understand what they prioritize.
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