Explores how the contracting–principal relationship can influence safety outcomes and how a principal's role in "overseeing" the safety performance of its contractors is different from managing safety in its own organisation. It brings together perspectives from different disciplines including legal, health and safety management, operational, and contract and procurement management. 

Offering guidance on how critical issues might be addressed, it also uses real-life cases to draw conclusions from successes and failures that can guide future contracting strategies for effectively controlling health and safety risks in a contracting environment.