"Well begun is half done" is good advice for your industrial painting job, and the best way to start well is to select a competent, safe, industrial painting contractor. The top five considerations in selecting your industrial painting contractor are:
Reputation. Was the contractor referred from a trusted source, or has the contractor been in business for a long period of time in the same area. Roving contractors are notorious for poor workmanship. Obtaining references can verify the work quality, timeliness, and professionalism of your contractor. If you can actually visit a site that was painted by that contractor, you can assess the work yourself to determine its quality. Ask for references from several years ago so you can determine how the painting has held up over the years. Check the site yourself: was the paint coverage even, were there blemishes, cracks, odd adhesions, or lumpiness; can you see any of the old paint showing underneath; and does the paint job look good up close and from afar.
Application Techniques. Confirm through references that your contractor has experience in the type of job you are planning. If the job is for large surface areas, confirm that the contractor has the latest spray painting equipment. If the job is an interior job with fine detail, confirm that the contractor has the proper rollers and brushes, and is detailed and careful with interior spaces.
Materials. Ask your contractor what type and brand of materials he or she intends to use for your job. You may not know if those materials are appropriate but with the information from your contractor you can research those materials on the web. Ask the contractor to put the materials information in his or her estimate. Doing so will allow you to research those materials after you receive the estimate.
Understanding the Job. The best way to determine if the contractor understands your needs is to demonstrate that in his or her estimate. Price is not the determinative factor in an estimate; rather, the statement of the job, materials, and labor tells more about whether the contractor was listening to your needs about the job. Price is useful for benchmarking, but paying a bit more for fewer headaches and less monitoring is well worth your time.
Experience. Finally, does the contractor have experience in your type of job? If your building has a special type of surface or coating, the contractor must have relevant experience in that area. A professional organization by the name of the Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) issues certifications to contractors who have passed the SSPC's tests for competence in certain specialized areas. The SSPC offers certifications in areas such as thermal sprays and metallic coatings. Contractors without these certifications or relevant experience will likely not have the relevant experience for your job.
Finally, what about the safety record of your industrial painting contractor? You do not want accidents on your premises; the cost and delay will be frustrating, and the additional paperwork that will be required to document safety incidents will have you wishing that you hired a safety monitor for your job. You can ask the contractor for your contractor's safety record. There is no single way to maintain a safety record, but if your contractor says that he does not have one, that is a bad sign. Every contractor has had an incident or two; the difference is whether they learn from that or not. You can check out the safety record of the contractor with OSHA and the state version of OSHA if your state has such an agency (e.g. California has Cal-OSHA, a separate state agency not affiliated with OSHA itself). The SSPC also issues safety certifications. If your contractor has an SSPC safety certification, that is a signal that your contractor takes safety seriously.