There are many steps you can take to ensure the safety of your site workers from COVID-19. From good working practices to a spotlight on hygiene, you are sure to find ways that work well for your construction business to provide a safe working environment during COVID-19.
Read on for our guide on ensuring your construction site is COVID-safe.
Embrace Technology
Where possible trying out new technology can reduce the amount of time different workers need to spend onsite or in the office. Virtual surveying, remote site walkthroughs, and drones can all help reduce the amount of time workers need to be in proximity to one another.
Do some research into the types of technology that may be beneficial to your business. Focus mainly on technology that allows remote or distanced work to be carried out.
Provide Alternative Commuting Options
Where possible, we should all be avoiding public transport at the moment. You could consider ensuring that your site has secure parking and bike rack facilities to allow workers to drive or cycle to work rather than using public transport.
If you use temporary workers, it may also be a good idea to ensure that they are local. This will increase the chances that your workers will be able to walk or cycle to work.
Regular Deep Cleaning
Keeping a construction site clean is crucial to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Where possible, you should have a professional cleaning crew do a thorough disinfection of your work site.
You could consider utilising tools like fogging machines, which allow a large area to be disinfected quickly and thoroughly. Have a look at Ideal Cleaning’s disinfectant fogger machine for an idea of how this valuable tool could be used on your worksite.
Minimise Workers Onsite
You should ideally not have anyone on site that doesn’t strictly need to be there. This is where technology can be of most advantage by allowing you to monitor progress remotely. You could also consider staggering start times, and where possible, using shift work.
You should also ensure that there are visible demarcations onsite to show proper distancing spaces. You could separate your workforce into teams that work on separate areas of the site and try to ensure that they don’t mix.
Provide Additional PPE
You may need to ensure that you provide additional personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep your workers safe from COVID-19. This can include visors and masks where your workers will be working in close proximity with each other.
You should also make sure that there are plenty of hand washing stations around your worksite, and if this is not possible, then plenty of hand sanitiser available.
Site Security
You should ensure that your site’s security is tight, to protect against members of the public entering and increasing the risk of infection. This is good practice at any time but particularly during the pandemic. You could do this by putting security guards in place at points of access and having secure key cards or passes to allow entry.