Good Morning All

The situation is becoming untenable in UK due to Government poor leadership and mixed communications.

What is abundantly clear is that:-

•  operatives have to travel to work (cannot sustain 2meter distance)
• Travel form different locations thereby transporting bacteria on clothes to site with other form different areas
• Have to attend work same time so are queuing to enter site at turnstile
• turn stile finger prints are point of transfer of substances
• Use warm disease breeding changing rooms (Downside of warm drying rooms)
• To receive instructions and DABS from drawings read RAMS requires close proximity (lack of hearing if delivered in windy or noisy work areas) less than 2 meters and holding pen and paper to sign papers
• Updated RAMS will require signing which will be passing any bacterial matter when reading/handling paper as will all compliance documents (daily weekly which site will insist upon)
• Canteens are warm and breed diseases
• to maintain 2 meters in canteen and narrow walkway to and from entrance to site where canteen is situated in physically impossible
• Pass in corridors/stair cores/hoists etc access egress pinch points

Principle Contractors are delegating government requirements without assessing facilities and site footprints :

• The canteen facility
• The toilet arrangements
• The changing facilities
• access egress routes/ staircore/hoist
• The access to drinkable water
• Hand gel at finger print turn stiles
• 2 meter rule at toilets, turnstiles, canteen, drinking water stations, meetings for managers (location to avoid closed rooms)
• cleaning of site compound floors, hand rails, door handles etc

All the above are CDM (Construction Design Management 2015) legal requirements and site MUST undertake a Risk Assessment (MHSAW reg 1999) to ensure that THEY have undertaken this and passed it to the subcontractors to enable them to assess and up date their assessed risks to workers and activities taking account of government advice and Covid 19

The Contract that has been signed needs reading to see where Health & Safety clauses are written to see what events of the contract permit to enforce their own withdrawal

It is sad that the UK Government has not taken the correct steps to lead and left it to the ‘money men’ to seek continuation, as the site Principle Contractors will be in the same position and have no option to withdraw unless face the same from their clients, who after all are responsible.

My advice is to check the contract for elements of suspension of works. 

I feel for all attending as its a case of work or suffer (bills/food/etc) totally against the Health & Safety At work Act 1974 (Section 2,3,7,8), The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulation 1999 (Regulation 3)

All those involved in financial services UK (debt collectors/courts) will have no consideration of these factors in 9-12 months time when operatives families are destitute through having no wage earner or chronicle illness if survive

Who else has clients/employees/employers being forced to attend work through insistance/threat (self employed) or direct through no choice. As H&S Practitoners we need to lead as well as react and influence where opportunities arise.

Happy to hear of your situation

Dale

I totaly agree with what you are saying in that it is impossible to maintain social distancing on a site espeically larger ones that I work.

Additionally, I am now being asked for an action plan from main contractors on how we are intending to maintain the 2 meter social distancing rule on site?  How can this be without main contractors informing us on what they are proposing and thier own risk management procedures? 

As a practioner I would be very concerned in competing any from of risk assssment in determing the limit the spread of the virus.  Has anyone else been requested to do such a thing?

Seems to be going against the grain  

Edited by user 25 March 2020 11:51:43(UTC)  | Reason: typo

The Govt message re construction has been a complete mess and continues to be.

They say its fine to work outside. Really?

I have a team of 10 guys outside my house right now, laying a new kerb & resurfacing the pavement. It takes 2 x men to lift a kerb section with tongs(?) so they cannot be 2m apart. Then the guys stand shoulder to shoulder with rakes, dragging the new tarmac - Its a joke. They also eat and travel in the same two vans

Local authorities and all Govt Depts should be leading the COVID response. TfL have set a great example as it has stopped works on HS2 and Crossrail in London - this is surely the way to go?

Meanwhile, there seems to be a surge in maintenance as building are closed. My son is a sparks working in a school. He doesnt want to and is hoping the 'ban' is extended today. But he is self emplyed, so if he walks away, he fears wont be employed by this contractor again so reluctantly keeps working

Boris must protect this workforce and those who they come into contact with and do it NOW

Nope - no retrospective ammendment issued to the Building Regulations regarding distances between occupants must be why the wording of the advice is "where possible"

Until a building is weather tight any construction activity is exposed to unecessary wear and tear with the potential to affect its structural integrity and any future possibility to complete the works.

Part completed cladding provides the wind access to drive off any panels fitted to date - ask Manchester about city centre travel disruption thanks to this.

Leave a site exposed and it is possible all the work undertaken may need to be demolished and started again.

Whilst it is quaint (and often a tax fiddle) around the mediteranean countries to never "complete" a building you will find they are often "finished" with regards to the next winter or rainy season.

Unfortunately there are those currently exploiting others but at the same time there are also those who wish to ensure their construction is safe and will not be subject to some future press hue & cry for an unplanned failure caused by weathering.

It is all too easy to decry a single issue from the sidelines - life is comprised of many intermingled threads.

By example the recent pictures of crowded tubes were a consequence of someone reducing the number of available trains running and not the construction workers forced on to the only available transport.

Lets remember that for years the London mayor has driven private transport out of the capital through congestion and parking charges pushing people on to public transport.

If you then reduce that transport service the effect is what you saw in the news.

If you want to get annoyed lets literally have the heads of BBC, ITV, SKY, NBC, FOX etc.

Government advice: No unecessary travel

Reporting activity by EACH: 1 x reporter, 1 x director, 1 x camera operator, 1 x sound recorder, 1 x lighting technician + various others in front of a closed Black Door in Downing Street London

Not enough room on Downing Street for all those present to distance at 2m

And then they get on the tube....

I work in construction too, but I am currently at home. 

I agree with everything typed.