U.K. Edition
Generation Hire & Sales to taper down operations
Altrad Generation Hire & Sales is tapering down its operations this week before standing down its commercial fleet on Friday.
Following yesterday’s government announcement of an at least three-week UK lockdown, Generation UK is acting now to ensure the safety of its customers, staff and families, the firm said today. Robert Jenrick, the Construction Minister, tweeted that construction activity can continue if sites are able to maintain social distancing. But Generation deems the nature of its work and environment makes it difficult to ensure a safe working distance and eliminate transmission of the Coronavirus. As many companies are closing their sites either immediately or in a phased manner over the next few days. “Generation also feels that the safety of its teams, customers and broader UK must come first,” they say in a statement on its website. Generation UK plans to taper operations over the coming days. Its branch network will continue to operate this week. In this period they will complete any outstanding deliveries and collections of equipment, the statement reads. From the close of business on Friday 27th March its commercial fleet will be stood down and we will begin operations with a skeleton team. Generation stresses that they will not make deliveries or collections to customer sites until advised that it is safe to restart operations. However, its customers will still be able to make scheduled collections or returns to its branches. Customers visiting the sites will need to remain in the open air, maintain 2 metres distance at all times and follow all staff directions. Generation UK said in its statement: “The situation is unprecedented and our decision has been made in the best interests and safety of the Generation teams and our customers. We hope we can tackle this together and ensure we come through it safely together.”Industry leaders issue construction site operating procedures
As work continues on some UK construction sites during the Coronavirus pandemic the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published a Site Operating Procedures paper.
There are currently no specific procedures for the scaffolding industry to implement the government’s social distancing requirements while on construction sites. But with support from Build UK, the CLC has written guidance on Site Operating Procedures – Protecting Your Workforce. CLC has produced the following guidance: Construction sites operating during the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic need to ensure they are protecting their workforce and minimising the risk of the spread of infection. This guidance is intended to introduce consistent measures on sites of all sizes in line with the Government’s recommendations on social distancing. These are exceptional circumstances and the industry must comply with the latest Government advice on Coronavirus at all times. The health and safety requirements of any construction activity must also not be compromised at this time. If an activity cannot be undertaken safely due to a lack of suitably qualified personnel being available or social distancing being implemented, it should not take place. We are aware that emergency services are also under great pressure and may not be in a position to respond as quickly as usual. Sites should remind the workforce at every opportunity of the Site Operating Procedures which are aimed at protecting them, their colleagues, their families and the UK population. If a site is not consistently implementing the measures set out below, it may be required to shut down.Self-Isolation
Anyone who meets one of the following criteria should not come to site: • Has a high temperature or a new persistent cough – follow the guidance on self-isolation • Is a vulnerable person (by virtue of their age, underlying health condition, clinical condition or are pregnant) • Is living with someone in self-isolation or a vulnerable person.Procedure if Someone Falls Ill
If a worker develops a high temperature or a persistent cough while at work, they should: • Return home immediately • Avoid touching anything • Cough or sneeze into a tissue and put it in a bin, or if they do not have tissues, cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. They must then follow the guidance on self-isolation and not return to work until their period of self-isolation has been completed.Travel to Site
Wherever possible workers should travel to site alone using their own transport and sites need to consider:- Parking arrangements for additional cars and bicycles
- Other means of transport to avoid public transport e.g. cycling
- Providing hand cleaning facilities at entrances and exits. This should be soap and water wherever possible or hand sanitiser if water is not available
- How someone taken ill would get home.
Site Access Points
- Stop all non-essential visitors
- Introduce staggered start and finish times to reduce congestion and contact at all times
- Monitor site access points to enable social distancing – you may need to change the number of access points, either increase to reduce congestion or decrease to enable monitoring
- Remove or disable entry systems that require skin contact e.g. fingerprint scanners
- Require all workers to wash or clean their hands before entering or leaving the site
- Allow plenty of space (two metres) between people waiting to enter site
- Regularly clean common contact surfaces in reception, office, access control and delivery areas e.g. scanners, turnstiles, screens, telephone handsets, desks, particularly during peak flow times
- Reduce the number of people in attendance at site inductions and consider holding them outdoors wherever possible
- Drivers should remain in their vehicles if the load will allow it and must wash or clean their hands before unloading goods and materials.
Hand Washing
- Provide additional handwashing facilities to the usual welfare facilities if a large spread out site or significant numbers of personnel on-site
- Ensure soap and fresh water is readily available and kept topped up at all times
- Provide hand sanitiser where hand washing facilities are unavailable
- Regularly clean the hand washing facilities and check soap and sanitiser levels
- Provide suitable and sufficient rubbish bins for hand towels with regular removal and disposal.
- Sites will need extra supplies of soap, hand sanitiser and paper towels and these should be securely stored.
Toilet Facilities
- Restrict the number of people using toilet facilities at any one time e.g. use a welfare attendant
- Wash hands before and after using the facilities
- Enhance the cleaning regimes for toilet facilities particularly door handles, locks and the toilet flush
- Portable toilets should be avoided wherever possible, but where in use these should be cleaned and emptied more frequently
- Provide suitable and sufficient rubbish bins for hand towels with regular removal and disposal.
Canteens and Eating Arrangements
- With cafés and restaurants having been closed across the UK, canteens cannot operate as normal. Whilst there is a requirement for construction sites to provide a means of heating food and making hot drinks, these are exceptional circumstances and where it is not possible to introduce a means of keeping equipment clean between use, kettles, microwaves etc. must be removed from use. The workforce should also be required to stay on-site once they have entered it and not use local shops.
- Dedicated eating areas should be identified on-site to reduce food waste and contamination • Break times should be staggered to reduce congestion and contact at all times
- Hand cleaning facilities or hand sanitiser should be available at the entrance of any room where people eat and should be used by workers when entering and leaving the area
- The workforce should be asked to bring pre-prepared meals and refillable drinking bottles from home
- Workers should sit 2 metres apart from each other whilst eating and avoid all contact
- Where catering is provided on-site, it should provide pre-prepared and wrapped food only
- Payments should be taken by contactless card wherever possible
- Crockery, eating utensils, cups etc. should not be used
- Drinking water should be provided with enhanced cleaning measures of the tap mechanism introduced
- Tables should be cleaned between each use
- All rubbish should be put straight in the bin and not left for someone else to clear up
- All areas used for eating must be thoroughly cleaned at the end of each break and shift, including chairs, door handles, vending machines and payment devices.
Changing Facilities, Showers and Drying Rooms
- Introduce staggered start and finish times to reduce congestion and contact at all times
- Introduce enhanced cleaning of all facilities throughout the day and at the end of each day
- Consider increasing the number or size of facilities available on-site if possible
- Based on the size of each facility, determine how many people can use it at any one time to maintain a distance of two metres
- Provide suitable and sufficient rubbish bins in these areas with regular removal and disposal.
Avoiding Close Working
There will be situations where it is not possible or safe for workers to distance themselves from each other by 2 metres. General Principles- Non-essential physical work that requires close contact between workers should not be carried out
- Work requiring skin to skin contact should not be carried out
- Plan all other work to minimise contact between workers
- Re-usable PPE should be thoroughly cleaned after use and not shared between workers
- Single use PPE should be disposed of so that it cannot be reused
- Stairs should be used in preference to lifts or hoists • Where lifts or hoists must be used: Lower their capacity to reduce congestion and contact at all times
- Regularly clean touchpoints, doors, buttons etc.
- Increase ventilation in enclosed spaces
- Regularly clean the inside of vehicle cabs and between use by different operators.
Site Meetings
- Only absolutely necessary meeting participants should attend
- Attendees should be two metres apart from each other
- Rooms should be well ventilated / windows opened to allow fresh air circulation
- Consider holding meetings in open areas where possible.
Cleaning
- Enhanced cleaning procedures should be in place across the site, particularly in communal areas and at touch points including: Taps and washing facilities Toilet flush and seats Door handles and push plates Handrails on staircases and corridors Lift and hoist controls Machinery and equipment controls Food preparation and eating surfaces Telephone equipment Keyboards, photocopiers and other office equipment
- Rubbish collection and storage points should be increased and emptied regularly throughout and at the end of each day.
Safety & Access suspend all training worldwide
Scaffolding training providers Safety & Access have shut down all its training centres in the UK, Middle East, Far East and Asia.
Due to the governments directive announced yesterday on slowing down the spread of COVID-19 bosses at Safety & Access have taken the decision to suspend all training. Some of its consultancy work has also been affected. The closure is expected to last at least three weeks specified by the PM Boris Johnson in his announcement last night. Safety & Access have said all training at its Nottingham, Immingham and West London will be suspended from the close of business today. They have also stated after today its head office in Nottingham will not be occupied. Enquiries should be directed by email to [email protected]. Rick Statham joint Managing Director at Safety & Access said: “We have taken these steps to protect our staff and customers and to secure the future of the business. All of our support services not only in the UK but in the Middle East, Far East and Asia are affected. “We will be making all persons booked on courses in the UK aware of the various ways in which they can rearrange the training. We will be monitoring the situation closely and hope to get back to business as soon as possible. We thank everyone in advance for their patience and understanding and wish everyone a safe few weeks ahead.”UK on lockdown but construction sites stay open
Boris Johnson has announced a nationwide lockdown to try and slow down the spread of Coronavirus, but construction sites are to stay open…for now.
Johnson addressed the nation last night ordering people to stay at home and told nonessential shop owners to immediately close their stores. He said people will only be allowed to leave their homes for a handful of reasons including “traveling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.” However, the Prime Minister didn’t make it clear for the millions of construction workers who are unable to work at home. A total confusion meltdown ensued amongst the industry last night. With many government ministers giving conflicting advice for construction. One social media user said: “It says you have to social distance at work but how can ya do that if your on-site, we work literally right next to each other?” In a bid to give clarity to the situation The Construction Leadership Council and Build UK have this morning briefed the industry. They have stated, “There has been no specific instruction to shut construction sites.” The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) is meeting this morning; however, it is not a regulatory or enforcement body with the power to instruct sites to close. CLC Co-Chair Andy Mitchell says: “We are in exceptional circumstances, and doing our utmost to keep construction sites operational wherever it is practical and safe to do so. Whilst the guidance from Public Health England may change in future, for the time being construction sites of any size that are operating during the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic need to ensure they are protecting their workforce and minimising the risk of spread of infection. “To implement the Government’s social distancing recommendation the Construction Leadership Council has now published Site Operating Procedures. I would strongly recommend that these procedures are implemented by every operational construction site, with the aim of us having a standard approach across the industry that all firms and workers can adopt. “It is also vital that the health and safety requirements of any construction activity must not be compromised at this time. If an activity cannot be undertaken safely due to a lack of suitably qualified personnel being available, or social distancing being implemented, it should not take place. We are aware that emergency services are also under great pressure and may not be in a position to respond as quickly as usual.”Government must extend wage support for self-employed as layoffs look likely
Unions are urging the government to extend its Coronavirus wage support scheme to help the millions of self-employed construction workers.
On Friday the Chancellor announced the government would pay up to 80% of employees wages to help firms avoid laying off its staff, however, self-employed workers are not eligible to the support lifeline. There is a growing concern within the industry that millions of those that are self-employed will be thrown to the dogs and laid off. Another concern is that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will enforce a full country lockdown, instantly closing construction sites as cases of COVID-19 rise. Unite is urgently calling on the government to do more and support the self-employed during the Coronavirus crisis. The union warned its already seeing a reducing number of workers employed on construction sites around the country. A Freedom of Information request found that around half of the entire construction workforce is paid via the CIS scheme or via umbrella companies. Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “The UK’s bricklayers, carpenters, electricians and plumbers will be deeply worried that if they are officially self-employed they will not be protected by the government’s scheme. “Most construction workers are the primary breadwinners in their family and swift action is needed to ensure that they are protected throughout the coronavirus crisis. “Over half of the industry is officially self-employed, with most of those bogusly self-employed. This is part of the hire and fire culture existing in construction which results in workers being dumped without warning or compensation during downturns. “In the short term the million-plus workers paid via the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) and the 300,000 plus workers paid through umbrella companies must be brought into the scope of the government’s wage support scheme and Unite will be lobbying government to ensure that occurs. “In the long term, a commission is needed into construction employment to ensure that workers who survive on a feast and famine existence secure proper employment protections.”Leading industry trade bodies issue Coronavirus Briefing
Introduction
This short briefing has been prepared on behalf of the UK construction sector to brief companies and individuals on the ongoing repercussions of the Covid-19 coronavirus for our sector.
Government Advice
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has updated its guidance for employers, employees and businesses during the pandemic – to read it, click here.
Covid-19: Cross-Industry Response
The Association for Consultancy & Engineering, Build UK, Chartered Institute of Building, CITB, Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Construction Plant-Hire Association, Construction Products Association, Federation of Master Builders, and Institution of Civil Engineers are working together to respond to Covid-19. Initial priorities for the group include:
- Guidance on responsibly maintaining site operations
- Guidance on employment issues including statutory and industry sick pay
- Guidance on commercial and contractual issues where work is suspended
- Publication of regular newsletters for the industry to brief on Covid-19 issues
- Support for apprentices – CITB is assessing what support is needed to ensure it secures the future for any impacted apprentices.
- Signposting for employers – CITB is working with federations and employer bodies to compile a list of support agencies that will advise on staff issues, and other business support, including sick pay.
- Guidance for keeping sites working – CITB will publish Toolbox Talks and other learning materials to help keeping sites running during this pandemic.
- Time-bound qualifications and cards – card schemes are urging site managers to show appropriate lenience to those with cards expired from mid-March, and have relaxed renewal windows. CITB has waived some of the fees for rescheduling or cancelling HS&E tests and for the duration of the crisis will accept SSSTS and SMSTS renewals beyond expiry.
- Government to ask all public sector construction clients to continue to pay their contractors and supply chains
- Government to ensure all construction sites throughout the UK are able to remain open, as long as they are able to do so responsibly
- Government to consider implementing financial measures, such as the deferral of VAT and PAYE payments, that will reduce the burden on business and keep cash moving as long as possible.
- A grant of up to £50,000 to SMEs in our sector to enable them to meet the digital requirements of working from home to be spent on hardware and specialist software.
- Acceleration of the pre-construction phase of Government programmes, including schools, hospitals and roads, to mitigate the downturn in private sector work, and help projects become shovel-ready sooner.
- Turning the high-level commitment of an “infrastructure revolution” into a reality with a clear published pipeline of projects in the Autumn to stimulate the wider economy and generate business confidence.
- Providing tax incentives for the housebuilding sector and further city deals to devolved Mayors to encourage private sector development.
- Investment in Future of Consultancy demonstrator projects, £1 million seed-funding towards the business case and wider funding for R&D and innovation. All of which will ensure the entire sector is more robust going forwards.
Scaffolding Association reaches 400 member milestone
The scaffolding trade association has topped 400 members
The largest UK scaffolding trade body SA based in Worcestershire has announced its membership growth has continued steadily so far this year which now stands at just over 400. Its membership is represented by scaffolding contractors, suppliers, service providers and designers, it says. The trade body has seen particular growth amongst contractors with the number of its Assessed and Audited members increasing. Stacey Underhill, Head of External Affairs at the Scaffolding Association said: “It’s been an exciting time for us as an association!”The first quarter of this year has seen a record number of membership enquiries, and our membership numbers are well in excess of 400. This really reinforces our reputation as being an approachable and inclusive organisation that is accessible to the whole of industry.”
The work that we’ve been undertaking to support our members and ensure that they are being represented within the industry is being recognised and that is reflected in the recent growth that we have seen. We’re clearly seeing the impact of the work we’ve been doing amongst key industry stakeholders as more and more clients specify Scaffolding Association Audited Membership for their supply chain.”
Underhill concluded: “We’re proud to be building a membership that consists of businesses who are eager to demonstrate their levels of professionalism and their commitment to raising safety standards.”
CISRS issues statement on Coronavirus
CISRS has issued an official statement after training centres across the country start to cancel or reschedule courses.
The Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS) who are now working from home have issued a Coronavirus update to its approved training establishments. They say they are looking to support both candidates and training providers during the Coronavirus outbreak. But ultimately the decision to close centres around the UK rests with the providers. However, CISRS says this decision may be taken out of providers hands if the Government imposes stricter measures. “It is difficult to envisage the disruption this virus will cause,” says CISRS but they have stressed it’s taking a pragmatic approach to issues that may arise. Giving an example If a core scheme course Part 1, 2, Advanced is ended prematurely, e.g. after 6 days we would not expect the person to repeat the full course, CISRS explained. If someone’s card expires as their CPD course is cancelled we will ask them to contact the CISRS Administrator [email protected] with details of the cancelled booking and we can provide them with a letter confirming qualifications and asking for them to be allowed to work until they are able to renew their cards after completing the rescheduled course. As the situation is changing constantly, rather than try to pre-empt situations, we will deal with issues on a case by case basis, where a certain approach and solution becomes the standard response, it would then be rolled out to all providers and delegates, ensuring fair treatment for all, CISRS said in the statement.CISRS Audits
According to the scheme, its Audits are still going ahead in the UK but its overseas centre audits are beginning to be severely affected. They are granting accreditation extensions to those training providers approaching its expiry dates.NOCN Scaffold Card Providers
It’s reported that NOCN staff are working as usual and are putting contingency plans in place should they move to home working which will again allow the service to continue. Going forward CISRS say that phones are currently unmanned but are looking to redirect calls to mobile as soon as possible and normal service should remain in place. CISRS have asked to be contacted by email at this time to assist contact: [email protected] For card application issues contact the CISRS Helpline on 0844 8157223 or [email protected] For delegates concerned about course cancellations/rescheduling please contact your provider directly, CISRS concluded.Construction leaders urge PM to keep sites open
Leaders from the industry have urged the Prime Minister to keep construction sites open or risk thousands of job losses
The Construction Leadership Council sent a letter yesterday to the Prime Minister urging him to support the construction sector. They say the constriction industry is a critical part of a functioning UK economy which employs around 3.3 million people 40% of which are self-employed. An imposed “lockdown’ as seen in other countries would trigger many thousands of job losses and closure of many firms. Leaders have asked the PM to keep construction sites open for as long as responsibly justified during the Coronavirus outbreak. The Council has also urged the Government to consider a cash bridge deferring VAT and PAYE payments to ease the burden on business and keep cash moving as long as possible. And to instruct all public sector construction clients to continue to pay their contractors and supply chain.
“As an industry, we are particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in workload that might result from an enforced shut down of sites and projects. This is due to the number of self-employed workers (approaching 40% of people working in construction), the vulnerable cash position of over 210,000 SME businesses and the operational requirements of delivering large and complex construction and infrastructure projects,” Andy Mitchell Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council said in the letter.
“Should the coronavirus cause a ‘shut down’ of the construction sector, we will face unprecedented challenges that we know from previous downturns will cause many companies and individuals to face significant financial repercussions. Many construction companies will not have enough cash available to continue to pay suppliers and wages, even if there is a relatively limited period of economic inactivity.”
“Our requirement is that we are able to keep our construction sites operational during this time, in order to avoid many thousands of job losses, the closure of thousands of businesses and delays and cost increases on crucial programmes and projects.
“If construction activity comes to halt, given the scale of employment provided by our sector, there would be an immediate need for the Government to provide emergency financing to keep the construction industry operational and prevent irreversible damage to the economic security of millions of people. To minimise the requirement for any Government support, it is critical that our supply chain is able to stay in place and keep working as long as is possible – and that will in turn maintain readiness and help to drive recovery efforts.”
Read the letter to the PM here.