There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic will radically alter how every sector operates in the months and years ahead and construction is no different. Here Damon Culbert from SMAS Worksafe, SSIP accreditation scheme for construction workers and housebuilders, takes a look at the impact the disease will have on the industry from a health & safety perspective.
Though construction is one of few industries still going to work during the UK’s lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus, the threat to workers’ lives is undoubtedly causing many to experience heightened stress and anxiety. The government has released information on how best to practice social distancing on-site but it will be down to site managers and health & safety leaders to ensure the safety of all staff at all times during this unprecedented time. With so many workers now acutely aware of the risks of being at work, what effect will this have on health and safety in the industry long-term and will construction be able to manage these new challenges effectively?
How PHE guidance is affecting sites
Public Health England (PHE) has released guidance on social distancing measures for society, outlining specifically how construction workers should be ensuring their own safety. Though it isn’t always clear how those on site can properly practice these measures, they will be essential to the prevention of disease transmission.
Key points from the PHE guidance include:
- Working in small groups – PHE encourages staff to work in groups as small as possible and to practice ‘cohorting’, where workers remain in contact with the same small groups regularly to avoid contact with a wider number of people.
- Cleaning and ventilating machinery – Machines like diggers must be cleaned regularly, especially between users and kept ventilated at all times to reduce the risk of infection.
- Hand washing – the biggest component of public efforts to halt the spread of the virus, PHE recommends workers wash their hands after sneezing or coughing, before and after eating, after using public transport and when they get home.
- Cleaning common touchpoints – common touchpoints can include doors and lift buttons. These points should be cleaned regularly throughout the day.
These measures, however, are difficult to follow at the best of times and likely more so for those in construction. Given the nature of the work, regular handwashing may be difficult due to the amount of dirt workers come into contact with, as well as availability of handwashing stations. Additionally, attempting to maintain a two-metre distance from each other is almost impossible while in many construction jobs, which could potentially be putting workers’ health at risk. Though the government is insisting construction continue operating, managers and business leaders will need to be doing all they can to ensure the safety of their staff.
The importance of health & safety management on-site
In this current climate, the science of the disease and its prevention is not entirely certain and recommendations are subject to change. Given that construction workers are in such a precarious position, health and safety management on sites will play an increasingly important role. Though the assessment of risks is a regular process for site operations, this will require managers to undertake constant reassessment and ensure that all staff have up-to-date knowledge on best practice.
One of the major challenges of regular health and safety co-ordination is ensuring employee buy-in, as safety risks aren’t typically a daily thought for some. However, this virus has highlighted how health and safety challenges are ever-present and staff are more willing to follow stricter safety measures to keep themselves and their colleagues safe. Once the pandemic has died down, this increased safety awareness could continue, which would help make health and safety a higher priority and protect more workers from considerable injury on the job.
The mental & physical elements of H&S
Besides the physical challenges of coronavirus, the dramatic levels of anxiety and uncertainty, both globally and in the construction industry, could also have a profound effect on workers’ mental health. Workers who may be concerned about catching the virus while out at work or those who may be experiencing economic insecurity will need to be supported during this time.
Just as management will need to take extra steps to protect the physical health of staff in the workplace, more must be done to ensure mental safety at this time too. Especially for the construction sector, an industry whose workers already experience disproportionate levels of mental health challenges. Though we may feel that the crisis caused by the coronavirus should be our only focus at this time, the best way to ensure we as a society can recover from these challenges is to face them all at the same time.
Health and safety will always be challenging in dangerous workplaces but the coronavirus highlights how important it is to emphasise safe working at all times. For the construction industry, ensuring both the physical and mental security of all staff will be essential to maintaining morale and guaranteeing a quicker recovery in the future.