Need to know

How to maintain a safe site

In these challenging times, we all have a duty of care to keep safe and mindful of the pandemic and those around us; this, of course, will also extend to your site and contractors. It has always been the case that health and safety is the first consideration with every job undertaken on a building site, and it’s no different now. It remains hugely important that additional measures are taken to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

If you feel that the contractors you’re engaging with on your project aren’t taking health and safety precautions seriously – and there are certainly too many that are not – then you should ask yourself how professional the company really is. Do they have the same attitude towards performance and customer satisfaction? Every contractor on your site should be able to give you the details of their health and safety credentials. In addition to this, they should be preparing a risk assessment and method statement that is specific to your site. Right now, every risk assessment and method statement should include how the company intends to carry out their work whilst mitigating the risks associated with the spread of the virus.

Working safely in this time does not just relate to the site itself; ask yourself questions like: how many people arrived in the van? What are their procedures when picking up materials, stopping for fuel, eating and going to the toilet? As we all know, in preventing the spread of the virus we are not only saving lives - we’re keeping the economy afloat and securing jobs. For as long as we can work, we’ll need to find solutions to ensure building sites are as safe as possible.

At Kloeber, we have implemented a number of changes in response to the virus. If you are struggling to brainstorm ways of mitigating risk, you can encourage your contractors to consider the procedures we have developed at Kloeber as you continue works on your home. Firstly, we only travel with two people in a van in order to maintain social distancing; all vans also carry hand sanitiser, cleaning products and extra PPE.

We have created and trained all site staff in new procedures with regards to loading and using vehicles, stopping for fuel, choosing when and where to eat, cleaning tools correctly and using the toilet when travelling. In addition, our staff must wear the correct PPE when on site. This includes masks if they’re to be within two metres of each other at any time. We are also ensuring that all tools are cleaned before and after each use and not left around for others to pick up.

So far, we’ve not had a case of the virus at Kloeber. However, if we did, we have a record of every team member, what sites they’ve visited and when. This means that we are in a position to alert our customers should a case come to light.

We encourage you to also keep a record of anyone that has been on your site. This means that you can inform others that may have been in contact with your project and contractors, should a case crop up. Remember – safety first!