The construction industry is resilient, even as COVID-19 (coronavirus) brings many businesses to a halt.
Construction firms are not like other industries, where working from home and drive-thru services can be effective countermeasures. They have to manage their job sites. Chris Hopper is the executive vice president and general manager of Skanska. He told Cincinnati Business Courier that “you can’t install drywall in your home.”
Skanska is a construction and development company based in New York with projects across the country. More than 10,000 people work for the company. Skanska developed a multi-faceted COVID-19 response plan in order to keep workers safe and job sites operational.
Skanska, among other major construction firms, has been implementing COVID-19.
14 Key Elements for a Contractor’s COVID-19 Plan
- Follow the CDC guidelines
- Travel restrictions
- Screening measures should be implemented for recent travelers.
- Tell employees to stay at home if they feel sick
- Restriction on employee meetings in person and other gatherings
- Encourage employees to work at home, if possible
- All employees should be trained on the 6-foot distancing rules, no handshakes, etc.
- Clean your office and worksite thoroughly.
- Handwashing stations and cleaning products are now available in offices and on job sites.
- Donate N95 masks to local hospitals.
- In this critical time of national crisis, tell elected officials to stop partisan bickering.
- Create a COVID-19 response team with dedicated members and empower them
- Keep up-to-date with COVID-19 federal and local developments
- Keep in constant, clear, and honest communication with your employees, subcontractors, and clients, as well as suppliers and clients
Best Practices for Mitigating Exposure
COVID-19 plans must include social distancing as a key component. Turner Construction Company in New York, which employs approximately 10,000 people, has started limiting employee gatherings. It has also stopped large group meetings. The company has also suspended attendance at events, such as conferences. Discussions are now conducted using remote conferencing technology. Turner Construction, for example, has increased its network capacity as well as training tools in order to cope with the surge of online network activity.
Occasionally, a meeting is necessary that must be attended in person. Turner Construction requires that meetings take place in areas with adequate social distance. The CDC suggests that people should be kept at least 6 feet apart. Turner Construction has also adapted its standard operating procedures in order to limit the number of employees that can be in an elevator at any given time.
Harkins is an employee-owned construction firm based in Maryland that reminds its employees of the 6-foot rule. Also, sick employees will be sent home as soon as possible. Microsoft Teams is used to conduct all meetings and eliminate any gatherings, such as lunches.
Construction companies have also been focusing on monitoring employees’ travel.
Skanska has issued a travel ban for all international flights until at least April. Domestic travel is also severely limited.
Turner Construction has prohibited all business travel in any CDC Level 3 countries, i.e., countries that are deemed to be a source of widespread transmission. Employees who have traveled or been in close contact with someone who has traveled to any of these countries are not allowed to enter a Turner office or job site for 14 days after the date of their contact. Further, employees who show any of the COVID-19 symptoms are instructed to avoid Turner facilities and job sites. The symptoms include fever, coughing, and restricted breathing.
Promote Good Hygiene
Turner Construction has placed hygiene at the top of its list. Handwashing stations are required on all job sites. The staff has also been trained to clean and disinfect commonly touched objects like lunch tables, coffee makers, and doorknobs.
Harkins has implemented a list of protocols for job sites to improve awareness. CDC and OSHA guidelines, for example, are now displayed in prominent locations at all job sites. Jobsite leaders are also trained to monitor employee behavior closely to ensure the guidelines are followed.
Harkins has taken additional steps to improve job site cleanliness. The trailers are cleaned every day. A commercial cleaning service will also be brought in to disinfect and clean certain areas on a construction site if there is suspicion of COVID-19 contamination. Harkins has increased the number of hand sanitizing products deployed on job sites.
Create Dedicated Teams and Empower them.
Skanska established a Coordination Response Team for each of its markets. The teams are responsible for monitoring COVID-19 development, sharing information among employees and partners, and implementing protocols.
Turner Construction also has a COVID-19 action team. This team is focused on supporting employees. In the midst of all that’s going on, support is an important element that gets overlooked. Many people have been affected by this crisis. Employers can help people deal with the situation positively.
Turner’s COVID-19 Team has collected information to assist employees in avoiding coronavirus scams. These are, unfortunately, a frequent occurrence. The company has created a fraud alert page where employees can get the latest information.
Keep open and honest communication.
Skanska uses its intranet (internal company website) to update COVID-19. The intranet will also be used to reinforce company guidelines and standard operating procedures. The same information can be accessed through the company’s mobile app.
Cincinnati Business Courier reported that telling employees to stay at home if they’re not feeling well can be a crucial part of maintaining a safe and functional job site. HGC Groups in Cincinnati have temporarily stopped recording absences without prior notice to emphasize the importance of such a policy. A worker who believes they have COVID-19 will not be penalized if they call in sick.