Many construction companies nowadays find ways on how they can create a safer construction site during projects. Back then, contractors and project managers only had to worry about their workers getting injured from work or machine accidents. But nowadays, they have more pressing matters to tend to besides the potential work accidents.
The world is currently experiencing a pandemic, preventing many construction companies from starting or finishing their projects. But due to the recent vaccines created by different pharmaceutical companies, people had the opportunity to get the vaccines and continue operations within a controlled environment.
If you plan to continue with construction projects, you must learn the current trends that many construction companies follow to ensure everyone stays safe amidst the pandemic.
- Social Distancing is Key
One current trend that many construction companies follow nowadays is ensuring workers stay six feet apart. It is the safest method for construction workers to finish their tasks without the risk of infecting each other. Project managers have to keep a good eye on the workers on-site and ensure each worker stays safe from each other. However, the World Health Organization released an article saying that one meter is enough to distance yourself from other people and prevent the virus from infecting you.
- Utilizing Masks and Face Shields
Apart from practicing social distancing, you also have to provide masks and face shields to people within the construction site. Most of the time, the workers only need to wear masks because the face shields can obstruct their view, which can cause accidents. Engineers, architects, and project managers can wear both masks and face shields to provide adequate protection.
It’s also essential that they both wear them because they have to check each construction project area, which means they also have to face different people. It’s best to assign several project managers if there are other sections to relay the messages instead of visiting each section efficiently.
- Multiple Shifts
If you want to prevent the construction site from getting too congested, you should have different workers go in separate shifts instead of letting them work all at once. It’s the most effective method that many project managers follow to ensure that each worker still has a job at the end of the day.
But in some cases, construction companies can let their workers go in at once if they got vaccinated. You have to make sure your construction workers get the two doses to ensure they can work freely on-site without the need to implement multiple shifts.
- Preventing Non-Essential Personnel Within the Construction Site
Another trend that many construction companies follow nowadays is to prevent visitors like clients from visiting the site. If possible, you must limit the number of people who can enter the construction site. Even when you have a delivery for materials like grease duct access panels, you still have to prevent them from entering since their only job is to deliver and unload them on-site.
You have to closely monitor the people going in and out of the construction site and ensure no one but your construction team stays around. If you have clients who want to visit, make sure you limit the number of times for visits to keep the site safe from the virus.
- Reduce Close Contact Meetings
At one point, you will need to talk with the other contractors because you want to discuss your plans or strategies for the project. You have to limit the number of times you have to contact a person physically, so you need to find an alternative to conduct those meetings. Fortunately, you can use Zoom, Skype, or other video messaging software to minimize close contact as much as possible. Once you reduce the physical communication within your construction team, you get to achieve a safer project without worrying about anyone catching the virus.
- Provide More Wash Stations
You can keep your construction site clean by providing wash stations in different sections. You can advise your workers to use it before and after working to ensure they wash their hands or arms properly. Before the pandemic, construction companies never had to worry about placing wash stations since the workers can clump together in a single wash station and get themselves cleaned up.
That’s not the case in today’s time because the virus can stay on a single wash station and get passed onto others. Usually, the faucet’s handle is one area that the virus can cling to and get passed around to different people. Ensure you also place refillable soaps and hand sanitizers in each wash station to clean each worker’s hands thoroughly.
If you’re planning on a construction project amidst the pandemic, you must remember the different trends and follow them to create a safer construction site.
