Site safety and the new normal

By Alisa Yong - 1 August 2020, Build 179

From creative locations for hand sanitisers to remote inductions, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked ingenious ideas as sites adapted to the new normal. Site Safe looks at some measures businesses introduced to keep up with the COVID-19 protocols.

AS NEW ZEALANDERS, we’re great at thinking outside the box or coming up with a number 8 wire approach to solve problems. We’re also great at mucking in and getting the job done – the COVID-19 safety protocols are a great example of this.

Protocols developed by industry

When the pandemic struck, the industry came together as a working group comprised of health and safety experts from organisations such as Civil Contractors NZ, Master Builders, Vertical Leaders, CHASNZ and Site Safe. It proactively put in place a set of protocols that would allow everyone to get back out on site as soon as possible without putting our people and the public at risk.

The work done by this cross-industry working group meant that government had the confidence that non-essential construction could safely resume under Alert Level 3, provided sites had an adequate COVID-19 plan in place.

By and large, it was great to see everyone in the industry recognise the importance of the protocols and adopt these out on site. All sites are different, with different risks needing to be addressed with a specific plan, but physical distancing, contract tracing and an emphasis on hygiene were standard across Alert Levels 3 and 2.

Physical distancing and contact tracing

A variety of practical ideas were used on sites:

Remote inductions and contact tracing forms – some bigger sites sent out their induction information by email before contractors arrived on site. This included sending out a contact tracing questionnaire. Some sites added a QR code outside the gate so that workers could complete the questionnaire before entering.
Toolbox talks – some main contractors are now doing these by email and remotely.
Prestart meetings – some sites asked for one representative from each crew to attend the briefing. That person was then responsible for passing the information on to the rest of their team.
Meetings – video conferencing tools were key in cutting down face-to-face meetings.
Staggered breaks and meals – roster systems for smokos and lunches were put in place.
Break rooms and common areas – tables were separated to allow for increased distancing.
Workers travelled to site in their own vehicles to allow for distancing and hygiene.
Some sites operated a one-way system for stairs and entry and exits – for example, one staircase for traffic going up, one staircase for down.
Phone apps that detected when people were arriving and leaving site – if it’s active and the person walks on or off site, it records the location in the site database.

Hygiene

A range of measures were introduced to improve hygiene:

Larger sites that had a turnstile entry system with fingerprint scanning operating replaced these in favour of a security officer recording sign-in details at the entrance.
More sites used professional cleaning services and increased the frequency of cleaning.
Increased use of PPE, including gloves.
Multiple foot-operated handwash stations located around the site.
Hand sanitiser dispensers mounted on cones so they can’t be missed.
Temperature checks.
Hygiene posters at key locations on site.
Wheelie bins set up as hygiene stations.

Sharing and collaborating

These are just some of the measures that were seen on site. If you’re interested in adding your own, WorkSafe has set up a website called BetterWorkNZ. This is designed to allow businesses to share and collaborate on better ways of working – including ways to cope with COVID-19 challenges.