The Building Safety Group (BSG) has reported a 41% decrease in the number of COVID-19 breaches occurring on construction sites over a three month period. BSG’s report is based on 4400 independent site inspections carried out between 1st June and 31st August 2020.
The drop in breaches has been attributed to more companies successfully adapting to new working practices on construction sites, in light of the pandemic. Over time it is expected that this trend will continue as the industry becomes more accustomed to operating under the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus.
The most common types of COVID 19 ‘non-compliances’ reported by BSG Safety Advisers over the last three months have included:
•Management and operatives not following social distancing guidelines.
•Inadequate welfare facilities on site with insufficient cleaning regimes.
•Too many people in the canteen area with insufficient segregation.
•Not enough hand sanitizing stations on site.
•PPE not available when required.
•Outdated Site Operating Procedures found on site.
BSG’s Managing Director, Stephen Bell commented: “We are pleased to see that COVID 19 breaches have fallen since we began risk assessing companies’ prevention measures to counter the coronavirus. Although we expect this downward shift to continue, now is not the time to become complacent so it is vital that our industry remains vigilant and continues to follow government Site Operating Procedure (SOP) guidelines.”
Stephen added: “BSG’s position will be to continue to advise construction companies on how best to avoid COVID 19 transmission as well as mitigate against all other hazards which can occur on site.”
