AN INDUSTRY IN RECOVERY

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect on business, with both construction and scaffolding industries feeling the pain. Many firms, in the light of encouragement from the Government, attempted to keep working right through its darkest days – others had no choice but to furlough or even lay off staff. So what has been the impact of COVID-19 in general terms? Grahame Anderson has been taking a closer look

❖ In late June the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced that as a nation we’ll build ourselves out of trouble; although there’s little doubt the coronavirus pandemic will continue to have lasting repercussions for the economy. The construction and scaffolding industries

were back in the spotlight, not that they’d been out of it long given the arguments over how the crisis had been managed across both sectors. Some sites stayed open despite social distancing warnings, other firms laid off their workers, and many more joined the much documented furlough scheme.

ADMINISTRATION FOR SOME The sad news is that life begins after lockdown without 18 construction companies who fell into administration in June. And then the city of Leicester developed a second spike of the virus and again, in line with the national lockdown, construction work that could not be done from home was permitted.

Build UK has received lots of enquiries regarding the Construction Leadership Council’s site-operating procedures under local lockdown rules. It said: “The site-operating procedures clearly state that government guidance must be followed, and it is expected that sites will assess the local conditions and respond accordingly. These should include maintaining the social-distancing practices in place prior to the easing of the national lockdown.”

Guidance on social distancing was offered with ‘one-metre-plus’, whereby workers were asked to stay two metres apart if possible, but otherwise maintain a distance of one metre. Needless to say, that can sometimes be a difficult thing to maintain on a building site. Wearing a face covering or avoiding face-to-face contact are still recommended.

We’ve also seen the installation of screens in certain areas, improved hand-washing facilities and staggered breaks for workers in many cases - all to keep contact down to minimum levels. Sites with canteens not operational prior to the latest easing of the rules were advised to keep them closed. Build UK said strict hygiene and cleaning regimes must be enforced.

THE UPSIDE A COVID-19 economy recovery plan by Dr. Steve McCabe and Mike Leonard of Birmingham City University’s Institute for Design and Economic Acceleration, argues an £11bn investment in the construction sector could create significant employment and produce a £33billion return.

For a success story, how about Wates construction? Back in April the company announced it was furloughing 4,000 staff. High-paid staff on the scheme earning more than £2,500 per month had their salaries topped up to at least 70 per cent of their usual levels. Three months later everyone returned to full time working.

Wates chief executive, David Allen said the decision to reinstate full pay had been made possible by the “amazing efforts” of staff to “keep the show on the road”. He added “Because of their efforts and professionalism, we have been able to take the positive decision to return people to full pay in July.

“We are now focused on accelerating into the second half of 2020 and on playing our part in responding to the government’s call to ‘build, build, build’.”

Cambridge and Hertfordshire based company Royston Scaffolding were recently on hand to help the NHS by providing essential work for St Michael’s hospital in Bristol during the COVID-19 lockdown.

With social distancing restrictions and the understandably tight on-site measures put in place by the NHS, it meant scaffolding work took longer to construct than usual. But it proved, even in these extreme conditions, it was still possible to continue.

The team had to adhere to the two metre social distancing rule and follow a one-way system, which made logistics very tough. In addition to wearing normal PPE, the team also wore face coverings that were reportedly difficult to wear initially, as they would steam up restricting visibility. But once the team got the hang of them, this was no longer a problem and they were able to continue working at height safely.

Following the Government’s guidance on easing the lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic, Marine Scaffolding Ltd began to accept new work from mid June.

They said “Of course it won’t be business as usual because as an employer we have a responsibility to keep our staff safe. So we need to take additional steps to maintain distancing and encourage operatives to increase their personal hygiene regime by providing antibacterial hand cleansers.”

It’s also clear some workers will still have a sense of feeling tense and nervous, especially about coming into contact with anyone who may have COVID-19 symptoms. Indeed, employers should stay aware of potential mental health problems. The NASC website carries lots of information aimed at breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health within the access and scaffolding industry, supported by the Lighthouse Club. The construction industry charity has new guidance to help employers understand mental health better, and to create an action plan for employees to thrive at work after coronavirus. www.nasc.org.uk

The scaffolding industry will bounce back from the pandemic – but it’s a slow and sure process needing everyone to play their part.