Build UK - 15th April Update

Coronavirus Update ‐ 15 April 2020

Thank you for your patience on the Site Operating Procedures ‐ Version 3 which has now been published by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC). We can only apologise for the delay; as we are all finding at the moment, nothing is quite as easy as it should be.

The Public Health England (PHE) guidance on Social distancing in the workplace during coronavirus (COVID‐19), which includes sections on Construction and the Use of private vehicles and car pooling for travelling to work, has been incorporated into what is now industry‐recognised guidance, supported by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma.

The key changes in Version 3 include:

• Confirmation that the HSE is the enforcing authority for PHE guidelines
• The need for sites to monitor the implementation of the procedures
• Further details on who should not travel to work
• Guidance for those who have no option but to share transport to work
• Information on the hierarchy of controls which should be implemented to reduce the risk of transmission where social distancing of 2 metres cannot be achieved
• Information on first aid and emergency service response.

The latest PHE guidance for construction states that “where face‐to‐face contact is essential, this should be kept to 15 minutes or less wherever possible”. We have requested further clarification from PHE on this point.

We are also seeking further guidance on the use of RPE on construction sites as a means of reducing the transmission of Coronavirus (COVID‐19).

Please note that you may be required to refresh your browser cache in order to view the latest version of the Site Operating Procedures. This can be done in Windows by pressing Ctrl+Shift+R or on a Mac with Cmd+Shift+R.

Read our latest statement which includes information on additional support measures from CITB.