Clean tools twice daily, eat lunch 2 metres apart: The strict new rules construction workers must follow under Alert Level 3

An extraordinary new building standard has laid out a broad set of stringent rules the construction sector must follow to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus in the workplace, including washing down tools and equipment twice daily.

After nearly four weeks of lockdown New Zealand's construction sector is poised to restart should Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announce at 4pm on Monday the country is moving from Covid-19 Alert Level 4 to 3.

Like much of the workforce New Zealand's construction sector, worth about $40 billion a year, has been in hibernation since the country went into a nationwide lockdown on March 26.

Under Alert Level 3 construction businesses can start work again but strict hygiene measures must be put in place - and office staff who can work from home should do so, the Government's Covid-19 website says.

During the lockdown the construction industry's standard-setting body Construction Health and Safety New Zealand, in consultation with the industry, developed a standard to help control the risk of Covid-19.

The new rules will slow down construction but they are a far cry better than the alternative of no workflow at all.

The standard was created with input from more than 50 businesses, including some of New Zealand's largest constructors, Civil Contractors NZ, the Vertical Leaders Group, residential leaders, small and medium businesses and unions.

Naylor Love chief executive Rick Herd, who worked on the standard, said leaders had been gathering health and safety information vital to getting sites safely up and running as soon as the Government had given the green light to do so.

"The standards and protocols that have been developed give strong assurance to our workers, government and the public that we can do this safely."

Site Safe chief executive Brett Murray said the framework would ensure workers, their whānau, and the community were kept as safe as possible.

"We want our members to be able to get back to work as quickly, and as safely, as possible."

RULES OF THE GAME:

The standard outlines protocols civil, commercial and residential construction businesses and contractors must maintain in order to operate under Covid-19 Alert levels 2 and above. The standard is supplemented by specific protocols for residential construction and one for vertical construction.

The protocols are expected to evolve as government requirements and industry experience change.

Employers must constantly focus on eliminating or reducing the risk of Covid-19 transmission to an acceptable level, engaging with their workforce, and making worker health a key priority, the standard said.

The standard also includes prevention, detection, and rapid response measures.

All employers must create a plan to achieve the requirements of the standard and planning and implementing Covid-19 protocols must involve workplace health and safety representation from workers.

The plan must be communicated before a person enters a site, with language and culture requirements taken into account.

It is possible sites may have become unsafe while inactive during lockdown periods and employers must ensure all hazards are managed before work begins.

All people entering and exiting a workplace must be registered to assist in contact tracing and all visitors to a site, such as necessary delivery workers, will be restricted to one person wherever possible.

Movement between and on sites is to be planned and managed to prevent transmission.

Employers must ensure employees are fit for duty by confirming their health status and know how workers will travel to and from work and those who can work from home should.

Workers must decontaminate themselves and their clothing when returning to their homes by showering, making sure to clean hands, wrists, arms, neck, nails and areas that might have been exposed.

Shoes should be left at the door and clothes and bags placed in a container before going through a hot washing machine cycle.

They should also leave non-essential items at work and disinfect items they plan to take home such as mobile phones.

All offices and job sites must implement additional cleaning measures of common areas, additional sanitary measures and cleaning schedules for bathrooms and toilets.

Shared work vehicles must be sanitised after each journey and each work site must be cleaned and sanitised at the end of the working day or end of each shift.

The standard includes some very specific cleaning instructions such as using two buckets for mopping - one for detergent and the other for rinsing.

Tools and equipment must also be cleaned before and after each day's work with a disinfectant, concentrating on points of contact such as handles.

Where practical construction sites must be separated into zones in order to keep different trades physically separated at all times.

Workers should sit 2 metres apart from each other whilst eating and avoid all contact.

Visitors to a site will be kept to a minimum and workforces should be split into two groups working different shifts.

"Then if half of the team gets infected the other half team will still be able to work."

If it is not possible or safe for workers to distance themselves by one metre for a work activity the works should not be carried out if they are not essential.

If they do need to be carried out additional control measures must be in place such as wearing disposable overalls, wearing PPE such as face masks and wearing powered ventilation.

IF INFECTION OCCURS:

If a staff member does become infected with Covid-19 employers must prevent anyone entering the workplace or conducting work activities and must contact the Ministry of Health.

They must also gather records of everyone who has been on site or been involved with the person who has tested positive within the past month, gather information to identify those who worked at the location or shared machinery, plant, materials or equipment with that person, be ready to present the information to the authorities, inform the workforce of the situation and clean and sanitise all site surfaces and equipment.

EVERYONE MUST DO THEIR BIT:

Registered Master Builders Association chief executive David Kelly said the framework would help to provide some certainty for its members.

"These documents will be crucial for the many residential builders looking for guidance on what comes next and how to do their bit," Kelly said.

"It's critical that everyone in the industry follows the right processes that have been agreed in this guidance.

"We need to demonstrate that as an industry we can work safely as no one wants to see us return to Level 4 - and that means the whole of the industry needs to work together on this."

Civil Contractors NZ chief executive Peter Silcock welcomed the framework.

"Civil construction is going to play a massive part in getting New Zealand back up and running,"

"We need to be clear on how to keep our people and the public safe."

ONE IN FIVE WON'T SURVIVE:

The New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association president Frank Xu said companies and sites faced an uncertain future if construction did not resume soon.

An survey by the association, which gathered responses from 58 of its 200 members that owned small and medium businesses, showed one in five businesses would not survive the four week lockdown.

If the lockdown lasted longer than four weeks then two thirds of respondents would consider redundancies.

If it went on for eight weeks or more, then half of respondents' businesses would not survive.

"If the lockdown lasts much longer, not only will many companies go bust in the sector, as well as their supply chains," Xu said.

If half-finished construction sites were shut down for too long there was "significant risk" of material deterioration, which would cause safety concerns on site and could require expensive re-work, he said.

Article supplied by Stuff