BESA’s latest on-site Covid-19 guidance

UK: The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has published new guidance to help engineering and construction firms keep their staff safe in the light of new government Covid-19 restrictions.

The Association’s Covid-19 Panel has produced two new guidance documents, which it says provides clear and practical information about how to reduce the risk of virus transmission on site and methods for carrying out risk assessments for workers who have to stay away from home.

“The new guides are all about prioritising workers and customer/client safety,” said BESA health & safety advisor Becky Crosland. “As we see a rise in the R number across the country it is clear that the threat of infection from Covid-19 remains very much alive. It is therefore vital that businesses have robust procedures to safeguard against the risks employees face on site and in domestic settings.”

She also reiterated the warning that the two-metre social distancing restriction remains in place on construction sites.

“Some people seem to think the two metre restriction has been reduced to one metre – it has not. Infection risk is between and two and 10 times higher at one metre,” said Crosland. “If it is impossible to remain two metres apart, you should apply other controls like reducing the duration of time you spend together or avoiding face-to-face contact.”

These are the latest of a suite of documents produced by BESA during the crisis. All of the documents are said to have been thoroughly researched, taking into account current government guidance, and providing a series of steps that any employer can put into practice.

The guidance is freely available and downloadable from the BESA website: www.theBESA.com/covid19.