March 24, 2020
For immediate release
During these uncertain times with Covid-19, ensuring safety of our employees, families and communities where we live, and work is our utmost concern.
Unlike many other industries, the construction industry has yet to be shut down, a privilege we must take seriously.
Best health and safety work site practices must be upheld to ensure our businesses can continue to deliver housing required by our communities, and also, to ensure the safety and welfare of our workers, reliant on their jobs to support their families during these unsettled times.
As leaders of the residential construction industry, HAVAN stands by the guidelines set out by the provincial government. HAVAN encourages our members to enforce compliance with work site safety, as one negligent construction site can risk a complete industry shutdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Adapt your sites to meet the orders from the Provincial Health Officer. Members are emailing in daily with suggestions and solutions. These resources including how Arthur Lo of Insightful Healthy Homes has adapted his work sites, and complimentary site signage provided Surrey Digital can be found on HAVAN Builders Blog – Covid-19 Member’s Sharing Solutions.
If you are unable to meet the provincial guidelines, as some of our members have already self-assessed, please take their lead and shut your site(s) down, for the security and safety of the entire industry. We applaud our members for taking this step for the better of the greater community.
Heightened awareness and concern are increasing daily, and require site safety messaging to be communicated, from the top, down.
Health and Safety Guidelines for residential construction sites, as ordered by the Provincial Health Officer:
- There should be no more than 50 people in the same space in any circumstance.
- Where possible, employees should maintain a distance of two metres apart from each other.
- Post signage that limits the number of occupants in any elevator to four people at a time.
- Reduce in-person meetings and other gatherings and hold site meetings in open spaces or outside.
- Increase the number of handwashing stations and post signage that identifies their location.
- Maintain a list of employees that are currently working on sites and update this list daily.
- All common areas and surfaces should be cleaned at the end of each day. Examples include washrooms, shared offices, common tables, desks, light switches, and door handles.
- Anyone with COVID-19-like symptoms, such as sore throat, fever, sneezing or coughing, must self-isolate at home for 14 days.
Industry news and resources are being updated daily. HAVAN Covid-19 Resources Page.
Please share and reinforce this important messaging with your management, site supers, staff etc. We are in this together.
Ron Rapp,
CEO
Ron@HAVAN.ca
