Safety Considerations for Construction Work During COVID-19

Reducing the spread of coronavirus in the workplace goes hand-in-hand with good hygiene best practices. From wearing personal protective equipment, to frequently washing and sanitizing hands, to social distancing whenever possible, the implementation of safety measures on your job site will be critical to ensuring the health of your employees and mitigating the spread of the virus. Here, MacKenzie Contracting Company, LLC delves into essential safety considerations for sub-contractors, building inspectors and employees during COVID-19.

Practice Good Hygiene on the Job Site

In the past few months, we’ve seen the novel coronavirus modify typical workplace behavior, fracture normal work processes and force a vast majority of the workforce to stay at home. For construction workers, remote work isn’t an option, and the show must go on at the job site. One of the easiest ways to stop the spread of germs is to practice good hygiene and avoid going to work at all costs if you are infected. Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoiding touching your face and reducing contact with animals and animal products are a simple yet effective way to do your part in limiting the spread of germs. Keep your job sites as clean as possible as well. You can do this by regularly sanitizing your workspace or use disinfectant on door handles, handrails, elevator buttons and other shared applications or spaces.

If you begin to notice symptoms such as a fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat or chills, do not enter the job site and ensure you are avoiding contact with others for at least two weeks. MacKenzie Contracting suggests checking temperatures upon arriving on job sites, and upon return to the job site after lunch or a break. Those with temperatures of 100.4 or higher will be denied access, and sent home for the day as a precaution. These steps will ensure the safety of team members and clients.

Optimize Your Job Site to Accommodate for Social Distancing

Construction is considered essential work by many and completing this critical work cannot happen from home. Therefore, it is important to implement safety precautions and temporary accommodations to limit and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Any progress meetings or team check-ins should be completed by phone, whenever possible, to avoid unnecessary contact with others.

Employees should also attempt to maintain the standard six feet apart in the workplace. Staggering lunch breaks, avoiding carpooling and limiting work trailers to a certain number of employees at a time are great first steps. The use of shared tools and equipment should be limited whenever possible and sanitized after each use. When applicable or possible, employers should designate employees into shifts and areas on the worksite to avoid excessive contact with others and groups of employees should be limited to ten or under.

Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) While on the Job Site

Employees should wear masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) on the job site at all times. Gloves should also be worn while on-site, and the specific type of gloves worn should be appropriate to the tasks at hand. Eye protection is also recommended to be worn on the job site. Due to many job sites experiencing shortages of N95 respirators due to the current events, employees should be following best practices for limiting dust and exposure to airborne contaminants and prioritizing the consistent use of PPE. Alternatives to N95 respirators include disposable face masks, bandanas and neck gaiters.

MacKenzie Contracting Company, LLC Upholds the Health and Safety of Maryland Job Sites

Below you will find the zero-tolerance policies and procedures MacKenzie Contracting has adopted on our job sites to keep employees, sub-contractors, and clients safe:

• Provide Covid-19 operating guidelines to our clients and subcontractors
• Sub-contracts have been modified to reflect MacKenzie Contracting’s new policy which includes notifying us within 24 hours of an employee testing positive for Covid-19. Under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) the name of an individual or individuals will not be shared with us in order to protect their privacy
• All personnel (no exceptions) entering the job site will be non-invasively temperature checked
• Mandatory wearing of masks, gloves and eye protection 100% of the time
• Handwashing stations will be placed in strategic areas around the project site
• Hand sanitizer will be available
• Social distancing will be practiced where possible

At MacKenzie Contracting Company, LLC, we’re grateful that many of our employees, sub-contractors and clients are able to continue their work even while COVID-19 adversely impacts so many industries. However, we also know the critical importance of maintaining a clean and safe job site optimized to meet social distancing standards and accommodate the current events. To contact a team member at MacKenzie Contracting Company, LLC regarding additional safety considerations for contracting work during COVID-19, or if you would like to inquire about another matter, reach out to us today.