Question: How can construction workers stay safe at work during COVID-19?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Construction and other outdoor work
section_headers: 2. Who should go to work
section_content: In this section

2.1 Protecting people who are at higher risk
2.2 People who need to self-isolate
2.3 Equality in the workplace

Objective: That everyone should work from home, unless they cannot work from
home.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Consider who is needed on site, for example, support staff should work from home if at all possible.


Planning for the minimum number of people needed to be on site to operate safely and effectively, for example, workers deemed necessary to carry out physical works, supervise work, or conduct work in order to operate safely.


Monitoring the wellbeing of people who are working from home and helping them stay connected to those operating in an outdoor environment, especially if the majority of their colleagues are on-site.


Keeping in touch with off-site workers on their working arrangements including their welfare, mental and physical health and personal security.


Providing equipment for people to work from home safely and effectively, for example, remote access to work systems.



Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Does not specifically reference safety for construction workers. Answer is more for the people who are able to work from home.
This is general advice for various workplaces. It doesn't say much about construction work specifically.

Reviewer ratings:
Bad
Could be Improved

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Construction and other outdoor work
section_headers: 3. Social distancing at work
section_content: In this section

3.1 Coming to work and leaving work
3.2 Moving around buildings and worksites
3.3 Making the main workplace safe for people who work statically
3.4 Meetings
3.5 Common areas
3.6 Accidents, security and other incidents

Objective: To maintain 2m social distancing wherever possible, including while
arriving at and departing from work, while in work, and when travelling
between sites.
You must maintain social distancing in the workplace wherever possible.
Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation
to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity
needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the
mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their
staff.
Mitigating actions include:

further increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning
keeping the activity time involved as short as possible
using screens or barriers to separate people from each other
using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible
reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others)

Social distancing applies to all parts of a business, not just the place where
people spend most of their time, but also entrances and exits, break rooms,
canteens and similar settings. These are often the most challenging areas to
maintain social distancing.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Gives simple guidelines to help keep a construction worker safe.
This is general advice for social distancing in the workplace. It has some information that would be relevant to a construction site, but does not really address construction specifically.

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Could be Improved

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Construction and other outdoor work
section_headers: 5. Cleaning and sanitising the workplace
section_content: In this section

5.1 Before reopening
5.2 Keeping your workplace clean
5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets
5.4 Changing rooms and showers
5.5 Handling equipment, materials, waste, and onsite vehicles

5.1 Before reopening
Objective: To make sure that any site or location that has been closed or
partially operated is clean and ready to restart, including:

conducting a risk assessment for all sites, or part of sites, that have been closed, before restarting work
carrying out cleaning procedures and providing hand sanitiser, before restarting work

5.2 Keeping your workplace clean
Objective: To keep the workplace clean and prevent transmission by touching
contaminated surfaces.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Frequent cleaning of work areas and equipment between uses, using your usual cleaning products.


Frequent cleaning of objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, such as buckets, site equipment and control panels, and making sure there are adequate disposal arrangements.


Clearing workspaces and removing waste and belongings from the work area at the end of shift.


Sanitisation of all hand tools, controls, machinery and equipment after use.


If you are cleaning after a known or suspected case of COVID-19 then you should refer to the specific guidance.


5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets
Objective: To help everyone keep good hygiene through the working day.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Providing additional handwashing facilities, for example, pop-ups, particularly on a large site or where there are significant numbers of personnel on site.


Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency, avoid touching your face and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.


Providing regular reminders and signage to maintain hygiene standards.


Providing hand sanitisers in multiple locations in addition to washrooms.


Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets to ensure they are kept clean and social distancing is achieved as much as possible.


Enhancing cleaning for busy areas.


Special care should be taken for cleaning of portable toilets.


Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.


Providing hand drying facilities – either paper towels or electrical driers.


5.4 Changing rooms and showers
Objective: To minimise the risk of transmission in changing rooms and showers.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Where shower and changing facilities are required, setting clear use and cleaning guidance for showers, lockers and changing rooms to ensure they are kept clean and clear of personal items and that social distancing is achieved as much as possible.


Introducing enhanced cleaning of all facilities regularly during the day and at the end of the day.


5.5 Handling equipment, materials, waste, and onsite vehicles
Objective: To reduce transmission through contact with objects that come into
the workplace and vehicles at the worksite.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Cleaning procedures for the parts of shared equipment you touch after each use, thinking about equipment, tools and vehicles, for example, pallet trucks and forklift trucks.


Encouraging increased handwashing and introducing more handwashing facilities for workers handling goods and merchandise or providing hand sanitiser where this is not practical.


Regular cleaning of vehicles that workers may take home.


Regular cleaning of reusable delivery boxes.


*[COVID-19]: coronavirus

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Addresses the concern of keeping construction workers safe.
This is a detailed article covering many different aspects of how to keep construction sites and workers safe during COVID-19.

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Excellent