The Coronavirus is on everyone’s mind but what should you know if you are in the construction industry? This article outlines what you and your company can do and some excellent resources for construction workers and business owners so they can minimize their risks.
Construction companies are responding to pandemic
As this pandemic spreads, construction companies have started to respond with strategies to reduce the spread of the virus within the company and community. Recently at our construction company of 42 people, we held an all hands “video conference” meeting to educate and train our employees on ways they can reduce their risk of getting and spreading the virus. Below is an outline of what we have used to communicate this message to our construction staff.
Why is it important?
The health care system has a limited capacity to treat those impacted by this pandemic. If everyone follows the recommendations below (coming from the CDC), it will slow the spread and “flatten the curve”. If we don’t, the spread could overwhelm the healthcare system causing many patients to go untreated.
What This Means For You
- Wash your hands with soap and water and don’t touch your face
- Use hand sanitizer to kill germs
- Get good rest and eat healthy to maximize your immunity
- Postpone extra side projects that could wear your body down
- Avoid handshakes until this passes. Use the “elbow bump” instead
- Social distancing: Stay home and avoid going out in public and mixing in large crowds.
- Avoid unnecessary travel until this event passes
- Reduce in-person interaction. Try using the phone or face-time more. Use video conferencing like Zoom or Webex if you need to share documents. We use zoom and it works on our employee’s phones…they can see our slides at meetings.
- If you feel sick, don’t go to work. Stay home and communicate with your employer. Many companies are allowing those that can work from home (eg. project managers, project engineers) to do so just to reduce contact with other people.
What Should Do Now
If you haven’t had a company meeting on this topic, it’s time to do that asap. Feel free to use our outline and slides for your meeting.Keep up on the news and follow new developments as this event continues to evolve. Here are a few resources to use:
- CDC – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
- OSHA – https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/
- AGC – https://www.agc.org/coronavirus-covid-19
Summary
One simple way to reduce in-person contact during this pandemic is to use a phone based time card system like buildcenter.com. This allows for schedules and time cards between the office and field without the need to come physically to the office. Try it for free today.
