CLOCS

Tideway maintains operations during COVID 19

29 May 2020

Gordon Sutherland, Road Traffic & Logistics Manager, Tideway (the company building London's 'super sewer'), spoke at a recent CLOCS working group meeting. This article shares some of the actions Tideway have taken to maintain safety-critical tasks and re-start additional operations during COVID-19.

CLOCS Champion Tideway has been using the Site Operating Procedures produced and regularly updated by the Construction Leadership Council. This guidance includes travel to and from work, site access and egress, canteens and rest areas, changing facilities, work planning to avoid close working, first aid and emergency service response. We hope their approach may help other champions to overcome today’s challenges.

Considerations

Safety-critical – what cannot stop?
Programme Critical Path
What is required and what are the dependencies?
What supporting activities can we do safely?
Identify activities and number of staff required
Assess site layouts
Offices, operational zones, haul routes, access/egress, capacity for car parking

Planning

1. Produce a detailed programme of work – six weeks minimum

List risks – COVID and general risks
Give assurance to the workforce that they are supported – and vice versa
Welfare layout adjustments, floor plans and signage
Rules
Site access and egress
Site-specific inductions and individual task briefs
Monitoring and continuous assessments
Do we have sufficient PPE in stock and what do we need to order?

2. Interim Worker Travel Plans

Temporarily supersede the approved Worker Travel Plans
Allows staff to travel by private car
Identifies car parking facilities on site and in vicinity
Gives assurance to the Local Planning Authority and TfL that proper consideration has been given to this.
Residents and businesses advised, keeping impact to a minimum

3. Social distancing at work-fronts

Extract of a readiness review undertaken for the Albert Embankment worksite: