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Supporting the construction industry in the fight against Covid-19
As the Coronavirus (Covid-19) continues to drastically impact the construction industry, key pillars of the construction community have used their platforms and influence to share essential advice and to push for further support for the sector — and for those whose livelihoods depend on it. At DART we’re doing our bit to help too.
Construction industry supports the UK economy
As the Coronavirus (Covid-19) continues to drastically impact the construction industry, key pillars of the construction community have used their platforms and influence to share essential advice and to push for further support for the sector — and for those whose livelihoods depend on it. At DART we’re doing our bit to help too.
“You are making a hugely valued and critical contribution to the resilience of our Nation and I salute you for the enormous efforts you are individually undertaking to support the UK economy.”
In a letter to the Prime Minister on April 1st, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) thanked the government for their bold and necessary measures and requested further financial and other support to sustain the construction industry.
DART support all those who recognise the intrinsic value of the construction industry and are working to keep its members safe.
What is safe practice?
There has been a recent bit of confusion around what constitutes ‘safe practice’ onsite. Towards the end of March, the CIC issued a new Site Operating Procedure, to support the sector in carrying out work safely; saying, amongst other things, that workers should observe the 2-metre distancing rule. A second version was later released, which said that work should stop if the 2-metre rule could not be observed. Apparently this brought significant feedback from construction firms and was then retracted while the CIC review their advice.
Build UK said: “Unfortunately, the updated version issued resulted in more confusion than clarity. Whilst we review the developing PHE guidelines, we can confirm that version 1 of the Standard Operating Procedures remains in place.”
Chief executive of the CIC, Graham Watts, said in a blog post, that it would be: “incredibly dangerous for all construction sites to close; but it is also incredibly dangerous for all construction sites to remain open.” He argues that construction sites should only remain open if the work is critical and if works can be carried out in such a way as to avoid “compromising safety and health”.
We’ve found that some businesses and trades are able to manage social distancing, setting up hand wash areas, and still get the job done (if at a slower pace) — particularly where they are working on new builds or empty properties. But for larger sites or more complicated projects involving multiple trades at the same time, this could be a bigger challenge. Ditto for some smaller companies: scaffolding companies, for example, need to get scaffolding to site, along with the team of people to assemble it. Are they using multiple vehicles to transport people, or have they found another solution that keeps employees 2 metres apart?
Whatever your situation, it’s important be part of the conversation and to keep up to date with any changes as they arise, so we’ll aim to keep you in the loop. And at the bottom of this article we’ve listed some other places you can find the information you need.
““On the Monday when we were told to distance, we told everyone not to go in to work. Then a couple of days later, when the government said construction could carry on, we all went back on site. But we’ve weighed up the risk and started to run out of materials now, so we’ve stopped until the lockdown is lifted.””
How are you being affected?
The two examples above reflect the balance having to be struck by those within the sector: a balance between economics and personal risk. Our customers have been very open in telling is how Covid-19 is affecting them and their businesses. And ultimately, we want to know what DART can do to help.
We’ve found that the main concern for those in the industry who are still able to work is the struggle to get hold of materials. Many suppliers have closed their trade counters, and some who were allowing pick-up from store, have now changed to deliveries to site. It seems that this option is predominantly available to account holders. And for some of the smaller trades or smaller construction companies, their order qualities are not big enough to qualify for a site delivery from some of their usual suppliers. At DART, there’s no minimum order; we’ll send out what you need.
On social media we can see that there are some trades who’d like to carry on working but the supplies aren’t getting through to local merchants from main suppliers. We were told about a plumber who is struggling to get bathroom suites because the parts are not getting from Italy.
There’s also a concern about getting hold of materials once the lockdown is lifted. One building firm we spoke to decided to stop work before materials ran out, in order to have some in reserve once things start to get up and running again. Their take on future jobs is that they won’t want to start a job without knowing for sure that they can get hold of the materials necessary to finish it; so they are already speaking to their customers to manage and plan for this.
At DART we’re continuing with our FREE NEXT DAY delivery to site, as we’ve always done; with no minimum order quantity. We’re also keeping on top of stock, so that we are ready when the sector picks up again. And we know, from your feedback, that this is more important now than ever.
Our resellers have also been badly hit by the pandemic, with the vast majority having to close their trade counters during this lockdown period. So direct delivery to site is one way we are able to support them.
Keeping the money coming in
Another concern that people had were wages — whether you’re a construction company paying staff and waiting to see when the government financial support will definitely kick in; or a self-employed tradesman trying to keep your head above water right now. There was also a strong sense of concern for other colleagues and others ‘on the tools’ who were in the same boat. It was felt that getting information about this as things developed was really important, so that people could plan their next steps.
To work or not to work?
It seems that the overall view is that work should continue in circumstances where workers will be safe and social distancing can be observed. And that trusted supply chains need to keep operating in order to support this. There was also an understanding that people had to be empowered to say if they didn’t feel safe, and a deep concern around balancing family safety with family prosperity and security.
For some, the potential risk to vulnerable members of the family is just too great and staying home is the only, and right, option. For others, particularly individual trades, many are confident that they are keeping themselves safe on site, or are taking jobs that they feel limit their exposure to risk.
““Some people are being criticised for working, but it’s hard to call. If you shut the business you could be putting large numbers of people out of work — employed and sub-contractors. We use the same contractors on each job; you’re like a family.””
DART are doing our bit to help
What was helpful for us to know was how important it is to keep supply chains open for our customers; to get materials and tools to site so that jobs can be done as efficiently and as timely as possible in these challenging circumstances.
As we’ve said: our free, next day delivery service continues as usual, with no minimum quantity. We’ve ensured good stocks of products so that we can respond to urgent requests and so that we are ready to support you when the lockdown is lifted. Feedback tells us that this is greatly appreciated, and is helping to keep jobs moving forward. We’ll keep listening to your thoughts and see what else we can do to help.
We were also told that social media is a big help for people who are isolating or not able to work, so that sense of community on-site can carry on in some way. It’s good for people to keep in touch and to talk about their situation. Social media is being used as a distraction too. So we’re going to keep in touch through our social media channels and this website, aiming to keep you up to date and offer some distractions.
Let’s keep talking to each other
Everyone at DART is continuing to work, to take and send out orders and to be at the end of the phone for advice and queries. We want to be there for you, so do please make use of us. One of our customers said that being able to talk to others is key to getting through this. We hope you’ll use our social media channels to share what you’re up to, to let us know what else we can do support you, and to generally keep in touch with other people in the same boat during this challenging time.
Useful links
Keep an eye on our website and our social media feed. You can also get further information and advice from:
Do your bit and stay safe everyone.
Gemma Cowley
