Housebuilder and construction company, the Cruden Group, is gearing up to begin phase two of the Scottish Government backed Construction Re-start Plan on Monday 15 June. The ‘soft start’ will see Cruden’s workforce return to construction sites where physical distancing can be maintained.
The Cruden Group safely closed down construction activities in line with Government advice on 24 March. The Group has now carried out phased and controlled pre-start site preparations across its client’s sites and it’s own housing developments and has prepared a detailed and robust ‘safe return to work’ plan, which encompasses the Site Operating Procedures set out by Construction Scotland in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preparatory works have included a strong focus on the implementation of physical distancing measures, enhanced hygiene regimes and the testing of new protocols in order to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of employees, sub-contractors and clients. The housebuilder has also produced a “pre-start pack” of documents for employees and partners which includes additional guidance, risk assessments and controls for site working. These new procedures will be applied and constantly monitored in accordance with Government and public health guidance.
During the course of this week, Cruden has engaged with Unite, the Scottish Building Federation, Scottish Futures Trust and Construction Scotland to demonstrate examples of best practice on site. Visits have been hosted to inform partners about the newly implemented operating procedures and as part of a consultation to inform the Scottish Government’s industry restart group.
Cruden introduced of a range of measures in response to the pandemic, including the closure of all its sales offices, the migration of non-site colleagues to home working and an orderly shutdown of its construction sites. However, core staff have worked remotely during lockdown to maintain contact with existing construction clients, and to progress new site starts for the post lockdown period. The Group’s private housing sales teams have also continued to serve new and existing customers while working from home, making use of online resources, including virtual viewings and digitalised reservation processes.
Kevin Reid, Chief Executive of the Cruden Group said:
“We welcome the news that we are entering into phase two of the Construction Re-start plan. The health, safety and wellbeing of the public and everyone who works on our sites and in our offices remains our top priority. We have developed and tested new site protocols and we are working closely with our colleagues, sub-contractors and suppliers to rigorously enforce and strictly monitor the new procedures.”
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