Construction site safety during shutdown and reopening

Today’s changing business environment amidst COVID-19 activity has led to unplanned construction site closures, and now planned re-openings. Shutting down mid-project is not easy and can create unique safety risks that need to be addressed before work fully stops. What’s more, reopening a site carries a slew of other considerations, especially in an environment with new and often changing federal, local, and state guidelines to help limit the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing protocols and new handwashing and site cleaning recommendations.

Here we detail some guidelines to help support the safe reopening and potential future closure of job sites, in light of uncertainty around COVID-19 and its impact on construction over the coming weeks and months.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted construction sites across the country, and many have been placed on hold. Contractors returning to work on a suspended construction site may face unique hazards. Key areas to consider include:

Workforce and Communication: Address the needs of your workers.  Your communication style and content could have a direct impact on the successful completion of the project.  During the pre-planning process consider the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) / National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended practices that you will bring forward, as well as addressing mental health issues.

 Fall protection systems may need to be inspected to ensure they will work effectively.

Protecting the public from injury during construction is always a primary concern of any project team. During project restart planning and preparation, inspect and remove any loose or damaged objects from the project that could fall/fly and injure the public. Reestablish perimeter protection, traffic control, covered walkways, and lighting.

 Any temporary structures left in place will need to be inspected prior to starting up the project. Scaffolds, stair towers, and personnel hoists associated with the project should be inspected prior to use. Shoring or re-shoring should be inspected per the shoring engineers’ recommendations and drawings.

It is important to inspect the structure to see if any degradation has occurred. Incomplete or unfinished structures should be evaluated prior to restart, such as structural steel, precast, duct runs, and pan decking systems.

Protecting the structure under construction remains a priority, and security and fire protection will need to be reviewed.

Rodents and insects may have infiltrated the site or water may have impacted the structure. Address any damage before startup. Investigate the following:

The safe restart of major equipment, such as cranes, is essential to a project. Consider the following:

Properly maintaining project records could have a direct impact on your ability to get the schedule back on track. Consider:

Environmental risks may have changed on a suspended site since shutdown. Be sure to assess the following:

It is important to consider that the pandemic may require additional work suspension or site shutdown on a long term project. Consider reviewing your business continuity plan in anticipation of future disruptions.

To help protect your workers, the public, and your business, consider creating a shutdown plan focusing on the following key areas:

For additional guidance, please review our construction site shutdown guide.  

If you are shifting to a partial shutdown with fewer on-site workers, consider these guidelines:

Your safety and well-being are our primary concern. These suggestions are general in nature, so please ensure that any activities you contemplate comply with all federal, state, and local COVID-19 orders impacting your facilities or operations as well as CDC guidelines for social distancing, hygiene, and other recommended best practices.