THE Cruden Group has revealed safety will be the top priority as the business prepares for a ‘soft start’ after the Scottish Government gave the green light for construction to move to phase 2 of the sector’s restart plan.
The housebuilder and construction company said it has carried out ‘phased and controlled’ pre-start site preparations across its client’s sites and its own housing developments and has prepared a ‘detailed and robust’ return plan, which encompasses the Site Operating Procedures set out by Construction Scotland in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Preparatory works have included the implementation of physical distancing measures, enhanced hygiene regimes and the testing of new protocols. Cruden 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 procedures will be applied and constantly monitored in accordance with government and public health guidance.
Cruden has engaged with the union 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 a range of measures in response to the pandemic, including the closure of 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 to maintain contact with clients, and to progress new site starts for the post-lockdown period. The group’s private housing sales teams have also continued to serve customers 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.”
