Effective from 18 th May 2020.

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Site Work: When to Travel to Work
3. Site Work: Travel to Work
4. Site Work: Hand Washing
5. Site Work: Toilet Facilities
6. Site Work: Rest Areas
7. Indoor Work: Moving Around When Working in a Home
8. Indoor Work: Appointments in the Home
9. Indoor Work: Providing & Explaining Available Guidance
10. Work Planning to Avoid Close working
11. First Aid and Emergency Service Response
12. Cleaning

INTRODUCTION

At LC Flooring we acknowledge that these are exceptional and unprecedented times and that collectively as an industry
we must always comply with the latest Government advice on Coronavirus (Covid-19).

These Site Operating Procedures (SOP) are based on Government guidance on Working safely during coronavirus (Covid-19) – Construction and other outdoor/ indoor work.

The HSE is the relevant enforcing authority for occupational health and safety legislation and guidance to control public health risks in the construction sector.If a site is not consistently implementing the measures set out by the Government,it may be subject to enforcement action. Construction sites operating during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic need to ensure they are protecting their workforce and minimising the risk of spread of infection. This includes considering how personnel travel to and from site.

 

NB: For the purpose of this document ‘site’ will encompass the working of and /or in a customer’s home.

This guidance is intended to introduce consistent measures on construction sites of all types and sizes in line with the Government’s recommendations on social distancing and ensure contractors and individuals make every effort to comply.

Government guidance for contractors in England states “where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to continue to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between contractors”. The health and safety requirements of any construction activity must not be compromised at this time. If an activity cannot be undertaken safely, it should not take place. Emergency services are also under great pressure and may not be able to respond as quickly as usual.

LC Flooring will take into consideration the planning of work activities, first aid, fire, and emergency responses.

Organisations must have in place effective arrangements for monitoring and reviewing their compliance with Government and industry guidance. Sites should also remind the workforce at every opportunity of the Site Operating Procedures which are aimed at protecting them, their colleagues, customer’s property, and the UK population.

Sectors of the economy that are allowed to be open should be open, this includes construction, manufacturing, logistics and distribution.

LC Flooring has determined that its primary function fits the category in which its business can now re open, providing that it can meet the safety requirements as set out in the procedures below.

SITE WORK: WHEN TO TRAVEL TO WORK

It is important to understand the following guidelines by which workers should or should not travel to work as outlined below.

Social distancing	LC Flooring and contractors providing a service for LC Flooring should follow the guidance on Staying Alert and Safe (Social Distancing). Where they cannot work from home, they must follow guidance on Staying Safe outside your Home while travelling to and from work and while at work.Self-isolation Any worker who either has a high temperature or
Self-isolation	Any worker who either has a high temperature or a new persistent cough or is within 14 days of the day when the first member of their household showed symptoms of Coronavirus (Covid-19) should not come to site, but must follow the guidance on self-isolation.
Person at increased risk	Any worker who is clinically vulnerable to Coronavirus (Covid-19) is advised to stay at home as much as possible and if they do go out, take particular care to minimise contact with others outside their household.
Persons defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable	Any worker identified as extremely clinically vulnerable will be advised by their health authority and must follow the guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from Covid-19.
Living with a person in one of the above groups	Any worker living with a person who is at increased risk of severe illness, or an extremely vulnerable person who is shielding from Coronavirus (Covid-19), should stringently follow the guidance on social distancing and minimise contact outside the home.
If someone falls ill	If a worker develops a high temperature or a persistent cough while at work, they should: Ensure that LC Flooring management is informed Return home immediately Avoid touching anything Cough or sneeze into a tissue and put it in a bin, or if they do not have tissues, cough, and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. They must then follow the guidance on self-isolation and not return to work until their period of self-isolation has been completed.

SITE WORK: TRAVEL TO WORK

Wherever possible workers should travel to site alone using their own transport. If workers have no option but to share transport:

• Journeys should be shared with the same individuals and with the minimum number of people at any one time
• Good ventilation (i.e. keeping the windows open) and facing away from each other may help to reduce the risk of transmission
• The vehicle should be cleaned extensively using gloves and standard cleaning products, with particular emphasis on handles and other areas where passengers may touch surfaces.
• Wash their hands for 20 seconds using soap and water or hand sanitiser if soap and water are not available before entering and after getting out of the vehicle.

SITE WORK: HAND WASHING

• LC Flooring will allow regular breaks to wash hands.
• LC Flooring will provide additional hand washing facilities where possible.
• Ensure adequate supplies of soap and fresh water are always readily available and kept topped up.
• Provide hand sanitiser (minimum 60% alcohol based) where hand washing facilities are unavailable.
• Regularly clean the hand washing facilities.
• Provide suitable and sufficient rubbish bins for hand towels with regular removal and disposal.

SITE WORK: TOILET FACILITIES

• Restrict the number of people using toilet facilities at any one time and use signage, such as floor markings, to ensure 2 metre distance is maintained between people when queuing.
• Wash or sanitise hands before and after using the facilities.
• Enhance the cleaning regimes for toilet facilities, particularly door handles, locks, and the toilet flush
• Portable toilets should be cleaned and emptied more frequently.
• Provide suitable and sufficient rubbish bins for hand towels with regular removal and disposal.

SITE WORK: REST AREAS

Where possible, workers should be encouraged to bring their own food. They should also be required to stay on site once they have entered it and avoid using local shops.

INDOOR WORK: MOVING AROUND WHEN WORKING IN A HOME

Objective: For workers of LC Flooring to maintain social distancing wherever possible while performing work in the home.

It is recognised that for providers of some in-home services, it will not always be possible to maintain physical distance from customers.

• If it isn’t possible to maintain social distancing while working in the home then extra attention needs to be paid to equipment, cleaning and hygiene to reduce risk.
• Working materials, such as tools or domestic appliances, should be assigned to an individual and not shared if possible. If they need to be shared, they should be shared by the smallest possible number of people.

Steps that will be taken:

• Discussing with households ahead of a visit to ask that a 2m distance is kept from those working, if possible.
• Asking that households leave all internal doors open to minimise contact with door handles.
• Identifying busy areas across the household where people travel to, from or through, for example, stairs and corridors, and minimising movement within these areas.
• Bringing our own food and drink to households and having breaks outside where possible.
• Limiting the number of workers within a confined space to maintain social distancing.
• Using a fixed pairing system if people have to work in close proximity. For example, during two-person assembly or maintenance.
• Allocating the same workers to a household where jobs are repetitive.

INDOOR WORK: APPOINTMENTS IN THE HOME

Objective: To reduce transmission due to face-to-face meetings and maintain social distancing in meetings.

Steps that will be taken:

• Using remote working tools to avoid in-person appointments.
• Only absolutely necessary participants should attend appointments and should maintain 2m separation where possible.
• Avoiding transmission during appointments, for example, from sharing pens and other objects.
• Holding meetings outdoors or in well-ventilated rooms whenever possible.

INDOOR WORK: PROVIDING AND EXPLAINING AVAILABLE GUIDANCE

Objective: To ensure customers understand what they need to do to maintain safety.

Steps that will be taken:

• At LC Flooring we will endeavour to provide our workers with information about how to operate safely in people’s homes.
• Communicating with households prior to arrival, and on arrival, to ensure the household understands the social distancing and hygiene measures that should be followed once work has commenced.
• To listen to and address where possible, any concerns that that the customer may have on the operation of safety.

WORK PLANNING TO AVOID CLOSE WORKING

In line with Government guidance, where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, LC Flooring will take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between workers/ customers. Sites and work need to be planned and organised to avoid crowding and minimise the risk of spread of infection by following Government guidance and the advice within these Site Operating Procedures.

Hierarchy of Controls

If any worker contracting for LC Flooring is not able to work whilst maintaining a two metre distance, LC Flooring will consider whether the activity should continue and, if so, risk assess it using the hierarchy of controls below and against any sector-specific guidance.

The results of risk assessments should be shared with the workforce and or customer.

Eliminate	Workers who are unwell with symptoms of Coronavirus (Covid-19) should not travel to or attend the workplace. Rearrange tasks to enable them to be done by one person, or by maintaining social distancing measures (2 metres) Avoid skin to skin and face to face contact Stairs should be used in preference to lifts Consider alternative or additional mechanical aids to reduce worker interface.
Reduce	Where the social distancing measures (2 metres) cannot be applied: Minimise the frequency and time workers are within 2 metres of each other Minimise the number of workers involved in these tasks Workers should work side by side, or facing away from each other, rather than face to face Regularly clean common touchpoints, doors, buttons, handles, vehicle cabs, tools, equipment etc. Increase ventilation in enclosed spaces Workers should wash their hands before and after using any equipment Keep groups of worker
Isolate	Keep groups of workers: Together in teams e.g. do not change workers within teams As small as possible Away from other workers where possible
Control	Consider introducing an enhanced authorisation process Provide additional supervision to monitor and manage compliance
PPE	Sites should not use RPE for Coronavirus (Covid-19) where the two metre social distancing guidelines are met. Coronavirus (COVID-19) needs to be managed through social distancing, hygiene, and the hierarchy of control and not through the use of PPE. Workplaces should not encourage the precautionary use of extra PPE to protect against Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Government has provided information on Face Coverings in section 6.1 of its guidance Working safely during coronavirus (Covid-19) – Construction and other outdoor work.
Behaviours	The measures necessary to minimise the risk of spread of infection rely on everyone at LC Flooring taking responsibility for their actions and behaviours. LC flooring aims to encourage an open and collaborative approach between workers, contractors and/ or customers on site where any issues can be openly discussed and addressed.

FIRST AID AND EMERGENCY SERVICE RESPONSE

The primary responsibility is to preserve life and first aid should be administered if required and until the emergency services attend.

• When planning site/ in home activities, the provision of adequate first aid resources must be agreed between the relevant parties on site.
• Emergency plans including contact details should be kept up to date.
• Consideration must also be given to potential delays in emergency services response, due to the current pressure on resources.

CLEANING

Enhanced cleaning procedures should be in place across the site and/ or in home, particularly in communal areas and at
touch points including:

• Taps and washing facilities
• Toilet flush and seats.
• Door handles and push plates
• Handrails on staircases and corridors
• Machinery and equipment controls
• All areas used for eating must be thoroughly cleaned including chairs, door handles.
• Rubbish collection and storage points should be increased and emptied regularly throughout and at the end of each day.