Barratt has rescheduled works for the cooler parts of the day
House builders are monitoring sites and could temporarily halt construction during the heatwave if the safety of their employees is at risk.
Barratt and Persimmon told Housing Today they are assessing what changes to work patterns may be necessary with temperatures likely to soar to 38 degrees celsius today.
A spokesperson for Barratt said: “We’re asking employees to work from home where they can and not to travel unless it’s absolutely necessary. For colleagues on our sites, we’re rescheduling works for the cooler parts of the day where necessary and asking everyone to take regular breaks in the shade.”
Barratt is providing cold water on tap on sites to ensure colleagues stay hydrated, as well as making high factor sun screen available. “We’ve issued guidance to site teams on the signs of heat exhaustion and are asking everyone to be extra vigilant. We’ll take decisions on a site-by-site-basis whether to close if colleagues are uncomfortable.”
A Persimmon spokesperson said: “We are monitoring the situation on each site and, with support from our health and safety team, assessing what changes to work patterns or additional measures might need to be put in place on a case-by-case basis to protect colleagues’ welfare.”
Yesterday a spokesperson for contractor Laing O’Rourke said: “Our project leaders will assess their sites to ascertain what actions may be required to keep our people safe in unprecedented levels of heat.”
Andrew Brown, group health and safety director at Mace, said: “All of our site teams will be briefed on the importance of managing the risk from the extreme heat, staying hydrated and looking out for each other.”
A spokesperson for Wates said: “Following the Met Office warning, we are reminding our teams to revisit the existing safety guidance we provide, particularly in relation to ensuring that colleagues know the signs of heat exhaustion and that they keep well hydrated.”
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