Following the brief appearance of the Construction Leadership Council's second Site Operating Procedures at the beginning of the month (rapidly withdrawn because they would have shut most sites just after Alok Sharma, the Secretary of State for Business, had praised them for staying open) the Council has today (15 April) published a third version.

The Government has confirmed that the current lockdown will be extended by at least three weeks, which means that construction sites must continue to implement the Site Operating Procedures – Version 3 for the foreseeable future.

The Version 3 guidance incorporates the Public Health England advice on working on construction sites, which involves keeping 2m apart 'as much as possible' in the workplace. There is information on a hierarchy of controls onsite that says if people cannot keep 2m apart they should wear masks.

It also includes Public Health England's guide on working in people's homes, which basically says keep your distance, wash or sanitise your hands frequently, and do not work in vulnerable people's homes unless it is an emergency.

Wherever you are working outside of your own home, under no circumstances go to work if you or anyone in your household feels ill or has any symptoms that might be Covid-19.

The Site Operating Procedures confirm that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for Public Health England guidelines and emphasise a need for sites to be monitored to ensure procedures are being implemented.

HSE also reminds companies that the law requiring regular testing under the Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR) remain in place and businesses must continue to make sure that equipment is safe to use.

The new Site Operating Procedures also say people should try to get to work in their own vehicles and if they have to use public or shared transport they should try to travel with the same people each time as much as possible, avoid contact with anybody and wash or santise hands at the end of the journey.

You can download a copy of the Site Operating Procedures here.