Our Esteemed Clients,
Following the gradual easing of the lockdown and lifting of curfews across the country, construction activities and site operations are gradually resuming. Operational safety and enhanced sanitary measures are becoming more crucial on post-COVID-19 sites. Our site-specific Health and Safety plans are being enhanced in compliance with prevailing statutory guidelines as issued by the various states of the Federation.
Contractors’ site-specific HSE plans are being upgraded. They now incorporate new sections such as COVID-19 exposure prevention, preparedness and response plan to reflect the team’s commitment to emerging post-COVID-19 safety standards. Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) officers are being retrained for the emerging role of HSE/ Social Distancing Coordinator on construction sites. Method statements are being reviewed for statutory compliance. Measures to protect the safety and health of personnel are being incorporated. As the number of site operatives reduces per task, longer working hours are required to compensate for the loss of output per task category. Rigorous work planning and scenarios planning by the site management team is increasingly important to reduce further resource efficiency loss caused by social distancing and safety imperatives.
For offsite consulting roles, remote work remains a responsible choice. Team and design coordination activities are virtually conducted mainly on Zoom and Skype platforms (as video conferencing and file-sharing platforms). Applications for development approval are still processed by Government planning agencies. Contractors’ notices and claims are being vetted and recommendations issued. Contractual correspondences on delays and prolongation claims, work plan reviews; materials price fluctuation, loss and expense are being addressed.
As we are providing project and cost management supports to our existing clients, we are equally committed to improving the resilience of the services we provide, in preparation for future pandemics or emergencies. Some of our ongoing activities include:
• 50-bed modular hospitals model
• COVID-19-aware Mass housing design (bearing in mind two-third of the world population may live in cities by 2050 (United Nations, 2016)
• Strategic partnership for more cost-effective BIG BIM (Building Information Modelling) deployment on our projects
• Contributing to improving internal staff capability for international markets and BIM collaboration.
If you have any concerns or further opportunities you would like to share or discuss with us, please do not hesitate to contact info@epcmconsultantsltd.com. Thank you and stay safe.
