In a week that’s been a bit shaky for the UK government, you might have missed the moment when Business Secretary, Alok Sharma thanked the construction sector for facing the challenges of remaining open, supporting the economy and carrying out vital work throughout the pandemic. In an open letter to all involved in the industry,…
Second only to packaging in generating an estimated 50,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year, it’s clear that plastic is still a big problem for the UK’s construction sector. Of course, it’s the very thing that makes plastic desirable (it’s durability) which is what also causes the biggest issues. With so much plastic waste ending…
With 2020 continuing to be tough for many, we could all do with something to celebrate, right? How about the fact that not only are we still celebrating our 15th anniversary, but Sheriff Construction has also successfully gained/ renewed several accreditations this year. Collectively, these prove our continued high standards of professionalism, quality assurance and…
The use of asbestos in buildings has been banned in the UK for just over two decades but unfortunately the answer to the question of whether it still poses a danger is a definite YES. Asbestos is commonly found in buildings constructed before the ban and according to the Institute of Occupational Health and Safety…
Avoiding Close Working Over the last few weeks, restrictions relating to the coronavirus lockdown in England have begun to ease – with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, museums, playgrounds and others being on the latest list of places which are now allowed to open up. But, while many of us were probably happy to see a return…
A reminder of when and how to travel safely to work As we’ve previously mentioned, many construction sites have temporarily closed but some are continuing to operate under the strict guidelines created by the Construction Leadership Council in line with government advice on COVID-19. All of the major contractors we work with have implemented these….
COVID-19 stories are dominating every aspect of our daily news, making it hard to filter out the information that might be the most relevant to you personally or professionally. With that in mind here’s a few construction-related headlines you might have missed recently: Many UK housebuilders have furloughed high percentages (up to 80%) of their…
The UK is in the middle of a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 but since that announcement was made last night there has been much confusion about what construction workers (who cannot realistically carry out their work from home) should do. When questioned about this earlier today, Cabinet Minister, Michael Gove said:…
The most recent ONS* report on the construction sector (for 2018) describes the numbers of people employed by the sector and how things vary between different regions in the UK (with the South East and London topping the list for construction employment). What it doesn’t include is any mention of the male to female ratio…
Accidents or injuries on site are best prevented by adopting positive behaviours and attitudes which keep everyone safe – good communication, avoiding making assumptions and being cooperative with colleagues for instance. That all sounds pretty obvious, however in practise things can easily go wrong when workers lapse into bad practices. Last week, we took a…