Coronavirus - Critical Work

Members of the Construction Industry Council have collaborated in putting together a list of construction work to be recognised as critical during this coronavirus pandemic.

• Plumbing and heating failures including loss of heating/ condensate problems/hot water services
• Health risks associated with blocked drainage/ sewerage systems
• Water companies – remedial/ emergency work to buildings and assets that are crucial to the supply of clean water,
• Emergency Leaking/ flooding
• Drainage works/ maintenance etc
• Gas safety work/ Suspected gas leaks
• Electrical safety work/ Electrical failures
• Flood remediation
• All general building control work for nationally important buildings/ facilities, e.g. NHS estate, GPs, etc.
• Unsafe buildings/ dangerous structures
• Structural inspections for subsidence/ movement to determine risk
• Structural and roofing problems, loose tiles/chimney stacks, weathering
• Bridge inspection and maintenance
• Dam inspection and maintenance
• Maintaining key national infrastructure: power stations and grid, motorways, railways, utilities etc
• Fire safety inspections
• Requirement for maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment to meet Fire Safety legislation
• Waking Watch staff
• Ongoing need for Fire risk assessments, both to meet legislation and new circumstances in buildings.
• Remedial work required to remove unsafe ACM cladding etc.
• Glazing replacement
• Locksmithing/ lock replacement
• New or business/ safety critical maintenance work on establishments which are involved in supply chain of vital NHS equipment
• Construction related to factories making anything required to combat the virus
• Food supply chain
• Extra warehouse space for food distribution by online platforms
• New or business/ safety critical maintenance work on establishments which are involved in supply of medicines
• Essential maintenance on morgues, funeral parlours, and crematoriums
• Installation/ maintenance technicians providing services to key sectors
• Emergency callouts, safety checks and essential work in care homes
• Ongoing supervision and security measures.
• Sites where anti-terrorism considerations need to take precedence over other concerns
• Urgent works on emergency service properties other than health
• Unsafe infrastructure
• Major road or highway that impacts on road safety and could cause delays to crucial freight/ emergency services if not carried out
• Roundabout and road upgrade schemes that are already underway and have traffic management on them
• Highway drainage schemes
• Maintenance work to the local and strategic road networks
• Essential road works relating to resurfacing caused by road traffic accidents and/ or highway fires
• Highway structure inspections as this pick up essential maintenance work
• Repair and maintenance of telecommunications, energy waste and water
• Unfinished small, domestic extensions and refurbishments
• R&D facilities, where related to vaccine development or virus treatment.
• Work on factories that make materials that are vital to all elements on this list.

It is important to note that some of the services will be delivered by a transient workforce so there will be additional related requirements such as access to accommodation. There will also be instances where security of currently unattended sites must be addressed

Of course, the construction sector is a large one and this list has been ordered to make those most relevant to members of the CIPHE at the top. The comprehensive list is presented for complete information.

The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering is a member of the Construction Industry Council that provides a single voice for professionals in all sectors of the built environment through its collective membership of 500,000 individual professionals and more than 25,000 firms of construction consultants.