The Construction Leadership Council, working with the Construction Coronavirus Taskforce, has developed the guidance – Advice on temporary suspension of sites – to ensure that any closures can be achieved as safely as possible, avoiding potential issues while the site is not active.
Owners of sites have a legal duty of care to any visitors to sites, including trespassers, so sites must be safe and secure, with all hazards mitigated.
Wherever possible all equipment should be removed from site, or stored in secure containers or buildings. Hired plant should be returned to the hirer where feasible.
Tower cranes must be put into free slew so that they can weather-vane, as per manufacturers’ guidelines. Anti-climb hatches must be locked and aviation lighting must remain operational throughout the shutdown. Where practicable lay the jib down for crawler cranes.
The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has produced fuller guidance on leaving tower cranes out of service. This is is available from the CPA website.
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