From residential developments providing new homes to office refurbishments, the UK construction industry is enjoying a roaring trade in 2022. Government figures show that construction output is currently experiencing the highest levels it has had since 2019 and excellent monthly growth.
Skilled tradespeople work together to complete projects like plumbers, electricians, scaffolders, and bricklayers but contract cleaners also provide an important service. UK sites must keep compliant with the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) regulations and a professional cleaning service can promote optimum hygiene standards and guarantee work areas stay clear to reduce the chance of accidents. In this blog, we’ll look at why a professional cleaning contract is a must for every construction project.
Reducing injuries and accidents
To mitigate health and safety risks, building sites should be cleaned continuously. A construction site left untended can present a wide range of threats that cause accidents and injuries. Rubbish allowed to pile up can be a trip hazard while leaks that are not mopped up can leads to slips and falls. Routine cleaning can make sure that all working areas and paths remain completely clear allowing sites to pass safety inspections with flying colours and avoid unnecessary accidents.
Promoting worker health
High levels of hygiene on-site, can ensure that all workers remain healthy and working effectively. While the vaccination has helped reduce fatalities in the UK, coronavirus can still have serious symptoms that require absence from work. To stop the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses and ensure that sites are well-staffed, and work is not delayed or disrupted, keeping communal areas clean is key.
Professional cleaning teams can guarantee site facilities such as eating and washing areas and toilets are regularly refreshed and safe to use. Communal areas on construction sites must cope with high volumes of traffic and debris from soiled boots and clothing. Along with maintaining worker health, cleaners can also improve their general environment.
Contact cleaning north west construction companies can trust
At ACC, our specialist team have the skills and experience to keep your building site operating safely to meet government standards. Get in touch today for a free contract quotation.
Construction is a thriving industry here in the UK, with many residential, industrial and commercial projects continuously underway. While building work requires skilled tradespeople to perform specialist tasks, like bricklayers, plumbers and electricians, professional cleaners are also an asset to any construction scheme.
All construction sites in the UK must remain compliant with the rigid code and operating protocols established by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Expert cleaners can help operations adhere to these rules by enhancing hygiene standards and keeping work areas clear to avoid accidents. Read on to find out the advantages offered by a professional cleaning service on-site.
Protecting worker health in construction
Since March 2020, when the pandemic started, there has been an increased awareness of the importance of hygiene standards in all working environments, including construction. Ensuring that adequate facilities exist on-site, including toilets and areas for washing and eating, is essential, but their maintenance is also vital.
It is understood that such communal areas used by construction workers will see higher levels of dirt and debris due to the nature of their duties. However, contract cleaning services can ensure they are kept at optimum hygiene levels to keep construction sites compliant.
Avoiding accidents and injuries
Constant site cleaning is crucial to sidestep the potential risks. A messy construction site can present trip hazards and slippery surfaces that often lead to injuries. Regular cleaning will keep on top of such issues. Specialist cleaners can ensure work areas and walkways stay clear from debris and spills, reducing accidents and ensuring sites pass HSE inspections.
Preparing to present
Finally, while a site in progress might be littered with scrap materials and tools, when it is time to hand over a building to its new owners, developers must ensure it is pristine. Professional cleaning teams can make sure sites are in perfect condition after work is completed and ready to display.
With the skills, experience, and specialist equipment necessary for every job, our expert team at ACC can help your construction site improve health and safety standards. Contact us today for a free quote.
Following heavy investment in creating a new residential or commercial building, it’s frustrating to get negative feedback. Especially when it’s based on something preventable that could have been mopped up by proper cleaning for after builds!
There are even situations in which hand-over prep for construction projects ends up being detrimental to the appearance of the building. Perhaps this is your own new build; you don’t want to regret missing these five post-construction cleaning tasks.
Use correct cleaning products and methods
Commissioning a professional clean-up before handover ensures all the correct equipment and products are used throughout the property, including systems to deep clean freshly painted features and wood and laminate flooring. The last thing you need is someone taking the sheen off or scratching a surface, or creating damage or discolouration with harsh chemicals.
Transparently clean glass
Windows and any other glazed features need to be polished properly, and the correct substances need to be used to lift sticky residue or greasy smudges. When the sun shines, it could expose less than perfect attention to detail!
Around electrical fixtures
One of the key points for cleaning after builds is around appliances, sockets, lights and switches. This is where dust and other pollutants can linger, creating a health and safety hazard, as well as a layer of overlooked grime.
Cleaning drains and pipework
Most cleaning companies for after builds have the sense to make sure bathrooms and kitchens are spotless. However, what about the hidden areas, especially drainage leading from new installations? Debris from construction can lurk in pipes, creating snags. Use a firm that tests how clean all features are.
Cleaning inside cupboards and storage
New builds shouldn’t just look clean for handover. They should be treated to a roof to floor cleanse, including cupboards, under stair storage and other closed-off areas. They could have been infiltrated by fine particles and new units have labels and other dirt magnets.
In order to keep construction sites compliant, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has established a strict code of operating protocols. To ensure your workers are always carrying out their roles in the safest conditions possible, we’ve listed five practices you can adopt on your site.
Use correct construction PPE
Everyone must wear personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to keep those people on-site safe. While specialist work may require extra protection from gloves and goggles, everyone operating on construction sites today must wear high-vis jackets or vests, steel-toe capped safety boots, hard hats, and face masks.
Employ up to date equipment
Any tools used must always be fit for service. If equipment has outlived its usefulness, it must be replaced, or it could become a danger to users and those working nearby.
Deploy appropriate signage
Correct construction safety signage must be used and adhered to by all on-site. From warnings of high voltage and slippery surfaces to areas where extra PPE is required, these signs are essential in maintaining effective health and safety standards.
Never take unnecessary risks
While health and safety concerns are important for any type of business, it can be a matter of life and death for firms working in the construction sector. From working at extreme heights and with weighty loads to using equipment and materials capable of causing physical harm, a building site has a multitude of possible hazards. With this in mind, contractors must never take any risks that can result in harm to either themselves or their co-workers.
Clean up your site efficiently
Regular site cleaning is critical to avoid potential risks as a messy site can cause trip hazards that quickly lead to injuries. Following any building work, a clean-up will be required.
While mess from scrap materials and loose tools must be kept on top of each day, employing a team of professional cleaners is a wise move.
With the experience, skills and specialist equipment required for the job, they can make sure your site is ready for any health safety inspections and a successful handover to the end client.
A clean and tidy construction site is not only practical and convenient, but it’s also crucial for complying with the law. Contractors have very specific responsibilities regarding health and safety legislation. Typically, a commercial cleaning schedule is organised for each construction site as part of the pre-construction information. Usually, the same company is used each time to ensure consistency and reducing time needed for organisation.
Site construction cleaning
During the lifetime of the construction project, as well as upon project completion, it is important for commercial cleaning to take place. The law states that contractors have responsibilities when it comes to welfare facilities on construction projects. Upholding high standards of commercial cleaning for these facilities will be imperative to keeping staff and clients happy while remaining compliant with the law.
What welfare facilities will need cleaning?
Everyone who works on-site must, by law, be able to access adequate washing and toilet facilities, a place to prepare and consume food, somewhere to store PPE and clothing, and space if working on location for rest and relaxation.
When it comes to commercial cleaning for these facilities, this typically includes regular (weekly, if not daily) site cleaning, construction site office cleaning and welfare facility cleaning. Specific areas that may need cleaning include kitchens, washrooms, changing rooms, toilets, washing facilities, canteens, rest facilities and office spaces.
Building site clean-up
Once the construction work has been completed, it is time to ensure the building site is cleaned of all dirt and debris. The state of the construction site on handover to the client will leave a crucial impression, so it is vital that no stone is left unturned in getting it into a sparkling, professionally-cleaned state.
From cleaning the inside and outside of the site to ensuring all the site cabins and welfare facilities are clean before they are returned after their hire, there is a lot of commercial cleaning required.
Get in touch
Whether you need professional commercial cleaning, window cleaning or specialist cleaning services for offices, factories, hospitals, construction sites and schools/colleges, we’re here to help. Get in touch today for a customised quote on your property or site.
Health and safety is important to consider in all industries, but in construction, it really matters. There are certain things that everyone on the site needs to be aware of and pay attention to, to ensure everyone is safe at all times. If you’re looking to update your health and safety know-how, we’ve put together ten essential health and safety protocols you need to be aware of in the construction industry.
Have the correct construction equipment
It is important that you use the right tools for the job and that they are all in correct working order. If there are any issues with your equipment, or you have any safety concerns, do not use it. Using the wrong tools can be dangerous, and if you are unsure about what equipment you need, ask the site manager.
Always wear the right PPE for construction
Personal Protection Equipment, or PPE, is essential to keep everyone on-site safe. From safety boots to masks to hard hats to high visibility jackets, each piece is designed to protect you from potential hazards and it needs to be worn correctly to be effective.
Follow the signs
Construction safety signs are there for a reason, and you need to be aware of what they mean and how to follow them. From warning signs on slippery floors to areas that need high visibility clothing to be worn, they are there for your protection.
Always clean up the site properly
There will always be mess associated with a construction project, and it’s important that workers keep the site tidy. However, after the project has finished, it might be worth hiring professional cleaners who have the skills and expertise to make sure the site is totally clean after-build.
Know the site
Before you start work on a site, you need to have a full health and safety induction, which will detail any risks and site-specific requirements. Each construction project will have different factors to consider, so make sure you are aware of these and pay attention.
Don’t take risks
If you work in the construction industry, taking unnecessary risks can be deadly. Construction sites are full of potential hazards, and it is up to you to keep yourself and your colleagues safe at all times. Keeping your site clean and safe is essential and eliminating risks such as trip hazards can prevent workplace injuries too. If you are worried about an unsafe area, unsafe tools or unclear signage ask someone.
Building sites are intrinsically dangerous places. Piles of materials, equipment, machinery, cables, trenches… just about every hazard imaginable.
So it’s crucial that the construction site is kept clean and neat, here’s why.
Culture change
Most construction workers these days are well-trained and equipped. Health and Safety awareness has developed rapidly and it’s fair to say that there’s been a real culture change, especially on major construction sites. There’s more than one good reason for that; injury causes great distress, delays and economic damage. In 2018 alone, despite all the good work in H&S awareness, well over half a million construction workers suffered injuries that were serious enough to be reportable. Tragically, 144 workers lost their lives.
The full human and financial cost of injury and illness in the workplace is immeasurable, but with almost 500 cases ending in court in 2018 resulting in fines of over £70 million, there’s no question that main contractors must and do take Health and Safety very seriously.
Post-build, pre-clean
When a major building project is nearing completion, the site enters a new phase that is potentially dangerous in different ways. All the major subcontractors have gone, not all of them leaving a clean site behind. Debris and rubbish pile up with leftover building materials, broken tools, all manner of stuff waiting to snag an unwary leg.
Every site goes through this phase – the building work is 90% done, but the place is far from ready to receive visits from inspectors and potential buyers. As a Health and Safety risk, it’s still very much a live case – and the main contractor is still very much liable for any injuries.
After build clean up
A professional after build clean up by ACC isn’t just about sprucing the site up to boost selling – although we do a pretty good job on that front, too. ACC teams are fully trained in H&S awareness and we’ll look at the whole site with safety fully in focus. We know the regulations and we also know common sense. Together, those could end up saving someone a twisted ankle, a sprained back, or even, in the worst-case scenario, a fortune.
Construction is an inherently messy business. No matter how diligent your contractors are, they’re going to leave behind a significant amount of mess. When it comes to cleaning a construction site, some simple tips will make things easier for you.
Start with contractors’ leftovers
After contractors have finished their work and left your building site, it will often resemble a bombsite. The rubbish that contractors leave behind is usually the easiest mess to deal with; once you’ve cleaned up after your contractors, everything else is easy.
The mess that contractors leave behind is usually an inherent part of their work; it doesn’t necessarily represent poor project management within the construction business. In any case, cleaning up this debris should be your first priority.
Clean hard floors thoroughly
Hard floors are another area within any construction site that tend to look awful immediately after work has finished. However, if you clean these as promptly as possible, they don’t need to hinder the rest of your clean-up operations.
Construction is always a messy process, so don’t be alarmed by the sight of your hard floors after you’ve finished. Just ensure that you clean them properly and check for damage before you mop, wax, polish or buff them.
Dealing with carpets
Carpet fibres are notorious for trapping dust and debris, not to mention the stench they can produce if they’re severely damp or dirty. If you want to clean carpets thoroughly after construction work, you’re going to need an industrial-strength vacuum – a regular hoover isn’t going to cut it.
In the most extreme cases, you will need to steam clean the carpet before you attempt to vacuum it. Just make sure you let the carpet dry completely before anyone walks on it.
Call in the professional cleaners
If you want to be certain that your construction site will be cleaned properly, calling in the professionals is the most reliable way. Conducting a post-construction clean-up on your own can be difficult as it often requires a specialist touch.
It isn’t just the quality of the job that you have to consider; there are often health and safety issues at play. Calling in professional cleaners who are familiar with these regulations will make the whole process much easier.
Cleaning a construction site can be a time-consuming process. The key is to approach it in the right way, so contact us at Associated Cleaning Contractors to learn more.
It’s been months of hard work, but finally, your large scale construction project is over. From the first drawings to the final brick it may have been years, but your hard work has finally paid off. However, to get a client to truly buy into the end product, you may need to hire a site cleaning company. Here is what a good clean-up can do for you, and your reputation.
More clients tempted to your end product
As contractors, you’re not always guaranteed a client will move in as soon as the project is complete. This means you might need to tempt clients in with some great features. One of these features could be not only the fact the job is done well but the fact that clients can move into a clean building that they know is safe. Commercial cleaning services go into after builds to ensure that there are no remaining tools and there is no debris left over from the build, guaranteeing the health and safety of anyone moving in.
Boost your construction company’s reputation
Picture this; a small company is moving into a brand new office, hoping to start operating as soon as they’re set up. However, some tools, materials and general mess are left around the office space. If the company had hired a clean-up company, this wouldn’t be an issue and the construction company would receive great reviews. You can ensure that you get hired for more jobs thanks to your better reputation, by taking the simple step of using a commercial cleaning company after the completion of a project.
Avoid litigation
Everyone makes mistakes, and that’s okay. Employees can sometimes leave things lying around, and that happens sometimes, but at the end of a project, it is vital that all of your high-end equipment is in order. After all, it can be very dangerous in the wrong hands and may leave you open to lawsuits due to negligence. By hiring a commercial cleaning company, you can have a full sweep of the property done, giving you the peace of mind that the end of an arduous project should.
When you think of the typical office space, you think of a clean, efficient area for workers to get the job done. The truth is professional cleaning of a construction site is even more important – helping to reduce costs, build reputations and secure future work.
The cost of health and safety
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), last year there were 54,000 cases of non-fatal work-related injury on construction sites in the UK (source: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/construction.pdf) . However, workplace injury doesn’t just pose a question of the human cost, it also has a large economic cost. Millions of working days have been lost due to workplace injury and illness and many of them can be prevented with professional cleaning practices.
Productivity costs
A clean, organised construction site can greatly increase productivity. Not only does it decrease the amount of wasted materials, in a clean work environment workers can complete tasks quicker and more efficiently.
In addition to this, site cleanliness can simply give employees added pride in their surroundings and they will therefore often provide higher quality work to live up to the site’s standards.
Protecting your future costs
Contrary to popular belief, a messy construction site doesn’t give off the impression that a great deal of work is being done. It can actually cause clients or prospective clients to question the quality and effectiveness of the work being done.
A construction site can act as your company advertisement for anyone visiting or passing by. Cleanliness and organisation are naturally associated with better quality work and professionalism. By keeping your site clean, it could lead to more contracts in the future.
The cost of your investment
Professional commercial cleaning can do more than make your site look better. It can actually ensure that your inventory is well maintained. Supplies that are dirty can easily get damaged. And knowing where everything is can prevent losses throughout the life of your project.
If you are looking for a professional cleaning service to keep your site maintained, Associated Cleaning Contractors have years of experience. Contact us today to see how we can help clean up your construction site safely and effectively.
