Covid Safe Site Installations
Over the past year Heritage sites and Visitor attractions have found themselves in the difficult position of being closed, but also needing to be primed and ready to open when the Government advises it is safe to reopen again. Many sites have also had new projects that were scheduled to be installed in 2020 or ready for the new season to begin early 2021. This has required careful planning behind the scenes as there are often many people involved in the process. The current Government guidance says ‘If you cannot work from home you should continue to travel to your workplace’. This includes our contractors who work in manufacturing and construction, where they may not be classed as critical workers, they are still able to continue in COVID secure assessed sites.
PLB has had a number of projects which have been installed or that are continuing to be installed during the lockdown periods. This of course has involved extra precautions over and above normal H&S considerations. Jamie, our Creative Director recently featured on Good Morning Britain with Chief Correspondent Richard Gaisford discussing the COVID safe precautions that had been adopted at Boscobel House in Shropshire for English Heritage.
Considerations involve, (but are not limited to):
- Travel to site, and measures to take when in shared vehicles.
- Regular washing or sanitising of hands, equipment and tools.
- 2 metre working distances, and single contractor working on site
- Meetings / discussions to be brief and held outdoors if possible
- One-way systems within the workspace (especially pertinent to Boscobel as originally a small domestic dwelling)
- Advice on self-isolating and NOT attending site if experiencing any symptoms
All of these have added complexity to finishing projects but PLB’s sites have operated safely, and within agreed timescales. Being 100% ready to open when visitors are able to return is worth it.
New exhibitions and galleries due to open shortly at:
- Boscobel House, English Heritage
- No 1 Royal Crescent, Bath
- Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books
- Kirby Hall, English Heritage
- The Royal Logistic Corps Museum
- The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum, Stirling Castle
- The Museum of The Queen’s Royal Hussars
- Catalyst Science Discovery Centre
- National Park Centre, North York Moors
It’s been a long road… and we thank all of our contractors for their due care and attention to making sure this happens safely.