Maybe one of the positive observations of the Corona Virus or Covid-19 pandemic is that it brought the whole world together when it comes to taking the necessary measures to stop the spread of this disease. The construction industry is one of those industries that is playing a proactive role is sharing knowledge on the best practices to enforce social distancing protocols, implementing hygiene measures on construction sites among other measures to stop the spread of this pandemic.
One of the recent forms that I have found on the world wide web, is the “HYGIENE AUDIT CHECKLIST COVID-19” developed by BIRD Construction (bird.ca). The form has five sections, Site Access Procedures/Work, Construction Site, Tools and Equipment, Site Specific Items and Other Items. The Construction Site section includes three subsections, Cleaning and disinfection – Common areas, Sanitary Measures and Chemical toilets / sanitary blocks. Each section and subsection have a list a of items that need to be inspected and confirm if they were done (Yes), not done (No) or Not Applicable (N/A). For each item there is a field to state the frequency for the item to be inspected per shift.
The “HYGIENE AUDIT CHECKLIST COVID-19” form must be completed daily at the end of each shift in order to ensure that the extraordinary prevention measures implemented are checked. The rigorous application of the measures included in the checklist aims to limit the risks of spreading the COVID-19 virus and to take action quickly when identifying non-conformities.
Using a Project Management Information System (PMIS) like PMWeb will enable project owners, project management consultants, supervision consultants and contractors to create all needed Covid-19 checklists including the HYGIENE AUDIT CHECKLIST COVID-19 form to ensure that each project and entity working on the construction site are complying with the required protocols. PMWeb custom form builder allows adding all tables needed for the checklist items included in each section and subsection. A dropdown list field will be added for status field which will have the predefined values of “Yes” if inspection was done, “No” if inspection was not done and “N/A” if the inspection item is not applicable. The table will also include a numeric field to state the frequency for the item to be inspected per shift.
In case the inspection for each section to be done by different project team members, PMWeb custom form builder allows assigning different edit, view, create and delete permissions by user role or use own specific name. This will ensure that only designated and authorized project team members to complete the inspection checklist.
For the HYGIENE AUDIT CHECKLIST COVID-19 form, all supportive documents can be attached. Those documents can be either stored in PMWeb document management repository or directly uploaded to the record if needed. In addition, links to other relevant project communications and imported MS Outlook emails which will be stored in PMWeb can be also made.
The HYGIENE AUDIT CHECKLIST COVID-19 form can be assigned a workflow to formalize the submit, review and approval process as detailed in the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) and health, safety and environment (HSE) management plan. The workflow will detail the sequence of tasks to be performed by the different project team members as well as the actions can be taken by each and to whom the communication should be returned if it is rejected.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and controls services to over 100 projects with a total value in excess of US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, Telecommunication and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker in topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP) and Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) and Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Masters in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – Kuwait University, Kuwait and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA and London Business School, London, UK.