Phase 1 construction restart proclamation
Gov. Jay Inslee, in consultation with the state’s construction industry, announced a plan last Friday, April 24th to allow
low risk
construction
projects to be completed.
The recommendations
were informed by workers, contractors, health and safety experts, and local government officials, for safe construction standards.
These projects will need to follow the requirements in the
Restart Construction Plan
.
The Governor’s Office also issued a
guidance memo
on how this Plan impacts work currently underway on essential construction such as public sector projects. This guidance memo can be found
here
.
Please note, no job site may operate until the contractor can meet and maintain all requirements, including providing materials, training, health checks and equipment required to comply. On the job site workers must stay six feet apart from each other. Currently operating essential work projects must be in compliance by no later than Friday, May 1st.
If an essential work site can’t maintain the six feet distance requirement, they must have a hazard assessment and control plan that adheres to
LNI requirements
.
Clarification on "existing" construction projects
This is a Phase 1 plan for existing construction projects. “Existing” project is not defined, but broadly means that work has begun in some form on a project.
The local jurisdiction that issues permits for construction projects has latitude to determine this question.
The Governor’s advisory construction committee is discussing a Phase 2 plan that will be more expansive and cover new construction.
The requirement for workers to stay six feet apart may require some modifications to normal work practices. Closer contact on a worksite will occur, but should be incidental. For example, closer contact may occur while passing by others in a hallway or on a job site. Labor and Industries will be enforcing the plan requirements and will respond to complaints.
A job site can be shut down if LNI finds violations.
Contractors should refer to
DOSH Directive 1.70 for more guidance on safety requirements. A copy is included
here
.
The Phase 1 plan allows construction to restart as soon as the project owner and contractor can meet all of the requirements in the plan.
That could be as early as this week. These requirements will remain in place for the duration of the Stay Home order which expires on May 4 at this point, although the Governor has signaled that he might extend the order. Local governments may adopt similar construction practice requirements.
AGC safety resources for Phase 1 COVID-recovery
Per the state’s Phase I Construction-Project Restart, here are some safety resources, created by AGC, to help you streamline this process and get you back to work safely and in compliance with gubernatorial orders.
Read more
.
