17 March 2020 / Safety Alert

HUTCHIES' CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PLAN & PROCEDURES

COVID-19 which is also known as coronavirus has affected many around the world, including Australians both at home and overseas. It is a new viral infection that can give people flu or cold-like symptoms, including sore throat, fever, cough and shortness of breath. The World Health Organisation has declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic.

Nobody really knows how long this pandemic will last but the Federal Government indicates that the contagion may not peak until June or July this year. Implementation of posters in all shared facilities (including toilets) and the roll out of our developed resources must be done by Teams as soon as possible – don’t wait for direction.

Coronavirus is most likely to spread by:

  • Direct close contact with a person while they are infectious
  • Close contact with a person with a confirmed infection who coughs or sneezes
  • Touching objects or surfaces contaminated by a cough or sneeze from a person with a confirmed infection so focused hygiene has high priority in all of Hutchies’ planning

Considering all of the above circumstances, Hutchies believes it is prudent to implement a strategy that minimises people’s exposure to coronavirus whilst protecting the business from the impacts as best as we can.

Our objectives are:

  • Keeping our people safe and minimising the risk of exposure to coronavirus
  • Ensuring all of our construction projects remain open whilst observing the directions of the Federal Government and advice of Australia’s health authorities
  • Protecting Hutchies’ business operations
  • Maintaining Hutchies’ off-site functions during this pandemic in support of our overall construction operations

This plan is about being prepared for challenging times ahead and implementing preventative measures and flexible arrangements that reflect the seriousness of the coronavirus and the massive impact it is having at every level across the globe.

These are recommendations and guidelines for Teams to assess – adequate autonomy and flexibility exists for individual Teams to handle things differently and come up with alternative options.

However, Teams are advised not to underestimate the severity of the current situation gripping the world and to take preventative action now – doing nothing is not an option. It is the responsibility of Hutchies’ Teams to implement appropriate changes and act on all recommendations immediately.

Additionally, we have included Hutchies’ procedures on coronavirus (COVID-19) which is also available in poster form for display across all sites and offices.

Greg Quinn
Managing Director
Hutchies