Construction often requires workers to work in close proximity to each other. And while site operators have put in place many measures to distance workers from one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are nonetheless situations where social distancing is simply not possible.

The Ottawa Construction Association reports that one of its members’ sites was visited recently by inspectors from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. The ministry was tipped off by an anonymous complaint that workers on the site were not respecting social-distancing guidelines.

In a letter to members, OCA president John DeVries advised that while it is not preferable for workers to work within six feet of one another, it is not illegal for them to do so.

“The fact is, construction occurs in a number of dangerous situations on a daily basis,” he said. “Thousands of Ontario construction workers regularly work with harmful products like asbestos or in workplaces like nuclear power plants where radiation is a risk. In each of these cases, employers are expected to consider the risks and take steps to mitigate them as much as possible. However, save for exceptional circumstances, construction in such situations is never banned.”

Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) took a similar approach to addressing the risks associated with COVID-19 in the construction industry. On March 29, the CPO published a guide on construction health and safety during COVID-19. The document contains a great deal of advice about how to promote physical distancing on site, but does not explicitly state a requirement that workers must maintain six feet apart from one another.

“Moreover,” says DeVries, “there is nothing in any legislation or regulation that imposes this obligation on a constructor or employer.”

Guidance in the CPO document suggests that employers should consider adopting the following measures to promote physical distancing on site, including:

• staggering start times, breaks and lunches,
• restricting the number of people on site,
• controlling site movement,
• limiting the number of people who use elevators and hoists at one time,
• holding meetings in an outside or large space, and
• limiting unnecessary on-site contact between workers, and between workers and outside service providers.

Link2Build spoke with several constructors about the safety measures they put in place to promote physical distancing on their sites, and to ensure worker safety when physical distancing is not possible.

Bruce Thomas, president of RECL, says his company is at work on two large high-rise residential buildings. The company has made it mandatory for workers to wear masks while on the site. It has staggered shifts among workers, and designated hallways and stairwells for one-way traffic only.

“We’ve also given workers paper stop signs that they can tape to the door of a residential suite when they’re inside,” he says. “That helps to ensure someone else doesn’t accidentally walk in.”

Jim Smith, director of health and safety with Clean Water Works, explains that entry into confined spaces—which is a core part of the company’s business—requires that workers be in close proximity to one another. In those situations, the company has made personal protective equipment such as masks a requirement.

Curtis West, director of operations with Doran Contractors, also says his company has made personal protective equipment available to workers who may be required to be within six feet of others. His company is working on high-rise residential buildings, as well as a number of retirement homes that are in the finishing stages.