As we all work together to weather the storm of COVID-19, the Government has made it clear that some businesses are too critical to shut down or limit in function. See Brilliance, being closely tied to the building services and maintenance sector, is allowed to continue providing services under the Government’s latest categorisation of essential businesses, published on 05 November 2020.
We’re managing our operations across the UK carefully, reshaping our ways of working to thoroughly meet safety and risk assessment mandates.
It’s a different way of doing things; we spend a significant amount of time appraising projects and ensuring we can operate in a way that avoids contact with or spread of the virus. It’s diligent work, and we’re proud to take it as seriously as we can to maximise safety for all concerned.
What façade restoration work can be done?
Although we’re still active, it’s far from business as usual. Specific kinds of work are still on the table, all of it abiding by the fact that only essential maintenance and repair is allowed.
One of the key mandates of remaining open is that we are required under health and safety legislation to follow the appropriate COVID-19 Secure guidance for our sector. This means demonstrating to our workers and the general public that we have properly assessed the risk and taken appropriate measures to mitigate it for every job.
Because façade cleaning and cladding restoration is critical to the visual integrity of a building and its exterior, we’re continuing to provide our services where possible, and in the most COVID-19 secure way possible.
Much of our work involves essential maintenance using cleaning techniques like DOFF Steam Cleaning, and the use of abseilers and mobile elevated work platforms – usually so we can access the facades of large buildings, or ones with challenging exterior dimensions. This use of powered machinery is often necessary to complete cleaning that affects the safety and structure of the building, meaning our staff, where work is considered essential maintenance, can travel from home to complete their jobs.
Certain categories of buildings, such as hospitals, care facilities, transport infrastructure and schools, must stay open during the pandemic. Work on these buildings, such as that done by the See Brilliance team, is a high priority.
Safety measures we’re implementing
Although our work is largely vital as we’ve described, that doesn’t mean we’re simply leaving our homes and working as we would before COVID-19. It’s still our responsibility to maximise the safety of our staff and the general public, and to minimise the risk of transmission of the virus.
To do this, we’ve performed thorough due diligence on best practice and are always keeping abreast of government advice and requirements. Our staff wear masks and other PPE, working in a socially distanced manner at all times where possible. If COVID-19 contact is made, we have strict processes in place to immediately quarantine and isolate any staff members involved and to notify NHS Test and Trace.
We have also created a cleaning regimen for our machinery and general equipment, which is performed after every excursion outdoors to complete a job.
In the months ahead
It’s our goal that this article helps to shed light on the nature of our work during this unique period in our world’s history. The team takes their tasks very seriously and we’re all committed to doing our absolute best to remain safe for our staff and others.
If you’d like to know more, please feel free to call 01635 230888 or email us directly at [email protected].
See Brilliance has over 30 years of experience in specialist restorative cleaning of metal, glass and stone. We can provide façade and cladding restoration, DOFF Steam Cleaning, graffiti removal services, and much more, all across the UK.