HIA has developed a set of industry guidelines, at no cost, to assist home builders and trade contractors manage the risk of COVID-19 on residential building sites.

The HIA Making Space on Site initiative includes two guidelines – for new home sites and for renovation and repair projects.

HIA Hunter Executive Director, Craig Jennion, said the initiative will be widely accessible and available in a selection of languages to accommodate everyone’s needs.

“These guidelines will be available in five languages; English, Korean, Chinese-Mandarin, Vietnamese and Hindi, and are now supported by a homeowner’s guide and a site induction tool,” he said.

“The site induction tool offers access to a QR code which links to a tailored COVID-19 site induction based on the two Making Space guidelines. It can be added to a company’s existing safety practices.”

The site induction uses the HIA Safescan QR code to provide builders and trades with a contactless way to manage site inductions.

Builders can access the QR code online and place this on site or in information sent to their contractors.

Contractors can scan the QR code and complete the site induction and return a copy to the builder for record keeping.

All the guidance materials, including the site induction QR code, has been made freely available to the building industry via HIA’s website.

HIA most recently released the Making Space On Site: Homeowners guide as part of this initiative.

The guide provides a way for builders and trade contractors to show their customers that building work can still proceed and that they are taking the steps needed to prevent COVID-19.

Craig said that as more concerns come to light during COVID-19, there will be more support and information released to support builders and contractors through the initiative.

“More Making Space On Site tools will be released shortly to support home builders and trade contractors keep their sites open and deliver new homes and renovation projects”, he said.

To view the latest updates on COVID-19 and view the Making Space on Site initiative, visit the HIA website.

IMAGE | HIA Hunter launches support through the Making Space On Site initiative