How To's

Preparing your machines and vehicles to comply with COVID-19 guidance

“Machines should be regarded as just as likely to be contaminated as colleagues, and equally capable of transmitting the virus.”

This statement was made but the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) in April 2020 and it still remains true.

To minimise the potential spread within the cab/platform area, there should be just one dedicated operator for each machine working on site, where possible.

Where a change of operators must take place, a thorough cleaning/sanitising procedure described within the cleaning section of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Site Operating Procedures needs to be carried out each time.

The CPA has also recommended that Plant Hire companies sanitise all plant and equipment prior to its delivery to site. 

Here’s how you can prepare your machinery and equipment for use, in line with COVID-19 guidance, in 3 easy steps:

1. Sanitise

One of the most effective ways of sanitising a machine or piece of equipment is to use a sanitising spray kit which are an ideal way to sanitise all equipment from small hand tools up to excavator and dumper cabs. 

Click here for the sprays and systems available: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/safety-and-ppe/covid19/sanitising-sprays-systems

2. Tag

One sanitised, tag the machine or piece of equipment with our new Plant Tag. Plant Tag is the quickest, easiest and clearest way to tag your plant with a colour coded status label. This way you can tell at a glance whether a piece of equipment is sanitised and ready for use or not.

Learn more here: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/safety-and-ppe/covid19/sanitising-sprays-systems/show/plant-tagc-sanitised-blue-100pk 

3. Avoid contamination

To avoid contamination, operators should apply a hand sanitiser or use an antibacterial hand wipe before using the machine or equipment.

Click here to view our hand sanitisers: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/covid19/hand-sanitisation

Click here to view our hand wipes: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/covid19/hand-wipes

Here’s how you can prepare your vehicles for use in 3 simple steps:

1. Sanitise

We offer 2 different products suitable for sanitising a vehicle. First, the Air Con Sanitiser. It sanitises the entire air conditioning system and is proven to kill a broad range of bacteria, fungus and yeasts while leaving a pleasant and long lasting aroma.

Secondly the Antibacterial Fogger or 'Car Bomb' as it is commonly known. The Anti-Bacterial Fogger is the perfect solution where an area of up to 100m3 needs to be sanitised quickly and easily. This is the ideal tool for all types of vehicles and machinery cabs, public transport, workshops and offices. 

See the Air Con Sanitiser here: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/covid19/show/air-con-sanitiser-aerosols-0

See the Antibacterial Fogger here: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/covid19/show/anti-bacterial-fogger-can-100ml-0

2. Kit it out

Kit out the vehicle with a hand wash station - The H-Wash Van Mounted Handwash Unit is an all-in-one sink unit for commercial vehicles and areas with limited space. The slimline unit gives people the access to an effective hand wash in the most restricted circumstances. Ideal for the busy mechanic, engineers and drivers of fleet vehicles across a wide range of industries. 

Learn more about the H-Wash unit here: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/covid19/portable-wash-units/show/van-mounted-handwash-unit

3. Protect your drivers

Make sure your drivers all have access to portable PPE supplies that they can take with them. We supply all the bits necessary to keep van and lorry drivers, plant machinery operators and site workers safe when working. 

View the range here: https://www.htsspares.com/catalogue/safety-and-ppe/covid19

We are pleased to offer a comprehensive range of new products to help UK Construction back to work safely. These ranges include hand sanitiser, CV19 signage, sanitiser for workshops and offices, social distancing tapes and floor signs and more. These ranges continue to expand daily so, if you can’t find what you’re looking for online, please do get in touch and we will do our best to source it for you. Click here to view the full range.