12 Mar COVID19 Business Contingency & Continuity Plan & Project Risk
May 13th 2020
As we start our 8th week in COVID-19 Lockdown we hope that you and your families are coping well with the restrictions and remain safe and well.
I am sure, like us, you have been eagerly awaiting the much-publicised announcement from the Prime Minister on Sunday evening, May 10th.
The Prime Minister has provided some clarity for the construction industry. A return to work has been encouraged for construction workers who are unable to work from home provided they avoid public transport where possible to help maintain social distancing and keep people safe. More detail is expected with further clarity from the government promised this week.
As early as 3 weeks ago we started to see the construction industry take positive steps forward to enable a safe return to site for as many as possible. With safe site operating procedures (https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/news/site-operating-procedures-version-3-published/) issued by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) many contractors have been able to review and enhance their Health & Safety Policies, site processes and procedures and welfare facilities.
This pro-active approach hand in hand with the ‘return to work’ message from the government will hopefully see the majority of sites open and working, if not at full capacity, within the next couple of weeks.
WWA’s absolute priority during the COVID-19 crisis has been to protect the wellbeing and livelihoods of those in our teams across the business. The support of the Government’s “Furloughing” Scheme has been an important part of our armoury in this respect. We Furloughed a number of the team from April 1st and it has been necessary to increase this by a small number in the past weeks. This measure has not impacted our service delivery, with work being successfully reallocated within the respective office teams. The Government’s support in providing this temporary intervention has been welcomed.
WWA is now swiftly progressing in planning our recovery phase and looking forward to returning ‘back to normal’ although none of us will truly understand what ‘normal’ looks like for some time to come. Essentially, nothing has changed from our service delivery perspective and we anticipate continuing to operate on the basis of working from home for the time being. We will continue to support our clients and colleagues to ensure projects can progress where possible and that any return to on-site activity is carefully planned and executed.
There has been much debate about whether the recovery will be V-shaped (a short sharp dip followed by an equally sharp bounce back) or a more extended dip – a U shape. Some sectors of the market will bounce back more quickly than others so a fallen over Y is a more useful visual. Another distinct possibility is a W, with an initial bounce-back as measures are eased followed by a slump and a more gradual returning to normal. Or possibly lots of W’s if we have future increases in cases that require partial restrictions to be re-imposed.
WWA as a business remains robustly positioned to continue to deliver the quality services upon which its reputation has been built. We continue to closely monitor the situation and will update our plans/advice accordingly.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Any queries in this respect should be directed to our Senior Partner, Andy Snapes at andysnapes@wwa.uk.com.
March 30th 2020
As part of our commitment to our staff, clients and supply chain Ward Williams Associates has a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan. This ensures during unforeseen circumstances we are still able to offer the quality service by which we distinguish ourselves and that our staff can continue to perform safely.
In line with our Business Continuity Plan we have assembled a WWA Management Response Team to address risks to our staff, clients and supply chain as a result of COVID-19 and inform, not cause panic. Further to our update of March 17th you will appreciate that the situation is moving very quickly, so here is our latest business update.
WWA’s absolute priority during the COVID-19 crisis is to protect the jobs and livelihoods of those in our teams across the business. The support of the Government’s “Furloughing” Scheme will be an important part of our armoury in this respect. WWA will be Furloughing a number of the team from next week. This measure will not impact our service delivery, with work being reallocated within the respective office teams.
As with many businesses across the UK, this is a preventative measure taken to protect jobs and livelihoods at a time of uncertainty for us all, and we look forward to welcoming back those affected as soon as we are able. The Government’s support in providing this temporary intervention is welcomed.
WWA as a business remains robustly positioned to continue to deliver the quality services upon which its reputation has been built.
Any queries in this respect should be directed to our Senior Partner, Andy Snapes at andysnapes@wwa.uk.com
We continue to closely monitor the situation and will update our plans/advice accordingly.
Thank you for your continuing support.
WWA #WorkingFromHomeTogether Update | March 25th 2020
As part of our commitment to our staff, clients and supply chain Ward Williams Associates has a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan. This ensures during unforeseen circumstances we are still able to offer the quality service by which we distinguish ourselves and that our staff can continue to perform safely.
In line with our Business Continuity Plan, we have assembled a WWA Management Response Team to address risks to our staff, clients and supply chain as a result of COVID19 and inform, not cause panic. Further to our update of March 17th, you will appreciate that the situation is moving very quickly, so here is our latest business update.
As from yesterday, all WWA offices are temporarily closed until the Government determines that it is safe for us to work together again. All provisions as per our previous updates will continue to apply unless they have been superseded by Government advice and/or Regulation.
WWA continues to operate productively with the teams working from home connected by our IT system.
Our office telephone numbers have been temporarily diverted to mobile numbers, so please bear with us if it takes time to connect you with the team member you want to speak to.
Office emails are active as normal, and the team all have access to Microsoft Teams and Skype for meetings as required.
Whilst working from home, some team members are having to manage their workload around looking after children and therefore they may not be working normal office hours. If a team member doesn’t respond to you straight away, they will get back to you as soon as they can. If your query is urgent, please contact the WWA Partner leading your project.
Thankfully, no team members are currently on sick leave due to the virus, however, this is likely to change. If your project contact is taken ill and can no longer work, then an alternative team member will be allocated to look after your project in their absence. In this event, their office lead will endeavour to contact you by telephone and will also send a confirmatory email with revised contact details.
As previously, we continue to closely monitor the situation and will update our plans/advice accordingly.
We remain very much open for business. We understand that it is critical that we deliver for our clients and we will maintain regular communications with you and fellow consultants, who are experiencing the same challenges.
WWA is well placed to weather this storm and we will make it to calm waters on the other side. We are responding to a continually moving situation, and we may not always have the answers. If there is anything that you think we should be doing and we aren’t, then please bring it to our attention as soon as possible.
If you have any further queries regarding ongoing risks to projects arising from COVID-19, please contact us immediately.
Thank you for your continuing support.
March 17th 2020
As part of our commitment to our staff, clients and supply chain Ward Williams Associates has a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan. This ensures during unforeseen circumstances we are still able to offer the quality service by which we distinguish ourselves and that our staff can continue to perform safely.
In line with our Business Continuity Plan we have assembled a WWA Management Response Team to address risks to our staff, clients and supply chain as a result of COVID19 and inform, not cause panic. Further to our update of March 12th you will appreciate that the situation is moving very quickly, so here is our latest business update.
WWA is pleased to report that the business remains fully operational and we will continue to provide our clients with a first-class professional service. Thankfully the health of our staff has not been directly affected by COVID-19.
In accordance with advice from the Government the following measures have been implemented with immediate effect:
- Offices in Truro, Plymouth, Exeter, Salisbury and Gloucester will remain open. A skeleton Senior Team and Partner presence will be maintained in each office.
- Our London office will temporarily close due to the risks presented by travelling on public transport in the Capital. All London staff will be contactable by email and on mobile phones and will continue to work from home.
- With immediate effect, all other staff will be working from home in order to maintain adequate social distancing. All staff are fully equipped and have full access to project files and data through a secure VPN.
- Site visits will still be undertaken where necessary with appropriate risk assessments undertaken in advance. Where staff are due to make site visits for hospital and school projects (and other high-risk environments such as hospices etc) they will contact clients and request their current protocols for access to non-essential visitors.
- All meetings will be conducted, by Skype, Microsoft Teams or Zoom etc.
- Staff that are unable to work away from the office due to the role they perform will be redeployed where possible to support local community initiatives.
- Our Staff will not attend any social or industry events etc.
- Travel out of each office region will only take place if necessary.
We continue to closely monitor the situation and will update our plans/advice accordingly.
Please contact Tanya Brownridge (tanyabrownridge@wwa.uk.com), Operations Partner, directly if you have any further queries relating to the above.
We remain very much open for business. We understand that it is critical that we deliver for our clients and we will maintain regular communications with you and fellow consultants, who are experiencing the same challenges.
WWA is well placed to weather this storm and we will make it to calm waters on the other side. We are responding to a continually moving situation, and we may not always have the answers. If there is anything that you think we should be doing and we aren’t, then please bring it to our attention as soon as possible.
Please contact Andrew Gilbert (andrewgilbert@wwa.uk.com), Partner, if you have any further queries regarding ongoing risks to projects arising from COVID-19.
Thank you for your continuing support.
March 12th 2020
As part of our commitment to our staff, clients and supply chain Ward Williams Associates has a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan. This ensures during unforeseen circumstances we are still able to offer the quality service by which we distinguish ourselves and that our staff can continue to perform safely.
In line with our Business Continuity Plan we have assembled a WWA Management Response Team to address risks to our staff, clients and supply chain as a result of COVID19 and inform, not cause panic.
As a service provider the risks to our clients and supply chain are minimal. We have, however, taken the following actions to reduce the risk of spreading the virus:
- All offices will remain open for business as usual unless instructed otherwise by government bodies.
- Staff deemed at high risk of contracting the virus will self-isolate in line with government guidelines with immediate effect. Isolated staff will continue to work from home and remain in regular contact with their clients and colleagues. WWA has a robust IT infrastructure in place to support this.
- If an individual staff member has contracted the virus then affected clients will be immediately updated. Workload and responsibilities will be assessed and redistributed amongst the wider WWA team, ensuring minimal impact on service delivery.
- Where possible we will conduct meetings by Skype, Microsoft Teams etc.
- Where staff are due to make site visits for hospital and school projects (and other high risk environments such as hospices etc) they will contact clients and request their current protocols for access to non-essential visitors.
- Where clients are due to meet in any of our offices they should check with their WWA contact in advance that face to face meetings are going ahead.
- Our Staff will not attend any events etc, where exposure is to larger groups of people (25 people or more) until further notice.
- Travel out of each office region has been restricted/limited as far as sensibly possible.
We continue to closely monitor the situation and will update our plans/advice accordingly.
Please contact Tanya Brownridge, Operations Partner, directly if you have any further queries relating to the above.
Whilst we are confident that WWA has resilient processes in place to maintain continuity of professional services to projects, clients should be aware of the following potential risks arising from the current COVID19 emergency. This list is not exhaustive, and clients should seek specific advice relating to their particular project(s):
- Programme implications which could impact funding, handover dates and operational deadlines etc.
- Impact on contractual mechanisms relating to payments, delays, insurances, force majeure, determination and the like.
- Statutory approvals being withheld or delayed.
- Impact on dispute resolution protocols.
- Civil disorder.
- Additional costs that may arise as a consequence of all of the above.
The current situation remains fluid, and we are therefore continuing to monitor the potential implications very closely.
For all live projects currently in construction, we are writing to Contractors to ask them to confirm their mitigation proposals/protocols to limit the potential impact of all the above issues.
Please contact Andrew Gilbert, Partner, if you have any further queries regarding ongoing risks to projects arising from COVID 19.