5 Top Tips for a Seamless Site Set-up
You’re a Project Manager planning a Site Set-up for an upcoming construction or fit-out project and it’s on a tight schedule. You're under pressure to ensure the project stays on track, keeps within budget, complies with H&S rules, meets the increasing demands of sustainability and within company branding guidelines.
There’s a lot to think about and you want minimum faff!
Here's our top 5 tips to consider in making sure your Site Set-Up runs smoothly:
1. Partner with the right suppliers
Your project performance will only be as good as your supply chain. To ensure a successful Site Set-up, make sure you have the best supply chain in place including subcontractors, materials, safety, fixings, protection, waste, and hire.
You may already have preferred suppliers in place, where an established relationship could help towards a successful Site Set-up – your Procurement/Supply Chain team will be able to point you in the right direction.
Additional things to consider:
Commercial - does your company have an existing agreement in place with the supplier? Do you have agreed pricing and terms that are competitive and aligned with your budget?
Service – does your supplier have the stock and delivery capacity to meet your requirements? How quickly can they deliver? What are the potential risks in the supply chain and how can these be mitigated?
Quality – do the products and services meet the quality standards required to do the job? Are they fully compliant with current legislation including EN and CE certification and the upcoming UKCA requirements? Does your supplier have the required accreditations and certifications i.e. BSIF and ISO9001?
Sustainability - check what sustainability credentials your suppliers have and what more can they do to support your company’s sustainability goals? Are they compliant with current ethical supply chain legislation and do they monitor and report on their supply chains working practices?
Digital - what solutions can your supplier offer to help streamline processes, reduce admin, and gain control? Do they have an e-Procurement portal you can use? Do you have a company login set up? What integrations to portal/systems are available to further simplify the process and ensure compliance to your company procedures? This could also include ‘paperless’ – digital designs, approvals, catalogues etc.
Relationship - who is your point of contact and how well do you know them? Will they give you the level of support you need? Think about the need for other stakeholders in your organisation to have a relationship with the supplier i.e., Directors, Commercial, Procurement, H&S, Sustainability, Finance, Marketing and Site.
Consider requesting a dedicated “Managed Site Set-Up Delivery Service” from your supplier to ensure the logistics for your orders go smoothly and deliveries are on time and in full with minimal backorders.
2. Be H&S compliant
Everything you need to know about organising a safe and healthy construction site from the HSE:
Site rules and induction – Guidance on what site rules must cover and how to meet your legal requirements to ensure every site worker and others visiting site are given a suitable site induction.
Traffic management - Ensures that moving vehicles do not present a hazard to people on site.
Site lighting – How to make sure workers or visitors on site can see to do their work and move around the site safely.
Protecting the public - Details the specific measures for protecting members of the public on site and preventing access by unauthorised people, including children.
Materials storage and waste management - Guidance on storing materials safely to prevent hazards and make sure that waste is removed and disposed of correctly.
Welfare overview – The best way to meet your legal requirements for welfare facilities on construction sites, for example, providing toilet and washing facilities, drinking water, rest areas, changing rooms and lockers.
Administration - The paperwork you need to manage the site legally and safely.
Be aware of your companies PPE policy and ensure compliance with this.
3. Choose sustainable
Sustainable construction reduces the impact of the industry on the environment. This includes reducing waste and energy consumption, alongside renewable and recyclable materials.
Protecting people and the planet is about making the right choices:
Choose a supplier that is aligned with your sustainability goals - net zero, carbon reduction, eco products, ethical procurement, social value.
Products that are good for the planet and people - eco PPE, eco cleaning products, eco tableware and UK made products.
Cut single use plastic - plastic free alternative products and suppliers with no plastic packaging.
Waste management - ensure waste segregation and use a waste company who separates and recycles certain waste in line with industry best practice.
Circular economy – PPE recycling, wood recycling, closed loop protection board etc.
Low carbon footprint suppliers - companies that are carbon neutral (or carbon negative) and are committed to becoming net zero.
Social value initiatives - local suppliers, local employees, and community support initiatives.
Consolidate orders to reduce carbon footprint - single source suppliers, group smaller orders and e-Procurement consolidation.
Set up carbon footprint reporting - measure carbon footprint using supplier reporting and system data.
Consider incentives - encourage people to think about their journey to site including promoting the government cycle to work scheme.
At Bryson, our vision is to be the sustainable supplier of choice for forward-thinking construction and fit-out contractors, like you. We're committed to protecting people and the planet and have a number of sustainable products suitable for construction and fit-out projects as part of our corporate sustainability strategy.
We're the industry first certified carbon negative supplier with our longer term goal to be net zero by 2030. As part of this plan we have introduced electrical vehicles to the fleet with a goal to have 70% of deliveries made by electric vehicles by 2023.
4. Be brand savvy
Construction and fit-out companies are becoming increasingly brand conscious, make sure you are aware of the brand guidelines and apply them consistently throughout the site. Areas to consider for custom branding:
PPE (helmets, hi-vis)
Workwear
Temporary Protection (protection board, scaffold sheeting)
External hoarding
Signage (site information boards, marketing material, safety signage)
Corporate gifts (mugs, water bottles, pens, bags etc)
If the branding is not already set up with suppliers, allow time to ensure branded items are designed, and approved by marketing to avoid delays. This may include branded items that are bespoke to your project or specified by the client.
5. Get the right gear
Here’s a Site Set-up checklist with all the gear you’ll need:
Other Site Set-Up considerations
Client – specific requirements.
Building occupation – requirements and processes within the building if occupied.
Logistics – booking in process.
Sub-Contractors – support with toolbox talks, demos, site-wide consistency.
Finance – invoicing and approval process. An example thought process could be:
Local Authorities – special requirements
Considerate Constructors Scheme - www.ccsscheme.org.uk
Bryson have experts on hand to support you and specialise in sustainable Site Set-up solutions for fast-track construction and fit-out projects.
You can book a free 30-minute Site Set-up Consultation here: