A Scottish company has helped to build the new NHS Louisa Jordan temporary hospital in Glasgow while adhering to stringent safe working practices. The project was completed in just two weeks at a cost of £43m.
The MacGregor Flooring Company from Lanarkshire helped complete the equivalent of three months’ work in an astonishing five days to provide flooring at the 1,036-bed bay hospital which opened in April after an exceptional communal effort.
Working in partnership with another flooring firm, the Hamilton-based business undertook the mammoth task at the SEC Campus while working under the guidance issued by the newly-established Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum.
The CICV Forum, made up of the majority of professional bodies working in the construction industry in Scotland, issued guidance to companies and employees following government orders that building sites with the exception of hospital work should close.
The MacGregor Flooring Company, instituted daily briefings for operatives, stressing the importance of social distancing, handwashing and working in reduced numbers. Conditions on site ensured everyone was working safely.
Crawford MacGregor, Director, said: “We weren’t sure if we would get the number of people required on site to complete the works within the timescale, and we thought many might be reluctant due to the potential risks of catching COVID-19.
“But it was the exact opposite. Not only did they step up, they actively wanted to be part of the team that ensured the facility was built and ready in the event that it was required in the current crisis.”
A total of 16 MacGregor operatives, including working supervisors, completed the flooring package, with Crawford sharing the day-to-day running with Managing Director Kenny Smith and Contracts Supervisor Jim Hart.
The project was carried out in partnership with Veitchi Flooring Limited of Cambuslang, who had 17 operatives under the control of Operations Director John Brown and Contracts Manager Gareth Allan.
With the campus’s Pavilions and Atrium split between the two partners, the contract saw all the holes in the subfloor screeded, before 23,000m² of loose laid safety sheet vinyl was fitted and welded. Extra matting works were also carried out.
Kenny Smith, MacGregor Managing Director, said: “This was a great example of how correct COVID-19 construction practice can work and we introduced it at two other NHS contracts at Stobhill Hospital and Greenock Health and Care Centre.”
Both MacGregor and Veitchi are members of the Contract Flooring Association, who are in turn members of the Scottish Contractors Group, a leading contributor to the CICV Forum.
Alan Wilson, who chairs the CICV Forum and is also Managing Director of electrical trade association SELECT, said: “There will always be situations in which construction work must go on – but it must go on safely, and what the MacGregor Flooring Company has achieved at Louisa Jordan is a perfect example of how to do it.
“It also shows that the guidelines which were issued by the CICV Forum to meet a set of unprecedented circumstances can be applied across the construction industry to mutually beneficial effect.”
