Kuala Lumpur, 7 December 2021 – The construction industry welcomes the Selangor state government’s decision to standardise the operating hours for construction sites within the state from 8 am to 6 pm on Mondays to Saturdays.
The progression of construction works has been interrupted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and affected by various movement control orders imposed. There were times that sites were not allowed to work or operate with low productivity rates due to compliance with standard operating procedures. Based on observation, the industry experienced a total stop work duration of at least 199 days and about 380 days of low productivity in greater Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Although the construction industry in Selangor state was allowed to resume entire operations since 18 October 2021 in line with the National Recovery Plan (NRP) Phase 4, most construction sites are keeping busy to max out their operations capacity to catch up with the time loss to ensure projects can be completed within the stipulated time in contracts.
However, contractors are still finding it strenuous to keep up with all the delayed construction works within a limited time. Therefore, MBAM would suggest that the Selangor state government consider extending the construction operating hours to 7 am until 7 pm on Mondays to Fridays.
With the new normal, the daily procedures to scan for temperature and check-in with MySejahtera before workers are allowed entry to sites are taking up a substantial amount of time. Towards the end of each working day, construction sites would also need to spend a fair amount of time cleaning up to ensure the safety of sites is being kept in check.
MBAM also hopes that other state governments would consider the exact implementation. The standardisation to extend construction operating hours, it would allow the industry to be able to close in on better productivity.
– Construction+ Online
Source: MBAM
