Will the aviation industry survive the Coronavirus outbreak? What will the sector look like in a post-COVID-19 world? What’s going to stay the same and what will be different after the pandemic is over? This article offers possible post-COVID-19 scenarios for the Aviation industry. No other industry was as affected
Scotland’s First Minister has given the green light to a construction industry soft start – The move will allow a number of contractors to get back on site, under strict conditions – Council Leaders welcome the news and say public and worker safety will remain top priority for Edinburgh Construction
New range of wearable tech, thermal screening and state-of-the-art UVC disinfection can be used in a variety of workplaces to help detect and prevent the spread of Coronavirus A first-of-its-kind suite of smart tech solutions has been launched to help businesses in the construction industry protect their workforce in the
The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) has launched its COVID-19 restart & rebuild strategy, incorporating three specific strands of support to help members out of lockdown. The strategy has been designed to provide guidance and support to members in three ways; firstly, helping those individuals working for BALI members
As the UK government unveils new guidelines for making workplaces ‘COVID-secure’, global health and safety expert Bureau Veritas is advising businesses that their safe return to work depends on their ability to “win the hearts and minds of employees” alongside creating clear policy, systems and processes with regular monitoring. On
According to new figures from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, job postings were up by 0.7% following the government’s announcement that key industries could go back to work, with the construction industry (up 36.8%) experiencing an even bigger increase. The job board looked at the amount of jobs posted w/c 11th May, vs those posted w/c 4th May and found
Environmental risk reduction specialist Adler and Allan says it is proud to be supporting the national effort by helping organisations to keep Britain moving safely and compliantly during the current COVID-19 crisis. Adler and Allan’s core purpose is to help public and private sector businesses understand and manage their environmental
Will the aviation industry survive the Coronavirus outbreak? What will the sector look like in a post-COVID-19 world? What’s going to stay the same and what will be different after the pandemic is over? This article offers possible post-COVID-19 scenarios for the Aviation industry. No other industry was as affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the airlines, travel companies, and the tourism sector. And, although lockdowns have eased in some parts of the world, travel and tourism may be disrupted by the ongoing pandemic for longer. As of April, this year, 90% of the global population was living in countries with active Covid-19 cases, where the governments have imposed travel restrictions on people coming from abroad to stop the virus from spreading. And, according to Reuters, this resulted in over 25 million aviation jobs being at risk. Plus, according to the World Tourism Organization, between five- and seven-years’ worth of industry growth will most likely be lost due to all these recent events. But social distancing and travel restrictions weren’t the only challenges the industry faced because of the Coronavirus outbreak. The sector is also struggling with a decreased willingness to travel as people fear that they might get the virus. According to a survey from Mower, only 16% of people in the US would be willing to travel abroad with a commercial airliner on the first day after the restrictions and health warnings are removed. Moreover, only 56% of Americans claim that they would feel comfortable to travel abroad by plane after 60 days the authorities give the “all clear” signal. Plus, according to a Dollar Flight Club survey, out of the 20.000 people surveyed, 80% of them have cancelled their trips scheduled for April and May. Now, it’s no doubt that people will eventually travel again, and the aviation industry isn’t going anywhere no matter how difficult things seem to be right now. However, there will be some significant changes both in consumer travel demand and the global airline industry as a whole. A new world of airline economics Remember only half a year ago, before the Coronavirus outbreak, when you could travel internationally with only a few dollars’ worth plane tickets? Well, unfortunately, it seems that these will remain memories because, in the post-COVID-19 world, plane tickets will be a lot more expensive. According to the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), if governments force airlines to introduce physical distancing measures on planes, the ticket prices will most likely see a 50% increase. The explanation for this warning is pretty simple: physical distancing measures imply people to stay 1.5-2 m away from each other, meaning that at least third of seats on a plane would remain empty so airlines would lose a lot of money. Moreover, it seems that raising ticket prices is an old practice of the industry following a significant event. The same Dollar Flight Club survey analyzed data from the 9/11 and the Great Recession, two big events in the past, to see how they influenced the airline industry. The result? Plane ticket prices go down in the short term but then gradually increase in the long term. Following the 9/11 event, plane ticket prices dropped by 18% for the remainder of the year but then increased by 25% by 2003. As for the period after the Great Recession, airfare prices saw a 21% decrease in 2008 and a 24% increase in 2012. So, the survey predicts that the same pattern from above will happen after the COVID-19 outbreak as well. The Dollar Flight Club predicts a 35% decrease in plane ticket prices in 2021 and a 27% increase by 2025. An even bigger step towards digital The Coronavirus outbreak challenged all industries to take a shift to digital more seriously as most businesses were forced to close their doors and customers were forced to stay inside to prevent the virus from spreading. Employees worked from home, kids learned from home, food was ordered online, and even film festivals were moved online. Every industry had to take a bigger step into the digital environment if they wanted to survive the Coronavirus ongoing pandemic. And, the aviation industry is no exception to this rule. Now, digital technologies can’t replace the travel services offered by airlines, but they can reshape the way these services are provided. To be more precise, they can help airlines offer a touchless travel experience to travelers, which might be imperative since more and more of them fear traveling because they fear they might get the virus. The airline sector has already embraced technology in some processes such as online check-ins or plane ticket buying online. Yet, now the industry needs to offer a touchless travel experience to convince travelers that it is safe to fly with them. And, even with strict cleaning protocols, without technology, this is pretty difficult as people are still exchanging travel documents and touching surfaces as they check-in go through security or border control. Thus, the sector will most likely embrace automation as the new norm. Airlines can use technology for, let’s say, identity verification with iris and face recognition technologies. We might also see other touchless technologies for data entry, such as gesture control, touchless document scanning or voice commands. But protecting aviation employees is just as crucial as protecting travelers. Thus, aircraft maintenance management software solutions, such as those from Aviation InterTec, might also become more critical over the next few months or years. These software solutions empower aviation employees to perform tasks such as managing fleets, schedule maintenance work, and track records exclusively digitally. More electric planes It seems like the COVID-19 crisis might be the catalyst for greening the global airline sector. Over the past few months, as many parts of the world were in lockdown, and thousands of airplanes were grounded, several voices were pretty vocal about the climate risks posed by the aviation industry. Many environmentalists argue that airlines aren’t precisely the sector that governments should focus on to rescue, especially since this sector had a free
Scotland’s First Minister has given the green light to a construction industry soft start – The move will allow a number of contractors to get back on site, under strict conditions – Council Leaders welcome the news and say public and worker safety will remain top priority for Edinburgh Construction workers across the Capital will be able to get back on site following an announcement by the Scottish Government. Speaking yesterday (Thursday 11 June), First Minister Nicola Sturgeon signalled that the industry is now able to move into Phase Two of its Six Phase Recovery Plan. This means site works and structural changes to domestic properties are allowed to restart – if Covid-19 guidance can be followed to protect workers and the wider public. Council Leaders have welcomed the move, which will allow many workers to return to their jobs and enable key projects to prepare for a safe reopening. Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This welcome change brings us another step closer to getting Edinburgh’s construction industry back on track. “From building much-needed affordable housing, schools and Edinburgh’s new Meadowbank, to improvements across our transport network, we have around 110 construction projects under contract worth £339m. Getting these projects back underway and progressing high profile developments like the Tram to Newhaven and new St James Centre will be a priority for the industry, the local economy and, crucially, hundreds of our residents who work in construction.” Depute Leader Cammy Day added: “We’ve been working closely with our contractors so that they can make their sites and working practices as safe as possible. It’s vital that no work gets underway until proper measures have been put in place to protect communities and workers against Covid-19. “Changes won’t take place overnight and must be gradual, and we’ll be looking at how we engage local communities at each stage.”
New range of wearable tech, thermal screening and state-of-the-art UVC disinfection can be used in a variety of workplaces to help detect and prevent the spread of Coronavirus A first-of-its-kind suite of smart tech solutions has been launched to help businesses in the construction industry protect their workforce in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. As a reliable alternative to having to manually manage potential risks in the workplace, Contrac IT is launching a suite of three managed technology solutions to automatically monitor and protect employees and disinfect business premises. A combination of wearable tech, thermal screening cameras and a state-of-the-art automated UVC disinfection system allows for the detection, mitigation and prevention of the spread of Covid-19. To ensure social distancing is maintained, Contrac IT has worked with a number of partners to bring together a range of wearable tech to help keep employees safe. Available as a high vis vest, lanyard or wristband, the technology alerts the wearer when they get too close to another member of the team. Recording how many incidents and the length of time people are in contact can then be useful in determining if any additional training or adjustments to facilities are needed. The high vis vests can also include integrated sensors to monitor the wearer’s vital signs. Building on technology most often seen in acute healthcare settings, Contrac IT has also been granted the UK licensing rights for providing the THOR UVC® terminal cleaning device to wider industry settings. Killing viruses quickly and efficiently, the remotely operated system uses ultraviolet to decontaminate both the air and surfaces in a room, killing 99.9999% of pathogens. Cleverly designed towers allow an entire room to be cleaned in a matter of minutes, and as the system is network-connected, reports can be created to monitor and evaluate activity. Nanoclave cabinets are also available, utilising the same UV technology to allow the cleaning of smaller items such as operational or staff equipment, including electronic items, tools and fabrics. A third piece of technology monitors employees as they enter the workplace with thermal imaging cameras, detecting anyone who may be experiencing a higher than normal temperature, so further investigation can take place. All the devices, which are GDPR compliant, can be monitored 24-hours a day by Contrac IT to enable corrective action as required. Contrac IT works with clients in food production, manufacturing and public service many of whom are big employers facing the new health and safety challenges presented by Coronavirus. Managing Director Mark Harding said: “We’ve launched this suite of products in response to the requests we were getting from our existing clients. Everyone is keen to get business back up and running but it has to be done safely – and quite rightly, people felt a few lines of tape on the floor or the odd empty desk weren’t really enough. Companies were even going so far as to employ social distancing marshalls, but they can’t be everywhere at once. We recognised that to really make workplaces safe the virus had to be tackled from all sides – ensuring those who are infected symptomatically and asymptomatically don’t spread it to others, through detection and properly controlled social distancing, as well as making sure the virus is unable to survive in the environment. Coronavirus is an airborne illness but standard cleaning can only tackle surfaces and is often patchy in its coverage, whereas UV cleaning also destroys any virus particles in the air as well as on surfaces. “The three tech solutions we’ve brought together can be tailored to a specific workplace. They can help safeguard the health and wellbeing of workforces in factories, workshops and offices, and also that of employees and customers in retail, hospitality and healthcare settings. One of the most important aspects of these new tools is the reassurance they give employers, employees and customers that the situation is being monitored closely and managed in a systematic way using some really strong tech solutions. These are worrying times and people need to feel safe if we’re to get businesses back on their feet.” For more information www.contracfm.com/covid-response or email info@contracfm.com
The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) has launched its COVID-19 restart & rebuild strategy, incorporating three specific strands of support to help members out of lockdown. The strategy has been designed to provide guidance and support to members in three ways; firstly, helping those individuals working for BALI members whose mental health may have suffered due to the virus, secondly, supporting member businesses with financial, HR and legal support, as well as professional advice for working safely whilst on site, and thirdly promoting members to clients via the BALI website to generate new leads. BALI’s Chief Executive, Wayne Grills, commented on the latest strategy, “The resilience and determination of our members to get back to work, safely and responsibly, continues to impress me. Throughout COVID-19 I have seen countless examples of ways in which members have supported each other, their local communities and frontline workers, and we owe it to them to ensure their businesses and employees are protected with professional guidance and support. That is why, today, we are announcing our latest strategy to do just that; support, promote and inspire.” The UK’s leading trade association for landscaping professionals, whose membership totals around 2,000 members across all four nations of the UK, over 900 of whom are Registered, has confirmed the strategy will be delivered under three distinct headings; people, prepare and promotion. People – Providing assistance to those individuals employed by BALI members who need help and support with issues related to COVID-19. BALI’s team at Landscape House are ready to listen and provide advice to support mental wellbeing, as well as working with industry partners who can provide expert support. Prepare – Provide guidance to help business owners, managers and supervisors prepare for a return to work scenario with free COVID-19 specific documents, templates and webinars. From HR and legal to business support; BALI will further increase the availability of free resources to help with business acumen, recruitment, marketing and advertising. Promotion – Rebuild client confidence in using an accredited landscape professional by advertising BALI on search engines and social media, centred around the key message the industry is open and trading safely. Raise awareness of BALI’s membership benefits and how they can be utilised to support businesses looking to secure new work. In May, BALI surveyed members to help identify how wide an impact the virus has had on members and their businesses and to find out how it could continue to help with guidance and support post lockdown. Highlights from the responses received include: Over half of members (53%) have partially furloughed their workforce 3% more staff working from home (51%) than those in on-site positions (48%) who are already back to work and adhering to strict social distancing measures 40% of members have seen contracts postponed and 13% cancelled Almost 40% of members reported that their company turnover will be affected for more than 12 months, with 20% reporting the hit will be more than 50% Almost 60% of members applied for funds from the Job Retention Scheme 63% of members want BALI to seek further clarity from government on ‘permitted works that are currently defined as outdoor working’ 72% of members want BALI to provide more guidance and support on ‘return to worksite-based guidance (safety measures for operatives and supervisors)’ and almost half want more help with ‘business development (marketing consideration)’. To deliver the strategy, BALI is planning to support members through COVID-19 to 31 March 2021 and beyond if required. Although the team hopes things will return to normal soon, in the meantime, they will continue to support members longer term with a continual development plan that follows government advice pertaining to COVID-19 as well as any feedback attained from members. Some of the ways BALI will deliver the new strategy: Update its COVID-19 support webpage to make it even easier for members to find those helpful documents, templates and links Update relevant COVID-19 documentation and supporting templates in line with the latest guidance for both England and Scotland Develop a Code of Principles for members and their clients Host a 60-minute HR-focused webinar with legal representation on Tuesday 16 June 2020, in conjunction with Oracle Solicitors, with more free webinars planned throughout the year BALI and Perennial will host a mental health training and awareness webinar on Friday 19 June, designed to support individuals who may be struggling to cope with COVID-19 BALI will be kicking off four informal drop-in sessions for members, online every Thursday throughout June, starting on Thursday 11 June 2020. Members can join from across the UK to share stories and catch up with team members from BALI Landscape House Launch a Google and Facebook advertising campaign in July to boost the number of client referrals to the BALI website in order to provide more leads for members listed online BALI is planning a new series of digital marketing webinars for July and August, designed to support members looking to advertise their business post COVID-19 BALI’s Register of Land-based Operations (ROLO) Health, Safety & Environmental Awareness Course is now online for Operative level, so Training Providers can sign up now to continue providing ROLO-related services. ROLO Supervisor and Manager are both anticipated to launch later in 2020 Continue publishing physical and digital copies of both Landscape News and the Who’s Who Landscape Directory to keep the membership network connected, informed and to promote members Continue lobbying on behalf of the landscape industry on critical COVID-19 related topics, as well as plant health and biosecurity issues If you are a BALI member and would like more information on the new strategy, including how you can get involved, contact the team at Landscape House on +44 (0)24 7669 0333 or email contact@bali.org.uk. For the latest information and support material for COVID-19 visit bali.org.uk/help-and-advice/covid-19-coronavirus. The portal includes helpful documents and templates that can be downloaded free of charge. Some documents may be available for BALI members only and a login will be required.
As the UK government unveils new guidelines for making workplaces ‘COVID-secure’, global health and safety expert Bureau Veritas is advising businesses that their safe return to work depends on their ability to “win the hearts and minds of employees” alongside creating clear policy, systems and processes with regular monitoring. On 11 May, the government published guidance for employers to help them get their businesses back up and running and workplaces operating safely following almost two months of strict coronavirus restrictions. The new guidance covers eight workplace settings that are allowed to be open, from outdoor environments and construction sites through to factories and takeaways. The guidelines focus on five key points; work from home if you can, carry out COVID-19 risk assessments in consultation with workers or trade unions, maintain social distancing and, where this is not possible, manage transmission risk, all of which must be supported with more stringent cleaning processes. And with many businesses now facing the daunting challenge of implementing the guidelines, Bureau Veritas, which has been working with a number of sectors to help them safely resume operations, believes that those firms that work collaboratively with their workforce to introduce new ways of working are likely to fair better. Ken Smith, UK Chief Executive at Bureau Veritas UK, said: “For almost all British businesses, introducing the appropriate health, safety and hygiene measures required to make workplaces ‘COVID-secure’ as per the new government guidelines will require a complete overhaul of their current operations. “It’s a mammoth undertaking which will only be successful if employers win the hearts and minds of employees to ensure they are empowered and committed – and must be underpinned by clear policy, systems and processes with regular monitoring. To achieve this, businesses are advised to introduce measures in consultation and consensus with staff, have regular communication and active engagement on whether these are effective as well as creating a system that encourages staff to come forward and voice concerns if at any point they feel unsafe at work.” Other challenges the employers should consider, says Bureau Veritas – which recently launched its ‘Restart Your Business’ assurance service to help firms manage their return to work strategies – includes how the government’s advice to avoid using public transport will impact employees as well as having a better understanding of the movement of people around business premises. “Taking the time to understand the occupational use of buildings – logistics, deliveries, how lifts are used, desks are spaced and the hygiene of frequently used touchpoints – will stand duty holders in good stead for resuming operations. “Given the sheer size and complexity of making workplaces safe against the threat of coronavirus transmission, a nuanced approach that truly reflects best practice, could ultimately, help to save lives.” The ‘Restart Your Business With Bureau Veritas’ service provides a voluntary, independent assessment of a firm’s COVID-19 readiness to re-open their business premises, with a statement of assurance issued on completion that can be displayed on its website and at its properties. To find out more about ‘Restart Your Business With Bureau Veritas’, call 0345 600 1828 or visit: https://share.hsforms.com/1tTRe4h7IQZOBHtRBmdDDfg2z02a.
According to new figures from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, job postings were up by 0.7% following the government’s announcement that key industries could go back to work, with the construction industry (up 36.8%) experiencing an even bigger increase. The job board looked at the amount of jobs posted w/c 11th May, vs those posted w/c 4th May and found that the sector experienced the second biggest hike in vacancies week-on-week: Agriculture +124.1% Property +47% Manufacturing +42.9% Customer Service +38.9% Construction +36.8% Administration +35.3% Accounting/Finance +30.5% IT +24.4% Electronics +23.4% Retail +22.4% On the other end of the spectrum, the industries that saw the biggest fall in job adverts include leisure/tourism (down 86.7%), automotive (down 72.8%), catering (down 34.2%), charities (down 18.2%) and medical (down 17.9%). Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, comments on the findings: “While the UK continues to follow strict social distancing guidelines, the government’s announcement that key industries could return to the workplace on Wednesday 13th May appears to have instilled confidence back into employers. As a result, we’re slowly seeing job numbers pick back up; though they are nowhere near the levels they would normally be.” The findings will come as welcome news to the millions of professionals who are actively looking for work right now. Indeed, a study CV-Library conducted amongst 1,408 professionals in May reveals that 90.9% of people who are currently unemployed in the construction industry are hoping to find a job during the coronavirus pandemic. Biggins continues: “Prior to this pandemic, the labour market was largely candidate-driven but this has definitely shifted. The demand for jobs is outstripping supply and it’s going to take some time for this to change. What’s more, a lot of companies are reliant on the government’s furlough scheme to keep their employees in work, so unemployment rates aren’t yet at their peak. “That said, our findings do provide some reassurance that the government’s effort to kickstart the economy again are working, though we cannot rest on our laurels just yet. Businesses must continue to make smart decisions and follow guidelines closely.”
Environmental risk reduction specialist Adler and Allan says it is proud to be supporting the national effort by helping organisations to keep Britain moving safely and compliantly during the current COVID-19 crisis. Adler and Allan’s core purpose is to help public and private sector businesses understand and manage their environmental risks, reducing the impact to the environment, their operation and their reputation. In this time of national crisis, it has modified its procedures to safeguard its employees and customers health, and strictly follows the guidelines for essential services published by the government. Teams from Adler and Allan are supporting the effort to feed the nation by providing fuel deliveries, fleet fuel infrastructure maintenance and temporary expansion for supermarkets and other logistics organisations as well as emergency services. Ensuring continuity of power is of critical importance at this challenging time. Modern biodiesels risk that continuity as they attract water, causing microbial contamination in tanks and exposing hospitals and other critical services to considerable operational risk. Adler and Allan is providing regular tank testing and maintenance as well as fuel polishing to ensure the nations generators will provide power when required. Our teams across the country continue to respond to pollution incidents to ensure that our environment is kept safe and businesses can resume operations after an incident. Bob Contreras, Executive Chairman, said: “The safety of our colleagues and customers is of paramount importance and we rigorously follow all HSE and Government advice on any work we carry out. “Adler and Allan is proud to support many infrastructure projects that are critical to the nation’s efforts to deal with the current coronavirus crisis. We are supporting our clients by providing maintenance of critical assets and response services to organisations across emergency services, military, supermarket, utilities, data centres, local authorities, forecourts, highways and rail operations. “Our 24/7 UK-wide response services for incidents involving a range of oil, chemicals and other contaminants together with treatment of hazardous waste are also critical for keeping people safe and protecting the environment. As such, many of our colleagues are defined as key workers under the latest government announcement.” For more information on Adler and Allan’s critical work during the pandemic please visit www.adlerandallan.co.uk.
