How are the people using a site kept informed during construction?

On a live site, the construction team is not the only group affected by the work. Students, teachers, parents, council staff, club members, commuters and neighbours all use the site, and each of them notices when something changes.

A change people were told about is a small thing. The same change without warning is what turns into a complaint.

One contact for the client

Monument delivers work inside live sites through staging, separation and communication, and the communication starts with one person.

A single point of contact keeps the client informed, so the principal, facility manager or council officer hears one account of what is happening, when and for how long. They pass it on to their own people in the way that suits them, whether that is a school newsletter, a council notice or a staff briefing.

Notice before anything changes

The changes people need warning of are predictable:

• a path, entry or car park closing or moving
• noisy work, such as demolition, cutting or a concrete pour
• large deliveries and crane lifts
• water, power or other services being shut off
• one stage handing back and the next area closing

Each of these sits in the programme, so the notice can go out well before the day. The way noisy work is planned and controlled is covered in noise and vibration near occupied buildings.

Signs on the ground

Notices reach the people who read them, and signs reach everyone else.

Hoarding and fencing carry clear signs that show the work zone, the way around it and who to contact. Detours are marked before the old route closes. On a public park, Monument keeps the open areas usable with safe public separation, clear signage and careful management of access and parking. How the site perimeter is set up is described in site establishment, hoarding and fencing.

The client's calendar

Good communication starts before the job does. Asking the client for its calendar early shows the events that need the site quiet or clear: exams, assemblies, sports carnivals, parent nights, functions and public events.

Those dates go into the programme, and the work is planned around them. The approach to the most sensitive weeks is set out in working during exams and sensitive periods.

Directors on the calls

At Monument, directors are on site and on the client calls. When a client raises a concern, it reaches someone who can act on it.

The street outside

Work on a school or a park also reaches the streets around it. Truck movements, parking and early starts are noticed next door, and telling neighbours about the busiest days ahead of time, with a name to contact, keeps the friction down.

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