Following the publication of my article Killing (Construction) Fields (February 11), I have received various comments from readers who feel strongly about health and safety issues at construction sites.

After discussing this topic with various people and through my own personal experiences, I have determined that the main problem with the construction sector is that various people feel that contractors are out to cause them harm when carrying out their works.

People seem convinced that any construction work being carried out adjacent to their property will result in damage to such property, anxiety and other inconveniences. I have often come across anxious residents who almost begrudge the contractors for carrying out works.

However, this is a problem of perception because, normally, contractors do not intentionally harm neighbouring residents and the ones I have worked with are actually very decent people.

The main problem with many contractors is that they continuously fail at public relations and the irony is that many of them don’t even try to promote their sector in a more positive way and to improve relations with those living in close proximity of the sites they are working on.

Public relations is an important tool for any company. Many larger companies allocate a lot of money and resources to this because they realise that it is a very effective way of improving their company’s standing within their respective industry.

When residents see workmen behaving in a professional manner, wearing the right safety gear and abiding by the rules, they automatically put their minds at rest and feel more at ease with the works at hand.

It is important for the site to be operated in an adequate manner, to be closed off to the public and for working times to be respected. It is unfair (on residents) for works to be carried out on Sundays, public holidays, late into the evening or very early in the morning. When people have to put up with noise generated from these works (at such absurd hours) it is not a pleasant experience and I must admit that I was often tempted to call the authorities whenever this happened.

As mentioned above, residents often complain whenever a project is about to start nearby. Insurance companies often ensure that their (developer) clients draw up a detailed condition report of all neighbouring properties prior to any work. This is strongly advisable. It will allow the structural engineer to be aware of any problems that exist within a property so that pre-emptive measures can be taken to avoid any unnecessary damage to the building occurring.

It will also allow the developer and the neighbours to have a detailed assessment of the properties so that all will be covered (insurance wise) if any damage were to occur to any building.

It is through frequent visits of this nature that I have realised how neighbours live in fear of any construction works being carried out next door. This is indeed a pity because damage should be minimal (if any should occur) as long as the work is carried out diligently.

Architects and civil engineers are often required to prepare a detailed method statement of the works and this should thoroughly detail all the stages of the works including demolition, excavation and construction works.

What worry residents most must be demolition and excavation works. It can quite often be a terrible experience, especially for the elderly, to see the tranquil streetscape that they are accustomed to be demolished and for the land to be excavated resulting in a large pit (at times). Such works have often been a nuisance to residents and, therefore, clear methodologies of works should be adhered to.

During the works, it is of the utmost importance that adequate hoarding is set up around the site. This should be done as a safety barrier for the site should not be left open and accessible to all as, unfortunately, often used to be the case in the past.

A lockable gate should be provided and this should be kept locked when works are not in progress. This is of the utmost importance as we have all heard of stories of children falling down shafts at construction sites due to a failure of the site manager to prevent site access to the public.

Scaffolding should also be provided where required and this must be adequately anchored. The scaffolding should be set up in a way so as not to prevent pedestrians from walking on the pavement. Only recently, I witnessed a prominent site where the scaffolding pillars were all placed on the pavement and pedestrians (including myself) had to use the road because the pavements were rendered inaccessible.

Demolition works should be carried out meticulously although to delve deeply into the subject would take up an entire article.

Residents are often wary of excavation work in their neighbourhood. Contractors usually make such a mess when carrying out such works that one can simply follow the mud trail leading to the sites from miles away. It is completely unacceptable that an entire neighbourhood is filthy just so works can be carried out on one site.

At times, one can also see roads that are full of bumps because of the large amounts of mud and debris deposited there by trucks driving through. All that is required is for a wheel washing facility to be placed at a site entrance. This would ensure that all trucks leaving the site are clean.

Also, truck drivers should be made to cover their trucks to ensure that debris does not end up on the road.

It must be said that, through careful monitoring, excavation and demolition works need not be a nuisance to neighbours. Very sophisticated equipment exists that causes minimal vibrations and no damage to surrounding property.

The competence of various excavation contractors has increased along the years and professional companies exist, many of which have invested large amounts of money in their equipment.

All that is left is for some of these to invest in another aspect of their company: public relations.

(This article was written before the tragedy at the Seabank Hotel construction site.)

Mr Grima is a chartered civil engineer and architect and is specialised in conservation and structural engineering.