Recently a lot of our clients and potential clients are asking whether we’re undertaking ecological surveys during this difficult period of the coronavirus outbreak. Recognising the confusion, we have provided detail below on what site works we are and are not able to carry out at this time. As always, the safety of our team as well as the safety of our clients and the wider public is paramount.
We also hope that this may be of some use to others in the industry, and we’re interested to hear from you on what measures your company are taking, or what you are doing differently to us. We’re all trying to get through this difficult period, the situation is constantly evolving and we’re having to evolve along with it. By collaborating and exchanging ideas we can hopefully develop more appropriate and innovative solutions where they are needed.
We’re fortunate to have a team at Wharton who recognise the importance of this, but we are also grateful for our connections in our respective industries who we have been able to discuss ideas with. The planning, ecological and arboricultural communities are all very small worlds filled with very knowledgeable people. I for one will be proud and fortunate to be able to look back on this period and know that I was part of a community that was able to be creative, collaborative and positive during such a challenging period.
What office-based measures we are taking?
All of our active employees are currently working from home and we are operating a core staff base to ensure that project delivery continues to run smoothly. Our main office number is working as normal so please feel free to call us to discuss current or new projects.
Email redirects have been set up for members of staff on the furlough scheme. If your project is being dealt with by a furloughed team member then emails are being redirected to a senior member of that service to ensure all correspondence is addressed in a timely manner. Our team will respond to you and make you aware of who will be dealing with your project during this time to provide reassurance.
All meetings (including client meetings) are being conducted either via telephone or video conferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom etc. We’re catching up regularly with our clients as well as our entire team to ensure that everyone is doing okay and that projects continue to run smoothly.
Are we still undertaking surveys?
In short, yes! We are still undertaking visits to sites where contact with the public/residents is unlikely, or where we can maintain ‘social distancing’ measures. This means that some elements of our services have to be limited, and we’re making clients aware of this at the earliest possible stage. For example, we aren’t entering occupied properties to undertake initial bat surveys as the potential risk of coronavirus exposure/spread is simply too high; this will of course be caveated within reports and clients kept up to speed with implications this may have (for example the need for mitigating measures or further surveys where necessary).
We are assessing each survey on a site-by-site basis with a fully detailed risk assessment and method statement. We’re still undertaking the vast majority of phase 1 and phase 2 ecology surveys, and have altered our survey methods where necessary to account for the restrictions imposed by the Government and Public Health England.
We’re currently not undertaking any work that requires the use of a MEWP or cherry picker as it’s our view that the likelihood of being able to maintain appropriate social distancing in this kind of work is low. We’re also not undertaking any work that requires overnight stays, and are adapting survey methods to take this into account.
Of course as with all other businesses we’re constantly reviewing our working procedures to ensure it is in-line with current Government advice, but we are also liaising with our clients and sub-contractors to understand how they are coping during this period and exchange ideas.
Ecology Calendar, click to download PDF version.
Opportunities for Collaboration
Given the current difficulties in travelling long distances to undertake surveys, we are sometimes relying on a range of suppliers/sub-contractors to help us to deliver on projects where long-distance travel makes it difficult for us to comply with Government advice. We are also assisting other consultancies with delivering their projects where they face similar travel issues. If you are a consultant offering similar services to us we’d love to have a chat to explore whether there are opportunities for us to help each other during this challenging period.
We truly hope you’re all keeping safe and well, if you’d like a chat to discuss projects, ecology or if you’re a consultant just looking to get someone else’s take on the challenges we as a professional community are facing at this time please do get in touch. Our Zoom office is always open for a friendly chat, though we’re afraid you’ll have to make your own drink and we can’t be of much assistance on the biscuit-front at this point either!