Friday Update

With the constant stream of information, ever-changing guidelines and ongoing political rows continuing to confuse and undoubtedly frustrate us all, I feel it would be easy to get lost amongst the hysteria and lose sight of where we really find ourselves in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. Having now experienced the virus first-hand within the business with the first confirmed cases being reported on site, its presence so close to home serves as strong reminder of the impact this can have on us all and that we must all remain alert, but I do believe we are now appropriately prepared to efficiently and effectively respond with set protocol in place, and I hope that this will offer you all reassurance. Whilst statistical modelling continues to paint a grim picture we are most certainly not at the same level that we were at the peak back in March, and the intervention of the government and our actions accordingly, is making a very real difference, so we must continue to remain optimistic of recovery and I am confident we are doing everything that we should be to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing as best we can.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has this week released further stringent guidance and mandatory safety measures that we have swiftly adopted across all our sites and which includes the enhanced use of face coverings in and around compounds, site accommodation and enclosed or shared spaces on site as well as stricter temperature monitoring, and I feel these are appropriate additional defense measures that I hope will offer greater confidence to our site teams in continuing to undertake their duties. As always, your continued efforts and relentless willingness to enforce these new measures and continue to push your projects forwards are very much appreciated, and if anyone has any concerns relating to any aspect of our enhanced safety guidelines I encourage you to raise these with your Contracts Manager or Departmental Director. All of the latest guidance and company protocol can be found on the COVID-19 section of our website: https://www.jenner-group.co.uk/about-us/covid-19-information

Staying with Health & Safety but with more joyous news, earlier this week the annual H&K Safety Awards were announced; an awards scheme rewarding the top performing contractors in Kent, run by our external safety consultants H&K Safety Services and I’m very proud that this year Jenner received the Bronze Principal Contractor Award for overall safety performance (very narrowly missing out on both the silver and gold award by the slightest of margins), alongside three of our sites and their managerial teams individually recognised for their outstanding achievements. Simon Ward brought home the top accolade, the gold award in the large new build category for ongoing delivery of The Hill, Littlebourne with silver awards for both Folkestone School for Girls delivered by Clinton Dunn and Nigel Griffiths’ ongoing efforts at Urban Sports Park. Congratulations are expressed to Simon, Clinton and Nigel and your supporting teams on your deserved success, made even more significant given the ongoing challenges faced this year. Awards such as this are vital to safeguarding our excellent reputation as a leading contractor in the South East marketplace, evidencing we compete and perform exceptionally well alongside our industry peers which breeds confidence in Jenner as a contractor and employer of choice, with safety at the very forefront of our operations. You can read more about the awards here:

https://www.jenner-group.co.uk/news/jenner-scoops-gold-silver-and-bronze-at-the-2020-hs-safety-services-annual-awards

Continuing the positivity, and staying with awards news, this week I am delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted as finalists in two award categories at the National Construction Marketing Awards (CMA’s); the UK’s only awards scheme dedicated to marketing of the built environment, and we find ourselves in good company alongside other shortlisted prestigious businesses including world-renowned architectural practice Foster & Partners and Redrow Homes, to name just a few. We are shortlisted for ‘Best Contractor Marketing Campaign’ and ‘Best Branding and Positioning’ in recognition of our new branding launched late last year with the winners to be announced virtually on 26th November, just two days after the winners of the RICS National Awards are announced with Curious Brewery in contention. We keep everything crossed that our new branding of which we are immensely proud, will receive the National recognition we feel it deserves.

Due to the importance of emphasizing the message about the new CMC guidelines regarding the wearing of facemasks on site, I have decided this week to not to showcase any of our excellent projects that are all progressing so well on site at the moment. Please do take the time to read through and consider the new guidelines, which are adopted with immediate effect.

That’s all from me for another week, other than to wish you an enjoyable weekend and to remind you that the clocks ‘fall’ back this Sunday 25th October, and whilst this does sadly mark the official end of British summertime, we do benefit from lighter morning again for a short while, and of course gain an extra hour to enjoy, so do make the most of it, even if it only gives you a more relaxed start to the day.