MONTEGO BAY, St James — Safety and disaster preparedness measures have been ramped up at major construction projects across western Jamaica as managers keep a watchful eye Hurricane Melissa whose outer bands will likely bring heavy rain and winds to much of the island.

In St James alone, work is ongoing at the US$347-million Perimeter Road; The Pinnacle luxury residential development which has a US$450-million price tag; the US$55-million boutique residential development One Reading; and the multimillion-US dollar boutique resort development UNICO 18˚77˚, among others.

According to Stephen Edwards, the managing director of National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC), which is the executing agency for the MoBay Perimeter Road project, preparations are well under way. He noted that responsibility rests with China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC), the contractor for the project which stretches from Ironshore to Bogue with additional work being done on Barnett Street and in the West Green area.

“We’ve already notified them well ahead of time, from when the first tropical storm watch notices were put out by the Met Service, so we’ve been having multiple meetings with them to prepare for the storm,” Edwards told the Jamaica Observer last Thursday.

“Our teams would have gone out on the site, they would have inspected the site to assess the risk and how they can mitigate against it. It’s a large construction site so the whole team would be out looking at it and after the storm has passed we would be out there immediately again to assess and respond quickly,” he said.

Edwards explained the usual procedure.

“Some of the things that they normally do is that they hoard the equipment and material in a way that protects them from the storm. They would do things like place equipment at strategic places just in case they need to call on them quickly right after the storm,” he said.

He assured that the contractors will draw from previous experience in order to effectively cope with any eventualities.

“It’s not the first time that we’ve gone through a hurricane with an active construction site, so there are protocols in place and they’ve started to effect those,” he said.

“We’ll be ready for the storm, but in case there is any immediate reaction that is required after the storm, that equipment would be in place to react immediately,” he told the Sunday Observer.

There was similar reassurance from The Pinnacle that all safety measures are in place for that mega-project in Reading, on the outskirts of Montego Bay. Work is well advanced on one of its four 28-storey towers and its $10-million commercial centre.

“We have a safety manager who has taken care of all the preparation work,” developer Yangsen Li told the Sunday
Observer.

Project manager Natalie Prout provided an update on steps they have taken to reduce the potential of risks at the site during a period of severe weather.

“We have de-energised certain areas and temporary energy has been removed in places,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“We have also made sure to remove certain items like scaffolding and equipment to ensure that they are secure,” Prout added.

She also explained that they have looked into the issue of flooding and channels have been created to handle the copious amount of water that may be associated with Melissa.

Like Li, she is not worried that there will be any major impact.

“This structure, when completed, can withstand winds up to category six [hurricane strength], even though we haven’t seen something like that. We know it will be able to manage what is coming,” she said confidently.

The steps being taken by those spoken with last Thursday are in line with industry best practices.

As noted by president of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica Richard Mullings, preparedness is a standard part of construction site management, especially in a country prone to hurricanes.

“For construction sites, if they are facing an impending major weather event like a hurricane, individual projects usually have a disaster risk mitigation plan where they are usually under the guidance of the project management and the client; they would work out the methodology on how they secure the site,” he explained.

Mullings said much of the preparation mirrors what individuals would do to protect their own property, but with additional steps specific to the construction industry.

“[They would look at] the same things that would apply in your home: how you secure debris, how do you keep sensitive equipment out of flood-prone areas, how do you make sure no people are at risk, keep people out of harm’s way in terms of you have security/caretakers on the site during the disaster,” said Mullings.

“[It means] securing any other things that might be at risk [such as] pollutants or electrical items from risk of flooding. [You should] keep any live wires out of the way of an event. If you have things at height or you are securing them from high winds, or if you have things below the ground level, how you secure them from flooding is important,” he added.

Mullings urged contractors and others in the industry to follow established guidelines that will keep them, their equipment and projects safe.

“A key part of it that most construction projects should have a disaster management plan where they already have a pre-existing expectation of what to do in the case of the common disasters that we face in Jamaica like hurricanes, earthquake, fires, and so on,” he said.

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