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‘COVID PROVED THIS INDUSTRY CAN CHANGE QUICKLY’ CLC CHAIR ANDY MITCHELL HAS HELPED LEAD CONSTRUCTION THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, AND DESPITE THE CURRENT LOCKDOWN, HE SEES LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. WILL MANN CATCHES UP WITH HIM
PHOTOGRAPHS: TIDEWAY
“Never has there been a time when this industry is so important to the country’s future.” If Andy Mitchell sounds Churchillian, it may be because the chair of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has just come from an event hosted by Boris Johnson, a known admirer of Britain’s wartime prime minister. “I believe we have a government that recognises our sector can be a motor for the economy,” the Tideway CEO says. “We have shown we can continue operating safely even with the pandemic’s restrictions. And everyone in construction now realises that we can adapt and change quickly if we have to. “So let’s bring that mentality to other key industry priorities. Let’s turbo-charge the change that’s necessary in building safety, net zero, digital adoption. “There is a responsibility on all of us to step up.” Since the UK’s first lockdown was announced nearly 10 months ago, Mitchell has gone into bat for the industry across a range of issues, gaining respect both within construction and government. He set up the CLC’s coronavirus task force, which created the site operating procedures (SOPs), giving the industry a licence to continue working during those uncertain days last spring. The recent surge in covid-19 cases, and the spread of its more virulent strain, was still a major worry as CM went to press, and the SOPs have been 14 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER FEBRUARY 2021
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19/01/2021 08:41
