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• Systematic mass testing in closed settings provides information on infection rates. • Test positivity was 11.6%, with only one-quarter reporting symptoms. • The prison wing handling new admissions reported the second-lowest positivity rate. • Testing uptake was higher in residents than in staff members. • Mass testing is a valuable tool to bring outbreaks under control quickly. The aim of this paper was to describe the results of mass asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 in a male prison in England following the declaration of an outbreak. It provides novel data on the implementation of a mass testing regime within a prison during the pandemic. The paper is an observational evaluation of the mass testing conducted for 6 months following the declaration of a COVID-19 outbreak within a prison. It investigated the incidence of positive cases in both staff and residents using polymerase chain reaction testing. Data from October 2020 until March 2021 was included. A total of 2170 tests were performed by 851 residents and 182 staff members; uptake was 48.3% for people living in prison and 30.4% for staff. Overall test positivity was 11.6% (14.3% for residents, 3.0% for staff), with around one-quarter of these reporting symptoms. The prison wing handling new admissions reported the second-lowest positivity rate (9.4%) of the eight wings. Mass testing for COVID-19 over a short space of time can lead to rapid identification of additional cases, particularly asymptomatic cases. Testing that relies on residents and staff reporting symptoms will underestimate the true extent of transmission and will likely lead to a prolonged outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A skilled workforce is essential for producing high quality construction work, efficiently and effectively. This paper is formulated to improve the understanding and knowledge surrounding the skill shortage currently being faced within the UK, and the significant impact it is having on quality management. It surrounds around each main area, and the impacts of recent years: Brexit, Covid-19 and ageing workforce. A mixed method approach was applied to collect data from the quantitative and qualitative sources. The quantitative survey data was collected through snowball sampling from the 130 construction professionals working the UK construction industry. Moreover, a case study has been conducted on a large-scale construction project located in the Northeast of England where the outcome of these issues can be seen in all aspects of the work. Training and development are the fundamental issues highlighted during the literature review and then subsequently expressed by participants of the surveys. In addition, the moderation analysis also provides the important role of training and development in reducing the negative impacts of COVID-19 and Brexit towards quality management. However, it was also revealed that the training and development are not useful for the aging workforce in combating the skilled shortage challenges towards quality management system in the construction industry. This research will allow the industry to understand the need for a skilled workforce and how it benefits the quality management elements of a construction project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]