Depending on what news publications you read, the United States is at the height of its second or third wave of coronavirus. Death tolls are now approaching some of the highest numbers in months, and businesses are once again starting to tighten their procedures or close their doors.
For the construction industry, this could mean more mandated work halts. With so much of the future still uncertain, it would behoove companies to start thinking about what they can do now to lighten the potential burden of the future.
Fasttrack current projects
As we know from this time last year, federal and local rules and ordinances can change quickly in light of a global pandemic. The project you plan on wrapping up next month could be put on hold for the foreseeable future.
While it can sometimes cost you to accelerate a project now, it is likely to be far less than the cost of having it held in limbo. Regardless, you should be carefully documenting the progress made on your projects each day, including where equipment is being held and any communications with operating parties.
Continue communication with employees
A big risk of construction projects being put on hold is employees taking other job opportunities in the interim. You do not want to lose your entire team and have to completely restaff when the project is able to start up again. If you are able to, continue to pay your team during this time – the institutional knowledge will be costly to replace.
Make sure that you are keeping your team up to date with any information on when work may start up again, have regular team meetings that keep everyone engaged. You should also consider whether there are tasks that individuals are potentially able to do from home (although this may not be possible for many positions).
Prepare for a busy future
One thing that we can say confidently is that the construction industry will recover from this difficult time. While work may be on hold in the near future, commercial and consumer projects will soon pick-up pace after a vaccine is administered to a significant portion of the public. There is a chance that a bunch of projects will come in at once, which makes it even more important for you to maintain a good relationship with your team (and particularly your star employees).
Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash
