We Didn’t Know We Could Do That

BY: Christopher J. Payne, PE, CCM, F.CMAA - President and Chief Executive Officer, MBP

Monday, March 9, 2020, was the day the world changed for me, and I’m sure all of us in our Chapter as our nation entered unknown territory. Entire cities and states went on lockdown mode, and we watched in horror as hospitals filled up in New York and elsewhere. COVID was real and upon us.

While the local area avoided widespread construction shutdowns, that was by no means certain, and we all waited to see if construction would be declared an essential industry. After many disruptions, a year and a half later, we’ve now become accustomed to a “covid world.” As we look back, how are we performing better, doing things we didn’t know we could do?

First, let’s recognize that the industry is resilient and can-do. We all realized that if our industry was truly essential, we had to prove we could work safely and adopt new safety and physical distancing practices. Outside work proved safe. In an industry where PPE and safety is the norm, the conversion to wearing masks, checking temperatures, registering at guard booths, and other practices were consistent with what we typically do, which became part of our routines. The on-site part of our industry adapted.

Like every other industry, we learned that remote meetings were possible. Many of us had never heard of Zoom or Teams before the start of the pandemic, but we learned we could exchange information effectively without sitting in folding chairs inside a jobsite trailer. We found that almost any type of meeting could be done remotely, even if we started to feel Zoom fatigue.

Some types of meetings are even more effective in a remote environment. For example, we found that design reviews with a shared screen and making real-time modifications that all participants could view was an improvement over stiff PowerPoints or paging through drawing sets.

While it seems inevitable that the efficiency and effectiveness of remote meetings will be a part of our regular work world going forward, we are still learning when and for what topics in-person meetings are preferred. We have found that in-person meetings while wearing masks is not much better than a remote meeting. Yet, we all desire some form of direct interaction.

Of course, we found that remote communications were not limited to meetings. Phones and iPads could be used for remote inspections and progress reviews. Who would have thought that a building inspector would approve something from afar, but it happened!

The desire to share information remotely has led to much broader adoption of 3D capture technology, such as Holobuilder, and allows an almost instant status check that can be reviewed anywhere and compared to a BIM model or prior status. We could keep up with multiple projects from the comfort of our homes versus driving many hours to see each site. With the whole notion of work being reconsidered, we’re only scratching the surface of rethinking construction with fewer people at a site or even in our workforce in general. What more can be done robotically or remotely?

In terms of what we’re building, we have increased attention toward the purpose of our buildings and how they’re built. The questions around air quality and exchanges per hour are no longer obscure topics for mechanical engineers and building operators. Even the very spaces we’re building are being rethought: what do we want from our offices, schools, and other gathering places (light, physical distance, community) that we didn’t have before?

As time went on, we saw unpredictable absences, materials shortages, and price spikes. We learned that the supply chain is less resilient than we thought. Now, not taking anything for granted, we have learned to be better planners and risk managers.

Most of all, we have endured. Many of us have re-learned and gained a greater appreciation for working together, not only as representatives for our organizations but as fellow humans. We have communicated in different ways, taking time to connect and ask one another how we’re doing. Overall, the construction industry fared better than most parts of the economy over the course of the pandemic. Most projects continued, and the industry overcame shortages and absences to deliver valuable assets. We were rattled, but we are lucky.

We didn’t know we could do all that was done. Now what? Will the pandemic accelerate an already increasing pace of change? We may look back at the pandemic as the point when it all started to change as increased use of robotics, off-site construction, and rapid technology advances started to flourish.