COVID-19 Impacts to the Construction Industry in the DMV

BY: CAROL HOLLAND, CCM, PE, LEED AP, DEWBERRY

As we navigate through this nearly unprecedented time in history, we here at CMAA NCC hope you and your families stay safe. Keep the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and the orders of the states in which you live and work in mind. Our first responsibility is for the safety of ourselves, families and those around us.

Our next responsibility is to understand the impact that this pandemic is having on our industry.

The Federal Critical infrastructure guidance is provided to assist states and localities in making decisions related to essential businesses and key personnel. In all of our jurisdictions, the construction trades and associated firms in the AEC space are deemed essential. We have assembled a round up of the orders of our region with regard to the construction industry in this article.

• Maryland- Maryland closed non-essential businesses through the amended Executive order of March 23, 2020. The subsequent interpretation of the Order explicitly named “engineering, surveying, architectural, and interior design firms” among those types of business which can remain open while promoting telework options to highest extent possible.

• Virginia- In Governor Northam’s Executive Order 53, all professional services firms are permitted to remain open, utilizing teleworking as much as possible. This order went into effect on March 23, 2020.

• District of Columbia- Construction and Building trades are explicitly excluded from Mayor Bowser’s non-essential business closure order. Professional services that support essential businesses (including construction and essential infrastructure) may remain open. This executive order went into effect on March 25, 2020 and remains in effect until April 24, 2020.

CMAA NCC will keep an eye out for updates, so watch this space.

Our colleagues at the Associated General Contractors of America have gotten some quick reaction to the impact of COVID19 on the market. In a forty-eight-hour poll conducted by AGC earlier this month, approximately 900 responders noted that 28% had been asked to halt current work and 11% had been asked to halt future work. Firms also are experiencing delays on their projects related to shortages of materials/supplies (16%), difficulty finding craftworkers (11%), difficulty accessing government workers for approvals, etc. (18%) and infected personnel (8%). Short term negative impacts identified include reduced or missed payments by financially distressed owners, owners deferring or canceling payments and difficulties obtaining firm commitments. Positive impacts that have been experienced include new projects in the healthcare, manufacturing and lodging industries, and some price reductions for fuels and other commodities.

What have you observed?

Email us at [email protected]. We will share your stories here and on our website.

In its recent article, “COVID-19 will Fuel the Next Wave of Innovation” , Entrepreneur magazine chronicled the history of innovation in the wake of “black swan events”, such as the pandemic of the middle ages. It’s our opportunity and obligation to begin thinking about reinventing our business to make it more resilient for future contingencies. We will cover some innovations for our industry in a future newsletter. Until then, stay safe!