Various Types Of Contracts In A Building Construction Site
Over the last few months, COVID-19 has spared almost no industry. Construction, a line of work that's often cramped even in normal times, was no exception, and many non-essential construction sites around the country were forced to close.
This week, however, contractors in Pennsylvania, Washington, and New York are returning to job sites, joining states like Illinois, Texas, and California, where much construction work has continued uninterrupted. While the nature of the return to work varies on a state-by-state and even project-by-project basis, reporting so far suggests that resuming construction will mean new job site precautions and a widespread sense of uncertainty about what will happen once current work is finished.
According to the New York Times, about 5,200 job sites were back up and running during the week of April 27 across New York City's five boroughs. In addition to the widespread adoption of face masks, the installation of more hand-washing stations, and the routine disinfection of tools, even pre-work temperature checks have been instituted in many cases. Some sites have also introduced staggered start times and smaller group huddles to allow for greater social distancing, and workers have been encouraged to avoid congregating to the extent that their duties allow.
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In addition to those immediate changes, there are early signs that bigger modifications to the nature of construction projects could be in the works. The Times mentions Suffolk Construction Company's plans to introduce new motion-tracking technology that can attach to a hard hat, sounding an alarm when workers get within six feet of each other and collecting data that can help modify work site practices. Other construction companies seem to be rethinking their supply chains, considering how certain pieces can be prefabricated for installation elsewhere so that certain elements of construction won't require as many workers in close proximity.
The Times notes that contractors and labor groups in New York are also pushing for what would be the most visible (or at least audible) change to the nature of construction yet: a shift from the usual 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekday construction hours to a full 24-hour schedule (to be approved by the city on a case-by-case basis). They argue that this would allow certain projects to continue while requiring fewer workers on site at a given time, balancing safety with the ability to hit deadlines. However, a spokesperson for the mayor's office told the Times that such a policy change has yet to be formally discussed.
While construction jobs started before the pandemic have resumed in places like New York, some in the industry are pessimistic about the prospect of new projects kicking off. As the Wall Street Journal reports, some contractors predict the cancellation or at least significant postponement of new projects over the next year. This has less to do with job site concerns than the economic climate: With banks hesitant to issue loans and real estate developers unsure of what the market will do, the possibility of a building slump looms large.
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Source: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/construction-sites-around-the-country-are-beginning-to-reopen
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