In construction, there are schedules, and plans for safety, site logistics, project execution, etc. But even with all the planning, things won’t always go perfectly. Something will inevitably change or go awry. So, you learn to improvise and adjust, knowing there’s always a wrench incoming from somewhere. It’s just the nature of construction.
Maybe these project unpredictabilities have been training us for something like this all along. When the pandemic hit, we had to adapt to a new normal rapidly. COVID-19 forced us to make sudden and drastic changes to how we operate almost overnight. The comfort found in our daily routines now gone. Like many of you, we were catapulted into the middle of a pandemic with no time to prepare.
Construction is a hands-on and collaborative industry. It requires a lot of interaction in the office and out in the field. And, during this pandemic, construction in California is considered an essential service. “We want our team to know we recognize the challenges they’re facing every day, and sincerely appreciate them,” said Dominick Ranalli, President, and CEO of LCS. “We couldn’t be more proud of them.” But what’s impactful for our organization is that most of our clients are also providing essential services. Our clients have facility needs and their ability to continue manufacturing medical devices, create therapies, and provide critical medical testing is extremely important.
Protecting our Front-Line Field Crews
These times are especially challenging for our field crews. Safely performing work when faced with serious health risks and social distancing requirements is concerning and difficult. So, we made special adjustments to accommodate them. We increased their hourly pay rate. We provide additional personal protective equipment (PPE), and cleaning and disinfecting supplies to support newly implemented job site cleaning standards. We monitor inventory and deliver supplies to our job sites, so our field crews don’t have to worry about it, and we’ll continue policies and procedures as long as this pandemic continues.
Keeping our Office Team Connected and Productive
Our office staff is adjusting to and following “Stay at Home” orders, but we had to recognize that office visits are necessary at times. We made accommodations by creating a rotating schedule to allow for office visits during “assigned times.” It’s worked well and gives our personnel confidence that they can safely take care of critical tasks associated with construction projects.
We are utilizing resources that make it possible to stay connected with our team and our clients. MS Teams is a fantastic tool that allows us to collaborate on video conferences, group chat, and share documents with one program. Trello allows for team collaboration and tracking progress on specific tasks and projects. Zoom has worked great for both formal and informal meetings. We’ve enjoyed the ability to “get-together” via video to keep our spirits up, share what we’re doing outside of work to keep busy and stay healthy, and even meet each other’s family members and pets.
We’ve always said our clients do great things, and in the case of this pandemic, they truly are. The work we do to build and renovate facilities for our clients allows them to continue their important work. We will continue providing them peace of mind while following COVID-19 safety guidelines from home and out on our job sites.