Virtual Meetings<\/strong><\/h3>\nOne of the most prevalent changes during the pandemic was the use of video conferencing and collaboration tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. With offices shutdown and many office employees working remotely, contractors adopted these tools to keep connected with staff, partners and clients.
\nSeth Myers, executive vice pres\u00adident of marketing at Allan Myers, says these tools have become the norm for conferenc\u00ading. \u201cTraditional voice conference calls aren\u2019t the go-to anymore,\u201d he says.
\nStill, Myers says his company is trying to deter\u00admine when virtual meetings are the best option versus in-person meetings. He says the company still favors in-person interactions, but when travel is involved, virtual may make more sense. \u201cWe prefer to be together, but certain meetings require managers and field superintendents to come from hours away,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s a situation where we can use Zoom or Teams. It\u2019s an efficiency that I think will stick around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myers notes video conferencing is often more efficient because it keeps people more focused. \u201cThere\u2019s really no chitchat on Zoom,\u201d he says. \u201cIn-person banter can be good from a cultural stand\u00adpoint, but there are times when we just need to focus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lane Construction has also seen the benefits of using video confer\u00adencing in place of some in-person meetings, saving time and travel expenses for both the company and its employees. \u201cA key take\u00adaway for us was that before [the pandemic] employees did a lot of travel,\u201d says Lauralee Heckman, company spokesperson. \u201cWe real\u00adize there are meetings that can be done successfully virtually. We don\u2019t have to travel as much, and we\u2019re able to give our employees a little more time at home with their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Virtual meetings\u2014especially with employees who work remotely from home\u2014also changed some cultural aspects of the firm. When employees worked at home, most dressed casually. \u201cWe even had clients who would meet in baseball hats and T-shirts,\u201d she added. \u201cSince then, we\u2019ve definitely relaxed our dress code. We still look professional, but we\u2019re more relaxed about it. I think that generally speaking, it\u2019s made people feel more at ease and comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many firms found that video conferencing also served as a first step toward a broader and deeper engagement with technology. \u201cWe\u2019ve been forced to learn the extent of what these tools can do and now we\u2019re really rolling with it,\u201d Myers says. \u201cIt\u2019s inertia\u2014you just keep rolling, until you\u2019re forced to change direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Improved Technology Skills Onsite<\/h3>\n
A few years ago, Allan Myers equipped all of its field managers and superintendents with iPads. When the pandemic hit, those tools gained even greater importance. \u201cEveryone knows how to use Teams on their iPads now,\u201d says Meyers. \u201cThey know how to share files and where to go for documents. They know how to get real-time reporting on crew costs and job costing. We had already started the push toward use of Power BI and dashboards, but everyone has really leveled up their skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Internal Digital Communications<\/h3>\n
A few months before the pandemic forced shut\u00addowns, Allan Myers had also launched an internal social media app as a way to help stay better con\u00adnected with employees. At the time, about 75% of employees didn\u2019t have a company email address. \u201c[The app] gave us a direct connection with every employee to communicate daily and multiple times a day on updates on what\u2019s going on\u2014and it remains an integral piece of our communication strategy,\u201d Meyers recalls. \u201cThe pandemic has helped us up our internal communications to a level far beyond what it was before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greater Technology Adoption by Clients<\/h3>\n
Another important element in the move toward greater technology engagement during the pan\u00addemic was an increased level of adoption by clients, says Dan Smolilo, director of process and innovation at The Walsh Group. During the pandemic, Smolilo says the company leaned on field management tools like BlueBeam, Procore, PlanGrid and BIM 360 to better document field data and improve collabora\u00adtion with its partners. \u201cYou\u2019re seeing a real shift now with owners,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re now talking with cli\u00adents who are looking at doing digital twins. It\u2019s pretty exciting to see that they want this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drones and Reality Capture<\/h3>\n
Smolilo shares that the use of drones for photogrammetry has gained significant traction. He notes that drone technol\u00adogy has advanced rapidly in recent years while also becoming more affordable.<\/p>\n
On a current interchange project for PennDOT, where the scope involves cutting into a hillside, the owner requested regular communication on quanti\u00adties. \u201cWe use drones to take weekly site production photos,\u201d he says. \u201cTraditionally, by the time you\u2019d survey all of that, a week has gone by, but now we\u2019re able to leverage drones to do that quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
On another project near Indianapolis, the company is using a Lidar attachment on a drone to collect data faster than with traditional methods.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about reality capture\u2014being able to cap\u00adture the ongoing process and procedures to allow owners to be part of the conversation,\u201d he says. \u201cThey can see things, without being onsite or even stepping out of their bathrobe in their apartment, if they want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Health and Safety<\/h3>\n
Given concerns around infectious disease during the pandemic, companies also put a greater emphasis on its health and safety protocols. While COVID cases today are well below the winter peak, heightened awareness around health and hygiene remains, says Lauralee Heckman, spokesperson for Lane Construction. \u201cWhether you\u2019re working from home or the office or the jobsite, that [awareness] is ingrained in you,\u201d she says. \u201cThe clean\u00ading of our offices is definitely enhanced, and there are hand sanitizer stations that will remain everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Allan Myers jobsites, portable handwashing sta\u00adtions are standard and disinfecting wipes are now stock items, says Sandra Genter, the company\u2019s HSE director. \u201cWiping down equipment between shifts with different operators and workers is just good prac\u00adtice,\u201d she says. \u201cThat will stick around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Genter says managers and employees have generally changed their mindset around their own health as well as the health of their coworkers. \u201cPeople are more willing to ask, \u2018You look like you\u2019re not feeling well. What\u2019s going on?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cIn the past no one would ask that. Now it\u2019s at the forefront of people\u2019s minds. It\u2019s a more proactive approach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Virtual Training<\/h3>\n
During the pandemic, elements of the company\u2019s training programs also moved to a virtual environment. Instead of bringing large groups of workers together, the company may have an instructor teach a course virtually to smaller groups of employees in various locations. Each local session is proctored by an in-person health and safety professional. The company has used virtual learning for First Aid and CPR training as well as rigging.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor our previous rigging classes, we\u2019d load them up with 15 or 20 people,\u201d she says. \u201cWith these satellite sessions and smaller groups around the regions, we could still conduct that training with minimal gathering and transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article was published originally in The Civil Quarterly, 2021 Issue 3<\/a>. The Civil Quarterly is a free, quarterly publications that offers research, interviews and feature articles on trends transforming the civil construction sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":24865,"template":"","class_list":["post-4533","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBest Practices for Civil Construction to Emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic | Dodge Construction Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore essential best practices for civil construction to emerge stronger after the COVID-19 pandemic and adapt to new challenges.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.construction.com\/blog\/best-practices-for-civil-construction-to-emerge-from-the-covid-19-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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Roepke","author_link":"https:\/\/www.construction.com\/author\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Written by Dodge Data & Analytics on July 29, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic forced contractors to rethink policies, procedures and protocols to keep workers safe and to meet the requirements of cli\u00adents and health officials. With vaccinations helping to bring down COVID cases, workplaces are return\u00ading to what would have been considered \u201cnormal\u201d prior to...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.construction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/4533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.construction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.construction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.construction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.construction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}