The very latest developments on the contractor front

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) represents more than 27,000 construction firms across the United States. Most, if not all, of these have been directly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Portable Plants caught up with Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives at AGC, for an exclusive update on how the coronavirus is impacting AGC, its members and the construction industry as a whole.

What are you hearing from your association members? What are some of their concerns during this coronavirus pandemic?

They’re reporting an increasing percentage of their projects are being impacted by supply chain problems. So maybe they’re running, but the manufacturer isn’t running or the manufacturer can’t get their goods shipped because all the truckers are desperately hauling toilet paper around the country.

There are some markets where subcontractors aren’t showing up because they don’t have enough personal protective equipment, so they’re not sending crews out to a jobsite. In some places, construction is being held up because the local permitting inspection departments are not sending people out to do the permitting inspection, even though construction has been identified as ‘essential’ by the federal guidelines.

A month ago, we went from where the industry was probably the busiest it’s been in anyone’s memory to a period where there are a lot of factors that are quickly grinding construction to a halt in many projects around the country. As a result, it’s going to be hard for firms to keep the staff they have if more projects keep getting canceled. We’re likely to see job losses in the construction industry, if not significant job losses, depending how long this pause in economic activity continues.

As this coronavirus pandemic unfolds, how has this impacted your members’ views or expectations for the construction and portable equipment industries in 2020?

We released an outlook at the end of December [2019] that was the most positive we’ve seen our members since we started tracking their outlooks about 11 years ago. [But now] it’s just too early to tell.

Our members are dealing with the ‘crisis of the inbox’ right now, and we’ve not had a chance to survey them or to gauge what impact the coronavirus is having on their broader outlook. It’s safe to assume it’s far more pessimistic than it was three months ago, but we’ve not actually quantified that. At some point we’ll look at that, maybe this summer, but right now we’re busy trying to gauge the immediate impacts of the coronavirus on operations.

From your perspective with AGC, how is this pandemic impacting your day-to-day work?

Like a lot of parts of the country, we’re in a stay-at-home order that’s actually enforceable in the District (of Columbia) and Maryland. In Virginia, there’s a stay-at-home order that’s not enforceable by fines, but it’s still pretty clear that people in positions that work in offices by-and-large should be telecommuting.

But, obviously, for most parts of the country, construction is deemed essential, largely because the federal Department of Homeland Security deems construction activity as one area that’s critical for economic activity and infrastructure support. So while we as an association are working by-and-large remotely because we’re required to, many of our members have had to change the way they do business, to put in place stronger safety protections to protect their workers from coronavirus and help avoid the spreading of coronavirus to the general public.

What are some of those specific heightened safety practices?

Well, obviously, social distancing is a key part of it, so firms are requiring their workers to be at least six feet apart. There are a few tasks that you can’t do while six feet apart, so in that case they’re getting personal masks and face shields so they can be protected in close proximity.

They’re staggering lunch breaks so you don’t get a large concentration of people on break at the same time and tempted to eat close together, especially when jobsites are tight in terms of space for eating. They’re changing the way they run carpools from parking lots to jobsites so that people are socially distanced within the cars and all the windows are open so it’s properly ventilated.

They’ve limited capacity on construction elevators to 25 percent. They’re frequently washing high-top surfaces and they’re making sure that the craftspeople aren’t sharing tools. They also continue to insist that craftspeople wear personal protective equipment, including gloves and, when necessary, masks and face shields. They’ve also set up extra handwashing stations and are providing wet wipes and hand [sanitizer] gel for workers to use.

A good number of firms are also putting into place health screenings at the access point to their jobsites. They’re taking workers’ temperatures and making sure they have no symptoms before letting them on the jobsite.

You mentioned the Washington, D.C., and Virginia area specifically. There’s been some talk of Virginia extending shelter-in-place orders through early June. How would that impact contractors in the region?

That’s correct. They actually announced a shelter-in-place order through early June. Before then, it had been guidance, and this became a shelter-in-place order that was put in place through June [4]. There are a few jurisdictions, at least in this area, that have already announced they’re not going to have onsite school for the rest of the school year. Most of the other jurisdictions are still tentatively scheduled to have students return, potentially as early as May.

The federal government has issued guidance to state and local officials that they consider construction essential. But ultimately, it’s the state  and, in some cases, local officials who make that decision.

In most parts of the country, construction is deemed essential. There are a few exceptions, like Boston and Cambridge, Massachussetts, and much of the state of Pennsylvania. In California and Washington state, they’re limiting construction to a narrow definition of what those local officials consider to be essential. For example, in San Francisco, they’re letting people build the infrastructure [for] health care facilities and affordable housing, but not other types of construction.

From your perspective, is this an ideal time for a lot of these construction projects – roadbuilding, for example – to be ongoing since there’s not as much traffic on the roads?

Looking at road traffic or highway construction, as long as the contractor can operate safely in a way that protects their workers and the public from the spread of coronavirus, absolutely. It’s a great time to get work done because of the lighter traffic.

We’re hearing that some state DOTs (Departments of Transportation) have actually accelerated their work schedules because traffic jams have essentially gone away. It’s been a hundred years since we’ve done something like this, so none of us are used to it.

From speaking with your members, have you heard any inspirational stories of how they’re dealing with the coronavirus?

A large number of firms are taking the limited stockpiles of personal protective equipment they have and donating them to local health care providers. By doing so, they’re essentially taking themselves out of work, but they’re doing it because they are committed to supporting their local doctors, nurses and EMS workers as they work to battle the coronavirus. That’s pretty inspiring.

We’ve just seen a lot of firms that are working with partners like law firms and insurance companies to find ways to source disinfectant and hand gel so they can keep their own workers safe.

We’re Americans. This is what we do. We help each other in times of crisis. We’re in a national crisis that is the equivalent of a nationwide hurricane, and everyone is chipping in to do their part, whether it’s contributing to slowing the spread of the coronavirus, whether it’s continuing to work on essential economic activities, or whether it’s supporting first responders and health care providers or each other.

Is there anything else in regards to how AGC is going about business in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic?

Even though we’re working from home, we are doing everything we can to make sure our members understand what’s going on with the coronavirus – or have an opportunity to engage and shape the measures that are coming out of Washington that are designed to provide a lifeline as contractors weather the storm, and keeping them informed of what we expect will happen next.

At the same time, we’ve been very busy walking members through legal, contractual, insurance and safety matters that they need to understand. We’ve had thousands of members participate in an eight-part webinar we’ve put together with some leading authorities on a host of topics to walk them through what they need to know to be able to survive the economic impacts of the pandemic. Our members need us now more than ever, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure we’re there for them.

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For additional Portable Plants coverage related to the coronavirus, visit our dedicated webpage.