Effects of COVID-19 on the Construction Industry
How COVID-19 Impacts the Construction Industry
Tips to protect the wellbeing of workers and keep projects moving
The construction industry is particularly feeling the impact of the coronavirus outbreak because workers are unable to work from home and must be onsite to do their jobs. While we may not be on the frontlines of fighting the pandemic, there are many practices we can embrace to help reduce the spread of the virus, the seasonal flu, and other respiratory illnesses. First, we want to share some of the ways we’re seeing the coronavirus impact our industry. We then explore how we can help keep worker healthy, stay connected, and adapt our work to changing circumstances.
Coronavirus Impact on the Construction Industry
Some of the impacts we’re seeing include delays of materials from outside the country as well as concerns that delays from US suppliers may be next. In response, general contractors are securing materials domestically and getting them to sites as quickly as possible. Building departments in some areas are beginning to close, which could bring permitting and inspections to a halt. There is a risk that some contractors and subcontractors may suspend operations. With all these uncertainties, we know project timelines may be impacted and are working closely with our teams to create recovery plans.
Taking care of our people is incredibly important to us at The Bridge Group. As construction continues on many projects, we've compiled some measures we can take to help keep everyone healthy and safe. This applies to workers general contractors and sub-contractors on-site and employees in the workplace.
Tips for Staying Healthy and Connected
Healthy Practices on Site
1. Ask general contractors to install additional hand-washing stations at construction sites.
2. Encourage workers to stay home if they feel sick and remind them to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then immediately discarding the tissue in the trash.
3. Ask general contractors to implement social distancing, with employees working at least six feet apart when it is safe to do so.
4. Post notices or posters at worksites reminding employees how they can protect themselves and others from respiratory illnesses. Notices can include reminders to wash hands frequently or use hand sanitizer; to work at least 6 feet apart when safely possible, and to stay home when sick. The CDC offers printable materials online.
5. Wipe down frequently-touched surfaces, such as door handles, bathrooms, railings, kitchen areas, and shared tools and machinery. Provide disinfecting wipes on-site.
Stay Connected and Adjust Project Timelines
1. Stay in close contact with general contractors to understand their concerns about employee health.
2. Discuss timeline implications with project stakeholders if construction slows, and work closely with them on the development of recovery plans. If construction comes to a halt, use the time to plan so the schedule impact can be minimized once construction picks up again.
3. As teams try to reduce travel and follow the shelter in place, we can use technology to communicate and collaborate. Facetime and photography allow architects and stakeholders to monitor progress and reduce concerns of remediation measures later on. We can eliminate in-person meetings by taking advantage of video conferencing and team collaboration tools. Apps and cloud-based tools like Zoom, Google Suite, Trello, Asana, Slack, Jira and Microsoft Teams are all ideal.
In these unprecedented times, we’re all learning how we can continue to safely work together, whether in an office, at home, or on a construction site. We’d love to hear your ideas. How have you seen the coronavirus affect the construction industry or impacted your client projects? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
A project management firm's advice for an effective open-office strategy
A Project Management Firm's Advice for an effective open-office strategy
Successful workplaces to harmonize productivity and collaboration
The open-plan office continues to be popular for companies seeking a leaner, more mobile work environment. At the same time, critics cite excessive noise levels and lack of privacy as major concerns for open-plan spaces.
But a new report suggests that successful open-plan offices are all about thoughtful design. In other words, planning every last square foot matters, and companies who want happy, productive employees should think carefully about how their employees will best use the space.
Along with her design team, Stephanie Hamilton, a Senior Project Manager at The Bridge Group, recently completed an open-plan office design for a Silicon Valley medical services company. Here, she shares a few ideas that enable collaboration, concentration, and privacy.
1. Work Lounges
Sit-down work lounges can help organizations optimize their real estate by delivering a high-performance workspace in a more compact footprint.
The design team suggested Steelcase’s Brody WorkLounge seating solution, which provides more privacy in open layouts and incorporates ergonomics for the user into its overall design. However, a Herman Miller product was implemented for the client instead. The team arranged these lounges around the office window’s perimeter so employees could enjoy outdoor views, designate heads-down space and truly focus on their work without interruption.
Consider placing similar solutions around window areas to embrace biophilic design and bring a sense of privacy to employees.
2. Huddle Rooms
During Stephanie’s project, the client’s HR and engineering departments expressed a need for heads-down work, privacy, and the ability to take video conferencing calls in the same space.
Huddle rooms, which hold between two to four people and incorporate video conferencing technology, provided the ideal solution. This setup was especially important for HR, who needed additional privacy frequently to talk about confidential matters.
We recommend introducing a reservation system for these rooms so that employees can sign up in advance to use the video features. Since these spaces are also ideal for holding interviews, consider placing a couple near reception and a few in the middle of an office’s floor plan.
3. Benching Solutions
For benching solutions, the client needed something as modular as possible to fit many different teams, individuals, working styles, and tasks.
Stephanie and her design team recommended Herman Miller’s Canvas Channel workstations for their needs. It's a freestanding structure with height-adjustable desks and clean, simple boundaries between workstations. They also proposed and implemented mobile whiteboards and automated panels to configure workstations around the office.
For your own workspace, consider the different working styles at your company and how these modular benching solutions can accommodate those needs.
4. Phone Booths
One-man phone booths were another invaluable addition to the client’s office when it came to addressing privacy needs. The single phone booths, also from Herman Miller, provided a place for all of the client’s employees to step away from the noise to make private phone calls.
Some offices require larger solutions than a one-person booth can provide. In this case, similar solutions such as One Workplace’s Architectural Solutions, integrate acoustics, air circulation, removable roof panels, and lighting and power sockets into pod-like spaces around the office.
Companies planning open offices should consider some of these options for their designs. And since there are more products and solutions on the market than any Facility Manager could possibly sift through, it can help the process along to have an experienced PM assist you.
Ready to start designing your open office workplace but need guidance on privacy and collaborative work solutions? Reach out today for solutions tailored to your company’s needs.
Designing a multi-generational workplace? Here's what you need to know
Designing a multi-generational workplace? Here's what you need to know
Why every generation of employee needs something different at work
Employees in America today are more age diverse than ever before. Many older generations, including baby boomers and traditionalists, are staying in the workforce past the typical age of retirement. Meanwhile, the 61 million members of Gen Z are preparing to look for employment in the coming years, and, by 2025, millennials will make up the majority of the workforce.
Planning spaces that accommodate the needs of a diverse group of employees can be challenging, which is why we created this guide detailing what each generation needs from their workspace. Here are the five generations of employees in the workforce today and how you can design spaces to meet their needs and wants.
Traditionalists (1922 - 1945)
Although the youngest members of this generation turn 76 this year, a few members are still in the workforce. None of them grew up with technology, or worked with it for most of their careers, so accommodations may be needed to help them adapt. Many of them remain in senior positions in law, accounting, healthcare, and architecture and engineering, and some have taken administrative roles to keep busy after retirement.
Although this generation may not be working for much longer, their experience growing up after the great depression and World Wars has made them a loyal, hardworking asset. By making changes at the office to meet their needs as they age, they’ll return the favor by staying loyal to your organization.
Baby Boomers (1946 - 1964)
Members of this generation are usually defined as goal-oriented and independent, qualities that have propelled them into upper management positions. They tend to thrive on familiarity and routine, meaning that the changes caused by an office redesign could be disruptive for them.
They grew up in an era when everyone got their own private office (or, at the very least, a private cubicle), but usually enjoy collaborative workspaces.
Gen X (1965 - 1980)
This generation is a mix of folks who are comfortable with technology and folks who are not— they didn’t grow up with it like many millennials did, but they have also had time in the workforce to adapt and learn.
They value the opportunity to work independently (in fact, 41% describe themselves as entrepreneurs) but also appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with generations above and below them. Creating spaces like communal kitchens is a good way to draw them out and allow them to socialize on their own terms.
Generations X also appreciates the work-life balance lifestyle so consider offering telecommuting options for this group.
Gen Y/Millennials (1981 - 1996)
Generation Y is the first generation of “digital natives,” where most members of this generation grew up with a personal computer in their home. As a result, they embrace the use of new technology in the workplace, including features that allow them to work from anywhere like power adapters and wifi in outdoor spaces.
They expect a modern workplace, and are eco-conscious and appreciate biophilic design and sustainable features in the workplace, including opportunities to recycle and compost.
Gen Z (1997 - 2012)
For many designers, Generation Z (or post-millennials) is the most unknowable generation. According to the US Labor Department, they are expected to make up at least 25% of the US workforce by 2020. The youngest members are still relatively new to the workforce, and we’re watching as they demonstrate an increased need for work-life balance and workplace wellness. Incorporate elements like in-house gyms or rock climbing areas so they have options for physical activity throughout the day, and consider integrating objects like sit-stand desks and ergonomic furniture to show you care about this generation’s need to stay well while at work.
Furthermore, members of this generation don’t remember a time before the internet — they’re true digital natives, and feel most at home in a workspace with ample technology. They want to collaborate face-to-face as well as online, so consider using team communication software like Slack or Microsoft Teams.
In addition to wanting virtual workspaces, they also desire opportunities to work more independently and tend to shy away from open office concepts. Help them feel more at home by providing break out rooms and spaces for quiet reflection.
Workplace wellness office design strategies — part II
Workplace Wellness Office
Design Strategies— part II
Why physical activity and exposure to nature is key for employee happiness
As you probably already know from part one of our series on designing for employee health, office design can have a significant impact on your employee’s wellbeing and productivity. Whether you’re moving into a new office or constructing your first corporate campus, your entire team should be thinking about how your employees will inhabit every space— and, in turn, the impact that these spaces will have on their mental and physical health.
In collaboration with our partner Two Furnish, we came up with four approaches we’ve deployed to help our clients design locations that help employees stay fit while they’re at work.
Think Critically About Services Placement
For example, one of our tech clients in Los Angeles placed a staircase in the middle of the floorplan instead of on the perimeter. When staircases are accessible and centrally located, employees are more likely to take the stairs instead of an elevator.
As you work with an architect to design the floor plan of your new office, pause to think about how employees will travel through the space. How can you organize services (such as bathrooms, kitchens, and elevators) in a way that will encourage employees to move?
Take Advantage Of The Outdoors
Walking meetings are all the rage today— they help employees gain more energy and reap all the benefits of increased physical activity, like lower healthcare costs and a reduced number of sick days.
Creating outdoor spaces like gardens, a track, or hiking trails will give your employees a big push to take their meetings outdoors when the weather permits. Offering umbrellas that anyone can take when they head out for a walk is another way to encourage them to think of the outdoors as another workspace.
Microsoft’s campus in Seattle, which is pedestrian friendly includes walking paths just for recreation, does an excellent job of creating space for outdoor work and leisure. Nearby forest trails provide additional options for employees wanting to get away from their desks and enjoy some fresh air.
In 2017, the technology company created a treehouse outfitted with power outlets and wifi for use as a meeting space or outdoor workstation. Their intention was to foster a greater connection between their employees and the outdoors, which has been shown to boost creativity and wellbeing.
If building your own outdoor paradise isn’t in the budget, consider looking for an office adjacent to a public park, beach, or recreation site. If you’re seeking space in the financial district where outdoor space may be limited, consider a building with a public open space such as a rooftop garden.
Incorporate Ergonomic Furniture
70% of all full-time workers in the U.S. hate sitting, but they’re often stuck glued to their task chairs day in and day out. Long periods at a desk combined with poor posture can also lead to back pain, which can contribute to increased rates of absenteeism.
Offer your staff a variety of ways they can work outside of the standard office chair. This could be sit-to-stand desks, modular furniture, foam mats to make standing more comfortable, configurable tables with casters, or yoga balls. By giving employees the gift of choice, they’ll be encouraged to move into whatever position is most comfortable for them throughout the day.
“Nearly 85% of the offices we’re actively engaged on consider height adjustable resident desks,” said Brian Buhl, Partner at Two Furnish. “It goes beyond being fad; it’s a tool amongst the extensive list of amenities and incentives that companies are advocating for. These desks in addition to a diverse mix of ancillary vignettes inspire a degree of user-based autonomy leaving it up employees to determine which posture and environment is seemingly most productive to work in on-demand.”
Create Rooms / Spaces Dedicated to Wellness
Finally, give employees space they can use to move their body and relax their mind. The workout they get from a game of ping pong, a brief yoga session, or a workout in an on-site gym can provide quick stress relief.
And don’t be afraid to think outside the box: not all fitness is physical. Two Furnish worked with Kelly Robinson who co-designed medication pods with Headspace, creating a place where employees could step away for a moment of calm as our main featured photo. The “Lookout” also serves as a communal space adjacent to a large café and auditorium integrating a multipurpose room for a few minutes of repose.
These are just a few of the many ways you can use design to help your employees feel better both during their time at the office and when they get home at the end of the day. When you’re ready to think about how your office space contributes to employee health, we’re here to help. Reach out to us for a free consultation.
Special thanks to our contributor: Brian Buhl, Partner at Two Furnish