The spread of COVID-19, stay-at-home orders, travel restrictions, recession, and protests of racism and police violence have made for a chaotic first half of 2020. While not the most affected of industries, the architecture/engineering/construction business has experienced significant disruptions. This has resulted in operational inefficiencies and project delays, forcing businesses to adapt to a new and hopefully short-lived “normal”.
In most of the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, the rate of new cases has declined, suggesting that the first wave of the pandemic is over. States and cities are relaxing, if not lifting stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions and allowing businesses to reopen with interim measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Richard J. Driscoll, Consulting Engineer (RJDCE) has strived to continue serving clients and ongoing projects during the COVID-19 crisis with minimal disruption. Most services, including consulting, engineering analysis and design were not interrupted. However, some delayed projects resumed in May, concurrent with a seasonal increase in workload. This resulted in scheduling challenges, especially for projects needing drafting and site visits, resulting in a backlog that should clear in the next few weeks.
Recently, RJDCE resumed providing routine site visits in New Hampshire and Vermont, implementing new measures to reduce the risk of virus transmission. As travel restrictions are relaxed, site visits can be scheduled in other states as well. For the time being, meetings will continue to be conducted online whenever possible.
While much of the United States is not through the first wave, many public health experts expect a second wave in the fall that could be more severe, especially if it occurs concurrently with cold and flu season. RJDCE will be preparing contingency plans to maintain continuity of operations for such an occurrence. In the meantime, RJDCE recommends scheduling assessments and other services requiring site visits during the summer month in case a second wave requires stay-at-home orders to be reinstated.
RJDCE thanks you for your support. Stay safe.