While many Americans have embraced a slower pace of life brought on by COVID-19, work has forged ahead with some businesses observing peak-level demand for essential industries like construction. But construction sites have not been immune to the feelings of uncertainty plaguing the nation and globe, requiring contractors to rapidly innovate traditional ways of planning and working to keep teammates and trade partners safe.

In March, Balfour Beatty immediately mobilized action plans based on Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and local, state and federal ordinances. With the evolving nature of the coronavirus and unique needs of individual projects, its teams remained agile in adopting the most up-to-date recommendations.

When it comes to zero harm, however, Balfour Beatty teams are never content to simply check the box. Leading the industry, Balfour Beatty has fostered a culture that goes beyond procedures to become a people-first call to action: a jobsite of choice. The company defines this as environments where its trade partners feel safe and supported, its clients can be confident that work is being executed safely and productively, and its communities can depend to support the greater public good.

To create a jobsite of choice, Balfour Beatty turned to its most important asset—its people. On jobsites across the country, operations teammates tested and implemented cleaning, screening, distancing and digital solutions that, where successful and practical, are being scaled across the business thanks to an intentional focus on knowledge sharing in support of continuous improvement.

Keeping Jobsites Clean

Balfour Beatty prioritizes housekeeping on every jobsite, but in the wake of COVID-19, cleaning and disinfecting high touch areas, materials and equipment have become paramount.

At a time when safety and sanitation supplies are in high demand, Balfour Beatty’s in-house national strategic procurement team has leveraged the deep partnerships it maintains with more than 40 vendors to provide its more than 1,000 active project sites around the country with ample cleaning supplies. Additionally, Balfour Beatty developed a COVID-19 supply index that provides up-to-date prices and availability of key materials and commodities.

Effective Screening Measures

Screening for high temperatures is an important step to stop the spread of COVID-19. On large jobsites, the number of personnel can climb in the hundreds, making efficiency key to enabling work to begin sooner.

Its Charlotte, N.C., teammates solved that dilemma by building mobile screening carts. Using Hikvision Thermographic Temperature Screening Bullet Cameras, these carts allow for rapid temperature readings and serve as a central hub for the distribution of signage, hand sanitizer and wristbands signifying a person is cleared to work. The mobile nature provides teams with greater agility, as access points may evolve over project lifecycles. In addition to its mobile benefits, this technology can scan multiple individuals entering a jobsite simultaneously versus one-by-one, which dramatically reduces screening times.

Similarly, Texas teammates deployed a thermal imaging system, Seek Scan, which is designed to automate body temperature screening from a distance. As on-site personnel enter jobsites through connexes, a camera focuses on eye sockets to take temperatures.

Balfour Beatty’s screening strategies are deeply rooted in its people-first philosophy, extending beyond data capture to focus on the overall health and well-being of each valued member of the supply chain. Equipment checks and huddles are often a starting point for Balfour Beatty superintendents and other on-site personnel to connect with tradespersons, genuinely addressing their needs and welfare.

Maximizing Digital Solutions to Maintain Physical Distancing

From hanging sheetrock to setting windows and performing trench work, many common construction activities require workers to labor in close quarters. Balfour Beatty has leveraged existing and new digital technologies to achieve safer distances.

In California, its team developed a QR code that links to important jobsite materials, including Balfour Beatty’s Zero Harm safety video, jobsite orientation documents, logistics plans and more. This technology eliminates the need to distribute high touch materials in group settings.

Its PennFIRST team in Philadelphia is leveraging cutting-edge Triax Proximity Trace technology. This technology compliments existing COVID-19 suppression measures by alerting workers in real-time when they are too close in range. It also provides for proximity back-tracing in the event someone on the jobsite tests positive for COVID-19.

Recognizing the importance of continuing lean planning practices in the era of physical distancing, Texas teammates developed a digital post-it planning tool in Bluebeam that replicates the visual planning teams are accustomed to performing in the field using post-it notes (often with multiple people gathered in small jobsite trailers). The efficiencies of this and other digital planning solutions extend beyond the planning process to include reduced travel time and reduced effort updating lookaheads and schedules.

Additionally, the team has implemented tools like Vuzix smart glasses and OpenSpace hardhat-mounted 360° cameras that allow safe, virtual and hands-free jobsite walkthroughs for multiple project partners. While both technologies reduce the number of people on-site, Vuzix’s livestreaming capabilities allow jobsite teams to address issues immediately on the tour. With cloud storage, OpenSpace provides teams with an entire project history in one organized location.

While digitization efforts have been essential, existing technologies have also been infused with a new purpose. In the Northwest, teams have used Door Jak, a door installation cart that allows one worker to safely and easily transport and install a variety of doors. As an added benefit, this device reduces the risk of lifting and straining injuries.

Shifting Industry Dynamics

Before contending with the impacts of COVID-19, the construction industry was facing a skilled labor shortage of impending crisis proportions. Seizing the opportunity for growth through times of change and challenge, Balfour Beatty is prioritizing a jobsite of choice that attracts top talent and empowers that talent to effectively deliver on performance and safety goals. By identifying, sharing and leveraging best practices faster, Balfour Beatty is building resilience for the future and ensuring it not only emerges stronger from the crisis but also plays a leading role in creating a people-first “new norma;” for the industry at large.