KEEPING CONSTRUCTION personnel safe on-site during the COVID-19 pandemic is serious business. From safety guidelines to make transmission of the virus less likely to technology that enables heightened remote monitoring and site review, companies are working to ensure that construction sites remain safe as work continues or shuts down. On March 25, the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) published guidance documents for construction employers and
COMPARED WITH EMPLOYEES in other professions, ASCE members have fewer concerns regarding the short- and long-term viability of their companies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a recent survey commissioned by the Society and other organizations. And fewer civil engineering firms have had to let go of employees than other types of companies in the survey. Overall, the survey
DURING WHAT MIGHT turn out to have been the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, several engineering firms told Civil Engineering magazine that all, or nearly all, of their employees were working from home, relying on computer screens, internet connections, and other technology to stay in touch with one another and keep servicing their clients. Added to that anecdotal data are the results of a survey
ON APRIL 1, Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland announced that despite the COVID-19 outbreak, a portion of the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge’s current rehabilitation project finished ahead of schedule. The dual-span bridge, which crosses the Chesapeake Bay and connects Maryland’s Eastern Shore to the western part of the state, is commonly referred to as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Like many construction projects in
THE FULL IMPACT of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry will not be known for many years. Yet it is already clear that many construction projects are experiencing partial delays or full stoppages as the pandemic spreads across the globe. In North America, associations and companies have organized surveys and created tools to help the AEC industry better understand
A NONPROFIT COALITION of architects, engineers, doctors, and other experts has launched a method for turning freight shipping containers into intensive care units (ICUs) to treat patients with COVID-19. Called CURAs (connected units for respiratory ailments), the pods are as easy to set up as medical tents but provide the added protection of negative air pressure, according to a March press release issued by Carlo
FACED WITH THE PROSPECT that regulated entities might have trouble complying with certain regulatory requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released temporary guidance in late March stating how it intended to handle noncompliance during this time, noting that, among other things, it would not seek civil penalties for most routine violations. Environmental groups immediately criticized the move, contending that it
AFTER COVID-19 took hold in Wuhan, China, leading to a lockdown of the city of 11 million on January 23, Chinese officials made headlines by announcing that the country had built two hospitals with a total of roughly 2,300 beds in less than two weeks. The prospect of something similar playing out in the United States seemed far-fetched. But in March the epicenter of the
AS COVID-19 SPREAD across the world and state and local governments closed down businesses to encourage social distancing, engineering firms faced two challenges: keeping their employees safe and continuing to work for their clients—many of whose projects were deemed essential. The solution was simple: have everyone work from home. But the execution was complex. Combining longstanding processes with new measures meant ensuring that everyone had
LOOKING TO BOOST the sagging fortunes of three U.S. infrastructure sectors hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Trump administration provided billions in new federal funding for transit, passenger rail, and airports as part of legislation finalized in late March to offer economic relief in the wake of the pandemic. Signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, the $2-trillion Coronavirus
