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Early Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the United States Construction Industry

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Early Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the United States Construction Industry International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Article Early Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the United States Construction Industry Abdullah Alsharef 1,2,* , Siddharth Banerjee 1 , S M Jamil Uddin 1 , Alex Albert 1 and Edward Jaselskis 1 1 Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, 2501 Stinson Dr., Raleigh, NC 27607, USA; [email protected] (S.B.); [email protected] (S.M.J.U.); [email protected] (A.A.); [email protected] (E.J.) 2 Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 22452, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-517-402-5422 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has been the largest global health crisis in decades. Apart from the unprecedented number of deaths and hospitalizations, the pandemic has resulted in economic slowdowns, widespread business disruptions, and significant hardships. This study focused on investigating the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. construction industry since the declaration of the national emergency on 13 March 2020. The study objectives were achieved through 34 telephone interviews with project managers, engineers, designers, and superintendents that represented different states and distinct industry sectors in the United States (U.S.). The interviewees offered information on their experience with the pandemic, including the general and adverse effects experienced, new opportunities created, and risk management efforts being undertaken. The reported adverse effects included significant delays on projects, inability to secure materials on time, reduction in productivity rates, material price escalations, and others. The new opportunities that were created included projects involving the fast-track construction of medical facilities, construction Citation: Alsharef, A.; Banerjee, S.; of residential buildings, transportation-related work, and opportunities to recruit skilled workers. Uddin, SMJ.; Albert, A.; Jaselskis, E. The risk management measures that were widely adopted included measures to enhance safety and Early Impacts of the COVID-19 reduce other project risks. The safety measures adopted included requiring employees to wear cloth Pandemic on the United States face masks, adoption of social distancing protocols, staggering of construction operations, offering Construction Industry. Int. J. Environ. COVID-19-related training, administering temperature checks prior to entry into the workplace, and Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 1559. others. Measures to manage other project risks included the formation of a task force team to review https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041559 the evolving pandemic and offer recommendations, advocating that construction businesses be deemed essential to combat delays and taking advantage of government relief programs. The study Academic Editor: Michael McAleer findings will be useful to industry stakeholders interested in understanding the early impacts of the Received: 5 January 2021 Accepted: 3 February 2021 pandemic on the construction industry. Industry stakeholders may also build upon the reported Published: 6 February 2021 findings and establish best practices for continued safe and productive operations. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 risk; construction safety; occupational safety; lessons learned; with regard to jurisdictional claims in mitigation strategies; construction delays; construction productivity; worker safety; safety risk published maps and institutional affil- iations. 1. Introduction and Study Motivation The coronavirus disease also known as COVID-19 is caused by the virus named severe Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (i.e., SARS-CoV-2) [1]. The virus is confirmed Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. as being transmitted from human to human and results in symptoms including fever, This article is an open access article dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath [2]. Since the first cases were reported by the distributed under the terms and World Health Organization (WHO) on 31 December 2019, the virus has spread to over conditions of the Creative Commons 200 nations [1]. The WHO declared the crisis as first being a public health emergency of Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// international concern on 30 January 2020 [3]. Later, the crisis was declared as being a global creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ health pandemic on 11 March 2020 [4]. 4.0/). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 1559. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041559 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 1559 2 of 21 Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 1559 2 of 20 of international concern on 30 January 2020 [3]. Later, the crisis was declared as being a global health pandemic on 11 March 2020 [4]. Given the rapid spread in the U.S. following the first detected case in January, a na- Given the rapid spread in the U.S. following the first detected case in January, a tionalnational emergency emergency was was declared declared on on13 13March March 202 20200 [5]. [5 Since]. Since then, then, the the number number of of confirmed confirmed COVID-19COVID-19 cases cases in in the the U.S. U.S. has has continued to increaseincrease rapidly,rapidly, as as can can be be seen seen in in Figure Figure1[ 16 ]. [6].As As of 3of January 3 January 2020, 2020, over over 20 million20 million confirmed confirmed cases cases and and more more than than 350,000 350,000 deaths deaths had hadbeen been linked linked with with the COVID-19 the COVID-19 pandemic pandemic in the U.S.in the [6]. U.S. Not [6]. surprisingly, Not surprisingly, the COVID-19 the COVID-19pandemic pandemic was identified was identified as the leading as the cause leading of death cause in of the death U.S. in in the 2020 U.S. [7]. in 2020 [7]. Figure 1. Daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. between March and July 2020 Figure(i.e., early 1. Daily impacts) number as reportedof confirmed by the COVID-19 COVID Tracking cases in the Project U.S. [ 6between]. March and July 2020 (i.e., early impacts) as reported by the COVID Tracking Project [6]. Apart from the widespread health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a nationwideApart from economic the widespread downturn. health In fact, crisis, the National the COVID-19 Bureau ofpandemic Economic has Research resulted (NBER) in a nationwideannounced economic that the U.S. downturn. entered a recessionIn fact, th phasee National in February—and Bureau of calledEconomic it the COVID-19Research (NBER)recession announced [8,9]. Because that the of theU.S. economic entered a downturn, recession phase the U.S. in February—and has experienced called record-high it the COVID-19unemployment recession rates. [8,9]. More Because specifically, of the ec fromonomic an unemploymentdownturn, the U.S. rate has of aboutexperienced 3.8% in record-highFebruary 2020, unemployment the unemployment rates. More rate specific peakedally, at roughlyfrom an unemployment 14.7% in April 2020 rate [of10 about]. This 3.8%corresponds in February to over2020, 23 the million unemployment individuals rate in peaked the U.S. at being roughly unemployed—far 14.7% in April 2020 exceeding [10]. Thisthe corresponds numbers experienced to over 23 at million any time individuals during the in Great the U.S. Recession being unemployed—far (i.e., 2007 to 2009) ex- [10]. ceedingThe high the unemployment numbers experienced rates resulted at any from time the during massive the shrinkage Great Recession in demand (i.e., that 2007 has dev-to 2009)astated [10]. industries The high includingunemployment airlines, rates restaurants, resulted from manufacturing, the massive and shrinkage retail [11 in– 13demand]. These thatunemployment has devastated rates industries have resulted including in much airlines, financial restaurants, distress amongmanufacturing, citizens; particularlyand retail [11–13].among These lower-income unemployment individuals rates and have those resulted that were in much unable financial to continue distress work among [14]. citi- zens; particularlyLike the other among industries, lower-income the construction individuals industry and those has alsothat beenwere impactedunable to bycon- the tinuepandemic work [14]. in a number of ways. For example, like other industries, the number of construc- tionLike jobs the available other reducedindustries, following the construction the pandemic industry onset—with has also the been lower impacted number by of the jobs pandemicreported in Aprila number 2020, of as ways. shown For in Figureexample,2[ 15like]. Theseother industries, job losses are the partly number attributable of con- structionto interruptions jobs available in work reduced following following work-related the pandemic restrictions onset—with that were the imposed lower number to curb ofthe jobs virus reported spread, in shortage April 2020, in personal as shown protective in Figure equipment 2 [15]. These (PPE) job as losses it was are prioritized partly at- for tributablehealthcare to workers,interruptions andwidespread in work following market work-related uncertainty. Inrestrictions addition, severalthat were construction imposed toprojects curb the were virus delayed spread, and shortage suspended; in personal particularly protective in the equipment oil and gas (PPE) sector as (e.g., it was West prior- Loop itizedGas Pipeline,for healthcare Liberty workers, Pipeline, and etc.),
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