BCM Additional Labor Costs Due to Covid

The study looked at productivity data for more than 113,000 labor hours performed by mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors from January through May 2020 at commercial construction jobsites ranging from high rise apartments to K-12 school projects, government facilities, food and agricultural installations and hospital bed towers, as well as both new construction and retrofits. The data showed that taking precautions and performing fit-for- duty checks before contractors enter a jobsite resulted in an 8.7% productivity loss, while following protocols on the job, such as using personal protective equipment (PPE), maintaining social distance from other workers and making sure workspaces and tools are cleaned and disinfected, led to another 9.2% productivity decline. The report comes at a time when contractors and their subs are already feeling a pinch on profits due to the pandemic. In July, Sweden-based global construction giant Skanska posted a 69% decline in profits that it attributed to coronavirus-related disruptions while the Architectural Billings Index, a widely followed leading indicator of nonresidential construction activity, has seen sequential declines since April, signaling fewer projects to bid on. Many contractors and their subs have reported anecdotal evidence of productivity losses on jobsites, but the report provides data- based evidence supporting those claims and has ramifications for all sectors of the construction industry. Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Arlington, Virginia-based Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), said the report reflected what he’s seen among AGC members. “The results are consistent with what I would expect – there are multiple obstacles to maintaining productivity on a jobsite,”