ACPA Concrete Pavement Progress Quarter 3 2020

www.acpa.org Quarter 3, 2020 17 2 0 2 0 P A N D E M I C Video Conferences Became Commonplace One of the most obvious changes in the way business was conducted in spring and summer of 2020 was the reliance on video conference platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. “We used Microsoft Teams to hold weekly meetings with everyone involved on each project,” says Steve Friess, manager of the Concrete Ops Division at Mile- stone Contractor. “Teams has opened up our ability to include everyone in a meeting, in fact, I could never have traveled to every in-person project meeting but I can attend every meeting via Teams.” In fact, Friess admits that there have been times that he “sat” in on two meetings at one time—one on his laptop and another on his iPad. Videoconferencing technology is one tool ad- opted during the pandemic that is here to stay, predicts Friess. Although in-person meetings will resume for some tasks, the benefits of vid- eoconference weeklymeetings include participa- tion by a greater number of people, reduction in time and cost of travel, and the opportunity to develop new skills associated with organizing and leading effective meetings. The mandate for employees to work from home if possible was also eye-opening, says Frank D. Surianello, P.E., president of Surianello General Concrete Contractors. Although his company had been moving toward some employees work- ing fromhome, having the majority of the office work remotely demonstrated the approach as a viable option for the company. “Although many people say they miss the camaraderie and fellowship of seeing each other in person, this experience demonstrated that we don’t need a central office,” he says. “Contractors who choose to de-centralize their officesmay need to invest in technology to ensure everyone has reliable access to information needed to their jobs,” he adds. Embracing new technology is not easy for many contractors, but Shannon Walcott, senior sales executive at BASYS, says that many of her clients in the construction industry are looking at tech- nology that can keep their employees safe and healthy, such as phone apps that alert you if you are closer than six feet to someone else. “People are also looking closely at how they invoice and how they accept payments—relying on technol- ogy to limit person-to-person contact,” she says. “Overall, companies that embrace technologywill be able to run their businesses more efficiently,” says Walcott. “This not only includes remote working but also the use of drone technology for inspections and progress updates, or virtual reality technology to double check specifications.” “Overall, companies that embrace technology will be able to run their businesses more efficiently.” continues on page 18 »