GBCA has worked hard since COVID-19 response began in March 2020, working with industry partners to produce safety protocols that would keep Philadelphia’s commercial construction industry working and safe. Since general construction re-opened in May, Philadelphia’s commercial construction industry has been a leader, demonstrating how to create and promote safe working environments. The efforts of GBCA and its industry partners were recently spotlighted by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
From the Philadelphia Business Journal:
While Covid-19 temporarily halted most commercial construction throughout Greater Philadelphia in mid-March, contractors and tradesmen and women on essential projects were among the first frontline workers challenged to create safe on-site environments in the face of the unknown.
“These contractors were still at their jobsites, confronting safety challenges and scenarios unlike anything we had ever seen,” says Angela Hendrix, director of training and workforce development at General Building Contractors Association (GBCA), the Philadelphia chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America. “At the time, most cities and states hadn’t yet experienced a rise in Covid-19 cases, let alone a construction shutdown. Without peers elsewhere to learn from, we knew we needed to forge a path forward with other local leaders to keep everyone working safely.”
The industry-wide collaboration and protocols that followed – designed to help protect every construction worker who steps foot on a jobsite or in an office – have been recognized nationally and offer lessons for all business leaders, regardless of their industry.
