“Hooray! We are in Phase 2, albeit with some dragging of feet and gnashing of teeth,” opened Ryan Makinster, government affairs director for BIA of Clark County, addressing contractors and homebuilders on today’s BIA webinar update.
Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s planned reopening of Washington state’s economy, which started on Friday, June 5 in Clark County, is essentially the last big hurdle for construction (there will be no discernible changes in the industry during Phase 3, according to Makinster). It should be considered the new normal until Phase 4, which is a full reopening without constrictions.
“If the county goes to Phase 3, there will be no Phase 3 for us,” said Makinster, instead predicting that there will be incremental changes or small loosening of restrictions over time. “There is not intended to be a full-scale Phase 3 for the construction industry.”
The beleaguered construction industry is finally casting off some of the more bureaucratic regulations pertaining to safety on the jobsite during COVID-19, while maintaining them in practice. For example, much of the posted signage around policies and practices are not required, while the policies and practices are still required. Visitors logs are no longer required. Cleaning and disinfecting plans are required, but logged documentation is not. Employees can do temperature and symptom checks from home and report them.
In a nutshell, said Makinster, “We are back to work as normal, with a bunch of (additional) stuff we have to do.”
Restrictions on facial coverings and use of gloves have relaxed to a degree and are dependent upon the risk transmission level. A Jobsite Hazard Analysis must be enacted when high transmission-risk activities are required, documenting the plan in place to mitigate the risk and the person responsible. An example of a high transmission-risk activity would be driving in a vehicle with a coworker, such as a plumbing crew moving from job site to job site.
N95 masks are still required for high-risk jobs, and contractors still want to know how to find them. Personal Protection Equipment continues to arrive slowly through the channels, and the BIA points to those resources here http://biaofclarkcounty.org/covid-19-ppe/.
Homebuilders walk the line between construction and real estate, which have different restrictions. Model homes can be shown by appointment only, and with the smallest number of people possible. For example, the builder can be represented in the house, or the designer can, to talk about finishes, etc. But not both at once.
The BIA continues to offer weekly webinar updates as regulations and information changes at the state and local level. Next Tuesday’s update webinar is on the recent changes to the Paycheck Protection Program which lowered the percentage of loan dollars businesses must spend on payroll and tripled the length of time to spend the money and qualify for forgiveness. The webinar will feature Chris Lewis, Chief Visionary Officer of Lewis Group CPAs. Check http://biaofclarkcounty.org/ for updated information and frequent non-COVID related webinars.
