This is part one of a four-part series of posts aimed to provide other marketers with insights for safely and successfully navigating construction industry changes resulting from the pandemic.

Jobsite Signage Considerations

In construction safety regulations are our bible and we’ve got a construction sign for just about all of them. Construction signage messages are clear, quick, and to the point. They also don’t change very often.

Then the pandemic hit and additional signage about health and hygiene standards were needed on all project sites and offices.

USE THE CURRENT CITY DECLARATION & ORDERS TO CUSTOMIZE COVID SIGNAGE

The key to pandemic-era construction signage is that it falls in line with the most current declaration and orders of the specific city, county, and/or jurisdiction of the project location. That means you can expect to have different COVID-19-specific signs for each city and additional signs may be added or exchanged as orders are updated. When formatting your sign, use similar language to what’s in the order and declaration when it makes sense to do so.

QUICK SIGNAGE TURN-AROUND REQUIRES INTERNAL SUPPORT

It’s important to get your signage approval process streamlined. Identify a couple of key team members managing your firm’s internal pandemic response who have the authority and knowledge to review the signs for compliance. Also, your process will benefit from having a designated person to assist with any needed translation (i.e. Spanish) to be included on most signs.

QR CODE SIGN CAN ASSIST WITH HEALTH CHECK-INS 

If your firm is using a paper form to track manpower or do health screenings on site, consider creating a sign with a QR code that links to a digital version of the form.

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PHOTOGRAPHY CONSIDERATIONS

If you’re tasked with scheduling final project photography, there are a few more bumps in the road than you may have experienced.

Here’s what to look out for:

Photography coordination will require more touches.

Covid has impacted the flow of construction – slower starts, added scope, starts, and stops, etc. We’ve seen the number of touches before project photography is ready to be scheduled increase across the board. Reach out to the project manager prior to the anticipated final completion date but expect that date to have been adjusted in some way.

Once you’re on a photographer’s schedule, it’s your job to keep the photographer in the loop if anything changes. Here’s your chance to flex those communication and expectation management skills!

More than ever, “completed project” does not mean photo-ready.

Expect your projects to not be staged at the level they have been in years past. Most facilities aren’t being used at full capacity during the pandemic, so you may need to give owners more time to move-in and get everything in place.

Project managers may need your extra guidance to see that a project isn’t quite photo-ready, even though their work is complete. When you’re starting to schedule, ask the project manager if when the last time they visited the site whether the project was completely furnished with everything in place. If the project manager confirms this, ask for another clarification regarding whether work is still being completed on site. If any work is still being finished, even punchlist items, it’s best to keep asking questions of the project manager until you’re confident you’re on the same page with what you mean by photo-ready.

Are you comfortable with having traces of the pandemic in the final project pictures?

There is no right or wrong answer for this, but it’s important to communicate with the photographer your expectations for the images.

This is part one of a four-part series of posts aimed to provide other marketers with insights for safely and successfully navigating construction industry changes resulting from the pandemic.