Covid-19 for Civil Engineering

The coronavirus lockdown has caused new construction projects to plummet by a huge percentage from last year. The global supply chain has stagnated, boding ill for any construction activity. Hence, in-progress projects are predicted to be hit hard as well. Here’s how civil engineering projects are faring amid COVID-19. 

The state of civil engineering projects remains tied up. Still, there is evidence to suggest that it will spring into action once the pandemic runs its course. There is also the staunch response mounted by large construction firms. A common 6-month delay may grow to an average of 9 months after the new normal. Results have also shown that strict social distancing will cause only 8-month delays. This is based on the current models for the spread of COVID-19. It would seem that the best course of action is to suppress the spread of the virus by any means to preserve employee well-being. This will then keep more workers available and lead to faster project completion in the long run.

Amidst the outbreak, the civil engineering has made it to gain a huge amount of opportunities in this Covid era in terms of its participation in minimizing the pandemic.

The opportunities digital technology affords for remote working. Technology company Sensat has developed Map, a digital means of interacting with and remotely facilitating construction activity. Map produces live digital twins. Effectively, these are virtual replicas of the physical world – and provide means that could transform the way physical industries operate.

The Covid hospitals do require a huge area to be taken as isolation ward, many places are requiring a big amount of construction to be done there so that patients can be adhered there. This provides a sound number of opportunities for civil engineers.

However the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will most certainly have impacted the global Net Zero agenda and pushed it down the list of priorities. We're faced with economic uncertainty but as civil engineers we should ensure that decarbonisation remains a vital agenda item. When organisations bounce back let's do so with Net Zero Carbon at the forefront.

Prof.(Dr.) Arvind Dewangan