by Brajesh Dubey [DUQM Project, Oman]
There is the old saying in construction industry, “The best project is the last one we came from and the one we are heading next.” This saying embodies the reality that our career is mentally and physically strenuous. As much as we enjoy this saying for humorous purpose, this is quite misleading to view Construction professionals’ career and lifestyle. We do work hard but more for the lessons learned and the relationships we built along the way. Through these lines of thought, I can put my best foot forward and make the current tasks a quite enjoyable experience with our team and project.
What I have found throughout my career is that there is a great misconception about typical construction professionals and workers. Colleagues I work with are with high intelligence and work ethics. I could not be proud enough to be one of many wonderful people who are associated with SECL.
WE come from different backgrounds, different nationalities, and different cultures but share one purpose.
To make our lives and the people in our lives better; every step, every day.
But suddenly, we had to welcome 2020 with Covid -19 pandemic that changed the life at site and throughout the world. It was a time when everybody felt demotivated and low.
It was big challenge for us too to handle the situation and stay productive at project site. One of the biggest impacts was slow down of construction activities. As construction team members, we courageously accepted the challenges that we never faced in our carrier as we didn’t have option to work remotely.
Managing big work force and to keep them motivated was a challenge. We, as a team, provided solutions to reduce impact at site on project execution. Sub-Contractors were asked to take well care of the health and safety concerns as new complications were surfacing due to coronavirus pandemic. Sub-contractors were reducing their site teams to follow physical distancing, and hence the pace of construction was slowed.
Some of the changes what we brought at sites during the COVID-19 pandemic include developing, updating, and implementing new safety procedures including but not limited to:
· Providing face masks
· Disinfecting and sanitizing workplaces
· New personal protective equipment
· Hand washing and hand cleansers
· Physical distancing
· Tracking COVID close contacts
· Quarantine facilities
· COVID-19 positive treatments
· Symptomatic guidelines
· Travel history records
· Vaccination drives
With these measures implemented at site, the confidence of the team was built up gradually.
When I see these changes and production start increasing gradually, I remember one advice:
''Work hard for what you want to achieve, will and drive can take to you to places you never imagined. Suddenly doors start opening and opportunities present themselves when you stay hungry to succeed''