Short communication: 2020 Vol: 19 Issue: 2
Srikanth Babu, Sheffield Hallam Univertsity
The construction industry is the second largest industry after agriculture and it has very bright future, as the world’s population is increasing day by day. We need to have good infrastructure in all the sectors. Most important is residential, commercial and roads. We could see a major change in construction industry heading towards automation in coming future.
The major change construction industry looking for is to reduce the cost of construction. If we see the material and labor, cost is drastically increasing and it will keep on increasing in coming future too. Earlier everything is manually build, but now the machinery plays key role in constructing massive buildings, Dams etc. Countries like Dubai and Singapore using advanced technologies in construction industry. We have so many opportunities in developing countries like India and small countries, which are yet to develop. Because countries like India requires good infrastructure for its growth in population.
World feels the massive impact of COVID-19 on construction industry. It is due to the effect of lockdown on businesses, so many people lost their jobs there might be different other reasons. Off course, the world has seen many other crisis but we cannot compare current crisis with earlier. The crisis is going to hit the construction industry strong and it will bring down the industry to a very bad situation. In addition to this pandemic situation, all most all the migrant workers lost their jobs and returned to their native places for survival.
Before locking down the country, the government should take proper precautions to make sure the people of the country feels safe. Now the workers are demanding for advances and hike in daily wages as they lost hopes on the organizations and governments. Even though many of the construction companies anticipate a delay to resume the construction work, not every single construction company will openly address the issue. It is important that companies to recognize their individual rights and responsibilities before initiating the postponement of a project. At the same time, if a company is the beneficiary of a postponement notice, it is authoritative that the acceptance company take immediate steps to protect its rights.
Beyond shaping the status of construction activities, it is always recommended that any deferment take into consideration the effects to material and required tool orders and supplies. End of the day, it is important to estimate whether there is a preparedness or ability to sustain construction costs outside existing contract values. A suspension implies there is a likelihood that construction activities will resume at some point. It is vital to know that construction costs will increase in all aspects as a result; it will be a burden on people.