EDUCATION • GOVERNMENT • HEALTHCARE/MEDICAL HOSPITALITY • MULTI FAMILY • PROFESSIONAL SPACES RELIGIOUS FACILITIES • RETAIL • TRANSPORTATION • AND MORE! Trusted Partner for Flooring Solutions in Texas Since 1974 Over 50 Years of Excellence (281) 598-6001 | 5510 Brittmoore Rd., Houston, TX 77041 | www.mekfloors.com agchouston.org Spring2026Cornerstone27 GCs adjusted accordingly to minimize schedule disruptions. “What began as a reaction to supply chain uncertainty evolved into a more disciplined preconstruction approach,” shared Phil Nevlud. “Contractors now understand that proactive planning reduces risk.” Buyout strategies became far more deliberate. “Escalation clauses and material tracking have become standard considerations as well,” Gonzalez said. “Today, contractors build more contin- gency into schedules and budgets, and owners better understand the realities of procurement risk.” As a whole, the industry became more transparent and proactive about material lead times. In addition to more strategic pre-stag- ing and earlier procurement on specific items, prefabrication became more widely used during COVID. No longer were contractors using prefab and modular construction for standard things like exterior walls, but they realized the value in incorporating the methods into more specialized parts of projects, too. “Prefab also helped minimize the num- ber of people on a jobsite, and reducing redundant work by providing kits workers could install instead of having to cut and build on-site,” Phil Nevlud explained. Anything that could be delivered directly to the jobsite, even half-finished, directly contributed to safer projects and less debris on site, and it opened up a world of improved production. Changes in Workplace Safety OSHA terminated its specific COVID health care rulemaking as of January 15, 2025, but many health and safety changes that were broadly implemented at the height of the pandemic evolved into permanent practices or influ- enced ongoing standards — especially around jobsite safety and workforce management. “OSHA updated its guidance, and many companies updated their pandemic and infectious disease sections in their safety manuals,” said Mason, who believes hazard assessment and response planning was one of COVID’s most important legacies. “That’s especially important for contractors working in hospitals.” Today, jobsite hygiene and health awareness are stronger than they were pre-pandemic. Handwashing stations, hand sanitizer availability and periodic sanitization of high-touch areas such as break areas, tools and common equip- ment have become routine parts of site setup and daily safety checks. Remote meetings have become stan- dard, and access to the jobsite itself has also become more closely regulated with sign-in/out logs, badge systems or digital entry tracking to better monitor personnel on site. While primarily productivity tools, these everyday practices also support health protocols and emergency contact tracing, if needed. Similarly, policies around staying home when sick are now clearer and more for- mal than they were before the pandemic, and there’s a greater emphasis on sup- porting worker wellness — rather than expecting them to “tough it out” when ill — than ever before. Pre-COVID, PPE focused mainly on construction hazards. Now, respiratory protection and hygiene-related PPE are factored into regular PPE hazard assess- ments — even if masks aren’t mandatory every day. And while not COVID-specific, OSHA’s existing PPE standards (29 CFR 1926 Subpart E) and Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134) are now consistently referenced in the context of respiratory hazards on-site, including severe dust and potential infec- tious agents, because pandemic practices made respiratory hazard assessment more routine. A Five-Year Lookback and Lessons Learned Despite how devastating the COVID pandemic was, it did prompt many positive changes and forced shifts that contributed to a safer, more productive construction industry — especially in Houston. Yet as restrictions faded, so did some of that discipline. “We were better when we had to be, and we should have kept more of that,” Phil Nevlud said. The industry also lost experienced workers during the pan- demic, as a wave of retirements created a skills gap still felt today. “We missed a big opportunity to capture and pass on that knowledge.” Five years later, Houston’s commercial construction industry is stronger, more technologically advanced and more legislatively protected than it was before COVID. Many temporary adjustments revealed better ways to manage projects, and there’s more awareness of how fragile success can be when government, supply chains and labor markets all shift at once. “COVID exposed vulnerabilities, but it also accelerated innovation and professionalism. The industry learned to adapt quickly, and that remains one of our greatest strengths,” said Gonzalez. Today, the Houston commercial construction market is more disciplined, technologi- cally integrated and risk-aware than ever before. “While challenges remain, the industry is better equipped to manage volatility moving forward.” As Houston keeps building, the visi- ble reminders of COVID may be fading, but the structural changes it forced on jobsites, in law and across company cultures are still embedded in how the industry operates. No single adjustment stands as the defining hallmark of the pandemic. Rather, the enduring shift has been perspective. When uncertainty threatened to halt construction in 2020, it was AGC Hous- ton’s swift collaboration with contractors and public officials that helped secure essential status for the industry. That work not only kept jobsites open, but it also demonstrated the power of unified leadership in times of crisis. Before, it was just ‘get the job done.’ COVID forced us to plan with intention — and it paid off.
