The impact of COVID-19 is both far-reaching and deep. As a result, the building industry has been permanently changed. As building professionals across the country have stepped up in this new landscape, they, like many other industries, are finding it necessary to reimagine their workflow by expanding resources and capabilities with new technologies.
According to survey results from the International Code Council, while the majority of code departments surveyed (93%) were still performing inspections — either remotely or in-person — six in 10 respondents did not have the capability to remotely carry out critical aspects of their work. Since being declared an essential industry by the Department of Homeland Security, code officials and those in related fields have needed to quickly adapt to a “new normal” in order to fulfill responsibilities, such as ensuring that temporary structures like field hospitals are safe for use. Without additional resources from the government, the safety of code officials, inspectors and the general public are put at risk.