We all know that the last 3+ months have been more challenging for most businesses than any period in history. One of the biggest challenges businesses have faced recently is the requirement to quickly adapt so many different things to the continually changing rules and standards that have been put in place across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those challenges have included reducing the capacity of indoor retail stores, implementing new outdoor seating at restaurants to allow for extra space in between tables, and implementing curbside/drive-up solutions at as many locations as possible to allow for contactless pickup.
There has never been a time where so many things changed for property owners and managers. Our customers are discussing solutions with us daily on adapting their properties to keep up with the things that are happening with parking lots across the country. We have learned a lot of valuable lessons over the past few months, and we want to share some of the lessons we have learned.
1. Having an inventory of your parking lot assets accessible to you in digital format is critical to being able to move quickly in times like this when it is required. The pavement assessments that we provide to our clients include GPS coordinated photos to show current conditions and issues on every property along with high-resolution aerial imagery and detailed measurements of every repair and every property. Having the latest facts and data from your properties gives you the ability to make the right proactive decisions and not waste precious time and money being reactive. We also found that this information was beneficial when many property and facility managers were unable to travel but could still walk their parking lots virtually with the information we had already compiled for them.
2. Every business and commercial property will be required to adapt to the curbside/drive-up culture that has taken hold. It is easy to see that businesses far and wide have been and will continue to be impacted very differently from the curbside/drive-up changes that seem to be popping up everywhere we turn. Convenience has been something that consumers started preferring over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to create these convenient solutions to be able to sell their goods to customers, and as a result, those conveniences will now become permanent offerings. Companies like Amazon have done a great job pampering consumers with the benefits of not having to get out of their cars to get the things they wanted to buy. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic made every company look at every angle of these solutions, whether they were ready or not. The businesses that can quickly adapt and put the latest demands of consumers at the forefront both in their parking lots and beyond will win big in the coming months and years.
3. Planning for these types of adjustments with an overall portfolio-driven approach using technology to ensure transparency and consistency in the planning and rollout is critical. The only way that large implementations happen effectively and efficiently is when the property or facilities manager works with a contractor that has a technology-driven approach that allows for collaboration between the contractor that is executing the project and the property or facilities team that is responsible for it. Trying to manage large rollouts or adjustments without the right advanced technology during these times is similar to choosing to buy a paper map to guide you instead of using a GPS mapping application in your vehicle or on your phone. At The Pavement Group, we provide every customer access to our project portal for constant updates from the time we are awarded a project to the time our client approves the job for payment. This technology provides the transparency, consistency, and collaborative approach that every client is wants when working with a vendor.
4. When you should not get an engineering firm involved in this type of planning…and when they are needed. We bid and perform work on plenty of projects that have an engineering firm involved from the start to assess the parking lots or roadways and then provide a detailed set of drawings to tell us what scope of work to bid and perform. We certainly enjoy working on those types of projects. We also find plenty of projects where an engineering firm getting involved is not an excellent fit for a variety of reasons. Those reasons include time restrictions, not enough budget, or the project is not large enough to justify involving an engineer. Having a contractor that you can trust and that utilizes tools and resources that make the lives of all parties included easier and more efficient in those times of need is critical. Having that go-to contractor allows you to move quickly and stay out in front of your competition while staying within your required timelines and budgets.
Our understanding of these types of regional/national rollouts for large portfolios at The Pavement Group is extensive. We recognize the challenges that property owners and managers could face along the way if they don’t choose the right contractor to complete these projects. Aligning the right contractor that has the right experience with the right rollouts and projects is a critical step to success. Our team has the right technology, expertise, and knowledge that allows us to handle implementations of any size and scope. We are here as a resource for any property owner or manager that manages projects like this.
For more information or to get in touch with us, please give us a call at (833)400-4747 or visit our website, where our agents are available 24/7 to get you connected to the right person on our team.
Listen to or watch Episode 4 of The Pavement Group Podcast episode on this exact topic at the links below!
iTunes
Stitcher
Google Podcasts
YouTube