Chicago Office Wins Innovation Award in Construction

We are proud to announce that Skyline Chicago has been awarded the Let’s Get Real Industry Innovator Award in Construction  for our inventive and immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Innovator Award in Construction recognizes individuals or organizations who have demonstrated agility and responsiveness in the built environment, supporting the greater good. The judging panel is comprised of corporate real estate end-user judges from the world’s top corporations. Contenders are judged on the following:

• A description of how the firm has adapted on the jobsite to maintain project deliveries while mitigating risk of spread of Coronavirus toyour trade workers and project partners.
• Examples of responsiveness to the changing needs of your customers through innovative construction tools or practices.
• A description of the creation of new ideas or methods to improve the quality of the built environment and productivity of the users.

Here’s a glimpse into a few of the innovative solutions that lead to this award.

Infection Control & Prevention

Problem:

The threat of a positive COVID case on a jobsite created the potential for project closures and large schedule delays that would lead to increased project costs and the associated health risks of workers and clients alike.

Solution:

When shelter in place began, the team at Skyline realized the need for disinfection services to keep all people, jobsites and essential businesses safe from COVID-19. Within two months, the firm introduced a Disinfection Fogger and a Protective Shield solution that would later be used by their entire family of companies across the United States, on all types of spaces including jobsites, occupied offices, elevators, building lobbies and even local retail stores and restaurants.

Schedule Implications & Supply Chain Disruptions

Problem:

Shipping delays and long lead times became a new and challenging reality at the onset of COVID-19. This caused procurement and scheduling issues, which lead to project timeline disruption. In early January, operations executive, Jim Melachrinakis, identified several adverse supply chain predictions and elevated the issue across the firm.

Solution:

We enhanced our proprietary SIPP meeting process into a digital software platform, which allows teams to efficiently manage project schedules and be made aware of changes in real time. Using the SIPP software platform, entire project teams including consultants were able to virtually collaborate to create accurate project schedule scenarios with the new supply chain variables.

Proprietary Virtual Jobwalk Tool

Problem:

Physical distancing on jobsites was one of the most challenging impacts of COVID. Staggering work shifts and creative sequencing of logistics became the norm while the practice of stopping by a jobsite to check on progress became a thing of the past for the project team, partners, and the client alike.

Solution:

When travel became difficult and unsafe, the firm’s in-house technology training team worked side by side with OpenSpace to develop best practices and a custom process to keep projects running smoothly and on-time while giving high visibility to our clients and project partners.