How construction businesses can survive during Covid-19 pandemic, an advice from a contractor to contractors. - BUILK Philippines

How construction businesses can survive during Covid-19 pandemic, an advice from a contractor to contractors.

We all know about the current situation of Covid-19 that spread all over the world including the Philippines. On the evening of March 16, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the lockdown of Metro Manila in efforts of containing the spread of the virus. Not only it affected the way we live day by day, it also disrupted business operations.

The outbreak is seen to carry many months away. The upcoming big event for the construction industryWorldBex 2020 (The Philippine World Building and Construction Exposition) was postponed and rescheduled to March 17-21, 2021. No one knows when this pandemic going to end but we know for sure that it will have a big impact especially to the economy just by looking at GDP trends and forecasts, which construction industry is another business that been impact by this virus outbreak as well.  

How the construction industry has been effect by Covid-19.

The two main factors that the construction industry relies on is building/construction materials and human resources. Most of the materials come from China and because of the country lockdown, many projects have to stop because the materials cannot be imported into the country (gmanetwork, 2020). According to the chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, Richard Branch; “building product imports from China account for nearly 30% of all US building product imports (pinotbuilders, 2020). However, the situation in China is getting better and China has already started to manufacture again so hopefully, the raw materials are going to be enough to supply all. 

Another factor would be human resources which refer to the employees, staff, workers and labourers of the construction business. Because of the lockdown, many projects were halted and workers have to stop working too. 

Our Builk community, fight together!

BUILK is a free platform for the construction industry. We have a strong community of contractors in the Philippines with BUILK ProNetwork users who can share their ideas on how to survive this situation together (Lacanilao Construction and Development CorporationBRIOBUILD COTiara Anoui Psalm Construction and Engineering ServicesEight+ Construction Corporation) 

Most of our users that we had a chance to talked with said that the situation is really bad for their business. Most of the projects they have were stopped and postponed while some said that small projects in the province are still ongoing but were experiencing delays in materials and lack of staff. 

An advice from a contractor to contractors.

While they all suffer the same things, they all suggested the same ideas that are inspiring and helpful for other contractors. They said that the key resource that they all depend on right now is their employees. That is why their number one priority for them right now is the health and safety of their employees and workers. 

For the office workers, they suggested to let them work from home so they will have less chance of acquiring the virus. And for those who work on-site, they provided facemasks and alcohol gel. Since most of their projects now were stopped, many workers have no more work to do. Some already asked to go back to their hometownIn this difficult time, they said that we need to help each other by providing them all their basic needs and give them the extra money for the month so they can survive. 

Here are some suggestions from our Pro Network Users: 

All I can say is take care of the people at this point in time. This is the time wherein these people need the company the most. Most workers are hand to mouth. What they earn is not sufficient enough in supporting the family. It should be each company’s social responsibility in making sure that no one gets left behind. I know after this crisis; these people will work harder to show their companies how much they appreciated the help. – Horhe Lacanilao from Lacanilao Construction and Development Corporation


We give our workers their 1-month bonus to help them as much as we can. And Hopefully this outbreak will end soon. – Pierre Anthony Briones from BRIOBUILD CO

Stay home, stay safe, and work smart from home.

are some of the advice from our users. We hope everyone to stay safe, healthy and look after each other. BUILK wants to be part of building a strong healthy community of contractors. Always remember that BUILK is an online platform where you can control your construction business anytime and anywhere. You can be safe at home while monitoring your construction project cost at ph.builk.com 

If you have trouble finding the construction materials, let Yello find it for you! Yello is your personal purchasing assistance, Send us your RFQ or BOQ at and we will find the best price of construction materials and deliver to your site. Learn more about Yello at www.yelloph.com 

Credit: 

https://pinoybuilders.ph/the-effects-of-covid-19-on-the-construction-industry/ 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/729232/construction-shipments-to-take-a-hit-if-virus-spreads-further-say-philippine-property-firms/story/ 

https://www.rsm.global/australia/insights/industry-insights/economic-impact-covid-19-property-and-construction-sector 

X