It’s been more than a year since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now its effects on the commercial roofing industry are being truly realized. Lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mass quarantines have crippled the production and shipping of materials.

Other materials like timber, plastic, rubber and aluminum are short on supply, and the industry is also seeing a lack of workforce. Such a situation has led to material shortages, price fluctuations, order cancellations, extended delays, and logistics breakdowns in the roofing industry of Greater Toronto Area.

Here are a few ways Covid-19 has impacted the commercial roofing industry over the last year.

Disruption in the Industry

While the world is fighting with the Covid-19 outbreak, the major focus of government is their people’s safety. Many countries have put a halt to construction activities due to the rapid virus spread, which has resulted in reduced demand for roofing products and services.

As a result, there have been delays and disruptions in contract deliveries, leading to negative revenues, inflated labor, equipment, and material prices, and deterioration of material lying on closed sites. Unavailability of labor, disrupted supply chain activities, and loss of revenue is expected post-lockdown period as well.

Safety Becomes the Key

During the initial lockdown stages, only essential services were allowed to continue operations, and industrial roofing was recognized as one of these essential services. This meant that roofing projects could be continued and emergency repairs for essential services were possible, including schools, testing facilities, and hospitals.

Although call volumes were down, roofing professionals started giving more importance to the safety and protection of the workers.

Roofing workers go on their job while following all the precautions recommended by CDC and WHO. They wear masks and gloves, stay six feet apart, and have their temperature checked every morning. Such measures add extra layers of safety to workers who already work in a high-risk environment.

Introduction of Virtual Work

While roofing projects involve manual labor, most of the behind-the-scenes operations are handled online. Employees working from home conduct meetings online through video conferencing platforms.

Virtual price estimating has also seen a rise in their frequency. Virtual meetings and video calls help commercial roofing contractors strengthen their leads with the clients and plan schedules for the future. Such a strategy is particularly useful to fill the gaps that canceled orders left over the last few months.

Virtual communication has become commonplace, as most of the interactions are now conducted over the phone, emails, or video calls. Virtual methods are commonly used for conducting all project updates and requests.

For all on-site interactions, social distancing and wearing masks remain the right practice. For workers who still need to come and support essential business operations, they observe rules for safety and social distancing recommended by CDC, including frequently washing hands and wearing PPE.

Service Adjustments According to Client Needs

Across the industrial roofing industry, there have been minimal changes in roofing services. However, changes have been observed in which services are most requested by the clients. For instance, inspections and maintenance services are highly demanded.

There has also been an increase in protection services like coatings. Last but not the least, planned or unplanned roof repairs are always requested.

Since many commercial facilities and buildings remained closed during the lockdown, roofing contractors continued their service even if the clients occupied their building or not.

Commercial Roofing Service in Greater Toronto Area

As we can see, the roofing industry is trying to settle into a “new normal” in the post-COVID-19 world.As more effects of the pandemic are being observed in the commercial roofing industry, Crown Roofing remains on top of their clients’ needs while providing expert roofing services.

If you require an emergency roofing service or repair in the Toronto, Ontario, and Greater Toronto Area, reach us online.