Beacon President's Message July 2021
I hope your summer is off to a great start. For me, it has been a great relief to be once again participating at in-person industry events. Last week, I was at the Surety Claims Institute's annual meeting in Park City, Utah, as part of a panel discussion covering The False Claims Act. It was wonderful to see many industry friends, partners, and clients after so long. There really is no replacement for in-person discussions, communications, and sharing of ideas. It was also great to spend some downtime after the meeting with my family, including visiting National Parks such as Zion and Bryce Canyon. Such an amazing part of the country!
It's been a very strange 16 months, but I'm proud of how well our team adapted to the challenges posed by the pandemic. We made the most of the "new normal" -- embracing remote collaboration software and working remotely as needed. Of course, many construction projects continued on as normal and members of our team were often on site at projects, managing and tracking work -- with all appropriate safety precautions in place. While many construction projects continued without major disruption, supply chain issues caused by the pandemic (and spiking costs for lumber and other building materials) definitely added new challenges for other projects. Our team's Construction Management and Cost-to-Complete Consulting capabilities were more important than ever, particularly for distressed projects.
We have tried to stay well connected with industry partners and clients in the past year, participating in online industry events and even hosting virtual Zoom-based get-togethers (such as a Trivia night) to boost morale. See this month's E-News for more information about a recent podcast I was involved with related to construction technology hosted by Michael Stover. Improved use of remote / collaboration technologies could be one positive outcome resulting from this difficult period.
Time marches on and Beacon continues to evolve. See this month's E-News below regarding staff news, project updates, and a profile of our man in Ireland, Edward Forester. I hope you have a great 4th of July Holiday. As always, please let us know if Beacon can be of assistance on any current or upcoming project.
Best Regards,
Dennis O'Neill, President
Beacon Consulting Group, Inc.
