Crane and Hoist Canada

Editorial
Editorial: COVID-19 and how things are different

April 24, 2020  By Jay Koblun


Illustration: Nelson Dewey

Last Saturday was the first day out of my house since I came home from ConExpo. After 14 days of self-quarantine, I ventured out and celebrated my “freedom” by heading to the fanciest and most exclusive grocery store in Hamilton to buy some essentials my wife and I had run out of. So exclusive, it had a lineup, dress code, and a bouncer.

Once past the bouncer, I was greeted by several smiling workers, all giving me ample space to explore the store at my leisure and take my time shopping around. It was like the workers finally caught on that shoppers don’t need to be asked every two minutes if we need help finding something. No one talked to me at all actually. It seemed as if other shoppers were going out of their way to not cross paths with me entirely. Then it was time to pay. I was guided by a polite and well-dressed, pleasant worker to the selfcheckout, paid for my fruit, veggies and dairy-free ice cream in silence, got in my VW Golf, and headed home.

Turning the key over in my ignition I realized just how much the world had changed in the last 14 days and how unsure and concerned the public is in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rightly so. I hadn’t actually been shopping in the city’s most exclusive grocery store, and there wasn’t a dance-club-style line-up, dress code, or bouncer. The line was implemented to keep a regulated number of shoppers in the store, the dress code was simply facemasks, and the bouncer was a Fortinos employee letting people inside as he saw previous shoppers exit from another door.

It would be hard to find an industry that hasn’t felt some impact from the virus, and the heavy lifting and crane industry is no exception.

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From layoffs, closed construction sites, delayed projects and more, the industry is really pulling together to face this adversary together. The amount of positive messaging, Instagram stories and companywide encouragements I’ve seen on social media has been uplifting in these uncertain times and we’ve curated a few of those posts in this issue to show what you in the industry have been up to.

The May/June issue of Crane & Hoist also has ample up-to-date COVID-19 coverage. From tips on how to keep your jobsite and office clean and safe, to government issued protocols, it’s there. And check out the CONEXPO/CON-AGG coverage, along with features on tower cranes, and a section celebrating some trailblazing women in construction.

No one knows exactly what’s up with COVID-19 news and information updating daily but you can count on us to be there and stay as up-to-date as we can with the information we have. Crane & Hoist would love to hear from you and your team what you’ve been up to, or not up to, during this time.


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