An interview with Peter Price, Vice President of Oman Operations at Hill International
- Can you please tell us more about Hill International?
Hill International (Hill) is an international construction consulting firm that provides program and project management, construction management, and risk management to clients involved in major construction projects worldwide. Hill is also recognized as a global leader in fully integrated facilities management (FM) services for over a decade. Hill has participated in over 10,000 project assignments with a total construction value of more than $500 billion. Hill is ranked as the 8th largest construction management firm in the United States according to Engineering News-Record magazine.
- What sorts of changes did Hill make early on in the pandemic, both on a global level for all offices, and here in Oman?
Our company responded and adapted well at the early onset of Covid-19 by informing our staff, globally and locally about how the virus spreads and ways to keep safe and work in a clean, socially distanced environment. We took protection measures such as providing our staff with the necessary PPE like masks and sanitizers, as well as checking temperatures of employees and encouraging our staff to continue practicing good personal hygiene. We made sure to speak to all our clients to coordinate and align our new hygiene methods amongst all sites to try and limit the possibilities of our staff getting infected. A fruitful result of our proactivity is that we recorded 0 infected cases in Oman. We asked our staff who didn’t feel well not to come to work and we paid for them to get the PCR test.
Hill International also followed the recommendations that were regularly sent from our global COVID-19 advisory & action committee, which has been diligent in researching all the up-to-date related information and sending it across the company. Due to our actions, we managed to take preventative measures to ensure the well being of our staff and clients without needing to shut down for a long period or take time off of work.
- What has the day-to-day work been like in the past few months and how does it compare to the work before COVID19?
In line with government regulations, our offices were closed for a short period of time and the head office staff were asked to work from home. Despite this adjustment our project teams maintained operations on sites, while maintaining social distancing, with the required permits from the local authorities. Although health and safety regulations were held to a high standard prior to COVID-19, they were heightened as a result of the pandemic to ensure the safety of all our employees. Everyone had to put on masks, check their temperature before coming into the workplace, sanitizers became ubiquitous and setting up socially distanced offices has shaped the dynamic of our day-to-day work. Adhering to social distancing regulations and limiting groups of people meant that we had to cancel all our events and conferences until the situation improved and it is safe to do so.
- What is the biggest challenge you are facing during this Pandemic?
The biggest challenge was to keep our people safe during these unprecedented times, and raise awareness and knowledge about COVID-19. We made sure to apply more hygiene rules in all of our labor camps and provide our workers with safety equipment. Another challenge we faced was the disruption that occurred in the global supply chain as travel regulations were limited, affecting distribution across countries as well as locally.
- What do you feel is the biggest strength of your company right now?
Our greatest strength is our ability to adapt to change, as we managed to support our clients throughout this process and meet their needs despite these unprecedented times.
- Anything else you’d like to add?
Hill International is constantly evolving and changing for the better. Even during Covid-19, our company is flourishing and striving to be bigger and better in this industry. We are continuing to stay positive and be patient during this time as we know that it is vital for the safety of all humanity.Hill International has taken many measures to ensure the safety of all of its employees and has been successful so far in all of its endeavours, and we look forward to working with other members of the OABC and in the greater business community.