To say that we are living in unprecedented times is an understatement. In fact, some might say we are experiencing an inflection point in human history. Less than a year ago, no one had ever heard of Coronavirus or the disease it causes (COVID‐19), yet today it is reshaping societal norms, professions, and entire economies as the world braces for losses projected to be around $8.5 trillion (United Nations [UN] 2020). In some circles, the COVID‐19 pandemic has been dubbed a “black swan” event—a rare and unpredictable event with severe consequences. Whether the global pandemic was unpredictable or an inevitable consequence of the interconnected global society we live in will be settled in the history books, but one thing we can all agree on is that such events are crucibles of innovation (Mudassir 2020). This has played out across history with a number of examples in just the last two decades related to the subprime mortgage crisis and the September 11 terrorist attacks. Both stimulated new ways of working and traveling, as well as entire new categories of technology and business solutions that disrupted the prior paradigms.

In the case of the COVID‐19 pandemic, entire sections of the global economy were shuttered in a matter of weeks. Once it became clear in early March of 2020 that physical distancing was crucial to flattening the rate of infections, states began instituting rules to enforce the necessary behavior (Figure 1) (Mervosh et al. 2020). For the first time ever, all 50 states plus Washington, DC and 4 U.S. territories were simultaneously under a disaster declaration (Newburger 2020). Related restrictions have been in a state of flux ever since, with loosening and tightening of restrictions as the outbreak shows signs of waning and then ramps back up.

This sudden and catastrophic disruption created a need to quickly move from a normal operating model to something new that could simultaneously meet the priority of keeping people safe, while keeping business moving where possible and necessary. While some remediation activities were classified as essential for the public health by the Department of Homeland Security‐Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, it was not as simple as “business as usual” for those essential projects. Instead, operational risk management became a combination of safety (for both personnel and those they might come in contact with), navigation of state and municipal orders (including quarantine rules for inter‐state travel), and client prioritization based on flexibility offered by regulators. Among other things, this required the creation and enacting of COVID‐19 health and safety procedures, inventory of available field supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), creation of systems for monitoring compliance with the ever changing spectrum of orders, compliance with owner‐specific policies, and a new approach to identifying hospitals for a work‐related medical emergency (based on capacity).

This column will explore how the crisis has affected the remediation industry to date by driving rapid changes in normal operating procedure and how it will perhaps forever change what the future looks like—drawing from the example of an essential environmental construction project in New York City (NYC) during the initial spike in infections. To complement the challenges, the crisis has also created opportunities. From owners to consultants to regulatory agencies, the lessons learned can lead to greater value across the entire stakeholder spectrum.

说我们生活在前所未有的时代是轻描淡写的。事实上，有些人可能会说我们正在经历人类历史上的一个转折点。不到一年前，没有人听说过冠状病毒或其引起的疾病（COVID-19），但今天它正在重塑社会规范、职业和整个经济体，因为全世界正准备应对预计约为 8.5 万亿美元的损失（联合国 [UN]  2020 年）。在某些圈子中，COVID-19 大流行被称为“黑天鹅”事件——这是一种罕见且不可预测的事件，后果严重。全球大流行是不可预测的，还是我们所生活的相互关联的全球社会的必然结果将被载入史册，但我们都可以同意的一件事是，此类事件是创新的熔炉（Mudassir 2020 年）。这在历史上已经上演，仅在过去的二十年中，就出现了许多与次贷危机和 9 月 11 日恐怖袭击有关的例子。两者都激发了新的工作和旅行方式，以及颠覆了先前范式的全新技术和业务解决方案类别。

在 COVID-19 大流行的情况下，全球经济的整个部门在几周内都关闭了。一旦在 2020 年 3 月上旬明确保持社交距离对于降低感染率至关重要，各州就开始制定规则来强制执行必要的行为（图 1）（Mervosh 等人，  2020 年）。有史以来第一次，所有 50 个州以及华盛顿特区和 4 个美国领土同时处于灾难声明之下（Newburger  2020）。从那以后，相关限制一直处于不断变化的状态，随着疫情显示出减弱的迹象，然后又开始回升，限制的放松和收紧。

这种突如其来的灾难性中断导致需要快速从正常运营模式转变为新的模式，该模式可以同时满足确保人员安全的优先级，同时在可能和必要的情况下保持业务发展。虽然国土安全部-网络安全和基础设施安全局将一些补救活动归类为对公共卫生至关重要，但对于这些重要项目来说，它并不像“一切照旧”那么简单。取而代之的是，操作风险管理变成了安全（对人员和他们可能接触的对象）、州和市级命令的导航（包括州际旅行的隔离规则）以及基于监管机构提供的灵活性的客户优先级。除其他外，这需要创建和实施 COVID-19 健康和安全程序、可用现场用品和个人防护设备 (PPE) 的库存、创建系统以监控对不断变化的订单范围的遵守情况、遵守所有者具体政策，以及一种新的方法来确定医院以应对与工作相关的医疗紧急情况（基于能力）。

本专栏将探讨危机如何通过推动正常操作程序的快速变化来影响迄今为止的修复行业，以及它将如何永远改变未来的样子——以纽约市一个重要的环境建设项目为例（ NYC）在感染的最初高峰期间。为应对挑战，危机也创造了机遇。从业主到顾问再到监管机构，吸取的经验教训可以为整个利益相关者带来更大的价值。