For Sean Scott and his colleagues at PCL Construction, social distancing is about more than keeping at least 6 feet away from other customers in a checkout line or avoiding groups of 10 or more people.

Scott, a manager at PCL’s Minneapolis office, is part of a national team that’s rolling out mobile testing facilities that can screen employees and customers for COVD-19 and help businesses create safer work environments.

Known as Portable Virus Testing Centers, the prototypes are designed to serve end users that include large manufacturing facilities, office towers, and retail centers, Scott said in an interview.

The idea is to allow medical professionals to conduct testing at a safe distance from the business establishment. A mobile testing center, for example, could be set up on a parking lot just outside the place of business.

“Imagine you are trying to put the first line of defense in the parking lot versus having that be inside your building. Once it’s inside the building, things can come to a screeching halt if there’s a confirmed positive or suspected positive,” Scott said.

PCL is in the early stages of implementing the mobile testing centers, which were developed with help from industry leaders and other partners. Scott said he has reached out to local businesses and organizations, including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

Doug Loon, president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, said the PCL initiative could “go a long way toward building confidence among the workforce and businesses at a time when there is a lack of confidence in the marketplace.”

“It is a significant concern of businesses to have reliable screening technology and have a system that is onsite separate from the building,” Loon said. “Anything we can do to restore confidence among businesses, workers and consumers, the quicker we will respond to this economic downturn and return to full productivity and full employment.”

Loon said the PCL concept is an example of innovative business practices and outreach efforts to address the crisis. In other cases, he said, Minnesota businesses have stepped up production of everything from hand sanitizer to ventilators to fill gaps in the supply chain.

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