In the productivity-driven construction industry, a healthy jobsite culture is vital. This entails fostering a culture of collaboration and encouraging team-building activities.
It’s also important to foster a culture of transparency and communication. This involves keeping stakeholders up-to-date and aligned with project progress through regular meetings and transparent discussions.
Plan ahead
A construction site is where all the work related to building structures takes place. This type of worksite is complex because it involves a number of different teams and processes. Therefore, it requires careful planning and coordination in order to complete projects on time and within budget.
Effective project management begins with identifying the most critical tasks and creating a plan to attain those goals. A Gantt chart helps facilitate this process by showing the dependencies between resources and tasks. This allows managers to predict when items will stall, and create a plan accordingly to get the ball rolling again.
It is also essential to understand the scope of each task. This is the first step in avoiding scope creep and ensures that each task is being handled by the right person. This is a great opportunity to discuss the details of the work, such as what materials are needed, who will handle the tasks and how they are expected to be completed.
One of the best ways to mitigate delays is by implementing best practices. These best practices are focused on keeping safety a top priority, understanding site constraints (and opportunities), fostering a healthy jobsite culture, mapping out the sequence of tasks, and incorporating rigorous quality management procedures.
Another important best practice is to take lessons learned from past projects. This entails evaluating past project performance to identify areas where processes, strategies, or communication could have been more efficient. Once this is done, contractors can implement improvements for better future results. Lastly, it is imperative to gather all necessary documentation at project closeout. This includes drawings, operation and maintenance (O&M) manuals, warranties, permits, and inspection reports for handover to the client.
Communicate often
It’s no secret that effective communication is critical for a construction project to run smoothly. Whether it’s verbal (face-to-face or over the phone) or written, clear and concise communication is essential for everyone involved in the project. This includes the crew members on the ground, who are the boots on the ground and often first to notice a problem that needs attention. Keeping them in the loop will help prevent mistakes that can have a huge impact on the overall project.
Similarly, the project managers and supervisors on the ground need to communicate regularly with other team members as well. Creating a chain of command for communicating information on site standardizes the process, creates accountability and eliminates confusion. In addition, it’s crucial to avoid jargon and make sure to spell things out when necessary. For example, if you’re writing an email to a crew member or another supervisor, they may already know what “BOQ” or “skirting” means but if you’re speaking with someone who doesn’t, spelling it out can prevent miscommunication and misunderstandings.
Aside from preventing costly errors, frequent communication between all parties can also cut down on time spent on rework and other tasks that slow down progress. Research conducted by PlanGrid and FMI in 2018 found that 26% of individuals cited poor communication among project stakeholders as the reason they wasted time on a task.
Having the right work execution platform can help you establish a consistent flow of communication across all teams on site. By syncing comments, photos, documents and calendars in one location, this can streamline communications and reduce the need for emails and phone calls. This can be particularly helpful for construction companies that deal with a lot of remote employees and clients who may not always be on site.
Delegate
Delegating is a crucial skill that can help a project manager free up time to focus on the overall goal of the construction project, as well as boost productivity and team morale. However, it is not always easy to know how to delegate effectively.
Before deciding to delegate a task, the manager should ensure that the worker to whom the task is being assigned has the necessary skills and experience. They should also be able to complete the task within the specified time frame. Additionally, it is important to clearly explain the purpose and importance of the task so that the employee can understand its significance and motivation, for great examples of how this could be done, check out the Roj.house site.
Additionally, the manager should work through each portion of the task with the employee to make sure that they are on the right track. This can also help to build trust between the manager and the employee, which will increase the employee’s ability to perform the task on their own. Finally, the manager should set clear expectations for how the task will be executed and provide regular “check-ups” to see how the employee is performing.
It is essential to remember that while delegation is a valuable skill, there are some tasks that should not be delegated, such as confidential projects or quality control inspections. Therefore, it is important for a construction manager to know how to distinguish between which tasks are appropriate for delegation and which ones are not.
Construction company software like Buildertrend offers several features that can help managers improve their delegation skills. For example, the software can be used to assign tasks to specific team members, which helps to ensure that responsibilities are clearly defined and that the proper individuals are accountable for each task. Additionally, the software can be used to share and track project documents and plans, as well as establish deadlines for tasks.
Stay organized
Construction projects are often messy, and a lack of organization can result in wasted time and money. Setting aside a day for crews to put tools back where they belong and take an inventory can help improve productivity and reduce waste. Similarly, scheduling time for workers to clean up after the end of a shift can make it easier to find things in the future and eliminate piles of paper on the jobsite.
Because many of the jobs on a construction site involve heavy machinery or working at heights, safety is top of mind for all crew members and project managers. Ensuring that workers have access to the necessary documents and training can save a lot of headache down the road. Construction project managers need to be aware of how different employees access and absorb information, and consider the best way to keep them informed.
With a large team of people, it can be difficult to monitor everyone at the same time, especially when schedules and timelines change. This can lead to missed deadlines, miscommunication, and costly mistakes. Project management software with a robust task management feature can solve this problem by allowing for clear communication, tracking and monitoring of progress, and identifying bottlenecks.
It’s also important for construction project managers to have a firm grasp on the complexities of the contracts they review. It is not uncommon for a lack of understanding to delay a project or create conflicts with the client, but there are simple solutions that can help alleviate these problems. These include using technology to streamline document digitization and collaboration, automating workflows for tasks that require action, and eliminating the need for hard copies of blueprints with apps that can be downloaded to a worker’s mobile device.
Be flexible
Construction site management involves juggling a lot of moving parts. It’s easy for unexpected issues to pop up and throw off your original plans. But when they do, it’s important to adjust your strategy to meet the challenge without compromising time or budget. This may mean renegotiating project costs or adjusting deadlines to compensate for material, weather, or subcontractor delays.
Another key aspect of being flexible is knowing where to focus your efforts on a project. For example, it’s tempting to jump in to resolve issues that fall within the realm of a subcontractor’s responsibilities, but this can be counterproductive and send the message that you’re incapable of separating your duties from those of other team members. Instead, try to encourage team-building activities outside of work hours to keep everyone engaged and prevent communication breakdowns.
Finally, being able to identify and leverage opportunities for improvement is also critical for effective construction management. Incorporating lessons learned from past projects into current procedures can help streamline workflows, boost productivity, and improve overall project outcomes.
One of the best ways to do this is by using a construction project management platform that can sync comments, photos, documents, and schedules in real-time. This eliminates the need for emails or phone calls and provides a more efficient way to communicate with everyone on the jobsite. It can also help you streamline work execution and reduce the amount of manual tracking and reporting required for each phase of a project. It’s also easier to monitor changes, budgets, and scheduling in a single place, reducing the need for frequent email updates or status reports. This allows you to focus your energy on other tasks that will propel the project forward and deliver a top-quality product.