Construction is a field where time very much equates to money. The slower your workers are, the less primed your equipment is, the less trained technicians you use, it all leads to loss of income. Time management while staying within quality and safety guidelines is essential for managers of contracting firms and construction companies.
In these fields where skill translates to efficiency and productivity, it is essential that you only send your best workers into the field. You want people who not only have the skill but the desire to do the work right. Whether they are laying bricks or completing the passivation of stainless steel, you need to be sure you have the right man on the job. The right man must have the right tools as well. That is the combination that guarantees that you meet your deadlines.
Missing even one deadline can cause a domino effect in the construction field. A few days longer to finish one project means a delay in starting the next. When you have contracts that more often than not include clauses that cost you money for delays, it is in your best interests to push for timeliness on the worksite.
Of course, the best way to motivate your employees is through example. Begin assessing your own work processes to find the areas in which you can improve your office’s efficiency and productivity.
Improve Your Planning
The planning stage is crucial in ensuring the effectiveness of personnel deployment and timeliness in the worksite. You need to be very detail-oriented and check the figures often to ensure your workers will have everything they need to do the job right.
Keep in mind that there is no room for optimism and hope at this stage. You must have hard and fast numbers and guarantee that the people and the materials will show up exactly when they need to be there. You have to account for the people, the processes, equipment, and so on. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, it will still be you who has to clear up the issues and find solutions.
Thus, it is much better to seek as much input as you can from experienced site managers and ensure that you have properly planned for every eventuality and are ready to start an efficient work site.
Seek Digital Solutions
Digital solutions in the construction field mean that you are no longer tied to your desk or the office to ensure that everything that needs to be in place is in place. Construction management software can take the place of all your paperwork, from bid management to billing.
The software systems can be adapted to your specific needs so that you can send and receive invoices, bring up initial contracts, streamline incident reporting and documentation, and even manage scheduling and timesheets. It quite frankly allows you to take the office with you wherever you go.
As long as you have internet access, you can physically be at a job site receiving feedback from your site managers and then putting immediate solutions or updates into the management software. It keeps everyone informed in real-time and reduces the time needed to check in, wait for replies, physically search for forms and documents, etc.
Build Information Modeling
If you embrace how construction management software can ease your work, you should invest in building information modeling software. This revolutionary digital solution can give you an unparalleled level of understanding regarding your building before you even break ground.
It requires you to give all the information about the ground, soil composition, intended design, building materials, manpower, expected use, etc. It will then compile all this to create a digital representation of the building. This software can even allow you to estimate the daily usage of the building’s services by occupants or visitors, giving you a more accurate idea of the building’s water, plumbing, or heating needs.
The highest-quality version of this digital solution is expensive and better suited to large construction firms with big projects. Smaller companies can explore the many free, open-source software tools that can deliver the same functionalities though possibly being less intuitive and less personalized than the expensive bespoke software.
Conclusion
The best area to start in is with your people. Look for training and seminars that you and your staff can attend to improve your skills. A well-trained crew is an efficient crew. Even if they have certifications, it never hurts to be re-trained in new techniques and skills to improve their performance.
You will gain insight and learn about new ways of managing projects that can help you in ways you cannot imagine now. Your employees will learn the skills needed to increase their own productivity and take greater pride in the work they do. Investing in your personnel is a direct investment in the quality of work your company produces.
