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The construction industry’s addiction to WhatsApp and Excel is no secret. And we understand why. These are both excellent tools that can greatly simplify your daily tasks and enable you to quickly connect with a variety of people.
But they are insufficient for overseeing a construction job. And there’s a straightforward explanation. They are unable to link the planning to the site updates that you receive.
They may receive a shareable, real-time, on-site perspective of your project and keep tabs on each team’s progress at every level by depending on a construction-specific tool. That can ultimately save them money and time.
2. Rely only on one authentic source.
The length of time required to gather all the information required from many sources and stakeholders is another major issue facing many construction managers worldwide.
Once more, this is closely related to using tools that are not designed for the industry and are unable to communicate and collaborate inside a single data source.
Having a single source of truth for all of your project-related information can greatly decrease administrative work and provide you with the overview you need to make decisions quickly and collaborate with your teams effectively.
3. Lessen the administrative load
The administrative nightmare that is construction has already been discussed at the outset of this piece, but its effects on the sector cannot be overstated. Project managers are unquestionably the ones who suffer the most from it.
They have lost hours, if not days, of productive work due to the numerous meetings and phone calls that ought to have been recorded in a construction-specific application.
Something has to be done about that. And there’s only one way that could take place. By utilizing solutions designed specifically for the construction industry, which may link various stakeholders, guarantee that all information is reported in a single location, and provide them complete insight over the tasks that matter to them.
In this way, the on-site teams bear more of the responsibility, giving project managers more time to concentrate on the priorities.
4. Give safety top priority.
We want to emphasize one thing about our following piece of advise. Regardless of the nature or scope of your project, safety should always come first. Project managers have firsthand experience of the fact that nothing is more valuable than human life.
Ensuring the well-being of your team is crucial, whether we’re discussing workplace safety or stress management to make construction workers happy and, consequently, productive.
And there’s a direct connection between that and planning. Stakeholders in a project experience increasing levels of stress as it spirals out of control.
However, by putting safety first, you can guarantee that major accidents won’t happen and that most jobs will get done more quickly. This can help your team and you as the project manager to both breathe easier and work much more productively while on the job.
5. Make an investment in consistency
We have discussed the value of standardization and the reasons that investing in repeatability is the right course of action on this blog on numerous occasions. The building sector is in dire need of creating a new normal, in large part because to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Put otherwise, a means of decreasing wait times and constructing with greater effectiveness and quality. One important factor in that direction may be the industrialization of specific production process components.
Standardization gives you more control over how you plan, manage, and communicate about a project and helps you optimize your processes, especially in projects where you have to build a lot of the same buildings or adhere to lot of the same procedures.
To put it plainly, the “been there, done that” mentality will ultimately result in quicker deliveries and higher profits.
6. Integrate planning with quality
Around the world, a lot of project teams are accustomed to handling nonconformities right before handovers at the conclusion of a project. This results in significant delays in delivering the project to the client because, frequently, more issues are found at the last minute.
That is not the kind of scenario you want to find yourself in as a project manager. Because of this, it’s a great idea to start fixing non-conformities as soon as they arise rather than waiting until the project is almost finished.
7. Always keep an eye on the expenses
Although this advice may seem a little general, that is only because there are several unexpected sources of cost in every building job. To prevent that, you must constantly be aware of every facet of the project.
Of course, it’s not as simple as it seems. The good news is that you can begin in a few different places. More precisely, you can take charge of your project and manage your budget by minimizing delays, exercising extreme caution when managing your materials (e.g., by avoiding ordering items too early or too late), reacting, or bringing up claims promptly.
All of the aforementioned, however, depend heavily on having the appropriate tools and flawless connection between your website and the boardroom. Thus, let’s revisit the first piece of advice: select digital tools specifically designed for the building sector.
8. Exercise extreme caution while making claims.
It goes without saying that one of the main sources of frustration for project managers worldwide is commercial disputes. Even the smallest error might quickly ensnare you in a never-ending building fight.
The worst aspect, too? The amount of time you have to spend (sometimes weeks, sometimes months) searching for that one email or that priceless picture that will show you are not the cause of the delay or quality problem that has emerged.
If only it were possible to maintain complete alignment with your site management and quickly retrieve the appropriate data when needed. You may now grinned, though, because there really is. It’s referred to as a single source of truth and a construction-specific tool (LetsBuild), which when utilized properly can be a single source of proof and save you and your project from a lot of hassle.
9. Make the website slim
Without a question, one of the best approaches to managing a building project is lean construction. It provides that distinctive visual clarity over the many activities and the duties of each project team, especially in the beginning of the project.
As good as it is, though, the manual procedure that depends on colorful Post-it notes and a whiteboard can occasionally result in a bit of a mess.
10. Take the lead and include everyone.
Not to mention, never forget that you are in charge of this project. Make sure you have a tight relationship with your teams and pay attention to both their professional and personal needs.
By doing this, you’ll be able to gain their trust and start having more honest and reliable conversations with them.
That holds great significance for both your present and upcoming endeavors. As we’ve already discussed, consistency is essential. Investing in consistency may be achieved more effectively by having the same teams work with you repeatedly.
But in the end, you need to be a strong leader if you want people to want to work for you.