Managing Your Construction Project: 7 Strategies You Need for Business Success
Over the last couple of years, the construction sector experienced considerable growth paving the way to a very healthy post-pandemic resurgence that will keep expanding the market from the $8.9 trillion it’s estimated now to the whole $14.4 trillion it’s expected to grow by 2030.
However, market growths of this scale almost always entail a very fierce and relentless competition fighting to carve itself a piece of this, admittedly, lucrative cake.
The best way to position your construction company as the spearhead of this change and carve it a place in this competitive arena is to make your projects faster, leaner, simpler, and more affordable. The roots of all these qualities can be traced back to construction project management.
Let us take a look then you can make this process more refined and put your business on a healthy foundation.
Explore the details and plan ahead
The construction industry is heavily rooted in repeatability, quality control, and standardization which all contribute to project efficiency. Still, this factory line mentality often makes us forget that each and every construction project is unique and, as such, requires thorough research and planning. The more details you have before you engage in actual work the better chance you have at managing important project lifecycle elements like:
Inflation
Launch
Team performance
Closure
When you have these factors in place, be sure to set realistic goals that will allow you to break down the overreaching aspirations into smaller, achievable, and time-constrained activities.
Establish a clear flow of communication
The construction projects require a seamless collaboration of dozens of different parties ranging from stakeholders to suppliers. Whenever some problem arises, each phone call you need to make and each email you need to send simply brings the project to a grinding halt. The best way to sort out these problems is to create one work execution platform like Slack or Basecamp where all project-related details can be easily shared and delivered to relevant parties without any delays. Aim for robust platforms that allow file sharing, dashboards, instant alerts, and other useful features.
Ensure that you have the best tools at your disposal
The efficiency of one construction project largely depends on the tools your workers are going to use. So, no matter whether you are going to rent the necessary equipment, or make the tools a part of your permanent inventory, make sure your staff has all it takes to work at 100% efficiency. The choice will depend on the type of tools and their frequency of use. For instance, affordable and reliable scissor lift trolleys for your business will demonstrate a great ROI since these are highly utilized. Sorting out these things before projects will make them more streamlined and scalable.
Image by Aleksandarlittlewolf on Freepik
Make sure the materials are properly stored
This is not important only because proper storage ensures the integrity, quality, and durability of those materials. Finishing projects before the deadline requires that you have immediate access to any asset required for its completion. This can’t be imagined without proper cataloging, item management, and warehouse management. So, while you are planning the project, be mindful of how much space the different materials will take and in which order they need to be used in the project. Adapting the warehouse layout to the project workflow can drastically improve your mobility, efficiency, and speed.
Keep track of the documentation
In one of the previous sections, we mentioned that obsession with standardization can take a lot of flexibility out of your construction projects. Be that as it may, keeping detailed documentation will allow you to notice patterns, and discover good practices leading to greater efficiency and tasks that are either redundant or repeatable in which case they should be automated. This brings us back to the necessity of unified, preferably Cloud-based communication channels we have covered above. Using this infrastructure for documentation will ensure data consistency and make it available to all relevant parties.
Learn to delegate tasks
Due to their scale and sheer number of resources involved, the construction projects are impossible to micro-manage from a singular place. That is why you need to ensure that all people involved in the projects are fully capable and empowered to make on-site decisions so you can delegate minor tasks more freely and focus on the more critical duties. Also, you should try to assess which parts of the project are too expensive, niche, or taxing to perform in-house. Such tasks should, if possible, be outsourced to teams with more experience, free time, and access to complex pieces of equipment.
Use latest-gen construction resources
By that, of course, we refer to digital resources. The modern business landscape is stacked with things ranging from CAD models to BIM platforms capable of expanding the construction modeling to very details like sustainability and construction costs. Running feasible construction gigs without these things under your wing is completely feasible. But, you are going to shoot yourself in the foot and start the market race from a very unfavorable position. So, be sure to invest in these resources from the get-go – the speed, efficiency, and competitiveness you will acquire will recoup the costs.
Wrapping-up
Well, we hope these couple of suggestions gave you a better idea about what you can do to make your construction projects faster, more efficient, and more optimized. Yes, the current construction market is going through a great surge, but even as it is, this arena has enough room for only so many competitors. Don’t miss a chance to start this struggle on the right foot by making your projects more cumbersome than they need to be. The competition is harsh and the winners will be decided by split hairs.
Author Bio: Marie Nieves is a passionate blogger with an eye for design, a flair for storytelling, and a love for culture. She contributes regularly to various blogs and online magazines, all while satisfying her wanderlust by exploring states and countries near and far.
Cover image by Wiroj Sidhisoradej on Freepik
