When you’re starting a construction project, your mission—should you accept it—is simple. Ensure that nothing happens to make this project creep (or explode) out of its planned scope. Keeping your project under your control can take a lot of effort. Striving for simplicity and manageability in every step of your project will be key. Here’s what you need to know to keep construction projects simple and manageable.
Your Dream Project: Manageable, Simple, and Stress-Free
Consider implementing these hacks to avoid major hiccups in your next steel design-build project.
1. Put together an inventory management and optimization system.
One of the biggest factors driving cost increases delayed timelines, and even—in severe cases—injuries on worksites is improper management of materials. So, spend a good amount of time in the beginning phases of your project developing a method to organize and properly use the materials you purchase.
2. Over-communicate with everyone involved in your project.
Before you begin any work, make sure that everyone on your team knows your plan inside and out. Put together a strategy for updates, a chain of communication should anything unexpected happen, and periodic on-paper (and easy-to-reference) reports.
3. Plan for constant planning.
This is counterintuitive: It may seem simpler to stick to your original plan, come what may. However, this can lead you down rabbit holes and into dead ends. Instead, budget time with your team to assess your goals and progress along with relevant new information (e.g., industry updates, material shortages, unavoidable changes in scope) during each project stage.
4. Embrace construction management software.
Tools abound in the modern area to reduce busywork and increase instant managerial awareness of on-the-ground situations. So, invest in a good construction organization platform to reduce paperwork, handle bids and invoicing, automate crucial reports and updates, and even manage recurring orders.
5. Consider using Building Information Modeling.
Another 21st-century construction innovation involves digital visualization of your end-goal building. By investing in this type of software, you can pull together a representation of the finished structure, model the loads and activities it will need to support, and calculate precisely which materials and systems you need to procure—all before you pour an inch of cement.
6. Prioritize strategic wire and light management.
Electrical and lighting systems provide core functionality to finished buildings. They can also be finicky to manage and install. Investing up-front in a comprehensive plan for these systems can help you take advantage of bulk sales and reduce the number of orders you need to make—and any associated delays.
7. Run a training-focused construction site.
No matter how many years your managers and workers have in the industry, it never hurts to get on the same page prior to starting a project. Whether you ask a construction expert to review effective steel beam installation or introduce your crew to a new safety strategy, focusing on uniform and informed techniques will help you avoid site incidents and delays.
8. Begin every day—and every step of your project—with the end in mind.
Review your scope with your team on a regular basis, and be on alert for seemingly productive side missions that don’t really relate to the finished product. These waste time and energy, so assess carefully and weed them out ruthlessly.
9. Don’t be afraid to reach out to experts for assessments and advice.
Sometimes it takes an uninvolved eye to see issues that are right in front of you. Inviting in mentors or consultants takes humility and perspective but will likely reduce any simple-yet-glaring (and scope-affecting) issues you’re too close to see.
De-stress Your Next Project by Working with GA Design-Build Steel Professionals
When you’re looking for the best way to manage a project, it can be easy to get very overwhelmed very quickly. That’s why, at Peak Steel Contractors, we’re advocates of simplifying and streamlining projects as much as we can.
Give us a call, and we’ll help you keep your construction projects simple and manageable. Check out our past projects and contact us for more information.