Civil engineering is one of the most notorious businesses in terms of breaching the deadliness. Some projects are poorly planned and will be prolonged for several months, causing massive expenses for the company in charge. Even with great planning, there are always things out of your hands that will affect the construction duration.
Because of that, managers are always on the lookout for solutions that would expedite the process. Whether we’re talking about employee training, construction time tracking apps, or enhanced safety procedures, there are lots of things that will help you achieve that goal.
1. Improve Site Safety
First of all, your company needs to understand the importance of site safety. Not only will these procedures increase productivity, but they’ll also safeguard your best asset – Your workforce. The rule of thumb in these situations is to simply follow the country’s legal regulations and common sense.
We recommend you start with a comprehensive safety plan that will outline daily procedures. However, these procedures will only work if you also provide training to your staff so they know how to behave in different situations. Coupled with regular inspections, you can rest assured that your workforce enjoys maximum protection at work.
2. Understand Site Conditions
The site conditions will have a major impact on how you execute the project. As you’d expect, building a house on a landslide isn’t the same as constructing something on firm, level ground. Site accessibility is one of the main considerations in this case, determining how your equipment, materials, and staff will move around on a daily basis.
When creating your overarching strategy, you need to take into account the density of the local traffic, adjacency of pedestrians, emergency exits, and other terrain features. Some companies go as far as to consider workers’ closeness to the job site and how likely they are to run late.
3. Focus on Site Culture
Although construction site employees tend to get rowdy, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create a professional environment. All staff members should behave according to the company’s values, always remembering they represent their employees while at the workplace.
Site managers should introduce communication rules and software that will make it easier to complete tasks without yelling and increasing everyone’s stress levels. Maintaining high morale is critical at job sites, given that the job is rather arduous and things tend to go awry more often than not.
4. Create Sequences
Workflows are vital in construction, given the nature of these projects. In the end, you can’t start the building from the top down. Managers are responsible for creating sequences according to the project’s objectives and requirements. In most cases, one task can’t start before the previous one finishes, which is why you need a strict plan.
Members of the management team should work together to introduce optimal sequences and detect potential bottlenecks. Among other things, managers should introduce realistic goals as they don’t want to overburden their employees. Communication plays a huge role at this point, as you have to ensure everyone’s on the same page.
5. Select Partners
Finding the right subcontractor partners will increase your efficiency and ensure you meet the deadline. These professionals are responsible for executing specific tasks, without which the project can’t advance.
During the selection process, you need to take into account various criteria, including track record, experience, references, financial situation, and adhering to the best safety practices. Most importantly, you need to make sure the subcontractor’s features and capabilities align with your goals and scope of work.
6. Document Daily Processes
By collecting data, you’re able to increase transparency, efficiency, and accountability at the construction site. While this might not be relevant for smaller businesses, it’s crucial for large companies with lots of stakeholders. It also makes things easier when getting loans and executing other financial operations.
Documentation is vital for planning future projects. By analyzing past data, you can make better financial and deadline estimations. Data collection optimizes your processes as it helps you detect inefficiencies and work around them. Having the required documents is critical when working with various public agencies.
7. Introduce Quality Management
Quality assurance and control are the focal points of industries such as civil engineering. Your work affects people who’ll live in your building, so you need to ensure they stand the test of time. Through well-defined quality management procedures, you ensure your processes meet the legal requirements.
Managers have to create proper standards for everything, ranging from materials, deliverables, and work quality. The company needs to perform regular inspections from the get-go. This will allow you to detect potential problems and address them before they cause massive expenses for your business.
8. Learn From Past Projects
Past projects are a font of knowledge. Just by tracking your progress during the construction, you’ll have a better understanding of deadliness, expenses, bottlenecks, and employee-related risks. In a best-case scenario, you’ll use all these insights to streamline your future projects and create a workflow that will be applicable to any situation.
9. Rely on Software
For a construction business to stay competitive, it needs to implement various programs to automate its daily tasks. Besides improving site management, these platforms can be used for logistics, finances, HR, and other departments.
The great thing about construction site software is that it can improve just about any process on the field. This includes streamlining communication, increasing accuracy, saving materials, improving equipment maintenance, and, ultimately, improving outcomes. Most of these programs integrate with each other, providing you with a single robust solution for your business.
Last Things You Have to Consider
Planning a construction project is a very streamlined process. There’s a time and place for everything, so you need to give yourself some time and not rush anything.
Smart companies use historical data to improve their future projects. By using modern software, they automate and simplify various tasks that were previously hard to execute. That way, they increase efficiency across the board.
