Successfully managing construction projects leads to satisfied clients and profits that align with your goals. Yet, two more common reasons for delays that cause construction management failures include project scheduling and time management. By mastering these areas specifically, improving operational management while keeping teams working towards an achievable goal may be possible.
To manage these areas effectively, focus on the critical path method, Gantt charts, resource allocation, and these additional strategies.
Creating Realistic Project Timelines Reduces Frustration
One of the most common pitfalls of construction management is creating a strategy for building effective, realistic timelines. One survey found that 77% of construction company owners say their projects run late, and the average was 70 days beyond their expectations, creating costly overruns.
Numerous strategies exist to help create more realistic project timelines, including:
- Create a clear project scope before creating a timeline. The more detailed and thorough the project scope is, the more likely the timeline can be accurate.
- Work with vendors to know expectations. Before setting a timeline, be sure you have worked with vendors to ensure that timelines are realistic and within their ability to meet material goals.
- Break down overall projects into tasks to get a better idea of the actual amount of time each task takes.
It can also be important to work with your entire team to get a realistic idea of how long various tasks take.
Identifying Critical Milestones
Focus on the critical path method as a starting point for building projects. This method allows for analyzing, planning, and scheduling larger and more complex projects by identifying their critical path, which includes the longest sequence of tasks that must be finished before the project can be completed.
If this is an ongoing concern for your company, focus on learning the critical path method. It offers numerous benefits, including better budget control, resource allocation, and simplified construction management.
Allocating Resources Efficiently
All your resources, including your company’s employees and materials, should always be allocated to make them readily available when needed but not over-planned for when they are not. Better resource management can help improve overall project success while minimizing risks to your organization, including not having the help needed when a project needs to move into hyperdrive.
A Gantt chart can be one helpful tool here. It allows you to create a visual detailing of the work to be completed over time. You can see when various tasks need to take place when you need people to manage each task, and how to plan accordingly. Use this as a stepping stone to building a highly effective resource management process.
Monitoring Progress and Adjusting Schedules
That Gantt chart can also help with this key area of effective asset management. With integrated reporting (from people and assets to financials), your organization can better monitor progress over time and adjust as needed. Adjustments will need to happen, but whether or not you can respond fast enough to changing circumstances is critical.
- Put teams to work addressing concerns with schedules early on.
- Set weekly check-ins when necessary to ensure that any details are caught early before infringing on other aspects of the project.
- Use software and resources to fill in gaps and change schedules, using AI and machine learning to keep your project moving forward.
Mitigating Delays Through Proactive Planning
Ultimately, organizations must work to mitigate delays, such as in any other legal compliance aspects of the job. Mitigating delays in this area often means working closely with the construction management team to keep communication open. Look for problems before they become issues early on, including better resource allocation and meeting contractor scheduling requirements.
There may not be any way to eliminate all risks and delays, but through resources like software scheduling and Gantt charts, you have more information available to you that you can use to accomplish a wider range of goals. Consider strategies such as:
- Creating a backup plan for suppliers with critical products ensures that there is a solution if they are delayed.
- Consider multiple strategies for building effective teams. Upskill talent or onboard better-skilled professionals who can offer insight into key tasks that take other employees a significantly longer time to complete.
- Mitigate building codes and city inspection delays by constantly communicating about the project.
Takeaway
Efficient project scheduling and time management are essential components of overall success in construction management. All projects may stumble with timeline concerns, but if you have a strategy to pinpoint those delays early on and the tools available to mitigate complications, your project can continue to move forward. That can help make everyone’s job a bit easier to manage.
At the core of construction management success is having the right talent to meet changing project goals. Contact MRINetwork now to learn how we can help you fill in those gaps and build more success in your project management.
Set up a consultation with our team now.