Project management in construction: 5 crucial steps for a successful project

Construction is a complex business. There are countless of parameters that should be taken into consideration as a construction project unfolds. After all, that is the main purpose of project management in construction. To sharply control and monitor the progress of a project in terms of quality, cost and time.

Of course, that’s a long and extremely demanding process which can easily turn to a disaster if the right systems and processes are not in place.

It comes as no surprise, then, that we often hear about the serious problems that the industry is facing with regards to productivity and on-site performance.

The good news is that things seem to gradually change for the better as digital solutions enter the field. Nevertheless, digital solutions aren’t enough on their own. A solid digital strategy is also required in order for the agents of the project to get the most out of their use.

In a nutshell, here are five crucial factors of success for almost every type of project in construction:

1. Start by the team

Finding the right people for your project is extremely important. By putting together an experienced and trustworthy team, you can be sure that every problem that might emerge during the building process will be tackled in an effective way.

And that’s not all. A strong and tech-savvy team can also facilitate the transition to a digital way of working and pave the way for a healthy digital strategy. Keep in mind that the future construction workers are expected to be knowledge workers so you might want to make sure that your team has an analytical mindset and good experience in working with data.

2. Find the right digital tools

After being done with building your team, it is time to focus on the digital solutions that can help you in getting on with your project successfully. Construction is one of the most under-digitised industries ahead only of agriculture and hunting.

That being said, it might take some effort from your side in order to convince your team about the benefits of the digital solutions that you have chosen to use in the course of the project.

Ideally, the selection of the tools should be in coordination with all the different project parties so you can be sure that the entire organisation is fully aligned with regards to the true needs of the project and the way in which you are going to tackle them.

Our suggestion? Put extra attention to the construction phase, both planning and follow up, as this is where a lot of money can be spent due to miscommunication and lack of transparency.

3. Invest in training

This is where the hard work begins. Once you have selected the digital solutions you want to implement, you should immediately start thinking about training. Just making everybody adopting a digital tool without showing them how they can get the most out of it will eventually bring no value to your organisation and your project.

For that reason, you really need to agree with your software provider that they will take the responsibility to onboard your team and show them all the different ways in which their product can help you bridge the gap between the construction site and the office.

Furthermore, by investing in training you have the opportunity to show your team the multiple benefits that a digital tool can provide them on a day-to-day basis. This can be the key to accelerating the transition to a more proactive digital culture.

4. Standardise your processes

The fourth step in our list can help you both on your current and future projects. Standardising the systems and processes you use during the building projects can work miracles with regards to minimising project delays and budget overruns.

The reason behind that is simple. All members of your team will be aware of what they are supposed to do at every phase of the project and will feel sure that the right tools are at the right location at the moment they need them.

Now imagine that you can replicate this process in multiple projects. Regardless of who is coming on site to work for your project, you can be confident that the programme will be respected and that everything will progress as it is supposed to.

5. Constantly review and analyse the data

Last but certainly not least, regardless of the type of your project you need to take good care of your data. Construction is one of the worst industries when it comes to storing and analysing their data.

That is an extremely dangerous trend for the sector and you should not follow it. This is where digital tools can offer enormous value as they can play the role of an objective source of truth for your project.

Shortly, these are some of the ways data can help your project:

• Restore trust in contractual relationships.
• Minimise project disputes.
• Monitor productivity and efficiency on site.
• Issue weather reports which can help the project team adjust tasks accordingly.
• Field reporting.
• Snagging.

On top of that, making good use of your data will allow you to create a long-term strategy with regards to designing and managing your upcoming projects. By being able to implement the same tools and processes in multiple projects, you can save your organisation from behemoth costs and painful delays.

Wrapping it up

All in all, it becomes evident that getting a successful construction project going is challenging. Nonetheless, the advent of digital technologies can make the whole process much more manageable as they can provide a detailed overview of the different parameters and play a decisive role in the standardisation of the building process.

About the author: Anastasios Koutsogiannis is Content Marketing Manager at GenieBelt.