PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Stay On Top of Commercial Construction and Bring Your Project In Under Budget?

Every construction project manager has to deal with cost overruns. This matters, of course, because budget overruns mean reduced profit or, in the worst-case scenarios, outright losses. This makes planning and budgeting a critical part of the process. 

If you’ve experienced budget overruns, the cause may be your approach to the entire construction process. This post highlights tips that help bring your projects at or under budget.

Create a Realistic Budget

Staying on top of your project and under your budget starts right from the budgeting phase. When clients ask for a quote, you will want to look at similar past projects in terms of budgets. Look at how well or poorly you did in the budgeting and tailor your budget to what you deem ideal. 

If you’re not new to project management, you must have had projects where you nailed budget creation. Those would make good references for your budget. You may also need to leave room for error because not all projects turn out the same.

Avoid Changes Mid-Project

You may get new ideas and changes you’d love to make in the design or approach. Unfortunately, changes can significantly disrupt your budget and should be avoided by ensuring you think through everything before starting the project. 

If change orders come from the client (and most do), you may have to explain to them the implications of the changes on the budget and readjust it to cater to the changes. If the changes are inevitable due to unforeseen eventualities, you may also need to communicate with your clients about re-examining at the budget and quote. 

Use Construction Management Software

The efficiency of the system you use for planning can significantly impact the overall cost of a project. Therefore, you have to be meticulous about planning.

Manual planning can be challenging when dealing with large commercial projects, and you risk leaving some items out, which could lead to budget overruns throughout the work. The solution to budget overruns is automating the planning process using construction management software. 

Like project management software used in other industries, construction management solutions are designed to help manage construction projects. However, when choosing management software, you must pick an effective solution. Something like Archdesk, is one example of something best suited for commercial construction projects. 

Track Your Progress

Every project is a learning opportunity. So, once you begin your project, ensure that you keep track of its progress. Keeping track of the project helps you stay on track so that you do not fall back on the schedule.

Also, keeping track of some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as time spent per phase of the project, cost, employee safety, and client satisfaction helps in planning future projects and ensuring you get better with time. 

The better you will be at project management, the more profits you and your company make. Also, proper project management can help improve client satisfaction and allow you to offer more competitive rates. 

Track Your Employee’s Time

Your staff is your most valued asset and can mean the difference between staying on top of the project or getting into losses. One critical area where you could be losing your revenue is the area of employee time management. Time management starts with arriving and leaving on time. 

As a business owner, time is money. You can’t afford to have your employees wasting time on the clock. That’s where a time clock app with GPS tracking comes in handy. With this type of app, you can track your employee’s time and location, so you always know who’s working and where they are. This way, you can stay in the loop about your crew and make sure they’re staying on task. Plus, if there’s ever an issue with time theft or employee productivity, you’ll have the data you need to investigate and take action. So if you’re looking to improve your business efficiency, a time clock app with GPS tracking is a great place to start.

Time tracking software is the best way to identify when an employee reports and leaves. Besides tracking their entry and leaving time, you also ensure that they spend their time doing what they are paid to do, so you may want to ensure that they work under supervision. You may also need to break down tasks by individual or small team tasks to help identify employee output.