8 Tips for Raising Efficiency Rate in Construction Sites
Big construction works are worth multi-million so clients want to make sure that their money is put to the right use by the project team. This is why it’s important for project managers to make sure that his team is working efficiently at the site. With thorough pre-construction planning, keen construction crew management, well-thought risk and safety plan, detailed contingency plan, and high team productivity, project efficiency can surely be achieved.
Productivity has always been a major problem in a lot of construction sites, most especially when the big recession kicked in in 2007. Many construction firms lost their skilled workers that led to lower productivity levels at the site, hence caused delays. If not, projects forced to be finished on time were with lower quality.
After the economy was able to recover, construction companies began to hire again, but it faced another predicament as younger people were no longer interested in doing heavy, manual work. They preferred working at the offices, department stores, sales and marketing, BPOs, and anywhere else where work is more convenient.
That said, efficiency at the construction sites remains to be a problem. Even with technological tools like automatic machines, BIM, construction crew management software, and robots, achieving total efficiency still remains challenging.
In fact, industry data shows that only 1/3 of all construction projects stay within the set builders’ schedule and budget. McKinsey & Company also supported this in a recent research saying the industry’s efficiency rate doesn’t even surpass 30%. Due to this, construction sites are seeing more reworks and are generating more and more costly wastes every year, including:
• Time — Almost 35% of the project manager’s time is wasted on non-productive activities like searching for data, repeating reports, fixing errors, waiting for responses from clients or upper management, and so on.
• Labor- Because responses and communication between the client and the management is slow, a high percentage of labor time is put to waste as they wait for new instructions.
• Expenses — due to inefficiencies, delays in the industry accounted for almost $177 billion in 2018 alone.
Because of this huge amount lost in just a year, the industry is continuously making an effort to improve efficiency at the site and minimize downtimes. The pressing concern has led to new efficiency strategies in the industry that every company should embrace, and they include:
• Technology for boosting efficiency and improving communication flow from the office to the site like construction project management software
• Reducing labor downtime by constant monitoring through construction remote crew management tools.
• Maximizing assets and full equipment maintenance
These three domains may look simple but they are effective in bringing back a firm’s productivity level up the bar.
Ways to Raise Efficiency Rate in Construction Sites
Efficiency is more important now than ever in construction sites. With lesser people joining the industry, productivity should be ensured to finish the project on schedule, within the budget, and less prevent rework.
So how do we improve efficiency at the site?
We rounded up some of the strategies that we sure will work. Being a subcontractor for years, we’ve witnessed different problems that affected the project team’s efficiency rate as well as the remedies implemented by project managers to deal with inefficiencies.
So below are foolproof ways to boost the performance and efficiency of your crew members at the site:
1. Real-time Communication
We always mention about how communication is the key to a successful project. A lot of time is wasted at the site just by waiting for instructions and responses from the management. That said, construction firms should find a real-time channel to be implemented both at the site and the office.
Real-time communication can solve a lot of issues in the project. It keeps crew members informed of the decisions of the management so their workflow is continuous. They no longer need to stop answering phone calls and wait for the printed new instruction before they can resume their activities.
Chances for misunderstandings to happen are also eliminated by real-time communication. There are a lot of instances when the office and the site are not on the same page because of the slow delivery of instructions to the site. But with digital solutions where attachments are allowed, the activities at the site will always be aligned with the instructions released by the office.
Furthermore, when construction project management software is used, reporting errors becomes instant. Consequently, mitigation and solutions can be planned immediately and bigger and more costly errors as well as delays are prevented.
With just a simple digital tool, you can achieve real-time communication at the site. So find a reliable communication tool that works on mobile devices like Pro Crew Schedule for easier implementation.
2. Collection and Management of Construction Data
Data is important in construction. Apart from data being the core source of instruction through plans, schedules, and budget, it is also a way for project managers to monitor the activities at the site and the productivity of the crew members. Hence, it is important for companies to establish efficient data collection and management and these can be done by using digital tools like construction project management software.
Apart from the efficient collection of data, project managers should also be able to interpret them correctly. By having KPIs, they can calculate the productivity rate of their crew members. And by comparing accomplishments with plans, they should be able to tell whether the project is within the schedule. It will also be helpful to crew members if the project manager can provide feedback so the team knows whether they should exert more effort or they can continue with their pace.
3. Implementation of Construction Software
Construction project management software is no longer considered a luxury at the site but a necessity. With project managers having to juggle projects, having a reliable tool to help him manage several sites is a must. Besides, construction software is more accurate in project monitoring and measuring productivity than personal visits. He gets updated about achievements and concerns immediately too compared to gathering reports during his once a week site visit.
Construction crew management is also more efficient with a construction software where project managers can easily look into a worker’s schedule, his daily accomplishments, and time logs. This will help him find out who’s really working and who’s causing delays so he can take proper actions to get everyone back on track.
Another way digitization can help boost efficiency is by providing shortcuts to processes. You already know by now that collaboration is faster via cloud-based software as files are exchanged in a central space. Revisions done in files no longer need to be informed since the files update on everyone’s end automatically. All of which helps in saving time.
4. Surprise Checks
When you think that you’ve already done enough confrontations with workers and still get to reason their way out of it, then it’s time to be more aggressive in your construction crew management by doing surprise site visits. Because you rely on construction project management software like, some workers tend to relax knowing that nobody is there to check on what they’re really doing. But because you do surprise checks regularly, your crew members will be pushed to work on their tasks knowing that they may be caught and their salaries may be deducted with their idle time.
5. Train Your Crew
Help your crew members level up their skills by sending them to training programs. Mode than them, it is the company that will greatly benefit from a knowledgeable worker since they will become more efficient in carrying out their tasks, hence preventing errors to happen. This can also be a way for firms to skip getting some subcontract works when members are sent to training for concreting and masonry, for instance.
6. Motivate Your Crew
Friendly competition at the site can be more beneficial than hurtful. Establish goals and set prices, preferably monetary prices, so workers will be motivated to do better at their jobs. Don’t forget to recognize their accomplishments too. Doing this will help winners build their self-confidence and for others to know who to approach for tips so next time, they can also won prices.
7. Make Your Members Accountable For Their Own Tasks
Help your workers build some sense of responsibility by giving them accountability. Knowing that they will be sanctioned for their mistakes will make them work well to avoid errors. Set crew schedules and activities by a person than by team so that everyone knows exactly what their role is in the project. It may take a lot of time to do this but surely, there will be several people who will be assigned similar tasks.
8. Modular Construction
When you think the timeline of the project is too tight and your crew members are having a hard time working on their tasks, modular construction can be a good alternative for some parts of the building.
Overworking your people may not be a good idea as it can affect their efficiency and work quality. They may be able to do more but it won’t guarantee that they’ll finish the job without any errors. And that doesn’t count as efficiency since there will be reworks.
Modular construction, on the other hand, can save you time and money. It’s a common choice for companies who are undermanned and are in a fast-paced project. The key is to find a reliable manufacturer to get the result you desire.
CONCLUSION
Efficiency is a key ingredient in having a successful construction project and though it could be challenging to boost it with only a few people working for you, it’s not impossible. Put in extra effort to implement our suggestions above and see your team achieving the efficiency rate you are aiming for. Start with the simplest ways like establishing real-time communication and digitize your construction crew management or gamification of tasks. All these are proven to help construction firms finish their projects on time.
