When it comes to delivering construction projects, it usually takes a lot of time, effort, and money to make small profits. Construction costs can significantly reduce your company’s profitability when not monitored and utilized efficiently. It can get out of control before anyone can notice and make a project lose money instead of making money. You may need to watch every penny to make sure they make a profit during projects. Because of this, contractors and project managers constantly look for ways to save money and resources to stay in business and keep building. It is one area of improvement in construction management that contractors need to focus on.
However, this should not mean that you should compromise your project’s quality in light of reducing costs and increasing profitability. Instead, you can learn some easy and crucial ways to cut costs by reading this article. Whether spending less on building materials or less on labor, cutting your spending can help your business gain greater profits in the long run. But first, let us define what these construction costs are.
What Are Construction Costs?
Every project, regardless of its industry, has direct and indirect costs; it includes all costs and expenses that come from resources or services needed to deliver something. In this section, we will further discuss the two main categories of construction costs.
Direct Costs
Direct costs are the costs and expenses directly required to deliver a construction project, and it can come from labor, materials, tools, or equipment. Estimates of these costs for a building project are made after a thorough look at the contract activities, construction method, site conditions, and resources.
Indirect Costs
On the other hand, indirect costs are directly tied to a specific building, product, or function. People, security, and administration are the main things that make up indirect costs. Overhead costs for a project can be either fixed or time-based. It includes the costs of stores, safety facilities, workshops, offices, staff, and parking spaces – any costs of running the job site are considered project overhead costs.
Why Does It Cost So Much to Deliver Construction Projects?
Construction costs can quickly get out of hand, with most projects going above budget. But even if you prioritize your planning and estimating processes, your project might still cost more than you initially planned.
Raw Materials for Construction
Many of the construction materials are often harvested or mined first. Due to using raw materials like steel, wood, concrete, gravel, or sand, jobs in the construction industry already have high costs. These things are always in demand, and many of their raw materials come from a limited source. Since it takes a lot of energy and works to make, the price will go up when electricity and gas prices go up.
Unpredictable Weather
It is possible for the people who supply the raw materials and the team working on the building project itself to be negatively impacted when the weather is horrible and dangerous. It can also cause a standstill in work and take much longer to finish, adding additional expenditures owing to the delays.
Inaccurate Scheduling and Budget Planning
You will get off to a bad start with the project if the predicted costs are incorrect and the timeline is unrealistic from the beginning of the process. Since you will have an inaccurate baseline for the project, the likelihood that the costs may spiral out of control and the project will take longer than anticipated is increased.
Poor Construction Management
If it is not managed well, it will cost more than planned and take longer than planned to be done. The contractor may lose money and has to pay liquidated damages every day past the agreed-upon finish date. It can also affect other projects if a contractor’s workers and tools are needed to finish a project that is not going well.
Seven Simple Ways You Can Manage Your Construction Costs within Your Budget
Luckily, there are many ways for contractors to save money. It would help if you put the same amount of work into the projects but spent and ran them more efficiently so your company’s quality and reputation will not be compromised. In this section, we have listed seven ways to help you manage costs more efficiently.
Look for the Best Deals for Materials and Equipment
Probably the most effective way to make more money in construction is to find the best deals for any resources you will need to buy often. Many companies have used the same supplier for materials or equipment for years because they might have partner rates and discounts. However, you can still check out the market prices and see if you are getting the best deal for what you are paying for.
Buying in bulk can also save money on your project because the price of each item goes down as you buy more. You can use software for construction management that offers inventory tracking to check your stock levels and see if they can last till the end of the project. In this case, you will not run out of materials in the middle of a project and take advantage of the significant discounts for buying in bulk.
Improve Your Project’s Efficiency on Site
Improving how things work on the job site can help you cut down on wasted time, which drives up costs. Do not be afraid and intimidated to invest in the best tools to do the job quickly without sacrificing quality. An excavator may initially cost much, but it is significantly more efficient than using individual shovels and people to dig a hole, saving your workers’ time and stress.
Another way to make work sites more efficient is to tell managers to keep people busy. Using construction employee scheduling software can help you get an overview of your crew’s workload and prevent them from doing too much or too little work. It can significantly improve your project’s productivity and keep it on track.
Invest in Good, High-quality Tools and Equipment
If you buy low-quality tools for a low price, you may believe you are saving money. However, these instruments will fail you far more rapidly than ones of exceptional quality would. Always consider how much your tools will cost you in the long run, including how much it will cost you to maintain or repair them. You can minimize costs in construction in another way by maximizing the efficiency of the instruments you own so that you can accomplish more with fewer resources. You will obtain additional value from these tools than what you spent for them initially because you can use them for other projects as well.
Create an Efficient Inventory Management System
Gone are the days when you have to monitor everything by hand and paper. Manage your inventory with project management software for the construction industry, which can help you get a clear view of every resource on your job site. By having employees log the tools in and out, you will always know where they are, and they will not go missing. You could go as far as keeping a record for each piece of equipment that says when it was last serviced.
Reduce Construction Wastes
Reducing waste is good for the environment and can save you money in your construction business. One of the last processes, before you can finally say that you have completed the project, is to keep the site clean of waste and deliver it to the client in a presentable manner. Using sustainable practices can also help cut construction costs and make buildings work better. Many building materials can be used or recycled, so find out what can be saved and used again.
Keep You Workers Happy and Engaged
It is no secret that your workers are the most critical resources in completing a construction project. You can use construction time tracking software to see which of your crew members are coming on time and who are late without the need to micromanage them. You can ensure your workers continue to do their best work for you by listening to any problems and finding out if they have any scheduling conflicts. Make sure to carefully plan out projects and give yourself extra time to finish a job so your workers will not be overloaded with the work.
Invest in A Good Quality Software for Construction Management
Many contractors and home builders save the most money using construction software. Of course, you must put in the time and work needed to set it up and run it. Even though it may be hard to see an “investment” as a way to save money, in the long run, it will be.
Investing in construction software like Pro Crew Schedule can make every project go more smoothly and be more successful. It offers powerful features like time tracking, inventory automation, and effective scheduling to keep your project on track and increase its productivity and profitability.
