Construction Job Management: Methods and Tools

The management of construction projects requires knowledge of modern management as well as an understanding of the design and construction process. Construction projects have a specific set of objectives and constraints such as a required time frame for completion. While the relevant technology used in construction management such as Project Management (PM) software, institutional arrangements or processes will differ, the management of such projects has much in common with the management of similar types of projects in other specialty or technology domains such as aerospace, pharmaceutical and energy developments. 

And today, we are going to look into the different methodologies used in construction job management to help all the budding project managers out there make a better strategy in their scheduling, planning, and overall project management.

Construction Job Management – Ingredients

A working knowledge of general management and familiarity with the special knowledge domain related to the project are indispensable. Supporting disciplines such as computer science and decision science may also play an important role. In fact, modern management practices and various special knowledge domains have absorbed various techniques or tools which were once identified only with the supporting disciplines. For example, computer-based information systems and decision support systems are now common-place tools for general management. Similarly, many operations research techniques such as linear programming and network analysis are now widely used in many knowledge or application domains.

Specifically, project management in construction encompasses a set of objectives which may be accomplished by implementing a series of operations subject to resource constraints. There are potential conflicts between the stated objectives with regard to scope, cost, time and quality, and the constraints imposed on human material and financial resources. These conflicts should be resolved at the onset of a project by making the necessary trade-offs or creating new alternatives. Subsequently, the functions of project management for construction generally include the following:

•         Specification of project objectives and plans including delineation of scope, budgeting, scheduling, setting performance requirements, and selecting project participants.
•         Maximization of efficient resource utilization through procurement of labor, materials and equipment according to the prescribed schedule and plan.
•         Implementation of various operations through proper coordination and control of planning, design, estimating, contracting and construction in the entire process.
•         Development of effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts among the various participants.

Construction Job Management – Different Methods

Regarding construction project management, the two most prolific methods for getting things executed are the conventional waterfall and agile. To understand these concepts and more, here are the different methodologies observed in construction job management:

1. Waterfall Technique

The waterfall technique imitates the usual workflow technique in any production or construction project as it is a method in regular succession. Each level occurs in a solitary manner, and as the standard is being completed, the group moves directly to the next level in sequential order.

Usefulness

The method here is a clear indication of compliance, allowing the process to grow in the future. From the offset, the client may have a clear view of what will come about in part to implement the project. They will approximately know the cost of the project, and the duration is given to execute the plan and will have a good understanding of the project.

Shortcomings

There is no making of alteration once a level in the process has been completed without scrapping the entire project and starting again. The whole method relies on basic methods; if those are wrong, then the task is likely to fail right from the beginning. The product is

evolved in tiers and only tested thoroughly at the end, which means bugs can be so ingrained in the long run product that they’re not possible to put off.

2. Agile Technique

Agile has become one of the times spoken of in response to the many challenges in managing the waterfall project. Instead of following a series of isolated methods, this approach is pointed to a viable way of sending the plan. Project projects begin with the right idea of where they are going, after which to work on smart modes of short ‘sprints.’ At the end of each sprint, modules are reviewed to discover any bugs or mistakes and customer comments that are collected before the next race occurs.

Advantages

After the original plans have been developed, alterations can be made to such programs, in truth structural modifications are expected. As a result, it is less challenging to perform the tasks and to revise the refinements within the industry, even if the project is submitted. Regular debugging guarantees misappropriation earlier which implies that the product may be ready to dilute and may be more likely to be a good product

Limitations

This method is suitable for maintaining things on target and balancing our creativity with project transport necessities. Due to the disruption of the project’s real plan, the final product usually occurs differently from the first one.

Choosing  the Right Construction Job Management Methodology

When you realize what a very last product must be and are confident your client won’t want to alternate the scope half-way, waterfall project management is the best for you. However, if the rate of production is more important than the quality of the product and the customer needs to change the scope element along the line, agile permits for greater flexibility and is one of the things every project manager needs to know other types of methodologies.

1. PER (Packaged Enable Re-engineering)

In the most present-day construction project management courses, this method may not be referenced. However, it is generally researched as it follows a conventional and traditional way. The prolonged papers on the technique explain grand theories and programs which could be applied to the side of other strategies.

2. NPI (New Product Introduction)

NPI isn’t always taken into consideration to be an entire methodology because it lacks a full technique to lead the construction project management to project fulfillment but continues to be a beneficial process that agencies and businesses use when it comes to tasks concerning merchandise.

3. Scrum

Scrum is an entirely extraordinary form of method that does not use conventional terminology or the popular project management framework. It tends to work in construction projects that are not much constrained by the budget or time-frame and require a wholly devoted team rather than members who may be working on various projects at the same time. The project manager on this process will be known as a ‘Scrum Master’ whose most essential duties are retaining attention inside the crew, getting rid of any distractions and encouraging and facilitating correct conversation inside the team.

The technique includes 30-day cycles labeled ‘sprints’ with ‘scrum periods’ scheduled every month.

The targets and cut-off dates are damaged down into 30-day schedules. This means that extremely complex projects or teams suffering from organizing their workload can enjoy the procedure much.

4. RAD (Rapid Applications Development)

The software improvement sector makes use of this project management method regularly because it uses conventional techniques and modeling to determine the consumer’s desires and to create and refine the remaining system efficiently. The technique uses continuous collection techniques within the project methods. Although some managers do not favor the authentic methodology because they feel the unique techniques aren’t thorough enough to create a complicated capability, more recent variations do remedy these troubles which imply it’s ended up a miles greater green and suitable method in the past years.

These days, software in construction focuses mainly on Project Management software. Also otherwise known as Construction project management or CPM software, this is a specific application of Project Management discipline for construction project types that include agricultural, residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, heavy civil and environmental.

The construction project manager specifies objectives and plans, maximizes resource efficiency, implements various operations, and develops communication and mechanisms, among others. Although the technology, institutions, and/or processes are different, CPM has many similarities in the management of projects in other domains and industries such as aerospace, pharmaceutical and software sectors. For instance, construction projects are required to reach an objective at a given schedule, budget and quality.

In the same way, CPM also benefits in utilizing applications and tools that automate administration tasks, simplify estimating and billing, facilitate planning and scheduling, manage workload assignments, centralize document management, and promote real-time communication and issues resolution. 

Different apps for management in the construction industry have actually been used in the earlier years. This includes the use of spreadsheets, video conference applications, and general collaboration tools available online. But none of these can bring the benefits that construction-specific apps for management can offer.

For that reason, most project managers are more in favor of using construction PM software like Pro Crew Schedule.

Choosing the Right Construction PM Software Solution

If you are managing a construction project, you are faced with a huge task of making sure everything goes as planned. The tasks involved with construction management need expertise, the right tools and experience. As a construction project manager, your duties will cover a plethora of areas, as you will constantly need to be in touch with numerous agents involved in your project.

With such overwhelming duties, you need more than skills and experience to make your work easier. Having the right project management tool can make a whole difference and streamline your work. 

At the most basic, your PM software should have these features:

1.       Real-time Updates:

   You need to keep track of what’s going on around your project easy and quickly. Stakeholders should be able to estimate the construction project completion time. The system should give you the ability to monitor the progress of your project at any moment.

2.       Easy to use reporting tools:

   The system should have a simple reporting tool in order to empower communication between the various sides. This will increase productivity within the project and simplify the management of the various tasks.

3.       Unlimited accessibility:

   While working on a construction project, unhindered access to the project is key. For that reason, it’s important that you can connect to your project regardless of your location. In other words, it’s essential that you invest in mobility. You have to be able to use your mobile on-site and report any potential project hiccups.

4.       Secure Cloud Hosting:

   The system should be able to store all your information in a secure and trustworthy way. Banking level security for all your data is a must!

5.       File-Sharing:

   to smoothen collaboration, the system should have a good file sharing featuring a central file sharing point with notification capabilities in case of file modification. The file-sharing feature should be well secure to guarantee the safety of the project documents being shared from one point to another.

Conclusion

By taking some of these thoughts into consideration, there’s a better chance that you end up with the right construction pm software solution. A solution that can end up saving you a lot of time and money like Pro Crew Schedule. The good thing is that a lot of these software solutions can offer you a demo so you can get a free trial period. Then you can test out if you have found the right software to use or if you need to find another solution.