Construction project management (PM) deviates from a general PM role by demanding and integrating wide-ranging knowledge of the construction industry, a particular field that is filled with many unique challenges. According to the Construction Management Association of America, the construction projects managers have an average of around 130 responsibilities not including other associated tasks. This only means that PMs have to strategic and tactical as a leader when it comes to working in a certain environment that is greatly impacted by consistent changes.
In order to ensure that every responsibility is met and at the same time the involved parties like architects, suppliers and contractors are well-accommodated – construction PMs have to utilize new tools, implement new strategies and tactics that help them supervised their multifaceted work. For new tools, advanced software applications like construction project management software have continued to make an impact in the industry particularly in the area of project management. Hence, complicated tasks PMs required to do have become simpler.
In this blog, the 5 new practical tactics are going to be outlined that could effectively help every hard-working leader like construction PMs in handling projects and supervising teams. Take a look below.
Make a Habit of Continuous Planning
Among the five phases of project management, planning ranked as the second priority. However, for project managers, this ranking doesn’t apply because they have to start planning long before the actual construction begins where using a builder schedule software has also being considered in advanced. In between planning, they also have to continue developing and revising plans until the project ends. The pre-construction, designing and procurement stages of a certain construction project tend to require individual extensive planning and each of this might need to be thoroughly revised as the following stage unfolds.
PMs require to be assumptive or have advanced thinking for such a reason that anything can happen anytime at the construction site. If a project manager like you has encountered environmental issues during pre-construction phase, the designs might need to change. Slight adjustments happen to have an effect to the overall timeline and plan. The current changes and the upcoming ones can be best listed and monitored using the best construction management software like Pro Crew Schedule. The cloud-based software tool is designed for PMs and contractors to efficiently and strategically manage projects, resources, materials, data and crew.
Observe and Ask Further Questions
Field elements could dramatically impact the entire workflow of all construction projects. There could be many times when a project manager just like you will probably see issues from a crew member before you are able to resolve it with him. It is the very role of PMs to further familiarize the environment as well as the duties of every participating professional who are working under their supervision. It is one of many important leadership skills that need to be flourish over the years. Construction is proven to be a continuous evolving industry – with new practices, approaches, strategies, advanced technologies like construction scheduling software emerging through the years. A competent project manager has a way of using these resources in the most sustainable ways.
Below are some of the most common reflection questions for project managers.
- How do you prioritize all of your workloads?
- In what way do you organize a workweek?
- How do you handle the participating team?
- Have you used sufficient tools and other resources to cope up with the changes?
- Have you prioritized the use of a builder trends software for scheduling purposes?
Create a More Consistent Flow of Communication
Given already that the implementation of consistent communication between all parties involved has always been a priority. It doesn’t change the fact that there are still a lot of issues going on due to the lack of cooperation because others aren’t responding so well. This is still one of many pain points every project manager is still facing right now. Communication is a crucial aspect in every phase of construction and it shouldn’t compromised.
PMs have to establish a flow of communication with all of the involved crew alongside every supplier and stakeholders. However, the way to establish it today should be much more practical and collaborative. Good thing that a tool like the crew schedule software is designed to meet the needs of every PM. The tool is a platform where everyone has the opportunity to communicate with one another anywhere and anytime. Every single one who is involved in the project benefits from the use of it. It helps the team to boost their productivity and collaboration while experiencing streamlined workflows. The effectiveness of using the tool tend to increase as being used wisely. Apart from continuous improvements for team productivity, the tool is also capable of providing efficient construction crew management that is considered as an important aspect.
Wise Budgeting for Projects
In the construction industry, the wages, permits, tools and other equipment needed for construction projects are most of the time exchanged between a wide range of financial vendors and sources. Starting from the initial bidding process and going to the project closeout, project managers are held accountable for monitoring and tracking all costs mainly because they relate to the settled initial budget. Project managers don’t just need to successfully deliver the projects on time – they also need to deliver these projects within specified budget. A project management for construction has to be implemented too because sorting out and reorganizing all data including budget estimations are proven to be much easier because of such implementation.
Furthermore, even the generally small construction projects could possibly contain a couple of hundred moving parts and separate costs. Therefore, in order for the construction PMs to remain effective in this area, they have to use a software that can efficiently help them in managing costs as they are further moving through the every phase of construction budgeting. A construction schedule software is proven to be a huge help in terms of accurate estimations but also for scheduling purposes. This tool is specifically designed to help every project manager in dealing with complex project management tasks.
To develop this budgeting skill is crucial:
- Accurate budgeting is best achieved from a comprehensive understanding of the scope of the project
- It is vital not to gloss over every step. Instead, PMs have to invest enough energy, time and research into sorting out every single thing a project entails
- Learn from past mistakes through evaluating previous projects in order to see where you have under-budgeted or over-budgeted.
- Lastly, make it a habit of counting in contingencies in order to be more prepared from anything unexpected
Data Analysis and Reporting
Another vital responsibility of project managers is to track and report about the performance and ongoing progress towards the project team, stakeholders and to the end clients. Being creative is actually necessary for a PM although they need to possess an analytical mind so that they have the capacity to compile and presenting important info and data. A weekly distribution of various status report and spreadsheets is very necessary in order to get updates and see the overall progress.
For these certain requirements, a construction schedule software is recognized to be efficiently useful in sorting it all out. The features the software tool provides include file storing and sharing that could ultimately help everyone to exchange data and files. Accessing it everywhere at any given time is also achievable because the tool itself is cloud-based.
Project Managers Using Data-Driven Approach to Enhance Project Outcomes
The high availability of analytical technology could enable construction PMs to use various drill-down chart analytical reports in order to break down complicated project data and to be able to predict the outcomes and behavior real-time. A data-driven analytics approach allows project teams to further analyze all collective data in order to specifically understand trends and patterns. Listed below is how PMs make the most of the data-driven approach.
- Capturing Early Signals and Projections – data plays a vital role in any organizations. Utilizing the analytics, PMs are capable of observing early signs of budget slippage and at the same time take proactive actions. Capturing the rate of the work has become easier as well with the use of analytics
- Quality of Deliverable – New projects are always be a daunting task for PMs. To manage all of these new given projects, analytics have certainly become a crucial part of modernized project management. PMs must have a way of grasping how analytics can able to lessen workloads and improve process.
- Assisting Strategic Decisions – analytics not just help project managers but the entire organizations involved. Organizations are efficiently help when it comes to making decisions with the use of analytics. Real-time project analytics will reveal a wealth of data and information that helps in the alignment of strategic objectives.
Key Takeaways
Over the years, construction management has become more technical now that the development of latest software platforms has become prevalent in the industry. However, PMs have to understand that using a work management tool isn’t enough because they too have to figure out the ideal way to sustain and implement those tools. That is why the 5 new leadership strategies mentioned above are worth obtaining by the PMs.
