When managing construction projects, your crew are your most valuable resource – it is essential to plan your processes, operations, and systems with them in mind. No matter the industry, one of the most apparent differences between companies that do well and those that do not is how they manage their workers or how well they treat their employees.
As a business owner or a project manager, you probably know how important it is to manage the people who work in construction. They are critical for you to deliver your commitments on time and within budget. Throughout the years, businesses have been consistently striving to learn to improve and perfect their processes. Now that the right technologies are available, you can efficiently and effectively manage your crew. However, before we dive into all the details, let us first discuss construction crew management.
What is Construction Crew Management?
Construction crew management is a complex part of project management, and it ensures that every crew member completes their tasks on time and within budget. Managing your construction workers is to make them more productive and efficient and to ensure they save time on laborious, repetitive tasks.
Another goal of construction crew management is to ensure that all teams do things in a standard way so that the whole company works the same way. All these things significantly affect how happy your customers are, so you need construction management software addons that offer compelling features that make managing your staff easier.
Who Is Part of Your Crew Members in Construction?
These people who work in construction are an essential part of the pool of resources. A building can only build itself with these people, who offer their skills and expertise to complete their tasks. The project happens because of the people who work on it. Here are the most critical jobs when it comes to construction projects.
Estimators
The estimator’s job is to determine how much money, materials, and people are needed to complete a project. They provide accurate estimates so you know how many resources you need and how much you should spend on the project. This way, you will know if the project is profitable or not.
Architects
The architect’s job is to consider the client’s wants and devise a creative plan. Usually, they participate during the preconstruction phase, where they talk to the client, understand their vision, and turn those ideas into a workable set of blueprints.
Engineers
Engineers are essential on a job site and can specialize in various fields. They ensure that the construction is going according to the blueprint specifications. For example, structural engineers keep an eye on the rebar works if the correct number of steel reinforcing bars are installed before pouring on the concrete.
Project Managers
The project manager serves as the link between the workers on the site and the bosses in the management office. They ensure everything is going according to plan and report to the office for any possible delays. Their job is to manage the project so that it is delivered on time, within budget, and of the best quality possible. They make sure that both sides can communicate well.
Quantity Surveyors
During the building process, the quantity surveyor is a consultant for the architect and gives the client advice about costs and contracts. They ensure that the financial status of construction projects is reported accurately and managed well.
Construction Workers
The people who work on a project are what make it happen. The people working on the project get their hands dirty after the plan is made. With special training, workers can take on more responsibilities, like getting certified to remove asbestos, lead, or chemicals or helping craft workers like electricians and carpenters with various basic tasks.
How Can Software Help You in Managing Your Crew?
Your business is doing well – you complete projects on time, new ones are coming in, and jobs are being done. You may think you are doing everything the right way – but there is always room for improvement. Using new technology, like construction software or inventory management software, can bring something new to the table – helping your business can grow and expand.
Digital technologies for managing your crew provide real-time information about people’s tasks, locations, and even their skills and certifications. It also allows you to share project updates with your team or the people who need to know with a simple click. Having a single source of truth that everyone in your company can access helps build trust, makes it easier to bid on future jobs, and gives you more information about what makes sense for your business.
Contractors should start thinking about their most significant expense and most valuable asset – their people. They can get direct, helpful information about their employees using the software.
What Are the Benefits of Using Construction Management Software?
Construction technology helps manage project managers and construction workers save money and relieves them of stress. Using software with construction management software extensions such as time tracking or crew scheduling can significantly change how you manage your crew. Here are some excellent reasons to use software like this.
Keep Track of Every Project Detail
As a project manager, being in charge of several projects with tight deadlines might take a lot of work. As a result, you will need an easy yet effective way to keep track of each one. Using crew scheduling software, you can easily create tasks for your workers, add deadlines, and monitor if it is being completed on schedule or if they need assistance to finish the task.
Once you’ve made a project schedule, you can also use software to track how each worker’s time and tasks go through a centralized system. This way, it also makes it easier for employees and subcontractors to do their jobs.
Monitor Labor Costs
Labor costs are one of the cost drivers of a construction project. With the right construction scheduling software, companies can determine how many people they need to hire to use their best resources. It saves your company money because it helps you hire better people, ensuring your project’s profitability and productivity.
Hire The Right Workers for The Job
With today’s current shortage of skilled labor, many companies are in need of workers to deliver their commitments to their clients. Using software to manage your construction workers, you can figure out what skills your project will need – you can hire the most qualified people for your company based on where they live.
You can also track how long you spend on each job site and list how long each task takes. Then, you can use this information to determine whether your current workers are good enough or need more training.
Easily Manage Your Workflows and Tasks
When you build something, you have to work with other people. When you are in charge of more than one person, you have to track how each one is doing and provide them with any support or assistance they may need. You will need to track when each subcontractor is supposed to start and finish a task. With construction time tracking software, you can keep track of subcontractors, their work, and their employees in one place.
Prevent Scheduling Overtimes
A project manager in the construction industry has to keep track of many things, such as time, attendance, hours worked, and overtime. Keeping track of everything by hand can be a real pain. Overworked employees are also dangerous – when they are tired and cannot focus on the job, they might be distracted and unable to do their jobs safely. Using the software, managers can also plan employees’ shifts, track how long a project takes, and deal with other employee-related costs.
Improved Your Safety Standards
When software is used to manage the people who work on a construction project, safety standards get better. You can make your job site safer by keeping track of safety information, like accidents, and creating a safe and healthy environment for your team. If you can see what is going on at work, it will be easier to make changes that will make it safer. Workers have the right to do their jobs in a way that is safe and does not put their health at risk.
Communicate Your Suppliers Effectively
As a construction project manager, you often work with different suppliers to get the materials you need. Software for managing construction workers helps you keep track of your suppliers and the materials you get from them. With sound construction crew management software, you can list all the suppliers involved in each project and manage them all from the same place. You can also list the materials each project needs, keep track of them, and assign them to suitable suppliers.
