New construction plans for a business signal the growth of the company. From a simple office renovation to building a skyscraper, any construction project has the same standard process.
But by far, the most significant part of a construction project is the management of the resources, supplies, equipment, inventory involved in the project, and plans for the blueprint of the project itself.
Construction project management is the process or service that provides a project’s owner with effective management of a project’s schedule, cost, safety, and functions. Every construction project requires a clearly articulated and well-formulated plan in the hands of an experienced project manager to run smoothly and efficiently.
While construction projects can vary in size, location, budget, workers, equipment, and such, what’s certain is that it’s a long and complicated process. However, it gets easier when you have knowledge of what you need to accomplish and the tools that can help. Here’s what you need to know.
What Do You Need to Get Started?
The first step for efficient management is pre-planning, and in order to do that, you need to always be one step ahead. For this, you need to understand the typical phases of a construction project, and there are mainly five phases. To summarize:
- Initial Concept Phase
The project conception phase is essentially the planning and development part of the process. It contains every step you need to take into account before a project has been approved.
In this phase, the planning team describes the aims and purposes of the project. Next comes sketching the design and preparing a scheme for the construction plans.
- Pre-Construction Phase
In the pre-construction phase, you need to get ready to start building. For this, the project team clears the construction site to set it up for work. They double-check the required equipment and inspect changes that occur due to environmental factors.
- Procurement Phase
After all of the planning, finally, the time arrives to purchase or rent the heavy machinery, tools, and materials needed for the construction project. Though it may seem like a straightforward phase, it becomes complicated if you have various vendors with different delivery schedules for ordering the equipment.
- Construction Phase
Now is when all the planning and preparation come into play. The project manager and the contractor shift the project from just a blueprint into actual construction work in the construction phase. Communication and organization among the workers, contractors and subcontractors are vital here.
- Post-Construction Phase
The post-construction phase, also known as the project checklist phase, is the final stage. Everything the team has built up until now needs to be inspected. Once the final inspection by the government has been completed to ensure that everything is in order, that’s when the project truly ends, and everyone returns home.
There are even some softwares you can make use of to help you with the project management process. For instance, construction job costing software helps construction companies gain insight into the specific costs of each project to improve project management.
What Are Construction Management Software?
As mentioned before, construction management softwares are the apps or services which have integrated management characteristics like communication aid, schedule timing, stock procurement, cost predictions, market forecasts, and assessing any setbacks to the construction project.
The use of sophisticated software designed especially for the construction industry dramatically improves efficiency and productivity. Technology has come a long way, so it only makes sense that software like this appears as the demand for more construction work rises in the market.
When searching for the right software to enhance efficiency in your construction projects, the necessary detail to look out for is to check its main functions and tools to determine if they are suitable for your specific work.
Types of Management Software
Depending on functionality, Project management softwares have been divided into two all-encompassing categories:
- Individual
The first category is individual or desktop project management software. A good example is Microsoft Project; it is a simple spreadsheet that makes it simple for a project manager or any team member to manage the entire project.
But documents from individual software cannot be shared across the various roles. For most specific and complex construction projects, collaboration and updates are required.
- Collective
A solution to the problem that arises from individual software is installing collective software. Collective software can be accessed, edited, and viewed by anyone. These softwares vary significantly from low-tech models to high-tech ones.
For instance, the advanced collective softwares allows companies to execute several projects at a time. Data and information from previous and current construction projects are connected onto a single mainframe for multiple teams to access and customize.
Benefits of Construction Management Software
Not utilizing the advantages and benefits of project management software for construction workers and teams is undeniably foolish. There are many characteristics of a construction project that management softwares can enhance:
- Effectiveness
Construction project management softwares enables construction teams to adopt a systematic and straightforward process.
Project management software can also become a foundation and record for all your documentation. The preservation and management of the documents help everyone to access them quickly.
- Safety
Construction can be very hazardous and challenging work. A tiny mistake or improper placement of material can result in highly dangerous situations, and in some cases, jeopardize the whole project, including the workers’ lives.
So modern tech has brought a proposition, wearable sensors that can detect unstable situations and warn the project manager to take action. These sensors are connected to and monitored on some management softwares.
- Planning
Picking the proper staff, materials, and devices is a challenge construction companies have to deal with before each project. Now is when project management softwares becomes helpful.
They have integrated spaces to input the names, qualifications, and categories each employee needs to be put into. The system can then determine the best-suited workers for the specific construction jobs, eliminating the slow and time-consuming process.
- Communication
Communication is arguably the most vital point of a construction project. Project management softwares makes it easy for the project manager and contractor to share the necessary information with all workers.
This defeats the need to explain the project situation individually with each team. The consistent and rapid flow of information helps better the process for all employees.
