Running a construction company isn’t for everyone: managing any business is tough, but these sorts of projects require a huge amount of planning and need to be completed with extreme precision, both from a client satisfaction point of view and from one of health and safety.
The stakes are high, and with so many different aspects to manage at once, even the most steadfast leader will get overwhelmed from time to time.
The key to not getting into a position where everything’s getting on top of you is to get as organized and efficient as possible, so in this article, you’ll learn 12 valuable tools you can start using today to help.
- Project Scheduling Tools
Your ability to maintain a tight schedule is a crucial element for success when working in construction, and if you had to do everything via analog methods, things would soon get out of hand.
These days, there are many project scheduling tools that can help you organize and plan with relative ease. They enable you to compartmentalize various elements of a job, assign individual deadlines, and set dependencies, offering a bird’s-eye view of the project and the ability to finely control each element.
- Time-Tracking Software
A large part of staying on schedule depends on your ability to manage time effectively, and tools like Hubstaff, which track staff hours among other elements, can be invaluable.
When you’re managing a large team, it can be difficult to account for everyone and make sure each staff member is on task and where they should be. These pieces of software enable you to see clock in and clock out at a glance from your smartphone or tablet, negating the need to constantly check up on people’s whereabouts.
- Construction Invoice Tools
Managing invoices can be a real slog – and that’s when everything’s going perfectly. Given the scale of most construction projects and the number of other businesses involved, tracking invoices can quickly get out of hand if one link in the chain breaks.
Thankfully, a construction invoice app can help prevent most issues. They allow you to make, send, and then track each invoice, all under one centralized platform. This makes it easy to see everything going in and coming out at a glance, and if there are any issues, they’re flagged quickly and can then be dealt with as soon as possible.
- 3D Modeling Packages
Visualising a complex build can be one of the most difficult aspects of your day-to-day, and these early conceptualization stages are crucial, as they lay the groundwork for the success of the project overall.
3D modeling software like Autodesk Revit allows you to build digitized 3D renders of your projects with all the details you need to manage, such as dimensions, staff requirements, and materials. The software also has useful tools for collaboration, and for companies that use them, they come to form the backbone of a project.
- Construction CRM Software
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) packages have become standard in many different industries, and when it comes to construction, they can be very helpful indeed. As the name suggests, they’re all about helping manage your interactions with different clients, helping you maintain strong working relationships.
Packages like Builder Prime are specifically designed with the construction industry in mind.
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- Safety Management Packages
As briefly mentioned in the introduction to this article, safety is of paramount importance when managing construction projects.
Of course, ‘safety’ doesn’t only encompass one area – there’s the safety of your staff while they work on site, and the overall safety of the building over the many years it’ll be in use.
Safety management packages can help by centralizing all of your safety data in one place, whether it be managing staff training, providing detailed checklists, or offering an easy way to report safety-related incidents as and when they happen.
- Team Collaboration Software
Even small construction projects have relatively large teams, and it can be difficult to bring everyone together and collaborate so that you’re all on the right page.
Team collaboration software packages like Slack allow teams to discuss with ease, offering the ability to segment different types of discussions into individual groups under one network to organize communication.
Video conferencing software like Zoom can also be very useful, as this enables teams to have large, face-to-face meetings no matter where they are.
- Drones and Aerial Imaging
Even just 15 years ago, getting aerial footage of large building projects was a very difficult and expensive process.
Drones have revolutionized the way many different industries work, but they’ve become particularly valuable in construction as they offer the user the tools to quickly and easily scan and survey a project from the air. The camera technology drones are equipped with also significantly surpass what was available before, offering companies a more detailed view of their projects than ever before.
- Inventory Tracking Tools
Inventory management can be a huge burden on a construction project and is often a bottleneck for overall efficiency. Given the huge quantities and varieties of materials a given project will need, having a centralized, easy-to-use platform to manage everything is crucial.
Inventory management software allows you to do just that. These platforms give you what you need to see all the tools and materials you require at a glance, what you’ve already ordered, and what’s currently being delivered, and they also usually provide budgeting tools to help manage costs further.
Using a platform like this helps prevent any holdups due to material shortages, giving you time to put a workaround in place before it seriously disrupts things (and it also saves you money by preventing waste).
- Digital Blueprints
Physical blueprints have been used for decades to help efficiently and effectively plan large-scale projects, but these days, you’re usually better off doing things in the digital realm.
Importantly, digital blueprint tools allow you to make changes on the fly without having to redesign the whole print, and with many platforms having both desktop and mobile app integration, you can do so from anywhere and at any time.
Most also feature robust collaborative features, enabling everyone involved in the project to discuss and edit accordingly.
Image Credit: Pexels
- Cost Estimating Tools
Planning costs can get complicated very quickly, and while you’ll almost always require the help of a professional estimator for the final sums, cost estimating applications can help you get a rough idea.
These apps can give you detailed breakdowns of cost based on large pools of real-world data, lessening the time needed for an estimator to go through things.
- Digital Site Logistics Software
A building site has many moving parts, and each of them has to work in sync to ensure the project comes to a close. Managing the logistics involved, whether it be the delivery of materials to the erection of steel infrastructure, has to be carefully coordinated, and these days, this is best managed with digital site logistics tools.
Such platforms enable you to both mitigate risk and increase the speed and efficiency at which day-to-day operations are executed; alongside some of the other tools discussed, modern logistics planning helps with worker coordination and material flow, making sure that everyone, and everything, is where it should be.
Some Final Tips
Remember to Start Small
Many of the tools above allow you to organize projects at a large scale, but with all projects, it’s best to start with the basics first. Things will scale over time, but don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. Develop a methodical framework that you’ll use for each project, which progresses at a reasonable pace.
Continuously Gather Feedback
No matter how efficient your process is, there will always be things to improve upon throughout a project’s lifespan, and the best way to adapt is to gather feedback from your staff. Given that they’re on the ground, they’ll be able to tell you plainly what’s working and what’s not.
Prioritize Team Training
Some of the pieces of software above are quite complex, so don’t just jump in at the deep end. Both you and your staff need to spend time learning the ins and outs of a given software platform before putting it to use. While the above tools are designed to make life easier, they can still slow things down if someone makes a series of critical mistakes.
Most packages come with detailed tutorials to help staff, so be sure to have your team follow these carefully so that they know what they’re doing. The manufacturer should also have robust customer support mechanisms in place, so if anyone gets stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Wrapping Up
So, there you have it: 12 tools that can vastly improve the working efficiency of your site, and help you to complete projects to the standard that both you and your clients hope for. If you’re currently working through some kinks or operational bottlenecks, it’ll take a while for things to get moving again, but have patience and work methodically, and you’ll get there. Good luck!
