Tips for Managing a Construction Site

Managing a construction site is a lot of work. A construction manager must keep the project within budget, on time, and of course, in accordance with numerous codes, laws, guidelines, etc.

With so many factors to keep track of, the more efficient you can be, the easier the job itself will be. Your job will directly affect the quality of the project itself as well as the profits made and the time taken.

Since we work predominately with construction companies, we decided to share some tips we’ve gathered from different people over the years.

Tips for Your Construction Site

1. Know the Codes

It’s sometimes shocking how much red tape there is when building something. Even the simple things. Every city and state is going to have slightly different rules, laws, and codes to abide by. It’s best to know what you’re getting into right away as these will directly affect your schedule and probably your budget too.

Meet with your local building inspector. Adapt to your area.

2. Map Out Your Schedule Appropriately and Effectively

On a construction site, you need to keep in schedule. But when do things ever go perfectly? The key to scheduling is being locked in on the areas where you’re most confident and looser in the areas where problems tend to arise.

Have a shaky history with electrical work? Give a little padding to the time frame surrounding that.  Worst case scenario: everything goes smoothly and you’re ahead of schedule.

3. Get Bids from Subcontractors

It might seem easier to just pick a subcontractor you’ve used before or run with the first recommendation you get. But just like you had to bid on the construction job in the first place, subcontractors should bid for you. That way, you get a more accurate idea of the budget and time frame, and you also get the most for your money. Make these people work for you and earn your business just like you earned yours.

4. Keep a Close Eye on Everything

Once you get the work started and everything scheduled in, it can be tempting to take a step back. This, however, can potentially set you up for disaster. Once the work has started, follow along with everyone’s progress, assisting when needed, commending workers when it’s deserved.

You’re the project manager. Manage!

5. Use the Best Software Available to You

Keeping tabs on everything is hard. If you’re doing it by yourself, it’s practically impossible. That’s why you need project management construction software. With software like Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, you can track your budget to make sure it’s staying within your original estimation.

It also has reactive technology built into it, so if something doesn’t go as planned, the software changes things accordingly. With this kind of software, you can relax a little bit knowing that you’re ready to face whatever challenges your project might contain.

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