Guide to Managing Construction Projects

In this guide to managing construction projects we cover the technical skills along with the deployment of construction project management software to keep projects on track.

This
guide to managing construction projects also includes best practice
tips to help avoid pitfalls on construction projects. It provides
specific advice to help complete a construction project with success.

 

Construction project phases

Construction
projects have clear phases within their lifecycles – concept, planning,
implementation, control and close out. These give guidance on how to
get things done on budget and on time. Skipping any will likely mean
your project is running out of control.

This will include setting up the project phases and defining deliverables for each milestone.

Most projects that follow best practice use the following main phases:

1. Conception.
   Before you plan anything investigate the feasibility of the project.
   Complete a project feasibility report. This should include costs,
   deliverables, timelines, and how and why it will be done.
2. Planning.
   Once the project has the go ahead with scope, budgets and timelines
   set, start planning how to achieve each phase. Complete a work breakdown
   structure for each part of the construction project. Allocate resources
   and setup a schedule in construction project management software. Make
   sure to include every last task with timelines and costs assigned.
3. Implementation.
   Implementation begins when people actually start the physical work.
   This is when the construction of the building occurs. You need to keep
   on top of:
   1. Time management. Keep track of time. Use the schedule to compare estimated times to finish against actual completion times.
   2. Managing
      costs. You should already have estimated costs against each task in the
      schedule. Add in actual costs on completion of each task.
   3. Managing
      quality. Quality management is vital for the quality of the end
      product. Without processes and procedures to ensure the quality of every
      aspect of the build, there is no way to maintain a quality build.
   4. Managing
      change. Good processes for change management make changes simple to
      execute. Construction management software can manage the change process
      for you. This makes it simple for all stakeholders to access with
      transparency.
   5. Managing risks. Risks should
      already be logged into a risk register. Keep a close eye on these so
      you can mitigate them before they occur.
4. Keeping
   control. Keeping control is really part of implementation. It is all
   about staying on top of the costs, risks and meeting timelines to get
   those milestone payments.
5. Project close
   out. Wrapping it up is an important part of the construction project
   process. To close out a project write a report, address any outstanding
   issues, file any administrative paperwork for completion and
   redistribute resources no longer required on the project.

 

Setting up roles and management systems

All
construction projects have clear roles with responsibilities assigned,
along with management systems to make everyone accountable. It is
important for the success of a project that there are clear leaders with
good communications skills to lead the construction team.

Assign
roles and responsibilities to team members with matching skills. Take
advantage of people’s key strengths to get the best outcomes.

 

Managing quality assurance

How
do you manage quality assurance? This takes knowledge of legislation
and regulations. You also need to know how to set up processes to
maintain quality assurance during each project phase. Construction
projects have to meet many standards. Missing anything can mean
expensive repairs after completion. And, a loss of your reputation.

 

Tracking and identifying variances

Tracking is vital to any construction project. It allows for the identification and resolution of project variances. Using construction project software
can take care of everything you need. Reports, cost overruns schedule
slippages can all be identified and reported on automatically. You need
ways of measuring the performance of the project that you can apply to
the work breakdown structure and any other parts of the work. Examples
of measurements you can use include:

• Budgeted cost of work. This is the scheduled cost in the budget for the scheduled work.
• Actual cost of work. This is the cost of work completed at any time according to the organization’s accounting system.
• Budgeted cost of work performed. This is the earned value of the completed work at any nominated time.
• Estimated
  cost at completion. This is the expected cost to complete the
  construction project calculated at any given point in a project.

By
using the work breakdown structure as the basis for project tracking it
helps to establish a project baseline. This gives you something to
measure against.

These
best practices are interrelated. By missing any of these, your project
will run into trouble. With the complexity of managing construction
projects, project managers need all the tools available. Construction project management software
makes it easy to track projects with transparency. It also helps when
dealing with the change process and alerting to potential risks all in a
central database. We hope you enjoyed reading this guide to managing
construction projects. 






Guide to Managing Construction Projects | Construction Project Management Software - Raptorpm: managing construction projects