5 Construction Workflows You Should Be Automating

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 Are you swamped with construction projects? While that’s a good thing, it involves a massive to-do list, from planning to the completion of construction. Creating and implementing workflows is crucial to minimize inefficiencies and complete the project on time and within budget. 

But, like in every industry, construction involves tedious and time-consuming processes. If you’re the contractor, project manager, or construction company owner, you probably deal with a mountain of paperwork. Instead of focusing more on critical jobs, you’ll spend your time filling out spreadsheets, sending reports, and more.  

Luckily for you, many of the day-to-day and back-office tasks in construction can be automated. It will help improve accuracy and efficiency, saving you time and money in the long run. And to help you get started, we’ve highlighted the five construction workflows you should be automating.   

1. Responding to RFIs

Requests for information (RFIs) are a critical element of the construction process where contractors, suppliers, clients, and other stakeholders communicate. It highlights potential issues and clarifies questions about project specifics. And how you handle them can also affect the time frame, budget, and quality of a project.  

Responding promptly to RFIs is crucial, or it may result in costly reconstruction work. However, some requests may take days to research and develop an appropriate answer. You can increase the likelihood of a concise response and keep things running smoothly by going digital with your RFIs.  

Instead of creating and answering RFIs manually, you can standardize and streamline the process using a digital system. It will make monitoring and collaborating on responses easier and more accurate.  

2. Submittal Review Process

Submittal reviews are another essential workflow in a construction project. They can serve as a quality control tool, ensuring the project is on or ahead of schedule and meets quality requirements and what the owner has signed up for.  

But submittals are complicated and time-consuming, so they’re also one of the most commonly mishandled. The process can comprise thousands of equipment and fabrications for large-scale commercial projects. And a lot of careful consideration and effort goes into reviewing it to secure project success.  

You can speed up the workflow submittals process without compromising accuracy. An automated database and predecided criteria can send and approve the construction submittals in minutes.  

3. Planning and Scheduling

Planning and scheduling set the groundwork for a successful construction project. It should map out the relevant procedures and activities to manage and execute construction projects, which can vary in size, type, and complexity.   

Developing the budget and schedule for construction work requires a good construction plan. And, once you have the construction project planned, you can break it down into specific tasks through scheduling.  

However, forming a construction plan and schedule is a highly challenging task. Besides work breakdown, you need to consider several factors, such as budgeting, resources, and a long list of contractors and other vendors. That can be complex, labor-intensive, and confusing.  

You can prepare schedules and outline tasks more efficiently with a work order software solution. By automatically tracking every activity, you can better ensure to meet the completion date of a construction project. 

4. Equipment Maintenance

Managing and keeping equipment in the tip-top condition is essential to ensure your construction project remains on schedule and within budget. Frequent equipment breakdowns can slow down construction and result in significant delays.  

Based on a study, many don’t pay adequate attention to equipment maintenance, contributing to 40 percent of total construction project overrun costs. Such equipment failures can also create an unsafe environment for workers. But keeping up with preventive maintenance on construction equipment allows you to detect more minor issues and resolve them before they become an actual problem.  

Maintenance schedules can be hard to plan around jobs, though. It requires taking inventory, careful planning, and research. Work order software will help streamline the tracking and scheduling of every preventive maintenance for your construction equipment.  

5. Cost Management

Effective cost management is vital to keep your construction on budget and prevent expenses from eating into your bottom line. However, one of the biggest obstacles in a construction project is managing and tracking its costs.  

It’s even more challenging when dealing with multiple large projects. Cost management software will provide better accountability for your construction costs and maximize profits. You can set accurate estimates and track budget items in real time.  

Build Projects With Automated Construction Workflows 

The construction industry is composed of highly manual processes prone to human errors. This can result in significant and costly delays and overruns. These days, technology makes it possible to automate the construction workflows that were only possible with manual effort. But note that fine-tuning these processes don’t happen overnight.