Working in the field of construction can be quite demanding. When you oversee big jobs, you need to pay attention to everything from employee safety to the endless piles of paperwork related to insurance. With so much to keep track of, the idea of speeding along the process can seem laughable. Still, there will come times when clients place demands like this on you. In order to provide the best service you can, it is beneficial to consider the steps you can make to speed things along and increase efficiency.
Start With Smart Planning
Every successful construction job begins with a plan. The trick is making sure that you have a plan that meets the demands of the job and offers you a big wiggle room. If you plan out a project to the dollar, for example, you might not be able to increase the speed once the client makes the request. If you don’t have the funds to make it happen from the start, you won’t have it later on. This means you need to take action in other ways to guarantee you can move at a faster pace.
Part of this begins with laying out the rules for a client early and stating that demands for increased speed will not be met unless ample funds are provided in advance. By making this a part of the contract, you can guarantee a plan that will be ready to take on whatever challenges you place on it.
Consider Unique or Unusual Factors
Before you can agree to an increase in speed on a project, you must also take time to think about what makes this particular job unique. All jobs will place specific requirements on you, but most of these factors will vary in terms of severity. If you’re working on a building with a lot of design quirk and specialty architectural features, then you will need to deliberate speeding the process more than you would if you were working on a traditional office building with a simplified layout.
Think about factors like fountains, a spiral elevator, or other offbeat features that you will need to include in the project. If you believe that these will not take you extra time or create issues with the schedule you’ve established, you can feel free to adjust your speed accordingly.
Talk To Your Team
In many cases, you are not the person who is doing the brunt of the work on a construction project. If you agree to moving at an advanced speed without talking to your workers first, you could be putting your business in a terrible position. Your team needs to be asked before you agree to anything. Disregarding the thoughts and needs of your staff is an easy way to lose the faith of your employees and ruin your company. Luckily, this is easy to avoid.
All you need to do is hold meetings with your team on a regular basis to discuss topics like speed and timeline concerns. The more you get into the habit of holding these conversations, the easier it will become for you to know what is actually possible on a project.
Create Metrics With Data
It might not be possible to speed along a current project, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the attempt for future assignments. Use analytics to create a system of metrics for a project you are currently involved with. By doing this, you will have a set of data to work from when it comes to making more complicated decisions in regard to timelines in the future. Plus, analyzing data offers you tremendous insight on what your business and your workers are capable of handling on a regular basis.
From communicating with your team to making sure there’s enough money coming in from the client, speeding along a construction job requires time and planning. Before you make any decisions you will regret, take a moment to consider all of the outlying factors and craft a plan that you can take pride in.