Managing a construction project is essential so that it goes as planned and so that it is finished by its dedicated deadline. At every construction site, there will be a project manager whose duties involve supervising the project from the very start until it is fully developed. They also are in charge of dealing directly with the clients and ensure that the project is functional and meets the arranged budget.
As you can imagine, not everything will occur as planned when it comes to construction – there may be additional issues that delay or prevent the project from continuing. These issues are something the construction project manager will have to deal with as well. It is imperative that this professional has impeccable communication and organizational skills in order to all aspects of the project. Fortunately, technology has greatly facilitated this role as professionals can use different devices and software that simplify their job. In this article, we will discuss tech-based solutions to manage construction projects more effectively.
Online Project Management Tools
The expansion of technology has allowed for those managing a business to effectively manage their projects by monitoring time and progress. This is done with the use of online management tools, such as Basecamp and Manymoon, where you can interact with your team and share files with each other. Some of this software can even read data, analyze it, and turn it into reports. This is useful for construction projects as you are able to view pictures of the project before it was started and after its completed, displaying a clear picture of what services you offer.
Productivity Apps
Productivity is necessary for any business, but if there is little of it in construction, the projects will take a long time to get finished or may not be done to perfection. This is a good motive to use productivity apps, much like Slack and Trello, which you can use with no hassle on the go. It does not matter if you have other responsibilities to tend to, you can always access these apps on your mobile device and stay in touch with your team and get things done without investing much time.
Monitor the Budget
Construction projects have a lot of different expenses that go into it. As we mentioned previously, it is up to the manager to stay on top of the costs and make sure that the project meets the financial budget that was agreed upon beforehand.
However, with construction, you can never be certain of how much money it will cost until its development because different issues may arise. This would usually be done by hand, which can take a very long time and not be precise. This is why it is vital that you rely on technological software that tracks your expense data so that you know exactly how much money is being spent as to where it is going. You may face challenges to billing the customer more than they are expecting if you cannot explain specifically how the money was spent.
Benefit from Web-Based Payments
Sending and receiving money can also be done with the use of technological software, which has greatly facilitated this process for businesses everywhere. This allows for greater flexibility and also enables payments to be done quicker and more efficiently.
Admin Work
With every construction site, there will be documents that may need to be completed once a project is finished, or as it is being developed. Workers would usually have to complete this after working by going back to the office and spending some time on the paperwork. Technology has brought the solution to this issue, as everything can be done online and also stored digitally, which is much safer than being stored as hard copies in a cabinet somewhere. This is also useful for completing employee’s timesheets, which are essential for workers to get paid. Their hours can be recorded with a mobile device and sent to the main office online. This will make this process much quicker and also less likely to have errors.
Improved Customer Service
Customer service is essential, no matter what industry you are in. keeping in touch with the customer is crucial in construction so that they can be a part of the process as much as the workers are. Technology allows for this to happen as you can contact customers at any point, send them pictures of the project as it develops, and also video call them directly, so it is like they are on-site, without even having to leave their house.
Managing a construction site can be overwhelming with so many different aspects to cover. The use of technology has facilitated many stages of this process, and using it can make things easier so that you can focus your attention on what really needs it.
