MANAGING CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES EFFECTIVELY

A construction schedule has so many moving parts it’s a wonder anything ever gets built. You need subcontractors, workers, vehicles, and materials arriving at different times that must never-the-less coordinate with the current needs of the construction site.

Delays are costly so the better you can manage your construction schedule, the more money you can save and the better your customer will like it.

PLANNING AND FINDING THE CRITICAL PATH
The term construction schedule implies there is a strategy to getting this project completed by making sure the needed components are available at the right time. In order for this to happen you must budget up front time for planning the entire project, beginning to end.

As an experienced contractor you have the best idea of the time needed for permitting, site excavation, foundation development and building construction activities. Lay out everything that must be accomplished at every phase of the project and the logistics of material delivery and manpower scheduling.

Once this is complete, determine the critical path: those activities that must be done in a certain order to keep the project flowing smoothly. These will be steps that must be completed before the next step can be taken. Some parts of construction can occur concurrently or without regard for critical steps. You need to identify the critical pathway of steps to be completed to keep the construction on track.

SCHEDULE MAINTENANCE
Schedules aren’t set in stone. Many things can pull a schedule off track from the weather to a sudden shortage of materials. Machinery breakdowns, work stoppages, and a slew of other problems can wreck even the best planned schedule.

So be prepared to be fluid. You will probably find yourself making changes in every project you undertake. As you make the changes be sure to update the schedule so everyone can be up to date. Everyone can be on the same page.

Also, if at all possible, be proactive in communicating scheduling changes with the effected parties including your customer.

SOFTWARE
Back in the day all of this planning and scheduling was carried out with pencil and paper. Any change in the timeline meant hours of redo. Now you have access to software that takes much of the load off.  Scheduling software can have features that highlight the critical path, bring up checklists to make sure nothing is left out, and document the project as it proceeds.

Until recently you would have to buy an expensive software package that would then need updating every couple of years to keep up with trends and new technology. Now you can subscribe to scheduling software through cloud computing. The vendor controls maintenance, updates, and changes. All you need to do is access the construction software through a vendor portal with a web browser.

This makes your schedule portable, sharable, and more flexible than ever. Notifications and alerts can be used to keep all parties up to date on changes and delays. And it saves time and money in reconfiguring after a change since many of today’s software packages can do this automatically.

You can even run scenarios on the software to determine the most efficient way to perform a particular phase and what will be impacted by various problems. These software applications can do more than help you with scheduling. They can keep track of documentation, payroll, finances, and other important parts of your business.

Be sure to take full advantage of vendor training and tutorials to get all the value from the application you select. If a vendor does not seem responsive to your needs, find another. There are plenty of companies out there with similar software. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding the best one for you.

There you have it. Get the right software, plan ahead of time for as many contingencies as possible, find and maintain the critical path, and you will have a reputation as the most reliable contractor around.


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