Construction is a business that is dependent on repeat customers and volume. The budgets are high and there is a tendency to overspend in the business. Hence, the best way that you can prevent overspending and follow your financial plan is to avoid construction delays.
Keeping to your schedule will not only show your clients that you’re organized and capable of delivering on your promises, but it will also show your employees that you run a tight ship and that you care about delivering and efficiency.
Avoiding construction delays will also benefit you monetarily when you get better at predicting the costs of projects, improving your efficiency. However, in order to avoid the delays, you should first be well versed in what causes them.
Here are the Top 5 Causes of Delays in Construction and How to Resolve Them.
Bad Weather Conditions
Bad weather can have long-lasting consequences on a project. Of course, in order to avoid these consequences and the delays that are a result of bad weather, you need to get comprehensive reports from meteorological departments.
And even then, there is no surety that the weather will support you.
Hence, you’ll have to build allowances for natural disasters that can upset your project. Make sure that your contract doesn’t have clauses which dump the liquidated damage payments on you. Rescheduling activities like pouring concrete in accordance with the weather schedule is also a smart move.
Resource Shortages or Budget Constraints
Being short-handed on money is always a bad thing. It’s a deal breaker for many construction projects. When the client has already paid and you’re digging into your own pockets to get the job done, it’s never a good sign for you. This is why it’s important to budget your projects and get the details down to the “T”.
Overbooked Crews/Delays in Setting up Equipment
A lot of construction firms, especially ones that are starting out, make the mistake of taking on too many projects for their own good. The result is overbooked crews. These crews end up exhausted, and bad at setting up equipment and dealing with the day to day changes that are required in construction jobs.
The worst quality someone can have is being rigid. Construction project management software and Virtual Assistants can help you track the productivity of your crews much better than you can and thus give you an estimate of what they can handle and what they can’t.
Whether the existing teams can handle the load or whether you need to hire extra help should always be a top priority when picking the next project. The worst that can happen if you don’t take on a project is that you’ll lose out on some money, but the worst thing that happens if you take on too much is your reputation will come under fire.
Unreliable Contractors
If you’ve hired a crew that’s overbooked or tired, that’s an issue; but if they lack the tools needed to get the job done and/or take too long to complete the project, that’s even worse. It’s important that you invest in full-time employees instead of relying on hired help all the time.
Subcontractors and contractors may follow their own pace, which may delay the project and force you to overspend. This will, in turn, make your executives very unhappy.
If you’ve set high standards, then you shouldn’t allow for excuses. You’ll see how quickly production can increase if you insist on getting the job done as soon as possible.
Changes in the Plan
Projects rarely go as expected, especially if there is a lack of clear planning. This includes not knowing possible hiccups or the lack of a contingency plan.
The first thing to look out for is changes to the plan due to unforeseen conditions. This is a skill that is invaluable when it comes to building changes into the schedule. If the client has requested the change, then you should let them know that a deadline extension would be required in order to accommodate it.
You should also inform them if this change would require further resources, just in case that change requires extra equipment, manpower, or raw material.
Lack of Insight
If your company is using low tech solutions to new problems, then you will experience delays. The lack of data and analysis that could be at your feet is enormous in this day and age. You could be using tools like Virtual Assistants, GPS tracking, or surveillance of the site via drones. If you’re not using all the equipment that could be available to you, then you’re risking inefficiency and delays.
General Waiting
This is the worst thing that can cause delays. If there are changes in the plan, the changes should at least be well thought out before requesting them: there needs to be a roadmap to execute them. If the contractors, executives, employees, or contractors or workers are unsure of what to do, then the project would have to be halted completely or partly, thereby causing delays.
If you’re looking to avoid delays, the best thing that you can do is to automate a lot of the processes that construction entails. For more information about making your workflow more efficient, contact us today.
Join the Conversation