Ask yourself some hard questions
Construction is a fast-paced industry, especially now. Across New Zealand and Australia, construction is one of the most important industries for the countries' economies, and a key to post-Covid economic recovery.
Keeping up can be a challenge for individual construction businesses. If that's something you've been concerned about, it's time to ask yourself the following:
- Can your competitors offer better service, quicker completion, and lower prices than you?
- Can you effectively coordinate the people, materials, consents, costs, and timing of projects - small, medium and large?
- Are you experiencing a drop in productivity because your teams don’t have access to the programs they need to work effectively?
- Is morale slipping due to frustration and dissatisfaction?
If you've answered 'yes' to any or all of these questions, then not only will you continue to struggle to complete projects on time and on budget, but you'll fall behind your competitors and suffer significant reputational damage.
What’s busting your time and cost budgets?
Despite dramatic shifts in the construction industry's operating environment due to the impact of Covid-19, little appears to have changed in terms of the drivers of project delays and busting budgets. Why is this?
- Fragmented teams
Anyone working in the construction industry will know that fragmented teams contribute significantly to a variety of issues. On-site and office teams can take an almost adversarial approach to communication, collaboration and information sharing. - Siloing of departments and disjointed systems
This leads to information being buried. Accessing a true understanding of the state of the project can require hours – or days – of manual data management, as some teams collate information into hard-to-read spreadsheets or disparate tools. - Clients out of the loop
Keeping your clients updated throughout the project is a critical – and often overlooked – part of keeping construction projects on time and budget. Without timely updates, clients are ambushed by timing and budget issues that have already spiralled out of control. - Inaccurate budgeting
Of course, the key to delivering projects on time and within budget is to ensure the timelines and budget are correct in the first place. With so many factors at play, larger construction projects can be at risk of inaccurate budgeting. While expert and experienced team members can help guide this process, nothing can replace real data. - Complicated workflows and manual processes
Many construction teams use multiple software systems, alongside spreadsheets and other manual options, to manage different aspects of their work. That doesn’t just create complicated workflows, it’s also a recipe for unnecessary manual work, errors, delays and re-work.
Being able to manage information more effectively is key to addressing the delays and budget overruns that plague construction businesses. How do you achieve better information management?