5 Best Practices From Our Free Construction eBook

This PM Pulse is extra-special. Our free 2022 Construction Management eBook is here! It’s an A-to-Z guide for all things construction project management. From free templates to best practices on budgeting, quality control, reporting and more, whether you're an apprentice or journeyman there’s valuable information for everyone.?

To whet your appetite, we’ve selected some of the best practices from the eBook to give you a taste before digging in. Here are a few of the tips you’ll learn from reading our free construction ebook. Check out the information below or simply download the free construction eBook now.?

Bid Strategically

Bidding for a construction job is the first step in delivering a successful project. But bidding is a complicated process and you don’t want to cut corners or you’ll pay for it later. Make sure to do the research and understand your competition as they’ll be bidding against you. As you understand the competition, you’ll realize that it’s not in your best interest to bid on every opportunity that comes your way. Take the time to find the right fit, build lasting relationships and know your strengths that differentiate you from your competitors.

Choose the Right Contract

Once you win a bid, the contract is the formal agreement between parties. First, you need to know what type of contract the project requires. There are several contract types to consider and you must choose the one that best fits your needs. Once you have a signed contract, it doesn’t hurt to include incentives to ensure productivity across your team. Make sure to clearly outline expectations and create contingencies. That way, if something goes south during the project, everyone involved will know how to respond.?

Build a Thorough Schedule

Now that you’re getting ready to work, you need to stay organized. The construction schedule is typically built on a Gantt chart, which helps you prioritize tasks, add duration and strategically allocate your resources. The most important thing to remember is that a construction schedule is a living document. You have a contingency plan in your contract for a reason; things change. You need to review your schedule regularly and update the time, cost and scope as necessary to keep you on track.?

Establish an Informed Budget

The budget is your financial bottom line. It’s an estimate of related costs to the project, but it should be as accurate as possible to avoid costly missteps. Research is key to formulating a budget for construction projects. You can review historical data from similar projects and make an educated analysis for your costs. You’ll have to work closely with your architect as they develop the final design to know what materials are necessary. The project manager will then meet with stakeholders in the pre-construction phase. All of these details should be documented thoroughly.?

Don’t Forget About Quality Control

You can deliver a project on time and under budget, but if you don’t meet your client’s quality expectations, the project is considered a failure. Make sure to develop a plan to ensure all deliverables are meeting quality standards. In order to do this, you must clearly define what “done” means, have an inspection plan and create a quality control checklist to ensure that your inspection process is thorough. If part of your project isn’t meeting your standards, then you have to review it and revise it accordingly.?

ProjectManager Is Construction Project Management Software

One last best practice: use construction project management software. ProjectManager is online software that delivers real-time data to help you plan, schedule and track your construction projects. We have robust Gantt charts where you can create detailed project plans, link dependencies to avoid delays and set project milestones. You can even filter for the critical path and then set a baseline to track your progress against your plan in real time.?

Speaking of tracking, once you set a baseline on the Gantt, you can get a high-level view of the project on our real-time dashboard. The best part? There’s no setup required and it does all the work for you, collecting live data and crunching the numbers. Simply look at easy-to-read graphs and charts that track six project metrics in real time. For even more data usage, use our one-click customizable reports on timesheets, workload and even portfolio status if you’re managing more than one construction project simultaneously. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.