Delays can prove costly, detrimental to your business, and cause stress both to you as a business person and your workers. If you want to avoid such incidents or know how you can deal with them to ensure your projects are not as affected, then read on. In this blog post, we will give you an understanding of some of the best practices that you should follow when it comes to construction delays and how you can prevent them by managing your schedule efficiently. Here is how you should go about ensuring that your builds are just and worth the time and money that you spend on them.
Beginning Of The Project
The first thing that leads to timely project completion is an attainable and realistic schedule by design. Most Outsource Estimating Services delays occur due to the embrace of timelines that are over-ambitious or aggressive enough to overshadow other factors surrounding the project. Be sure your initial schedule includes:
- Some extra working hours, buffer time, or reserve time to handle any kind of delay which is inevitable.
- All right time for all sorts of planning, permits, inspection, etc.
- Risk mitigation strategies to deal with possible issues, such as unfavorable climate conditions, slow inspection procedures, or modifications to the work
- Integrated processes of communicating and scheduling.
It is not always necessary to jump headlong into a project; instead, take time to plan and set expectations before unexpected issues arise. This will assist everyone to ensure that they set and strive to achieve reasonable targets from the initial days.
Improve Communication Processes
This is true because a Drafting Services project requires daily interaction between the contractors and other stakeholders, and noncommunication can easily throw off any construction schedule and timeline. Most of the time, we hear of delays as a result of a conflict of ideas, which is usually because people are not in unison. Be sure to establish clear communication processes like:
- Daily/weekly briefs for all construction managers and those involved in the project.
- Some tools can help to organize the work in real-time and coordinate the work of the team.
- Some possible tactics include: Modifying the change order and submittal approval processes to eliminate waiting around.
- Efficient notification of any changes in scheduling or delays in implementing the schedule.
That way once there is a problem in a certain part of the project, you are assured that with efficient communication your team can sort it out without letting it expand into large-scale delays.
Weatherize the Project Schedule
As has been experienced, it is impossible to control the weather and therefore requires the construction of a schedule that can account for it. Analyze the historical data concerning the weather conditions in the area of construction and identify such activities as concreting which may be sensitive to adverse weather conditions.
Next, change the durations or resources needed depending on the weather conditions of specific activities. For example, if certain key milestones are expected to happen during a rainy period, the timeline should be adjusted so that these events are not held during the rainy season or at least the materials should be set up in a place where there is no direct exposure to the rains. You cannot avoid bad weather and in most cases cannot predict it but you can always minimize its impact on your plans by padding your schedules.
Monitor Progress Frequently
Delays that are caught early are easier to avoid than those that are discovered later in the project. It is important to plan on when to make subsequent visits to the job site and the progress that should have been made against the intermediate milestones. At least three to four times per week, they must provide progress reports to their supervisors.
During MEP Estimating Services meetings, assess the level of compliance with the baseline schedule. If activities are off schedule, coordinate corrective actions such as adding crews, increasing and compressing the workflow, or resequencing. Don’t let small problems linger and grow into big problems; instead, address problems when they first arise.
Pay particular attention to cost management and develop a Change Order Process
The new and often tricky change orders contribute to the disruption of the schedules. Adopt clear procedures on change orders in a way that conforms to well-structured orders of change across all subsequent changes with pre-planned awareness of timelines involved.
- A written change request is any change that can be made in writing and may include alterations.
- Some of the change approvals may require approval from authorized decision-makers.
- Any changes in the official scope, plan, or specifications
- Hrs documented that has been used for schedules and proof of changes that have been made to the schedule.
- The change cost impact includes accounting for the increase in the cost of various resources required by the business.
By integrating formality to change orders, it becomes possible to modify the plan while at the same time maintaining focus on the schedule goals and trade coordination issues.
Hold People Accountable
For schedules to signify anything, there needs to be consequences for people responsible for their portion of the process. Especially with subcontractors or other internal units, it is essential to set out the roles and detailed responsibilities of each party regarding tasks, deliverables, and progress checkpoints. Emphasize that vendors need to identify issues such as delays or blockages, which need to be escalated to the appropriate level to begin mitigation without delay.
Schedule and perform project performance measurement reviews related to schedule control regularly. Reward those who perform when it is due and meet the deadline as required. In the case of lagers, apply pressure on the need to explain delays and make a positive statement on what will be done to correct this in the future. Some amount of encouragement with a hint of pressure assists in achieving corporate goals and objectives in a timely delivery.
Conclusion
Since these constructions are large and complex, it is practically impossible to avoid all the associated problems related to weather conditions, permits, and other essential requirements even if the construction company tries its best to achieve that. However, you can reduce them by engaging in schedule mitigation practices that include the ones described above. Prevention of cost overrun, effective and efficient communication, effects of weather conditions, performance monitoring, control of changes, and lastly, being held accountable are some of the measures in ensuring construction projects are on track.
Even if an organization does not follow all of these best practices, an attempt at following some of them can assist an organization in recognizing delays and addressing the problem earlier to counter it with resources. It is essential that everyone within your team is committed to delivering high-quality projects on time, and that you all take responsibility for project timelines. Although such stays can still occur, consistent monitoring and swift action will prevent small issues from escalating into critical mishaps.