When it comes to construction businesses, there’s a lot of competition out there. The best way to stand out, of course, is to do the best work possible in the quickest possible time. (That, my friends, is called efficiency!)
Of course, in construction, it’s not always about constructing. Sometimes, you have to do a little demolishing. And to get the best out of your construction business, you need to ensure that any potential roadblocks in your project are thoroughly demolished.
Here are some of the most common roadblocks in a construction project that are often left unconsidered by many business owners. If you want to make sure it’s smooth sailing ahead, keep an eye out for these problems – because it’s not always obvious that they exist in your project.
Lack of communication
When people think about construction, they don’t often think about communication. Which is strange, really; communication, as in any other business pursuit, is extremely important here. We’re not talking so much about on-site workers not talking to one another (although those sites can get pretty noisy, which can cause problems there!); we’re talking about ensuring that necessary information is properly communicated from one level of the business to another. You need to ensure that communication coordination is on-point; this may mean that managers need to spend a little bit more time out the office and on the site itself!
Outdated equipment
Many seem to be under the impression that a good piece of construction equipment or machinery is basically good forever, as long as you maintain it properly. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Not only that, but you also have to consider your competition; a lot of other construction businesses are investing heavily in more modern equipment that can be more productive and do it quicker. Of course, it’s easy to take things too far in this direction. Consider updating the really essential tools, like drills and access equipment and diggers.
Overcomplication
Your project management should be streamlined and simple to understand; something that even those without project management expertise can look at without their eyes getting crossed. Unfortunately, this isn’t the route that most project managers take. They overcomplicate things. For example, they may decide that a particular field of the project needs a subcontractor, but then end up creating more, almost arbitrary fields, requiring more ‘specialist’ hires. They may choose to deviate from an established process in the name of efficiency, but in the process end up making things much less simple. Remember: simple is best, even in a complex project.
Starting too soon
Yes, you want to get the project finished as soon as possible in order to please the clients. (Or maybe because you know you’re not going to like it very much.) But if you rush out to the construction site and get started too quickly, then you’re setting yourself up for a bunch of roadblocks in the near future. Don’t take a warning against overcomplicating things to mean that you shouldn’t have a very formal preconstruction planning process. Discussions about what the project will entail are essential and need to be highly detailed in order to pinpoint all potential problems.
