Completing your project on time and within your budget are two of the most essential parts of a successful construction project. Profit margins in construction aren’t always the biggest, so there’s minimal room for error. It’s your job as manager to find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality.
Check out these four tips to help you save money during construction!
1. Make Sure Your Team Is On The Same Page Before The Job Begins
Planning is the most crucial part of successfully completing a construction project. Before any digging starts, you need to make sure everyone involved is on the same page. Paying special attention to planning reduces miscommunications and helps streamline the work.
During the planning process, everyone needs to contribute information from their own areas of expertise. Identifying risks and potential pitfalls helps you create an effective plan. You should also review which materials you plan to use and explore alternative building material options. Planning won’t stop problems from occurring but it will give your team a point of reference to go to when things go wrong.
2. Put Measures In Place To Control Labor Productivity
Labor productivity has a significant impact on the resources you use during a construction project. Many different elements influence productivity on a worksite; controlling these elements works to your benefit. Identifying problems earlier on can help you prevent labor productivity from becoming an issue.
Common factors that influence productivity include low morale, bad weather, a lack of training and a lack of access to proper tools. It’s important to keep these factors under control to avoid your crew going over budget and not completing the projects on time.
Another way to control productivity is establishing performance standards. By creating a quality standard, your team knows how they should approach their jobs. Having standards for performance helps you build a healthy workplace culture.
3. Consider Using Alternative Building Materials
Alternative building materials can save your company significant amounts of money during your projects. Alternative building materials have a positive effect on the environment and sometimes boast advantages over traditional materials like concrete.
Straw bale is an example of an alternative building material that comes with a few advantages. Not only is straw bale affordable, but it also offers high levels of insulation. This makes straw bale a perfect choice for houses in colder climates.
Believe it or not, bamboo is another alternative building material that is frequently underutilized. Bamboo absorbs high amounts of carbon dioxide and produces more oxygen than traditional materials. Bamboo is also easily grown and harvested which makes it very cost effective. All of these factors make bamboo a fascinating alternative building material.
4. Make Sure You Use The Right Tools For The Job
Relying on what worked for you in the past is a trap that can end up costing you more money. It’s important to always look for new ways to improve and new technologies you can use to make your job easier. As we briefly touched on before, equipping your team with the right tools and technology has an impact on their productivity.
A good investment for any construction company is a mobile form system. Mobile forms eliminate the need to carry physical blueprints and the need to reprint everything every time there’s a change. Mobile form systems allow you to update your documents in real time. You can review changes made from your office while your team works in the field.
All in all, preparation goes a long way in saving money. Being actively involved in the planning process and ensuring your team has the right tools can help you finish your project on budget. Keep these four tips in mind when planning your next project!
