Construction projects generally are often riddled with delays and several setbacks. Due to the many resources to be coordinated, the manager usually has the most demanding task of arranging the work schedule within the contracted time frame.
The construction work schedule is one of the most effective tools that can help manage your construction project. With the abundance of software tools to help plan a project, many construction project managers tend to leave out formulating work schedules. Leaving out of the planning could lead to delays or expending more resources on individual tasks.
Consequently, devising the proper schedule to fit your project is essential. The work schedule can help manage your construction project, keeping you on track and alerting you when the project lags.
The most significant demerit of not using a workable schedule is that your project continuously lags. If you have any milestones, you will find the project is always behind schedule. Since the work schedule contains tasks and durations allotted to those events, you will quickly notice drawbacks. This way, the work schedule saves time and helps you manage your project effectively.
Another concern is the number of extra resources you would have to expend trying to cover the time overspent. Time and resources go hand-in-hand in determining how fast a project goes. When your project experiences a setback on a task, it affects some other task, thus limiting the time available for the second task. To meet the timeframe, you will invest more resources into completing the second task as quickly as possible. Since resources are always limited, you might find the project is over budget.
How to Create a Workable Construction Schedule?
How then do you create a work schedule that keeps your project in line in terms of duration and resource allocation? Stay tuned.
First off, your work schedule must factor in every resource available. These resources could be funds, time, and labour. Take your time to collect and collate the available resources.
To carry this out accurately, you could meet with your subcontractors. You then get their opinions on the resources they would need for the project and how long it will take to get them. Also, project inspections will have to be considered in the timeline, so they don’t hinder the progress.
Next up is breaking the project up into the most elementary tasks. Since you have the resources needed, highlighting all the events helps you grasp the project’s scope.
Since you might not be an expert in every aspect of the project, your subcontractors best contribute to the task collation. This makes the task list more encompassing and thorough. It is also advisable to set milestones–aggregates of several tasks–which help you monitor and manage the project effectively.
Allocating time and personnel to each task is the next step while creating your work schedule. While allotting time to the program, you should consider some factors:
- Weather and climatic factors: Since the weather conditions could hinder work progress, a suitable schedule should factor in such changes.
- Financial drawings: To manage your construction project effectively, you should also consider the time it will take to get cash from the bank. Meet with your bank to determine how long it will take to draw on the money so the project doesn’t stall due to a lack of funds.
- Procuring materials: Like financial drawings, procuring materials i.e. woods, excavators, noise barrier for construction sites for the project will take some time, which could affect the project’s overall timeline. You should ensure your construction schedule includes this, so it is more realistic.
- Interrelated tasks: Some tasks depend on, or are related to, other duties. While setting up your schedule, you should prioritise the preliminary tasks and ensure they don’t cause delays in subsequent tasks.
Lastly, a good construction work schedule must be flexible enough to accommodate change. After setting milestones with dates, you must constantly check with your plan to add changes due to new developments.
To Wrap It Up
Agreed, setting up a work schedule takes some time. But a complete construction schedule saves you more time in planning and execution and ultimately helps you manage your project successfully.
