Admit it or not: construction projects often look like chaos, be it tangibly or non-tangibly. It’s hard to wonder how to be productive when everything is all over the place. From the constant screaming of managers and workers to messy paperwork, it surely takes a day for a non-construction professional to lose his hearing and sanity. Kidding aside, messy sites even heighten the risk of dangerous situations and accidents.
In this regard, staying organized is vital to develop a safe and well-regulated working space. Part of being organized is improving your productivity, too, especially when dealing with the non-tangible aspects of a project. Additionally, maintaining productivity helps improve team performance, employee accountability, among other things.
Follow these techniques on how to be productive, so your team will always be ahead of the game.
How to be productive? Follow these techniques:
1. First things first: time estimation
Accurate time estimation is essential in every project management. It enforces deadlines for delivery and project planning, and it determines the pricing of contracts. In this matter, time estimation will put a good word for your team’s competence. Moreover, it will increase your project’s profitability in commercial terms.
To obtain accurate time estimates, make sure that you prepare credible data including project objectives, resources, risk analysis tests, and results of the performance of previous similar projects.
When estimating time, always set time for project management administration, communication with outside authorities, quality assurance, and meetings. Additionally, make sure that you also allow time for unanticipated events. This includes accidents, missed deliveries, and other priorities and schedules.
2. Invest in a time tracking software
There are a lot of reasons to switch to time tracking software. To name a few, time tracking software can capture all your costs, keep your project on track, and help your clients see the break down of costs and hours.
Before investing in a time-tracking software, prepare a list of features that would benefit your projects the most. One of the most vital features to look for is cloud-based technology. A cloud-based time tracking system stores all the time information in an online database. In this way, you will be updated with the latest information in just a tap of the WiFi button.
Make sure that your time tracking software is user-friendly. A user-friendly software often means that the developers thoroughly tested their products to ensure a good user experience. To tell if a system is user-friendly, look at the simplicity of its interface and its consistent performance.
3. Conduct productive meetings
When conducting a meeting, ensure that you spend the time discussing actionable plans. Your meeting must have a definitive agenda and goals and must come up with action items and due dates. This will help cut down irrelevant topics and narrow down the agenda.
Following the meeting, don’t forget to delegate the tasks to your team and follow up on tasks assignments.
4. Communicate effectively
Want to know the secret to building strong relationships? Strong communication skills! When the project manager is clear with his commands and plans, chances are that the projects will be handled correctly. Always make sure that you communicate effectively when speaking to stakeholders (field workers, foreman, architects, etc.).
Likewise, a team leader who communicates effectively also listens effectively. It is his task to ask questions, clarify details, and make sure that communication with the stakeholders is crystal clear. By doing this, he can prevent future problems, especially time-related mishaps
From capturing all your costs to keeping tabs on the business, time tracking makes the job easier. As a team leader, you can ensure the best for your team by following all these productivity tips.