Construction delays can be frustrating not only to you, but to your clients. They can put you in danger of having to rely upon your bond to pay penalties, and nobody wants that. The more you use your bonds, the harder it is to get more, and they’re loans that you have to pay back. Most delays can be avoided, however, with the right care and planning. Check out these tips on how to avoid common construction delays, protect your reputation and keep your business reliable, on schedule and entirely on budget.
Know How to Shuffle Jobs
Your project managers have to be experts at planning and risk management. You can’t help it if you planned to pour concrete on a day when it pours down rain. What you can do is have other jobs you can address that day, which can be switched with the concrete. Plan for the possibility of these happenings and know how you can swap out jobs.
Identify tasks that have to be completed before any other tasks, and know how you’re going to handle issues that crop up which push these tasks back. By minimizing these circumstances, you’re in a far better position overall.
Be a Solid Manager
You’d be amazed at how many construction delays are the result of basic management errors. You need, as a manager, to be able to assign responsibilities and roles in the project, to coordinate the labor efforts, get materials where they need to be and when, and to be an ace at multitasking. If you’re not sure you’re as effective a manager as you could be, take some courses and educate yourself on good people and business managing strategies.
Planning and Task Management
When you’ve got your job planned out, plan it again. Plan it more. Then plan it yet again. Don’t feel like you have to micromanage the planning, either. That’s what project managers are for. The more planning you have, the better off your job will be, and an ace project manager can turn a disaster into an unqualified success. Plan everything as far in advance as possible.
Be Clear with Expectations
Don’t expect everyone to be everywhere and do everything. “We work as a team and everyone pitches in where they’re needed” is an excuse, not a good work strategy. It leaves too much gray area and people will find ways to work in as nebulous a manner as their job description allows.
Be very clear in your expectations, in the roles and responsibilities of everyone in every position on a job. If people know what they are expected to accomplish, they will accomplish that task.
Communications
The better your chain of communication is, the better off your jobs will go. Many delays are caused by communication problems. Keep a solid, open and constant chain of communication and you’ll find it makes the job go much smoother and will avoid common construction delays.
Be Bonded
Getting the right bonding in place isn’t just protecting you; it’s necessary to operate. In addition, when delays do occur, having a bond can cover you against financial damages. If you need help with bonding for your construction business, call National Surety Services today.