7 Creative Ways You Can Improve Your Construction Residential Productivity

7 Creative Ways You Can Improve Your Construction Residential Productivity

With technology and construction advancing at the speed of light, many builders are taking advantage of new technologies, trends, software, and implementing them in their construction practices.

Older more traditional residential builders are still doing things by pen and paper and are going to be left behind by the more modern companies.

Improving efficiency and technology is going to reduce your costs, therefore increasing your profit, and making you more competitive in the market so you will win more jobs.

1. Bring Technology On Board

There are daily advances in construction methods which include on site and in office methods for improving efficiencies.

For example, builders no longer need to estimate their own projects because they can use construction estimating services to perform their bids for them.

This is something that didn’t exist in the past because the use of software has streamlined this industry.

For builders they have their own team, you can use digital takeoff and estimating software to speed the process up of your estimating.

This by itself is going to make you send more bids and win more jobs.

2. Modern Methods Of Construction

If you look at the last 50 years, technology has improved dramatically the quality and types of tools out there. You can see major advances in major equipment which includes the use of many automated features in trucks, heavy site work equipment, and especially in the preconstruction measurement and design side of the industry.

You can see companies coming up with laser technology that can re-image a space and convert it into a digital format so that Architect can make plans or 3-D models out of it.

We have also seen 3-D printing for concrete that can build an entire house structure in one day. The speed at which of these houses are being built is incredible.

3. Tips For Improving Productivity

How do we improve productivity? We have to come up with a unified strategy to bring technology, skill, and advancing management principles into the company.

We have to create a system in our company for most departments to improve efficiency.

Starting with the preconstruction, design, bid management, and the estimating needs to be systematized using software.

Next, we need to implement the latest technology and equipment and tools to speed up the construction in field.

Lastly, we have to utilize online training programs and use the internet to keep up to speed with modern trends that are going to approve improve efficiency. We are living in a time that information is at our fingertips, so we can use that to our advantage and improve our companies based on what others are doing that are successful.

4. Communication Is The Most Important Productivity Booster

Continuing with the technology methods above, communication on the job site is critical to improving the speed at which projects are planned and built.

Using project management software and email, you can distribute drawings more easily, distribute important documents like request for information or change your documents and get them signed digitally.  Having a team that helps the owner is going to expedite the construction process.

We often see in traditional construction delays because of manual processes, phone calls, and slower more antiquated ways to get things done.

For example, in the past your project management team would need to obtain bids from many contractors and would need to email each one and follow up with phone calls manually.

Nowadays, we have bid management software that distribute the drawings with the click of a button. You just need to upload your list of subcontractors and prepare a project with a short description and click send.

There is even lead generation services that help general contractors find subcontractors for their projects with a few simple searches and clicks.

5. Start Using Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Building information modeling is something relatively new in the industry and is used mostly and larger projects.

If you were doing multifamily residential, this would make total sense because you are managing many trades over many floors of construction.

It doesn’t really make sense to use them with single-family or duplexes because it is overly complex for small projects that can be managed by one or two people.

Software like Revit allows integration between architectural, structural, and engineering disciplines to design together, and during the construction phase, make updates to the plan and find conflicts before they become issues.

6. Improve On-Site Execution

On-site execution is going to start with having a talented and knowledgeable Project Superintendent. This is an experienced construction professional that is a great people person and understand the ins-and-outs of construction. He also needs to be able to read and interpret the plans for the project at a level that he can find conflicts in the drawings.

Next, your field employees need to be highly skilled. Often "cheaper" workers aren't necessary less expensive in the long run. Cheaper workers can work slower or make more mistakes costing you more days of pay which results in an overall higher cost.

Higher skilled workers are typically fast at performing their task and perform it well. Most of the time hiring someone at an hourly rate is less expensive when you calculate your total payroll.

For example, if a $15/hour worker takes 10 days to complete a milestone, at 8 hours pay is $1,200. But if a faster more skilled worker costs $20/hour, has the right tools, and has more experience, and he completes the work in 5 days, his pay is $800.

7. Hire Good Management

Having an effective Project Management team to manage the project administratively and in-field is important to keep up the efficiency of the jobs.

Project Managers are often the highest paid employees at a construction company because of their expertise in managing the overall project. These PMs are experts at reading plans and collaborating with architects, engineers, and construction workers.

It takes a very talented individual to have the professionalism to collaborate with high level professionals and coordinate the workers in the field.

Conclusion

By improving efficiency in your residential construction projects, it'll grow and improve your profit margins for your company. Using these three creative methods, you'll be able to grow your company and have a more skilled team running your jobs.