7 Creative Ways You Can Improve Your Construction Residential Productivity

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.