Best Practices at the Site

Management practices greatly affects productivity rate in the construction

project’s life cycle. This task includes planning, supply of information, resources
control, and monitoring productivity. So, one management practice
inappropriately applied can lead to a huge setback in productivity.

Researches done by the National Research Council identified the use of best
management practices as the most important factor affecting productivity at the
site. This means that the project manager as well as the contractor and
subcontractor are the key people in ensuring productivity at the site. And
techniques don’t only involve handling of materials and people and monitoring.
Motivating crew members remains to be the number one driver for them to work
harder and increase their performance rate. Motivating them with money and
recognition will also ensure better quality output.

Other examples of best practices include alignment during front-end planning,

front-end planning, team building, partnering, contract strategy, and project
delivery, project risk assessment, zero accident techniques, change
management, and planning for startup. Increasing use of these construction
practices is associated with improved cost and safety performance. For owners,
they will benefit from over a million dollar cost down and schedule reduction as
much as 27 weeks. For contractors, they can benefit from higher profits to up to
$7 dollars for a big industrial project.

How to Achieve Higher Job Site Productivity

1. Analyze productivity during every job, paying close attention to when it declines.
Soon, patterns should emerge that identify aspects of your process, particular pieces of
machinery, or other factors that contribute to slowdowns.
2. Maintain a regularly updated, accurate site inventory and always look ahead for
changing needs. Be proactive about ordering additional tools, equipment, and
materials so they’re on hand when they’re needed—not after.
3. Invest a little more in attracting the most qualified, experienced, dependable
foremen and supervisors. Having real talent running each project is one of the best
ways to complete them as well, safely, and efficiently as possible.
4. Provide all on-site supervisors with productivity training and encourage them to be
active and attentive across the site at all times.
5. Supplement the crew’s equipment training with extra productivity and safety
training. The time investment pays off. Remember that while the safest procedures
may not always seem like the most efficient, protecting your workers is your
responsibility; also, mishaps and injuries can greatly cut into productivity.
6. Always enforce all safety protocols and best practices.
7. Maintain tidy, highly organized construction sites. This helps avoid obstacles that
can cause slowdowns, equipment damage, and worker injuries. Also, time should
 never be lost because people can’t track down the tools, equipment, or materials
they need.
8. Regularly acknowledge good work from your employees (on an individual and group
basis) and occasionally reward it. Offering recognition and showing appreciation is
the simplest, most effective way to motivate loyalty, company pride, and better
performance from your crew.
9. Make sure communication is clear and constant. Everyone should know their
specific tasks, responsibilities, and goals for every hour of every day.
10. Delegate smartly. Don’t overload individual crew members with more than they can
reasonably and safely get done in an attempt to drive faster results. Also, make sure
people are assigned to jobs they can apply their personal strengths to.
11. Publicize all project target dates and deadlines to your entire crew.
12. Adhere to manufacturer-recommended schedules for equipment checks and
routine maintenance to keep machinery operating at optimal efficiency, power, and
safety. While it may seem excessive, it goes a long way toward higher site
productivity and preventing unnecessary costs for equipment repairs and
replacement.
13. Use heavy equipment with a remote monitoring telematics system. It alerts you to
maintenance needs and performance issues, makes equipment monitoring and
record keeping more efficient, and speeds repair times.
14. Invest in other technologies that improve processes. Things like newer machinery
outfitted with cutting-edge technology, job scheduling and planning software, and
Trekker’s MyYard mobile app or others that streamline equipment and material
lookup and ordering can improve the efficiency of all aspects of project
management and execution.
15. Develop a relationship with a machine dealer and equipment supplier with a large
inventory, efficient processes of their own, and a dedication to serving your needs.
Maybe we’re a little biased, but we suggest Trekker Group.

10 Tips to Improve
Productivity at Work in the
Construction Industry
by Rhumbix Editorial Staff | Aug 6, 2018 | Construction Productivity | 0
comments
Are you looking for ways to speed up your construction projects
without losing quality?
Construction is an extremely important job for accuracy. However,
clients usually want their buildings and projects done as quickly as
possible.
This is why it’s important to stress productivity with your construction
workers. This article will give you 10 tips to improving productivity at
work.
1. Communicate Clearly
Communication is the most important productivity booster in any job.
No one will get the job done well if they have no idea what’s going on.
It’s important you clearly communicate your goals to your crew before
you start a new project and continue keeping them updated
throughout the project.
Send out frequent emails and memos if there are any changes that
might affect your workers. Be considerate and never leave your
employees in the dark about what’s happening in a project.
2. Set Realistic Goals
Rome wasn’t built in a day and your new building won’t be either.
Construction takes time so it’s important you set realistic goals. Make
sure the entire crew understands the goal for each day, each week,
each month, and even each year.
It’s important that people have goals to strive towards each and every
day. Setting small goals makes a big project seem easier to
accomplish.
3. Reward Regularly
Construction is often hot and tiring work. Your workers are putting in
hour after hour of manual labor.
In order to increase productivity, offer incentives in the form of
rewards. Whenever your crew meets a goal, treat them to pizza and
beer at a local restaurant.
This will make your workers feel appreciated and eager to push
forward.
4. Train Your Troops
One thing that will quickly squash productivity is inadequate training.
If you want a work site the runs efficiently, you have to train your
workers. Make sure they’re all trained before you begin a project.
Yes, this will often cost extra money but it will be worth it. Training
also reduces the number of injuries on a job which will, in turn,
increase productivity.
5. Listen Well
To be a good leader, you have to listen well to those you’re employing.
It’s not enough to communicate with people if you’re not open to
hearing their responses. Your workers will have a firsthand idea of
what does and doesn’t work on site.
They will sometimes come to you and tell you that a goal isn’t
realistic, or that they need new tools. Don’t brush these things off.
Instead, take them into consideration and try to find a solution for your
crew.
6. Plan with Purpose
Before starting a construction project you need to have a detailed plan
laid out for how you’re going to accomplish the job.
This includes schedules for workers, materials needed, and countless
other logistics.
The more thoroughly you plan your project beforehand, the better it
will turn out. You also need to keep this plan updated to reflect on how
the project is moving.
7. Hire Good Management
Hiring good management is one of the key ways to increase
productivity on site.
If you have managers who are respectful yet firm in their leadership,
your team will respond. Managers help keep workers focused and
working towards your goals.
Managers also work as middlemen between construction workers and
upper management in order to relay problems.
8. Keep Track of Your Materials
There’s nothing worse than thinking you have enough construction
materials to finish a project only to run out at the last minute.
You should be regularly checking inventory in order to prevent this.
You need to make sure you have the materials to complete at least
one week’s worth of work.
If you don’t, you need to order new materials well in advance to give
them enough time to come in. You don’t want your whole project to
screech to a halt because you didn’t take the time to take proper
inventory.
9. Give Your Workers Time Off
As mentioned above, construction is hot and tiring work. It requires a
ton of manual labor that puts stress on the body.
In order to increase productivity, it is important to give you workers
adequate time off. If you’ve been working them hard for a few weeks in
a row, give them a long weekend to recover.
This will demonstrate that you care about your workers and they will
be happier for it. When they return to work they’ll be eager to get back
to the project after being well rested.
10. Convey The End Goal
It always helps people stay on task if they’re reminded of what they’re
working towards.
Put up pictures of the end result around the site to remind the workers
why they’re working. Maybe they’re building a hospital for the sick or a
school for the young. Construction work is so important as it develops
communities and creates secure spaces for people to live and grow.
Remind your workers of the end result of all their hard work. Show
them what an impact they’re going to make in their community.
Follow This Guide to Improve Productivity at Work
Remember that construction workers want to feel valued as human
beings just like anyone else.
If you want to increase productivity at work you need to incentivize
and listen to your workers. Set reasonable goals and reward them for
meeting them.
Once you start communicating well with your construction crew you’ll
be thrilled to see how proactive the job site becomes.