What To Consider When Planning A Construction Project

Last Updated: 

November 23, 2023

Whether you are new to the construction business or have been doing it for many years, each project is different. As a team, it is your group's job to make it as straightforward as possible for those financing it and as easy to put together as possible.

This is no easy feat, and it is the downfall of many construction projects that the planning aspect is rushed.

So, what goes into planning a successful construction project? Read on to find out!

Key Takeaways on Planning a Construction Project:

  1. Planning: Regardless of the size of your construction project, comprehensive planning is a prerequisite. You should evaluate the project's feasibility by considering factors like the number of people needed, the resources required, and the budget.
  2. S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R. Goals: Develop a detailed strategy using the S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) and C.L.E.A.R. (Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, Refinable) frameworks to guide your project. These approaches help in breaking down every aspect of the project and ensuring the objectives are met.
  3. Timeline: Once you have a plan, establish a timeline for your project. If a specific schedule is already in place, set your milestones working backward from the deadline. If no timeline exists, meet with your team to discuss the project's various aspects to complete it on time. Dividing your team into managers and supervisors can help ensure adherence to the schedule.
  4. Track Progress: Monitor your project's progress, keeping a close eye on the budget and schedule, as well as the quality of the work. If the project falls behind, identify ways to expedite progress and stay as close to the original timeline as possible.
  5. Evaluation: Once the project is complete, assess the work done and identify lessons learned that can be applied to future projects. Thorough inspection and addressing any pending issues at this stage can prevent complications down the line.
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Drawing board First

Irrespective of the size of the project, it needs to be planned, and to manage your construction project, you need to assess its feasibility. Look at areas such as the number of people, the budget, the resources, and the budget that is needed to get it done.

Create A Plan

This is where S.M.A.R.T and C.L.E.A.R come into play. You need to begin making and building a broader strategy that, in relation to S.M.A.R.T, relates to specific goals, measurable objectives, the attainability of the goals, the realistic areas of the goals, and the timeframe. Then, relating to C.L.E.A.R., the project needs to be collaborative, limited in relation to certain timeframes, appreciable (as not to overload your workers), and refinable.

Basically, you are breaking down every part of the project and assessing whether it hits these objectives with all the products required like Peterbilt dump truck listings.

Timeline

You have a plan in place. Now you need to draw up a timeline.

If you are working to a specific schedule, then you will need to work backward from the deadline when creating milestones for the build. If you don't have a timeline, you and your team will need to have a meeting and discuss all areas of the project to get it completed on time, such as ordering supplies and mapping out each stage.

It is important to approach everyone on your team individually and allow them to ask any questions that they may have about the timeline. Now is also an ideal time to divide the teams up into managers and supervisors to ensure that, as much as possible, the schedule is adhered to.

Track the Progress

There is something of a stereotype when it comes to building work or construction- that the project is always behind schedule.

As this work usually occurs in areas that are not safe from the elements, and your team may come across health hazards during the course, this needs to be accounted for in the timeline phase. 

Key things to assess are your budget and the schedule. Is the project operating smoothly? Also, be sure to assess the quality of the work. Is it as good as you thought it would be?

If your project is running behind, try to keep it as close to the deadline as possible and always look for ways to speed things up if possible.

Evaluate

The building is up, and it looks great. Are you done? No!

You need to conduct assessments of the work that has been done and assess how the work completed in this project can help in your team's next project. Were there things that were missed in the planning stage that need to have extra attention in the future?

If you spot anything that is in urgent need of a bit more attention from your team, it is better to address it now than later on. So, be extra careful when inspecting the work.

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