Episode 2: The Time Crunch: Strategies for Efficient Project Scheduling

Tracking construction Pain Points

In the construction world, all parties aim to minimize time delays due to the fact that they may cause additional expenses, penalty clauses and loss of goodwill.

Time management during Construction Scheduling allows the various projects to be finished in a timely and cost effective manner.

Why Do Projects Get Delayed

There are so many reasons why projects get delayed:

• Lack of Planning and Scheduling: without proper planning considering unexpected risks, it creates bottlenecks and future challenges are rising as well.
• Unreasonable Expectations: Setting unrealistic deadlines can rush work while throwing construction way off trajectory.
• Outside Changes: Any such modification of the project expanation will reduce preparation time and mean delays.
• Material Shortages and Supply Chain Problems: delays in materials being delivered can mess up project schedules even if everything else is going smoothly.
• Labour Shortages: If we do not have skilled labourers we will find it difficult to move forward with either projects at all in any of the sectors!
• Weather Problems: The bad weather all too often spells huge delays for constructions that had been hot on their heels just yesterday.
• Unforeseen Site Conditions: Unforeseen site conditions such as underground utilities or unstable earth can result in delays and additional costs.

Here are the Precautions for Construction Professionals to Avoid Construction Delays

1. Critical Path Method (CPM):    

• Zero in on activities that directly affect the project schedule
• Resource allocation to critical activities
• Have contingency plans in place if space is delayed.

2. Gantt Charts:

• Use Gantt charts to plan project stages and monitor progression.
• There you can identify potential bottlenecks and resource conflicts.
• Adjust the scheduling accordingly.

3. Lean Construction Principles:

• Minimise waste and increase efficiency, business through measures such as just-in-time delivery and pull scheduling.
• You focus on value-added and eliminate non-value-added work.

4. Agile Project Management:

• Be flexible and responsive to changing conditions.
• Divide projects into smaller, more easily achievable phases.
• Foster a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Risk Management and Contingency Planning:
• Establish the risk factors and devise the means to lessen their repercussions.
• Anticipate that things never go as expected and come up with credible plans to check those unexpected challenges.
• Effective Communication:
• Every member of the team and the stakeholders must communicate in a lucid manner within an appropriate timeframe.
• Choose the right form of communication that would help in reducing misunderstanding of the information.
• Regular Monitoring and Progress Tracking:
• Take time to observe how the project is going and determine whether there is a need to implement changes.
• Employ the relevant software for project management to monitor the progress of various indicators.

How Can Technology Aid in Project Scheduling Efforts

It’s true that project scheduling and planning can benefit greatly from the use of technology:

• Early Warning Systems: Scheduling tools like Autodesk Construction Cloud, and Oracle Primavera have the ability to manage project schedules and cost control while identifying delays and risks, Positively Influencing Construction Projects.

• Artificial Intelligence: AI-based assistants can scan similar projects for previous data and reorder phases to reduce the risk of failure.

• Construction Drones: They can assist with the monitoring of engineering works, spotting construction problems while also tracking how much has been completed.

Using these techniques and technology, construction professionals can increase project scheduling accuracy while minimizing delays and completing the projects budgeted and on time.