Project management software is a vital tool in identifying your priority tasks that need to get things done on time. It provides the project manager with the essential details for the allocation of organizational resources to complete the planned tasks based on the set timeframe.
Through the help of a construction scheduling software, you can easily collect the right documents for the tasks at hand and deliver the agreed project. Regarding the creation of a construction project schedule, it takes years of experience for a project manager to master this task. It involves planning, knowing who is in charge of a specific work as scheduled, why conducting a job is necessary, and where to perform a scheduled task.
Project management tools are essential to complete a project with fewer issues. Any project consists of several tasks. Every task has a deadline or a start and end date. An assigned task is successful if it meets all the requirements on time.
Also, staff members keep track of their assigned jobs, as listed in the construction management software. It records all the various schedules, staff availability, plans, including the workers’ vacation and time-offs. By following the tasks cited in the project management software, this achieves the team’s overall goals.
Construction Management is a Tedious Process
Construction management requires the expertise of the project manager. Otherwise, this will be very challenging. Rushing the completion of your project without proper planning is deemed to fail. It is where understanding the value of executing construction management software lies. In the past, planned tasks were using printed calendars on a wall in the shared water-cooler, or are plotted on a spreadsheet and sent via email.
Currently, most project teams employ construction scheduling software that can be accessed by the staff in a particular project. In general, project scheduling is one of the features of a project management software design.
For example, Pro Crew Schedule provides online Gantt charts when creating construction project schedule tasks and evaluating the project resources. As for the team management efforts, it optimizes its features and reporting tools to meet its objectives and makes use of its comprehensive online project management tools.
Establishing a Construction Project Schedule
Project scheduling is a critical part of the project’s planning. Before starting to create a construction project schedule, the team should consider the following:
- Tasks to accomplish
- Timeframe for each job
- The staff to manage a specific task
- The location of conducting the job
By pondering to respond to these essential questions can assess your capacity to maximize the use of your chosen construction management software as you move forward. Using your construction scheduling software wisely, you can carefully plan your realistic target dates, link staff assigned tasks daily, set timeframe, achieve milestones, and effectively manage available resources.
Guidelines to Consider when Creating a Construction Project Schedule that Works within Your Team:
1. Identify the scope of the project
The project scope is the blueprint during the initial project planning. It consists of a document that details the team’s objectives, what it needs to accomplish, available resources, project budget, and related details necessary for project completion. List all tasks in completing the project on time. Also, it highlights the stakeholder’s requirements for what they want to achieve for the final project.
The project manager thoroughly puts everything in perspective with a task list, so nothing is left out. It is where he chooses the best construction management software application to do the project. He may opt to use a Work Breakdown Structure when organizing the staff tasks and lay them out to ensure timely project completion.
2. Carefully evaluate the task sequence
Mini tasks are a collection of staff activities that play a crucial role in the final deliverable. It is an approach of mapping out the list of assigned jobs before executing them. Often, this links one task to another, whether to start a job or put them to the next stage of completion. Nobody wants to get something undone and leave it behind before you realize it. The reason could be not completing it as agreed. As a result, you have to redo or revise it.
3. Promote the value of group effort
After identifying the tasks for everyone and reminding them how to meet the objectives, it is time to prioritize and assign the tasks by importance. Determine right away which project tasks are critical and those you can do at a later date.
Divide the tasks based on planned milestones depending on the specific project phases such as project initiation, task planning, job execution, staff monitoring, and completion. By systematically organizing your tasks based on milestones, tracking the progress is easy to manage. Also, it provides your staff with a sense of accomplishment while boosting their confidence and work productivity.
4. Check related tasks and link them
Altogether, you can conduct several jobs. However, others are connected to other tasks to begin or finish them before pursuing other jobs. Plot task dependencies in your construction project task schedule, so you are informed about their developments. Unable to do so, you are prone to bottlenecks and setbacks for your team.
5. Determine the critical path
A critical path is an approach when scheduling project tasks, which are crucial to project completion. It enables you to make smart choices regarding those that you can ignore when experiencing time and budgetary constraints.
6. Allocate resources
Each task on your list of construction project schedules should have the necessary resources and budget to accomplish it on time. Map out tasks with the resources needed. Otherwise, you might exceed the allowed budget. Properly aligning the resources to the jobs at hand, you can plan your staff tasks and maintain a balanced workload.
Keeping Your Construction Project Schedule on Track Upon Execution
After plotting all your tasks in your construction management software schedule together, the next thing to do is manually record it into a printed document like an Excel spreadsheet. What a project management software does is automating this documentation for you.
There is some construction scheduling software that helps conduct simple scheduling tasks. However, choose the best construction management software that works well for your project to minimize scheduling issues when tracking projects.
Understanding how a construction scheduling software can assist you in project management enables you to succeed in your endeavors.
Project management software helps you to organize your tasks on time, check your available resources for project completion, and manage all project stages to keep them on track.
Stages of Construction Project Scheduling
1. Project initiation
Plan out your project before creating a construction project schedule. During the initial stage, identify your budget, establish your target timelines, and final deliverable date. Specify your required expenses as a baseline with what you can spend during the project execution.
2. Task allocation
Project scheduling focuses on task management. It consists of bits and pieces of tasks jobs that contribute to meeting the final deliverable. By defining the workload, this is the first step to ensure systematically managing the project. Use a spreadsheet in monitoring the jobs or employ a construction scheduling software to start a specific task. In your Gantt chart, list the assigned timeframe in your spreadsheet, or you can use a project management software to kick-off the process.
3. Set up tasks in a calendar
Keep in mind the dates that your staff are available or on break. These include regular holidays, leaves, and other dates before creating your long-term schedule.
Plot holidays in the construction management software for both global and local staff to identify your team’s availability. It is critical for remote team management. Creating a basic outline of your general weekday schedule is highly recommended if no other data is readily available.
4. Establish contingency plans
Prevent setbacks that can hinder the work completed on time. It is the main reason for building a construction project schedule. Take time to link dependent tasks to conduct the assigned tasks.
5. Assign team tasks
Team members are your best assets. Without their reliability and efforts, you cannot complete all the work on time. To ensure optimal efficiency, assign the right team member with a suitable set of skills to do the tasks.
6. Project monitoring
Set the schedule as soon as possible so the project can begin. It keeps the managers informed on how things are going without bothering their team. Project tracking and metrics analysis enable you to identify issues and suggest revisions for the smooth project execution.
7. High-level project view using a real-time dashboard
It involves gathering project data on time, budget, tasks, and other issues. These also highlight colorful, user-friendly graphs and easy-to-read charts in detail.
8. Resource management
Being fully aware of your resources and maintaining balanced promotes a more productive and happier team. Check your task page to see the jobs assigned to your team. The color-coded chart allows one to view who is overburdened and unload anyone while asking another individual to do the task using the work chart.
9. Modify plan and task
Construction project schedules consist of real-time jobs. As various forces impact any project, you need a quick and easy strategy to adopt. Flexibility is vital to prevent slippage. Use drag and drop buttons for tasks or dates, as shown on the Gantt chart. Any changes are reflected right away throughout the project management software.
10. Always inform stakeholders of recent developments
Stakeholders are those with personal interest regarding the project. Keep them part of the loop and let them know about the project progress. You are liable to do this as part of your responsibility.
In a few clicks, you can generate reports regarding task variance and other project details. Filter the results when sending them to the stakeholders and responding to their queries.
