Here’s a Quick Way to Keep Construction Projects Healthy

This last week I’ve had a cold which has made me feel tired and I have to constantly stop what I’m doing to blow my nose. This has impacted my work making me less efficient and leading to mistakes. Just as our performance suffers when we are ill our projects can suffer when they’re ill, or when they aren’t running as well as they should.
Do you know if your project is healthy, or is there a cancer that’s slowly eating your profits and impacting progress?

Project health tests
We are encouraged to undergo regular health check-ups. In the same way our projects undergo health check-ups. These may include:

1. Reviewing the updated construction schedule monthly – we check to see that the project is progressing on schedule and take action when there’s slippage.
2. Monthly cost reports – most companies require monthly project cost reports so their financial performance can be assessed against the budget.
3. Reviewing safety statistics – it should be common practice to review the monthly safety statistics and ensure the project hasn’t had serious accidents or is at risk of accidents occurring.
4. Quality reports – this normally includes reviewing the non-conformance reports for the previousBAD HOUSEKEEPING CAN BE A TELLTALE SIGN OF PROJECT WITH MANY OTHER PROBLEMS
   month.

The problem with most health checks is that they aren’t always reliable. They also sometimes detect the problem when it’s too late or the problem is already large. Of course some problems are misdiagnosed or the wrong treatment is prescribed. Then there are many who choose to ignore the warning signs and carry on as normal.

But can we detect unhealthy projects earlier?
Unfortunately many managers try to manage their projects from the office, relying on meetings, emails and reports to monitor their project. However, there’s nothing that beats actually walking the project, being in the field and interacting with your team. When you do these walks, it’s usually obvious when the project isn’t healthy.
Is the project neat and organized, or is it chaotic?
Is everyone busy or are some standing around underutilized?
Is all the equipment being efficiently used?
Does there appear to be a plan in place?
When I walk around my projects I constantly look for 3 things:

1. Is the project safe? Are people working safely?
2. Is the quality of our work acceptable? Am I proud of the workmanship?
3. Could we do things better? Are we as productive as we should be?

But it’s also important to talk to your team.  Observe how they interact with each other. Are they working as a team? Are they motivated to produce quality work, safely and as productively as possible? Do they have the right skills and equipment? Is morale good? Happy workers will be more productive than those who are simply waiting for the next pay-day.
As I walk around the field I also ask the following questions:
......Continue Reading......

​This article was first published on the ClockShark website. To visit this website and continue reading the article click on the link above.
Please share this post
To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below:
'Successful Construction Project Management: The Practical Guide'
'Building a Successful Construction Company: The Practical Guide'
'Construction Book reviews'
To read more about the author visit the page 'Paul Netscher'
Want to contact Paul Netscher please enter your details on 'Contacts'
Find out how Paul Netscher can help you

Order your books from Amazon
Order your books from Amazon UK
© 2016 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.