‍Why Construction Management is important for your projects?

The importance of construction management is evident from the fact that more than a third of construction projects worldwide either fail or face cost and time overruns. In India alone, as per the Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division(IPMD) of the Ministry of Statistics and Project Implementation(MoSPI), 721 out of 1568 construction projects were delayed until June 2022. Moreover, the commissioning schedule of 569 projects is still unknown. 

With adequate construction project management steps, you can keep your project on track and ensure completion within the planned time and budget with proper quality control. Read on to learn more about construction management’s importance and the benefits of using it for your projects.

 

What is Construction Management?

Construction project management is a professional service availed by project owners to employ specialized techniques to manage every aspect of a construction project, from planning to scheduling to budget estimation to execution.

Construction project management is implemented to optimize best industry practices, carefully monitor progress, make sound decisions and improve visibility by using effective control measures and reporting methods. 

 

How does construction management benefit organisations?

 

 

To understand the need for project management in construction, let’s look at some stats:

1. 42% of firms still do not know the importance of project management.
2. Firms that invest a fraction of their budget in project management waste 28 times less money!
3. The chances of successful completion of a project increase 2.5 times when you implement project management practices.

 

These stats show why you should integrate project management practices into your construction projects. Effective construction project management is important to increase the chances of successful project completion. i.e., on time, within budget and free from financial or legal complications.

Currently, construction management software systems are trending, which improve the effectiveness of the construction management process for your project’s manifolds. Your entire team comes together at a single place on the software, which eases managing activities and provides better insights into long-term objectives. It improves coordination and communication among team members, which allows the smooth flow of information, which is generally missing in construction projects.

Now let us first know what construction management is and then look at the various reasons why construction project management is necessary.

 

Construction Management vs. Project Management 

While construction management and project management share common goals and principles, they differ in scope, focus, and perspective. Construction management is concerned with on-site execution and operational efficiency, while project management provides strategic direction and oversight across the entire project lifecycle. By understanding the difference between these two, construction owners and project managers can leverage their complementary strengths to drive successful outcomes in construction projects. Ultimately, it is the synergy between effective construction management and strategic project management that ensures the timely delivery of high-quality construction projects.

 

Scope and Focus:

 

 

• Construction Management: Primarily focuses on on-site activities, including resource management, scheduling, quality control, and safety compliance. Construction managers oversee the day-to-day operations to ensure efficient execution of tasks according to project specifications.
• Project Management: Has a broader scope, throughout the entire project lifecycle from initiation to completion. Project managers are involved in strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, scheduling, risk management, and overall project governance.

Timeline and Perspective:

 

 

• Construction Management: Primarily concerned with short-term objectives and immediate project needs. Construction managers focus on ensuring that tasks are completed on time and that resources are effectively utilised to meet project deadlines.
• Project Management: Takes a complete and long-term view of the project, considering strategic goals, timelines, and project milestones. Project managers develop comprehensive plans, manage project budgets and resources, and monitor progress across all project phases.

Hierarchy and Responsibility:

 

 

• Construction Management: Often operates within a hierarchical structure on-site, with construction managers overseeing supervisors, subcontractors, and laborers. Their key usage is to ensure that construction activities are executed efficiently, safely, and in compliance with project requirements.
• Project Management: Involves a more decentralised approach, with project managers working closely with various stakeholders across different organisational levels. Project managers bear ultimate responsibility for project success, coordinating efforts, managing risks, and facilitating communication among all project participants.

However, to truly achieve mastery in this domain, one needs more than just manual coordination and strategic planning. A comprehensive Construction Project Management tool emerges as the best tool for complete control and seamless execution.

Such a tool empowers construction and project managers with the capabilities to streamline communication, track progress, manage budgets, and avoid risks effectively. It serves as a centralised hub where stakeholders can collaborate, monitor performance, and make data-driven decisions throughout the project lifecycle.

 

Importance of Construction Management

 

 

The following reasons explain why construction project management is important:

1. Reduce Delays by Improving efficiency
2. Keep a check on the cost
3. Enhance Coordination and Communication
4. Better Quality Control
5. Track issues and accountability
6. Avoid Material Wastage
7. Scale Business

Reduce Delays by Improving efficiency

The complexity associated with construction projects makes it difficult to manage the different phases from planning to execution. Moreover, each phase has different levels of the workforce within different teams who need to coordinate effectively so that the project does not get delayed due to communication lags. 

Due to this complicated mechanism of executing construction projects, you need the best-suited project management methods to manage each aspect smoothly. A minor delay during any project activity can amplify towards the end of the project, causing massive delays. 

With adequate construction project management techniques, you can schedule every aspect of the project in a coordinated manner to achieve maximum efficiency. This in turn allows employees to work efficiently and coordinate, which reduces the chances of delays marginally. 

Keep a check on the cost by tracking expenses

Construction projects are usually tight on budgets due to the innumerable variables involved in execution. To ensure that your construction company survives for long periods without any cash crunch, you need to keep a check on the budget by tracking expenses. This can only be possible by employing effective construction management techniques with which you can update the day-to-day expenses.

 

 

Sometimes, it’s more than tracking expenses; while planning and scheduling the different phases of execution, construction project management helps compute budgets per the contractors’ and vendors’ requirements. It helps you estimate budgets based on deliverable metrics to avoid materials wastage and gain the maximum output from every rupee spent.

Enhance Coordination and Communication

Smooth coordination and communication among teams involved in construction projects are vital for the success of a project on time and within budget. Without a proper channel, the transfer of information throughout the project team becomes laggy and delayed. This communication blockage is a major reason for project delays and cost overruns.

 

 

To tackle this problem, construction management techniques can establish proper communication channels and coordination methodologies. Teams can work together more efficiently with quick transfer of information and without any gaps in coordination.

Better Quality Control

A construction project can never be completed successfully without proper quality control measures. Any owner or client wishes to see the project structure to be constructed as per all standards of safety and quality as prescribed by the authorities or design code.

 

 

Keeping track of whether the quality is being maintained per the design plan can be tiring and demotivating for contractors, who sometimes ignore quality checks. 

With the integration of construction project management steps in execution, quality control can be maintained without much effort. During execution, the management process helps authorities keep a check on the quality of materials being used as well as the quality of construction.

Tracking Accountability

Tracking accountability in a construction project is like searching for a single thread from an entangled set of threads. The chain never stops when you try to determine the individual or team responsible for any particular issue. 

With construction management, you can track the team or individuals responsible for any issue during execution. It allows you to track the issues faced in tasks assigned to employees and other workers helping with the same. 

By knowing the accountable team or individual, you easily avoid disputes that could have arisen due to confusion.

Avoid Material Wastage

While building any construction project, every brick, beam, and nail counts. Material wastage not only impacts the bottom line but also undermines sustainability efforts. Effective construction management plays an important role in minimising wastage by streamlining procurement, inventory management, and onsite utilisation. By meticulously planning and monitoring material usage throughout the project lifecycle, construction managers can identify areas of potential waste and implement strategies to mitigate them. Proactive management ensures resources are utilised efficiently, reducing costs and environmental impact simultaneously.

Scale Business

Construction management system provides the framework necessary to scale operations seamlessly. By standardising processes, implementing best practices, and leveraging technology, businesses can enhance productivity, reduce errors, and increase project delivery. Furthermore, streamlined project management facilitates better resource allocation, enabling businesses to take on larger and more complex projects confidently. Whether it’s expanding into new markets or diversifying service offerings, a solid foundation of construction management empowers businesses to pursue growth opportunities with confidence, ensuring long-term success and sustainability in a competitive industry landscape.

 

Get Started with Powerplay, Your Ultimate Construction Project Management App

 

 

Specially made for the construction industry, Powerplay stands as a comprehensive construction project management application, serving construction owners, project managers, and site engineers alike. Leading general contractors, developers, builders, and sub-contractors today use Powerplay to build their residential, commercial, infrastructure, and interior projects. 

With its array of features including task, material, and project management, labor attendance tracking, vendor payables monitoring, real-time notifications, automated reporting, and dedicated customer support, Powerplay empowers users to effectively oversee their construction projects. Powerplay is an extremely easy to use application and you can start tracking your projects within 7 days! Whether it’s tracking project timelines, managing budgets with real-time actual versus planned comparisons, or ensuring seamless coordination among teams, Powerplay delivers on all fronts. 

Available across all leading platforms including Android, iOS, and Web, Powerplay emerges as the go-to solution for streamlined construction project management.

 

Conclusion

Construction project management is generally implemented for large-scale projects. Since authorities need to continuously manage a vast set of variables and deliverables for the entire project duration. To avoid delays and subsequent cost overruns, small-scale projects that hold enough value must also be integrated with construction management techniques.

It would be best to manage your projects on Powerplay, India’s 1st and only construction management software. All the aspects of the project are highlighted on the software with provisions to update information and raise issues in real time. Manage attendance, track material inventory and connect with your team on the app itself with the chat feature.

To know more about managing your projects on Powerplay. Click the link below and let us schedule a demo for you.