3 PROVEN AND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR BETTER PROJECT OUTCOMES

Plan your projects early to help mitigate unnecessary extra costs

There is so much for a PM to consider when managing a construction project. Establishing and maintaining effective monitoring and control protocols improves project success. With so many moving parts and the potential for changes arising at any point, how can you best monitor and control your job site? In a nutshell - be prepared. Implementing strategies into your workflow that includes the next few tips will pay off.

Use Good Data

Cut & Fill Diagram

It all begins with data! We cannot harp on this point enough, so if you're a regular reader of our blogs, you shouldn't be surprised to read that. We are often contacted by our clients who are getting ready to bid on a job and don't have their takeoff (cut & fill) quantities which leads to inaccurate estimates and may result in the bid not being awarded to them. Calculating stockpile volumes correctly so that you start with the correct data for what's on the job site should be a top priority. Knowing how much dirt is on-site lets you plan where you can use it as fill on the existing project and determine how much you may be able to sell off or truck out as surplus. After you topo the stockpiles, you can compare them to your finished grade and work to keep your site balanced. When it comes to calculating the piles' volume, there are different ways to be done. You can take physical shots of your pile and import the data into a software program that calculates the volumes. Alternatively, you can use data obtained from a drone flight to gather the data needed to calculate volumes. Regardless of which method you choose, don't skip this critical step. If you're unsure if your takeoff quantities are correct, you can contact us for a comparison.

Using GPS on job sites improves productivity

Use As-Built Checklists

Devices like data collectors that run on either GPS or total stations gained popularity due to their ease of use and the benefit of gathering a lot of information quickly. Data such as the site's specific location and elevation are collected and helpful for volume/area calculations and As-Built reports, which bring us to our subsequent monitoring and control tip - using As-Built checklists. This is a simple yet effective tactic. Download our free guide here.

 Use Technology

In construction, there are still some older practices that are used today. For example, sometimes, with paving jobs, you may still see the manager pull out a measuring wheel and piece of paper to record quantities for payment to the contractor. A better approach would be to measure the paved perimeter with GPS. It is a quick, precise way to get the square footage, which can then be plotted in CAD or PDF.

ECI Technologies can partner with your team to ensure you have the best data, technology & checklists for monitoring and controlling projects from start to finish. Our clients appreciate our expertise not only with data files and models but also with understanding the dirt world. Give us a call anytime – we will answer and help get it done!