10 Tips for Effective Construction Project Management

• As I keep telling everyone, get that Detailed Programme to Completion (DPC) properly compiled after discussion with the sub-contractors for their input.
• “Swan around the site, wearing a suit and ties and looking important” – that’s just my daft phrasing of this Tip. What I actually mean is that we need to dress appropriately so that we can be identified at a distance. By the “swanning around” what we are doing is making ourselves available and accessible to the skilled tradesmen on the job. If they feel they can just yell us over they’ll point out problems and difficulties we get to know long before they become serious problems that require loads of paperwork and re-working.
• Institute a culture of “De-Snag as you go”. This is helped by the “swanning around” because the trades know any faulty work of theirs is going to quickly be picked up, so they tend to put it right without even having to be told!
• Check progress against the DPC at least once a week and up-date your master copy (yes, GenieBelt does this for you automatically) ;).
• Put a copy of the DPC up where “the lads” can see it and invite them to do their own up-dating (hint, in their smartphones through GenieBelt!). Most of them are probably on price-work and you’ll be amazed how they can accelerate work all by themselves if they think they can get two weeks extra work in that year to pay for the family holiday!

• The construction clients will probably have one of their Directors turn up on site. Try to establish a relationship with them and get their mobile number. Any difficulties with their project manager for the job, or from their architects, consultants, etc., a quick call to your new mate and he’ll soon sort them out for you! He’s the one who is paying them!
• Site meetings? We do need them, but don’t have them too often! They cost a lot in travel expenses and wages for non-productive time. Better sense if you just “summon” the people who need to speak with each other when there is an issue to be resolved between them.
• This is a bit of a subtle thing! Somehow, by some magic, the management team – client, consultant, main contractor, sub-contractors – will identify one of their number as the “Team Leader” Just hope it is you! If it isn’t, be sneaky and quietly manipulate whoever it is before the meetings!
• Make a pretty good judgment of the skills and abilities of the managers or ganger men from the subbies. Good? Skilled? Experienced? If so then swallow your self-importance! They know far more about what they are doing than you ever will! Ask them!
• This is the real shocker! The Site Meeting has a problem issue laid in front of it but can’t find a solution. Stick your head out of the door and yell for the ganger man mentioned in #9. It isn’t just you, but he probably has greater expertise and technical knowledge in his trade speciality than all the architects and engineers there! Then it will be down to you to translate from his “Grunt” to the normal English the rest of them use! Job solved!

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