Wasting Time & Money In Construction

For many contractors, a successful project means completing it on time and within budget.

But when projects fail, it's often due to:

• Conflicts
• Poor planning
• Cost overruns
• Delays in the schedule

Contractors must manage their construction projects proactively — or risk falling into the trap of profit and productivity killers.

Below are the most common reasons for wasted time and money:

One of the biggest profitability killers is a lack of clearly defined company and project goals.

Before beginning a project:

• Align with all team members on expectations
• Build a strategy and execution plan
• Use your construction schedule as a communication tool

Inadequate planning leads to poor execution.

• Without a solid scheduling process, projects drift off course
• Good scheduling includes:
  • Reviewing plans and specs
  • Understanding the scope of work
  • Aligning on deliverables and milestones

Communication failures impact:

• Team coordination
• Expectations
• Profitability

Most contractors are not natural communicators.

That’s why it’s your responsibility to:

• Provide clearly defined goals
• Align everyone on expectations
• Use a construction schedule as your central communication tool

Low productivity impacts both cost and schedule.

• Management must monitor team performance
• Foremen need to spot inefficiencies early
• Schedules should reflect real workloads and identify risks

Final Thoughts

If your team is losing time or money, these four issues are usually the culprit:

• Undefined goals, poor planning, weak communication, and low productivity.

Fix those, and your project success rate will rise with it.