Keeping Everyone Informed: Sharing Project Information to Avoid Mistakes

Construction projects generate a huge amount of data and information that the teams on site and in the office need to stay on top of to keep the project running smoothly. Examples of this information include design changes, variations, deliveries and project status, to name just a few. Keeping everyone informed about the key changes or updates is a challenge, and one that must be tackled daily. If people aren’t kept up to date, it can lead to mistakes, reworks and delays — all of which affect the bottom line and can result in subcontractor claims. 

Who’s in charge of keeping everyone informed?

There are three key roles that are responsible for ensuring that teams are kept up to date with the latest information. These are:

• The project manager
• The quality assurance (QA) manager
• The document controller
• The design manager

The people in these three roles must collaborate to set the process for sharing information, as well as the methods they will use to make sure that everyone on the project is on board with those processes and procedures. 

Everything starts with the Project Execution Plan. Part of this plan outlines how the communication process, document control process, design management and filing system will work. It should detail how to create the link between electronically stored documents and physical documents. It will also include details for how to train staff — educating them on the QA and filing processes, for example — and processes for technical submissions, requests for information (RFIs), drawings and revisions. 

It's good practice to start having quality meetings early on, as well as meetings between the main contractor and subcontractors, with the document controllers and managers also present, to set them up for successful collaboration. The document manager will usually be the individual responsible for helping subcontractors to comply with information sharing processes, so it’s vital that the project manager ensures they receive sufficient training. 

The role of the design manager should also not be underestimated here. The design manager is ultimately responsible for tracking all design changes and critical submissions within the information platform. An experienced design manager will work closely with the document controller and project manager. The project manager should also encourage and enable close collaboration between the design manager, document controller and QA manager. 

The QA manager works closely with the document controller to ensure the subcontractors are proficient with submittals. They may also work with the document controller on maintaining as-built documentation. 

Maintaining Momentum When Design Changes Arise

It’s not unusual for designs to change late into projects. In fact, designs often move for the entire lifecycle of the project. What’s important is that these changes are managed and communicated effectively so that teams don’t work from the wrong version of a drawing, specification or any other document. 

There are many ways that changes can be raised. It could be through a design meeting, when subcontractors raise issues about, for example, clashes or other problems they identify in a drawing or during installation. It could also happen on site, with a team member raising a change on a site monitoring application. If you have a good document controller, they will action this quickly and raise the change process on a communication platform like Procore or similar so that there is more visibility. 

To keep things moving swiftly, and to avoid a situation where rework is needed — including abortive work — the project manager needs to instil the importance of checking drawings within the team before going forward with an updated or revised activity. If there have been updates to the design, it’s critical that the teams are working from the latest drawing. Cultivating a team mentality of double-checking drawings is the best way to avoid errors. The key is to always check the latest information on the communication platform and, if required, confirm it with the design manager. 

Alongside encouraging these habits, it’s also best practice to make sure you discuss the changes in team meetings, such as the daily briefings for live tasks, weekly design meetings, progress meetings or even in one-off workshops where you get all the relevant people into a room to discuss the changes. It is critical that any changes or updates are always communicated to the people involved in the activity that is subject to change. 

How a Communication Platform Supports Better Information Sharing

Without a good communication platform, it’s difficult to maintain a well-managed project — and almost impossible for large projects. Construction management platforms with communication tools need to be part of the process, because they act as a repository for information to be properly managed and controlled so that everybody has access to updates, changes and information. 

We’ve already discussed the importance of checking for updated drawings. The construction management platform is the tool that enables workers on site to do this quickly and easily, without having to ask somebody else to do it for them. Ideally, everybody should have mobile access to the platform through a device to enable them to efficiently check information, and to receive notifications of updates or changes. 

Construction management platforms are excellent for keeping all parties on a construction job up to date with the latest developments, drawings and decisions about a project. They help to give everybody the access to the documents and information that they need, and since they access the platform from mobile devices, they help site teams to stay in the loop while they work. Mobile access also means that workers can check their drawings — including making sure that they are using the right version — so that they don’t make mistakes on site. These platforms also help construction companies with their sustainability goals, as they eliminate the need for excessive printing. 

It's important that the document controller is trained in the communication platform to a high standard, otherwise there is a risk that they could become a blocker to the information sharing process, instead of an enabler. 

Bonus Tip from a Previous Project

Delays are an aspect of construction that can sometimes feel inevitable, but they can cause a lot of problems. Negative effects include a disrupted critical path and claims or penalties at the end of the project. Here is a great example of a strategy that can help you to avoid this:

Documenting the timelines and milestones in which information needs to be shared is a great way to maintain a thorough approach to keeping everyone informed. It holds everyone accountable and minimises the chances of delays related to sharing information. 

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