Building Better, Faster Construction Project Managers Through Technology

Technology promises greater efficiencies in construction, but the key to success is removing the bottlenecks that impede the project manager (PM) from fully leveraging its advantages.

Preparation for the transition produces better, faster PMs. Trained in deftly manipulating information, PMs can close the gaps in the construction "project management triangle" of time, budget, and quality. No longer forced to sacrifice one goal to achieve the other two, they can make high-level, data-driven decisions that generate efficiencies and mitigate risk. As a result, these super-PMs make significant contributions to organizational growth and profitability.

This article explores how to prepare PMs for a successful technology transition, how to maximize their use of construction management software, and the competitive advantages gained from priming PMs to be their best.

Putting Preparation First

New systems don’t have to arrive laden with steep learning curves. Thorough preparation instills a proven, workable system into operations, allowing PMs to use it with fluidity and purpose.

Step 1: Build the system.

Create a system containing a place for every data point and every document, like a master craftsman’s workshop. Integrate it fully into existing systems and processes. Test and retest to ensure its readiness for rollout and keep glitches to the bare minimum.

Step 2: Train the PM.

Equip the PM with every skill needed to use the program with ease. The PM should be familiar with the system’s capabilities, the questions it can answer, and the appropriate places for every entry.

Every tap should store information correctly and efficiently, for distribution to everyone who needs it. When superintendents and crews see the PM using a system with ease and getting home sooner every day, they will look for ways to make it work for themselves.

Step 3: Refine the processes.

Transferring an inefficient process to a digital system doesn’t automatically erase its accumulated speed bumps and blind spots.

Throughout implementation, immerse the vendor’s sales team in company procedures and pain points. Empower them to craft technology-based solutions suited to company culture. Be open to change that eliminates clicks and steps, for greater efficiencies and time savings.

Making Improvements Routine

The productivity-boosting features of construction management software align with the daily duties and expectations of PMs. Here are some ways software creates benefits in all aspects of operations.  

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  Project Management Workflow

  Automation can impose more rigid processes than PMs are accustomed to. Those who make informal calls to receptive directors for approvals might not warm up to the sequence of clicks and entries the software demands. However, PMs constantly driving for improvement will recognize the opportunities to track a task’s efficiencies and inefficiencies.  

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  History Lessons

  Project management software puts expectations into clear-cut terms, with backup documentation. The additional entry of solutions garnered from previous experience, entered with the change history, provides detailed instructions for assignees, saving time and headaches on follow-up calls and explanations.

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  Areas for Improvement

  Project management software forces PMs to input all the data and information needed to make things happen onsite and record progress. The aggregate data can reveal areas where additional training can reinforce PMs’ abilities to improve outcomes.

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  Powerful Recall

  As the use of technology is refined, new KPIs and metrics emerge for better-informed PMs empowered to make more impactful, strategic decisions. PMs who know which subcontractors have a history of submitting change orders from Day One have a starting point for avoiding cost overruns. On the flip side, PMs might learn that a new-to-them contractor has worked well with other company PMs, launching a project on a harmonious note.

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  Field Reporting and Timelines

  CMS tools collect individual factors such as RFIs, meeting minutes, and submittals for regular review. More powerfully, PMs can maneuver the data into multifaceted reports that reveal cause and effect from intersecting elements. Customized reports allow PMs to resolve the challenges unique to their jobsites.

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  No-Brainer Decisions

  Great PMs rely on finely honed gut instincts to back their decisions. CMS provides the backing data, telling stories explaining the who, what, when, where, and why of previous incidents. Indisputable documentation also ensures that financial responsibility for rework — maybe repainting a piece that arrived in the wrong color — falls on the accountable party.

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Building a Better Business

Companies that use their analytical powers to develop teams of uniformly strong project managers have a powerful lever for achieving scale and generating healthy profits.  

PMs who effectively use CMS give officers and customers insights into how teams are applying data and organization to keep the company on track to achieve strategic growth goals.

The same technology for capturing the PM’s lessons from previous projects supports thorough preparation for the next project.

For instance, a PM’s notes about a system that fell short of expectations can alert the preconstruction, bidding, and estimating teams to find a more efficient, cost-saving solution.

As always, clear standards of data entry are imperative. Quality data gives the C-suite visibility into areas ripe for operational improvements while also justifying the efficiency and profitability of existing, effective processes. Standards make sure that the data will go to the right person for timely responses, such as costs above a set level sent to a finance officer for review.

With more efficient PMs using the best construction software, the time-consuming back and forth of calls and emails is minimized, and tempers don’t fray over missed actions. The system doesn’t just keep things from slipping through the cracks — it can eliminate many of the cracks altogether.

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