You’re managing a construction project. What are the most common time-wasters to avoid?

1 Poor planning

One of the biggest time-wasters in construction project management is poor planning. Without a clear and realistic scope, schedule, and budget, you will face delays, cost overruns, scope creep, and quality issues. To avoid this, you need to plan your project carefully, using tools such as work breakdown structures, Gantt charts, critical path analysis, and risk registers. You also need to communicate your plan to your team, clients, subcontractors, and suppliers, and update it regularly as the project progresses.

2 Ineffective communication

Another common time-waster in construction project management is ineffective communication. If you don't communicate clearly, timely, and consistently with your project stakeholders, you will create confusion, misunderstandings, errors, and conflicts. To avoid this, you need to establish a communication plan that defines the purpose, frequency, mode, and recipients of your project information. You also need to use appropriate communication channels, such as emails, phone calls, meetings, reports, and dashboards, and ensure that your messages are concise, accurate, and relevant.

3 Lack of delegation

A third common time-waster in construction project management is lack of delegation. If you try to do everything yourself, or micromanage your team, you will waste your time and energy, and reduce your team's motivation and performance. To avoid this, you need to delegate tasks and responsibilities to your team members, based on their skills, experience, and availability. You also need to provide them with clear expectations, feedback, and support, and trust them to deliver their work.

4 Unnecessary meetings

A fourth common time-waster in construction project management is unnecessary meetings. If you have too many meetings, or meetings that are too long, unstructured, or unfocused, you will waste your time and your team's time, and disrupt their workflow. To avoid this, you need to have fewer and better meetings, that are aligned with your project objectives, agenda, and outcomes. You also need to invite only the relevant people, prepare and share the meeting materials in advance, and follow up with action items and minutes.

5 Distractions and interruptions

A fifth common time-waster in construction project management is distractions and interruptions. If you are constantly distracted or interrupted by emails, phone calls, messages, notifications, or other requests, you will lose your concentration, productivity, and quality of work. To avoid this, you need to minimize and manage your distractions and interruptions, by setting boundaries, prioritizing your tasks, blocking your time, and using tools such as do not disturb mode, auto-replies, and task managers.

Managing a construction project can be a rewarding experience, but also a demanding one. By avoiding these common time-wasters, you can save your time, improve your efficiency, and deliver your project successfully.