When it comes to construction project management, a wide range of skills are required, and the ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of agencies and people throughout the project’s lifecycle. Construction project managers must adhere to the project management principles at all stages of the project’s life cycle to achieve success.
1. Initiating the Project
You shouldn’t begin a project unless you are confident in your ability to complete it. The first step is to conduct due diligence to determine whether or not the project is even feasible. How do you come to this conclusion?
You should conduct a feasibility study, also known as a business case, in which you examine the project’s objectives, cost estimates, and timeline to determine whether you have the resources to complete the project successfully within the time and budget constraints.
You should also define the rationale for the project and ensure that it is sound in its execution. If this is the case, you should create a project charter to assist in the project’s inception. During this phase, you’ll also be identifying potential issues and risks.
2. Plan the Project
You’ve received approval; what’s next? How will you achieve your goals? Outline the tasks that must be completed within the time frame, considering project milestones and the resources required to complete those tasks within the budget constraints.
Make your construction project management plan as transparent as possible to ensure that everyone understands what needs to be done throughout the project’s life cycle. This includes providing specifics on the project’s cost, scope, duration, quality, and communication methods used. It is vital you use the necessary tools during this step such as construction management software like Jonas Premier.
Additionally, this is when you will be able to design the best project team and begin putting them together for the project. As the most important project management phase, planning is probably the most important because it is during this phase that you will create the documents required for the project’s execution.
3. Project’s Execution
As a project manager, you’re in charge of carrying out the project’s execution, which includes dealing with changes and any work management issues that arise. Whatever you promised must be completed within the timeframe you specified in your contract.
As a construction project manager, you will now have to deal with the project owner, stakeholders, customers, and teams, among other things. The teams have tasks that must be completed, requiring the management of workloads and the allocation of resources.
Throughout this stage, you’ll be scheduling meetings and providing reports on a regular basis. This is the stage at which your project management tool will be put through its paces, but more on that later.
4. Monitoring and Controlling the Project
If you don’t have a mechanism to track your project’s development, you won’t know how far it’s progressed. You’ll be performing this throughout the project’s earlier phases, but it’s significant enough to warrant its own stage in your management.
You’ll need a mechanism to keep track of your progress, which is why you’ll need to create performance indicators for time tracking, quality assurance, and cost control. It’s less probable that you’ll manage a failing project if you keep track of these numbers. As a result, be adaptable and communicative throughout so that you can rapidly adapt to change when it occurs, which it will.
