At the beginning of any construction project, the cost estimation process provides the groundwork for the entire process. When the estimation is performed accurately, the project execution will go smoother, the client will be pleased, and your company will earn the opportunity to work on future projects.
To achieve this objective, construction managers must constantly review the factors that impact costs for their construction jobs. Learn more about the importance of cost management of construction projects.
What Impacts Construction Project Costs?
Managing costs for your construction projects will depend on several factors.
– The first and most important aspect of construction cost management is the labor required to perform the job. While a skilled worker shortage is currently affecting the industry, you must find quality employees who can do the job safely and accurately.
– Another critical aspect of determining the project’s cost is the materials you use. Like workers, materials are not where you want to cut corners. Using quality materials helps the finished product look the way the client wants it to look and allows your team members to get the job done the right way the first time.
– You will also need to evaluate the current market trends and the prices your local competitors are charging. Much like the real estate industry, the construction industry and its typical costs depend on many local factors.
If you price yourself too high, you risk alienating clients and pricing yourself out of the market. However, clients may assume that you provide shoddy work if you come in too low. Additionally, cutting costs too far will hurt your company’s bottom line.
– Now, let’s unpack the following tips for how to execute projects with cost management in mind.
1. Follow Detailed Project Planning
Construction is all about the details and knowing how to take a detailed approach to the different phases of the project is an important part of managing your costs. When you have access to a detailed analysis of the project costs, it’s much easier to stay within the project budget.
Long before you drive the first nail or begin drawing up detailed plans for the project, spend some time evaluating where every dollar is going to be spent. Construction projects are multi-faceted jobs, and knowing how to effectively manage the funds required to complete them is paramount.
2. Establish Vendor Relationships
Your construction project will never come to completion without hardworking individuals who provide the materials you need to get the job done. Establishing professional relationships with these vendors is crucial when focusing on project cost management.
When you create an ongoing relationship with a vendor, they are often willing to give you a preferred price on supplies, assuming that you will use their materials in future jobs. See how you can continue to grow these relationships over time.
3. Hire Quality Employees
While you may be forced to hire people who lack the experience that some of your other team members have, there is no arguing that unskilled workers hurt projects. If you bring on workers with less experience than others, have them shadow your more experienced workers. This effort will help reduce the likelihood of costly issues such as safety incidents, material waste, and re-work.
4. Implement Safety Measures
Creating a safe working environment is essential to the cost management process and crucial for your status as an ethical constructor. When evaluating cost management of construction projects resource planning, the most important resource you have at your disposal is the team of professionals carrying out your project plans.
Having construction safety measures in place not only protects your employees but also protects you. Time lost due to injuries cannot be recuperated. When work on a jobsite has to stop because of an injury, there is nothing you can do to get that time back.
5. Use a Project Management Tool
Simply having a list of tasks that need to be completed isn’t enough. In recent years, quality construction management programs have been created, and the most successful construction companies in the world are using them.
Every construction project has a project life cycle. This life cycle begins when the first cost estimates are provided for a job and does not end until the client uses the completed space. It is crucial to understand that construction projects are not linear. While there may be an expected start date and a projected completion date, the process of getting from Point A to Point B rarely, if ever, happens in a straight line.
6. Monitor Progress
While using a project management tool is important, it is also crucial that you personally monitor the progress of the project at hand. As a construction manager, you should regularly walk the job site and communicate with foremen, subcontractors, and other project participants.
You become better at managing costs when you take a hands-on approach to each job. Regular trips to the jobsite allow you to evaluate your current labor situation, the use of materials, and other cost-related factors. Consider making this part of your daily activities as a construction manager.
7. Get it Right the First Time
Finally, the idea of getting things right the first time may seem like an unnecessary statement, but when you do a job right the first time, you mitigate the risk of re-work.
Before the construction process starts, go over every possible detail of the client’s wishes and get everything in writing. This written contract between a contractor and the client is the lifeblood of the project. When you have a written agreement in place, ensure that the team completing the job has access to every tool they need to get the job done the right way.
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Construction managers face unprecedented challenges trying to manage costs at the construction site. That’s why we continuously share the latest information with professionals to serve as a resource for the industry.
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