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6 Project Management Challenges and Solutions in the Construction industry
When it comes to handling construction projects, there are several potential pitfalls that project managers are always on the lookout for. Surprises are hardly pleasant, so construction managers like to be prepared for worse case scenarios. Budgeting issues and project delays implementations are common problems many tend to grapple with while executing a project.
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How long do you spend responding to emails? A minute? An hour? A few hours or a whole day? If you run a construction business and you have a large portfolio, you understand the benefits of keeping your clients happy by responding to their requests or questions. Speedily responding to emails is ideal but not always an easy thing to do. Juggling between offsite work and trying emails is indeed a tough task.
Emails are meant to facilitate communication, which is why many rely on them. How do you understand you are struggling to respond to emails? 

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The Strategic Management Process in the Construction business
What is Strategic Management?
Strategic Management can simply be defined as a systematic approach to the general management application, initiation, and execution. Strategic Management spells out a company’s rules of engagement as well as the steps it plans to take to ensure continued success.
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What is the Change Management Process?
The Change Management Process clearly spells out the series of activities required to effect change in an organizational setup. Consider them as a set of rules that a project leader must follow to achieve desired outcomes. This process involves several elements to make it successful. We consider each of these elements briefly below.
Elements of the Change Management Process
Here are the elements of the change management process to launch a successful drive in any organization.


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Waterfall Methodology in Project Management: Examples, Pros, and Cons
One pertinent question project managers ask themselves before they commence the execution of any project is to decide on the best course of action. Providing sufficient answers to this question is the bedrock of successful project execution. Today, there are multiple approaches to project management and one of the most widely used approach is the Waterfall Methodology.
What is the Waterfall Methodology approach?
The Waterfall approach involves strategic mapping out of projects into distinctive phases. Each new phase only begins after the completion of an earlier phase. This traditional form of project management ensures that team members work in a linear direction towards achieving set goals. As a member of the management group, each member works on a clearly defined phase that usually does not change. https://www.pinterest.com/gridforcetech/construction-resources/

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Decision-Making Process in Construction Management
Decision making is simply the act of making a choice from among a set of alternatives. Every day, construction professionals make decisions that impact the fortunes of their firms. The difference between a successful construction firm and a less successful one is the decisions they make. For a manager to make the best possible decision from a list of choices, there are two things he must rely on: data and experience.
The first can be obtained from the right sources, but the second comes with age, practice, and application. While we admit that experience takes time, utilizing valuable data can make up for a shortfall in experience to a certain degree. If you have both experience and data at your disposal, then you’ve got the best of both worlds.
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There are two types of costs that construction organizations deal with on a daily basis in the workplace. These costs are direct cost and indirect cost. Although both costs are important, premium consideration is placed on direct cost because of the degree of impact it has on the fortunes of the company. Project Managers spend a lot of time and resources to calculate the direct cost. Get it wrong, and it could prove fatal for the continued existence of the company.
Before we provide you with a break down of how to calculate direct costs, let us first understand what the term means. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiCIllaWc34

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Definition
A Gantt Chart is a viable project management tool used for scheduling and planning projects of small, medium, and large scale. This chart comes in handy when handling projects that are complex in nature. Project managers and evaluators use Gantt charts to simplify complex projects so as to make them clear, concise, and simplistic in nature. The Gantt Chart was invented by an American mechanical engineer by the name Henry Gantt in 1910.
In a Gantt Chart, project tasks and timelines are converted into a bar chart (horizontal) showing the project start date and end date. Other information revealed by the chart include


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Definition
Logistic Management is defined as a Supply Chain component that is structurally designed to meet the requirement of an organization, or its customers/clients. This is achieved through the control, planning, and implementation of goods or services through warehousing and the movement of such goods or services from a source of origin to a destination. Logistic Management is aimed at reducing the expenses of companies as they go about delivering utility to their customers.
In the construction industry, logistics management involves the accumulation and allocation of raw materials and labor. By adhering to industry best practices, project managers can design and facilitate a management process that works best for them.

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Construction project managers encounter difficult challenges when working on projects, and failure to address them on time may have significant consequences. Construction projects are capital intensive, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and require a significant percentage of skill set to pull off. All of these can create problems of their own, but you can solve them all by building a project schedule that is clear and concise.
If you put in more effort towards building a good project schedule, you will encounter fewer issues as your project progresses from one phase to the next. Here are 5 nice and easy steps to build a good project schedule.

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In the construction profession, a project schedule is a document that outlines the tasks earmarked for completion at a specific date before the undertaking of future ones. A successful project schedule ensures that tasks are executed in a timely manner, devoid of delays.
Contractors generally maintain schedules and monitor the progress of work in real-time thanks to the effectiveness of software and other integrated technology.

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Projects do not stand in isolation but are made up of tasks that ought to be executed according to approved schedules. On the surface, this seems like an easy and straightforward thing to do; however, when you get into the thick of things, it is not. This is why some managers excel in areas where others struggle or even fail.
There are many ways project managers schedule activities in order to meet deadlines, but drawing up a successful schedule involves identifying the pivotal aspects or phases of a project. This brings us to the Critical Path analysis.

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How to use a Gantt Chart: Essential features of a good chart
A Gantt Chart is one of the most widely used project management tools across industries for visualizing work and tracking activities. This chart is excellent for tracking project schedules and establishing the relationship between tasks or project phases. Many building and construction professionals rely on Gantt Charts to record progress, allocate resources, identify constraints, and to show any other information that may be relevant to the project at hand.

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In a construction environment, Lean construction is geared at designing systems of production with the aim of reducing the time, effort, and materials required. Its essential goal is to reduce the waste of materials and man-hours at a work site.
Why should you care about Lean Construction?
In the construction business, less is more sometimes. Lean construction ensures that project managers get work done on time and at a lower cost. It maximizes value while minimizing cost at the same time when handling planning, project activation, design, and maintenance responsibilities. Since this model was introduced and adopted by construction stakeholders, the profitability and productivity of companies have experienced a spike.

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How to improve the business process in construction project management
Improving business process decisions ranks high on the list of construction project administrators when executing a project. Construction management incorporates extensive knowledge about the building and construction industry, as well as the current state of a project in decision making. When making business decisions, the administrator, engineer, architect, or whoever is in charge has to be very thoughtful and strategic so as to achieve desired outcomes.

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In the construction industry, the value engineers, architects, designers, and investors place on reports is huge. Stakeholders rely on summary reports to make immediate and future business decisions. A summary report is a document that provides information about
Site description
Project cost
General Information
This report provides relevant data regarding key stages or processes to the financier of the project, government authorities, or a potential buyer of the equipment/structure. It may also provide information about an aspect of the project that may have or already has an effect on the entire project. Aspects may be micro in nature (affecting just the project) or general (affecting the macro-environment or the industry at large).

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What is an Executive Summary?
Both large and small scale construction companies work with executive summaries. An executive summary is a document that summarizes a robust plan in smaller details for easier understanding. These summaries are often included with many other reports. Executive summaries reveal the intended course of action by communicating key points and referencing key data that led to a final decision.
When communicating business plans to individual teams or personnel, project managers may not have the luxury of time to explain the plan in detail. So, therefore, a summary becomes necessary.
Executive Summary components
These are the sequential components an executive summary must follow.

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In the field of engineering and construction, T&M stands for Time and Materials contracts involving two parties. T&M contracts have a timeframe attached to them with an agreed price for labor and materials. T&M contracts are used when both parties cannot agree upon
An accurate project cost estimate
When project schedules cannot be determined
When changes are likely in light of ever-changing internal or external factors
Although contracts place varying degrees of risk on clients and contractors, in the case of T&M, the client bears the highest risk compared to the degree of risk borne by the contractor. Not knowing how much a project will cost places the client into a cycle of uncertainty, so planning a budget becomes a challenge.
There is also T&E which stands for Time & Equipment. This is when the contract is for labor time and equipment (vehicles) time, where materials are provided by the customer.
Why is a T&M contract signed despite prevailing uncertainties?
Why will a client sign a T&M contract despite the uncertain nature of the entire arrangement? Why go through so much risk to complete a project? Well, the answer to both questions depends on the client’s motive. In general terms, this type of contract is signed if the project is very important to the client, and there is a need to push on without stopping work. The client bears the brunt of subtle or radical changes in project cost, but they are changes that the client is willing to absorb.

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RFI is a construction process that is designed to achieve success. By success, we mean the fulfillment of set goals and objectives. For many projects, stakeholders place unrealistic expectations for construction companies. To make them a lot more realistic, architects, engineers, and designers are tasked with the responsibility of designing a scope that meets set requirements.
Contractors are asked to provide estimates, and designers are tasked with the responsibility of coming up with functional designs while owners or investors are provided a list that is ever-changing for as long as the project lasts.  At the center of the entire process is the constant inflow and outflow of information, commonly called RFI.
What is RFI?
RFI = “Request for Information”.

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A redline drawing is any drawing in engineering construction that shows the viewer changes that have been made on a previously approved drawing. Red lines can be done with a red ink pen or any other tool. For 3D designs, AutoCAD’s RevCloud is a perfect tool for making a redline. For the most part, redlines are made after the completion of a project phase.
Construction Sequence of RedLine Drawings


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The risk management process is a logical framework that reveals a course of action regarding the mitigation of risk. This process is out in place to reduce the impact of risk on the business. Some risks are avoidable, while others are inevitable. Risk Management is basically designed to address the inevitable risk that may occur offsite and especially onsite.

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