Everyone who has ever done project management knows how important it is to see the big picture and the finished task but they are also aware that every last detail counts. When it comes to construction if you need to be accountable and responsible for every part of the project, even the smallest details. It is said that usually, the smallest tasks are the ones that are going to have a huge impact on the project and that if you don’t know how to handle them, you risk having delays, breaches of budget, and even failed plans.
If you want to learn how to make a thorough construction plan that will account for every less detail you’ve come to the right place. Keep on reading to find out how to be accountable for the big picture and responsible for every small bit that it contains.
Think about the big picture
Before thinking about the details and before jumping into all the small bits of the construction plan first you need to understand the big picture. What is the goal and when is the deadline for it? Many people make the mistake of thinking that construction is just building something and that the only thing needed to do is find the right crew and get things done. As a project manager, you need to understand everything that goes into that process and you need to sit down and create a draft version of everything that needs to be done.
In this part, you just need to list the big things that are going to be finished and you can think about the details later. By creating that list of the big things that need to be finished you will be able to, later on, divide every big project into smaller tasks and be aware of the details.
Create a plan for every step
Once you’re done with the main draft and once you’re done with the main plan the next thing you can do is start thinking about the smaller things that are going to let the big objective get finished in time.
For this part, you can use just pen and paper where you can list all the things that need to be done, or you can use a lot of different online platforms that are going to make your life much easier and that is going to let you account for everything that needs to be done.
Know that since you are still in the preliminary phases, you can afford to make mistakes and you can afford to switch things around as the project goes. However, you need to plan for pretty much everything and give yourself room for changes or adding new bits.
Keep the budget in mind
The next part is vital and you cannot think of every single detail if you don’t understand the budget. Dividing it is much more difficult than you probably think it is especially if you don’t have a lot of previous experience with construction. These budgets are usually huge and when you see that number on paper you probably think that there is a lot of money that is going to be enough for everything. Even though it is a lot of money, at the end of the day there are a lot of things that you need to account for and even one small mistake can break the whole project.
On websites like Jonas Premier, you can learn a lot about platforms that can help you out, and you can check if you want to understand how to be accurate with the job costing part of the project, and how to stay on track with the current budget and predict the future and what can happen with your plan.
Consider the teams and crews
You have to consider all the people that are going to be part of this process and you need to have a backup for all those teams and crews. You may have a list of professionals that you are interested in collaborating with but things happen and sometimes you need to change the plan at the last second. It is said that it’s always to have a backup for the backup and to be able to finish a project without any delays or mishaps even if the teams you want to work with are not available.
As we previously mentioned, you need to understand how much every job is going to add to the cost and what you need to do to give the crews enough money to stay with you and at the same time to be able to afford all those employees without breaching the budget. All these things are extremely intertwined and you need to be smart about every decision that you make.
Understand the risks and create solutions
Every project comes with risks and thinking that just because you have some experience in construction does not let you afford to believe that there are going to be no risks whatsoever and that everything will go smoothly. No matter how much experience you have and no matter how amazing the teams you are collaborating with are, chances are there is going to be at least one mishap or at least one unpredicted situation that you will need to handle.
You need to be aware to predict what are the things that can and most likely will go wrong and you can try to prevent them. However, preventing them will not always go as planned and it is best to create possible solutions for everything that may go wrong. This is going to help you be on top of the situation and even if something does not go according to schedule you will still be able to continue the project without any delays.
Don’t forget to create continuous milestones and to have reports and guidelines. Be open, honest, and transparent with your client and with your crews, and help them learn how to work and collaborate so that things can be done much faster and easier than predicted. Creating a thorough construction plan is not easy and it is going to be challenging but once you figure out the model for one project it is going to be much easier for one project it is going to be much easier for you to account for everything in the ones you get in the future.