Setting up a successful construction project is often a difficult and demanding mission. Everything must be documented in detail so that your project remains protected from costly and time-consuming disputes. Of course, this requires clear communication between all parties involved (client, contractor, subcontractors, etc.).
As a Project Manager, you must be able to identify problems quickly and link them to the right tasks. This way, you can retrieve critically important data very easily and monitor the impact of an issue on both your 3-6 week plan and your master schedule.
But how can you achieve all this? This is the eternal agony for many project managers and directors out there. And regardless of the size or type of your project, the answer is always the same. Using digital tools that were built specifically for construction.
Many in construction think their tools are appropriate just because they can exchange information in real time or, worse yet, just because that's how they've always been used to doing things.
As a result, many projects end up relying on WhatsApp notifications, Excel spreadsheets, emails or even whiteboards to keep track of everything that happens on site. In most cases, it doesn't take long for project teams to end up lost in a sea of disconnected information. When it comes to complaints, this can mean penalties that can cost your project thousands of euros.
That's why using construction-specific digital tools can make a difference almost instantly. Imagine the value you could get from completing site tours much more quickly, or from recording any issues you detect as you go, rather than having to keep everything in your head for up to two hours until the tour is completed. .
Sooner or later, you know you're going to miss crucial information or spend the entire day working on administrative tasks and seeking updates from multiple subcontractors. That certainly wasn't the reason you chose to get into construction when you started.
On the bright side, none of this is your fault. You had to do demanding work using the wrong tools and processes. The even more positive side is that there is a way out of the stressful situation you are facing.
What triggers a construction dispute?
Before we go into more detail about how you can manage disputes on your projects more effectively, it's important to take a closer look at what can typically trigger a construction dispute.
A construction dispute can be the result of several factors. Project delays, lack of precision in the way tasks are described, failure to meet predefined design standards and cost overruns are some of the reasons for a design dispute in construction.
When a divergence like those mentioned above arises, the entire life cycle of a project is affected. For the workflow to continue uninterrupted, all disputes must be resolved.
Otherwise, there is a danger that all processes and tasks will freeze. A “suspension” situation can cause serious delays and place the project under enormous financial pressure.
To resolve these disputes, it is imperative that you quickly detect the reasons that led to them. But going through 300 or 400 photos and a thousand emails without any guidance to find the documentation you need is chaotic and brings a lot of stress and frustration.
Construction software can eventually get you out of this difficult position, as long as it ensures a seamless connection between the feedback you receive from the site, your 3-6 week planning, and your master schedule. This way, you can collect all the data you need to protect your project against complaints in just a few clicks.
So, instead of spending weeks or even months to manage a complaint, you can now do it in one or at most two hours. This is extremely powerful and can take a huge burden off your shoulders. But again, to do this you need a specific platform to build on that can ensure your program reflects reality at any given time.
How to Avoid a Construction Dispute
Prevention is always better than cure. That being said, you should always put extra focus on recording all issues encountered on site so you can anticipate potential disputes before they even arise. As we mentioned above, construction-specific digital solutions are your most valuable ally in this challenging mission.
In summary, here are the top three ways construction software can help you, as a Project Manager, secure your projects:
1. Always stay aligned with your Guardian
The construction foreman is your right-hand man in the effort to keep your construction project protected against any type of claim. This is the person who has to visit the entire site almost daily to ensure that everything is as it should be.
For every issue they discover, they need to get back to you as quickly as possible with a detailed report and photos that capture the incident so you can resolve it before it gets blown out of proportion.
In other words, an Incharge is the person who can save you from many website visits. As long as you stay aligned at all times. This is where software designed and built with the construction industry as its main focus comes into play.
And this is also why tools like WhatsApp, Email and Excel, no matter how good they are, cannot fulfill this role. They simply weren't designed for processes that require time and money.
2. Reduce excessive administrative burden
It doesn't take much to realize that documenting all problems on site carries a significant administrative and mental burden. The reason for this is the excess of information that accompanies each project under construction.
As a result, Project Managers can end up spending 40% of their day attending pointless meetings and receiving unnecessary calls. To make matters worse, they often have to deal with a series of reports and updates that are on different platforms or even written manually on whiteboards.
This is an extremely error-prone approach that creates misunderstandings and forces Project Managers to spend most of their time on tasks that should have been completed by just pressing a few buttons.
Now imagine if a Project Manager had to quickly resolve a project dispute after this stressful routine. All operations would possibly have to freeze for quite some time until all the necessary information was collected. And this assumes that all data has been recorded and is still available.
Storing all critical updates (comments, questions, photos) in an open data ecosystem can save hours of work and frustration for all parties involved. At any time, they will be able to recover all changes with just an automatically updated audit trail in the cloud. This is something that WhatsApp or Excel cannot do. But construction-specific applications and platforms can.
3. Communicate clearly and without interruptions
Construction projects can easily get messy if people can't work together and exchange crucial updates instantly. Construction software can be your eyes and ears on site and help you respond to critical requests as soon as you receive them.
This could be a complaint raised by the customer or something one of your subcontractors missed while working on a task. Being able to share these issues in real time can save all sides from a lot of back and forth and can end a dispute before it even arises. This is extremely important if you want to keep your project moving forward.
With this in mind, it is immediately evident that you cannot rely on data without context to develop your project. Or, simply, on data that has no connection to your 3 to 6 schedule and your master's program. This connection between them is what holds everything together.
And after all, that's why it's so important to choose a construction-specific tool to manage your projects. Because WhatsApp can be a good tool when you want to send a message to your friends or family, but it cannot be considered your ideal tool when it comes to tracking and reporting construction progress.
Learn from industry professionals how to keep your project safe
By now, it should be clear that construction and documentation are key. The success of your projects depends on how quickly you can flag critical issues, communicate with the right people, and resolve them.
Implementing a construction-specific digital tool can help achieve this without feeling like you're drowning in a sea of disconnected information.
