What does collaborative planning mean for construction?
Construction projects are complex businesses. A large number of stakeholders need to come together and work towards the same goal, with full respect for the project planning, both short and long term.
All tasks, on-site activities and material orders are inextricably linked to each other and the slightest error or misunderstanding can quickly block the development of the entire project, resulting in serious budget overruns and time-consuming complaints.
It doesn't take much to understand the importance of collaborative planning for construction. All teams, including the client and subcontractors, need to communicate seamlessly with each other, relying on the latest site information.
Unfortunately, this is not always as simple as it may seem. Project managers and their teams often end up lost in a sea of data without context. That is, data that is not tied to the 3-6 week planning and master schedule. And this is where things get challenging.
Project managers may have to spend up to 40% of their day chasing updates, attending meetings that could have been avoided, and manually writing endless reports that may be out of date by the time they are completed. Nobody wants that and nobody got into construction for that reason.
This is where digitalization comes into play as a way to reduce excessive administrative work and get people collaborating in real time. But there is a problem. In many cases, Project Managers and other project participants rely on the wrong tools to achieve this.
WhatsApp notifications, emails, Excel spreadsheets and phone calls can connect people in real time, but they are not designed for construction. Even if you are able to send your update in real time, delays or errors may not be avoided as it will not be tied to the latest live schedule. In short, Project Managers will still have no way of knowing whether their program reflects reality.
Needless to say, this goes against the concept of collaborative planning in construction and can put your projects in great danger.
The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. Construction-specific tools, standardized digital processes, and seamless collaboration between site and office can really make a difference and keep your project on track.
The 3 Steps to Successful Collaborative Planning
Without further ado, below you can find the three key steps that will help you get your teams to collaborate seamlessly and deliver successful construction projects:
By now, it should be clear that administrative work is one of the biggest threats to any construction project. Using digital tools that are not fit for purpose forces many Project Managers and Directors to rely on manual processes to send updates, record progress and protect their projects against costly claims.
In the long term, this is not a viable strategy and can have a huge impact on how people on your project collaborate and manage their tasks. A fragmented communications workflow can quickly lead to situations where each stakeholder has a different version of the program, leading to serious problems and painful misunderstandings.
This is why an open and highly collaborative data ecosystem is needed. This ecosystem must be updated in real time and all interested parties must be able to access it. Most importantly, it must be inextricably linked to the project schedule. This way, everyone is on the same page and problems can be detected before they grow out of proportion.
2. Equip your team with the right tools
Wanting to reduce excessive administrative workload around your project is one thing. Making it happen is another. To accomplish this mission you need to have the right tools. That said, you need to invest in tools created specifically for the construction industry.
In some cases, construction professionals think that just because a tool allows them to send a real-time update that it is automatically fit for purpose. The truth is that it takes much more than that.
Every stakeholder in your project needs to be connected and have an accurate overview of where they stand. Otherwise, even if they receive real-time feedback, they still have to chase updates in ten different directions and wade through endless spreadsheets or even handwritten whiteboards to verify that the information they receive is correct.
No matter how good someone is at their job, this way of working will eventually lead them to make bad decisions and make them feel stressed and overwhelmed.
It doesn't take much to realize how crucial using construction-specific tools can be to bring collaborative planning to your projects and to ensure all stakeholders stay connected and work together in harmony.
3. Invest in standardization
Getting teams to follow standardized processes, systems and work practices can seem impossible for some people in construction. The reason is that they feel that everyone has their own approach to work and that will never change.
But the reality is very different. Regardless of the size or purpose of your work, 80% of the process is always the same. Taking this into consideration, it is easily evident that by not standardizing your systems and processes you are throwing a tremendous opportunity for replicability and increased productivity in your projects out the window. In simple terms, practice makes perfect. When you repeat a process over and over again, sooner or later you will find its flaws and improve it.
This consistent repetition of pre-designed and standardized processes, combined with construction-specific digital solutions, will unlock collaboration on your projects and make it easier for you, as a Project Manager, and your teams to maintain control of the construction process. and communicate without problems. .
When it comes to how quickly your team will be able to adopt a new digital way of working, you should no longer see this as a real problem. Sure, some people may need more time at first, but if your teams can use a smartphone and mobile banking, there's no reason they can't use a construction app that can make their lives easier.
Improve collaboration and start delivering successful projects on time!
To be successful in your collaborative planning you need to combine three crucial elements: people, processes and tools. By bringing these three aspects together, you can solve critical problems up to seven times faster.
This is why specific construction tools and standardized processes can make a big difference in your current and future projects.
