5 Things People in the Construction Industry Should Know About Streamlining Their Workflow

Working in construction means juggling dozens of variables at a time. From coordinating the logistics behind a team of contractors, to communicating with groups of clients or other professionals, confronting site dilemmas, adhering to budgeting demands, and navigating material shortages, there are so many moving parts, all under the pressure of delivering an exceptional result on time. With so much to handle, work can get out of hand, delayed, or overlooked, resulting in unsatisfied customers. To avoid these worst-case-scenarios, workers in the construction industry should use as many tools as possible to streamline their workflow and make each step of the process just that much easier.

Here are our top 5 tips for achieving this streamlined work process…

#1. Consolidate tasks and assignments

In our previous blog post, we spoke to Christoffer Hansen, a project manager in Norway. He expressed a problem that we hear from many people in the construction industry who are overwhelmed with an email inbox flooding with messages, and no time to respond. Add that to the constant process of taking photos, sending them to stakeholders and crew members, sending and receiving plan files, and quickly communication and documentation become a burden and out of control. That’s why our number one piece of advice is to consolidate this process all in one app and program, like CHECKD, so that files and images are ready and easy, and all of the information you need across your projects can be accessed, organized, and sorted at all times.

#2. Batch your to-do list

The concept of batching tasks comes from outside of the construction industry and has been studied and proven to be more effective and productive. Here’s a situation most of us can relate to: you sit down to fill out some paperwork, during that time you consistently get emails and phone calls every 5 minutes and are constantly getting derailed. Three hours later, you haven’t even finished the paperwork and are now 10% into a dozen different tasks, stretching out what could’ve been a 25-minute paperwork session into an unproductive spiral. With batching, you organize your time by small bursts of concentrated tasks so that you don’t spend all day partially doing all your tasks. So, rather than getting interrupted by emails while doing paperwork, spend 30 minutes doing paperwork with no distractions, then spend 30 minutes addressing all your emails at once. It is more productive and allows you to get into a flow focus state which is more efficient.

#3. Smooth out your payment process

Collecting payments on time can be a nightmare in any construction process and can often be the cause of major delays and hold-ups. Any professional in the construction industry should consider using a payment software that allows for seamless and quick payment processing, saving time, money, and reducing paperwork and back-and-forth communication.

#4. Optimize the use of your smartphone

Not only are there endless apps for smartphones that will make the process of managing construction workflows more efficient but purchasing a durable and well-fitted smartphone can also ease your experience on construction sites. Selecting a phone that has a large enough screen size to see detailed images, work on plans, or incorporate a stylus to create diagrams can save time and make communication easier. Plus, buying a waterproof and protective case that protects the phone from the risks present on most sites will be helpful.

#5. Track expenses as you go

Our last piece of advice is one that will save you time at the end of a project or year, when it comes time to compile an expense sheet. Tracking expenses as you go will make life so much easier. There will be no long paperwork session at the end because you will be chipping away at the task in real-time. Another solution from NEXT, our sister company, makes this process very easy.