A construction site can be a difficult thing to manage efficiently. You have so many people doing such a wide variety of different jobs at any moment. It can be a nightmare to make it all run smoothly. However, there are definitely things you can do to make things easier on yourself and the workers under your care.
Keep these top tips in mind to make sure your construction site runs efficiently and smoothly.
1. Plan well ahead
It’s essential, regardless the scale, that site planning is done well in advance. No detail is worth skipping over. Before any boots hit the ground, you should have a clear plan of what you intend to achieve down to the smallest detail. Don’t wait until you have people working on site to complete the planning process.
Keep your expectations realistic, and plan for the inevitable such as delays, mistakes, and changes being required. Arguably most important, don’t keep these plans to yourself. Make sure that everyone around you, from other managers down to all your manual labourers each know exactly what the plan is on any given day.
You can’t expect people to meet your goals if you don’t make the effort to tell them what they are.
2. Provide proper washroom facilities
Comfortable workers are happy workers, and happy workers are efficient workers. This means that you have to provide appropriate toilet and cleanliness facilities for your workforce, and any visitors on-site. What you need will depend on the site itself. You may just need straightforward toilets, or you may require full-scale cleanliness stations or welfare units.
There are a wide variety of toilet hire options available. Some are simple and only contain the loo itself. Others have comprehensive recirculating water supplies or mains hookup to heat the water, so explore your options and choose the one that’s right for you.
Depending on the number of workers you’re going to be having on-site, and the length of time you intend the project to run, people’s needs will vary. Reach out to a professional to make sure everyone’s accommodated for.
3. Organization is essential
A construction site is a messy place, and there’s nothing you can do about that. But a poorly organized and messy construction site is guaranteed to be inefficient, and far more difficult to run. This means that you need to use your organizational skills to keep the place running like clockwork – and to ensure that any deadlines are met on time.
You’ve heard the old phrase “a place for everything and everything in its place.” This is an essential mantra when it comes to successfully running a construction site. All your equipment must have designated storage spots that are easily accessed by staff. You must be vigilant to make sure things are put back in their proper place after they’ve been used.
4. Keep calm
Remember that you must always stay calm and clear headed as possible. It’s so easy to get stressed. However, stress clouds your ability to think properly, which makes it much more difficult to develop a clear action plan.
The rest of the workers on-site will emulate you. You’ll find if you’re always flapping your arms and yelling, many of your workers will follow suit. If you’re calm, composed, and reasonable in the way you deal with difficult situations, you’ll inspire them to do the same.