Commercial construction projects are very time sensitive. Business decisions to expand facilities, renovate or new construction development can be costly and time sensitive. Planning schedules for material, equipment and sub contractors requires experience. This leaves little room for error and delays. Unfortunately, there’s one thing that many construction companies struggle with: their inability to finish on time due to project delays.
However, with proper preparation and project management, any commercial construction project can move forward with ease. The key is to run a commercial construction project tightly – from the clients to the subcontractors.
4 Ways To Avoid Delays In Commercial Construction Projects
The best way to avoid any frustration between you and the client is to tighten your planning before construction begins. To save you time, money, and wasted effort, cover any predicted delays before construction even begins.
Here are four ways to do so:
Set Realistic Expectations For Construction Permit Reviews
Delays may begin at the municipality permitting process.
Running a construction is a tight timeline, filled with deadlines that you need to meet. If you don’t meet one of these deadlines, it may create a bottleneck, delaying construction. One of the things that can cause this is the construction permit.
Your construction permit is vital for the project to get going. However, depending on the municipality, this could potentially be a lengthy procedure. So, it is pivotal to plan ahead, with an understanding of your permitting cost and time spent on getting the permit.
Moreover, the more specialized your company, the easier the process will run. This is due to the fact that you can set the right expectations, as well as avoid unnecessary delays.
No matter where you are in America, the permitting process is mostly out of your hands. All you can do is manage expectations and follow the right procedure.
Ensure That Subcontractors Submit Drawings On Time
As soon as you acquire the permit, subcontractors can immediately start designing and working on the shop drawings. Although this is an additional, perhaps sometimes more complicated, step, it saves a lot of heartache down the road.
Project or construction managers need to ensure that there is a project plan in place that spells out success for the client and the company. This does not only include a detailed deadline project, but it also means putting effective systems in place for success.
One of these elements is ensuring that the shop drawings or prefabrication drawings are completed and submitted on time.
However, this may be a complicated section in project development. This is because, as the construction manager, you have to manage two ends at once. You need to ensure the subcontractors finish the drawings on time, whilst the architect and clients sign off. If the architects and the clients don’t sign off on the drawings, construction cannot begin.
So to avoid delay, construction managers need to ensure that they schedule enough time for subcontractors to complete the drawings. They also need to consider time for any questions or changes that need to be made before the drawings are approved.
Plan for Long-Lead Items
Once the plans have been signed off, and there’s a good understanding of the materials needed, it is time to order. However, in this step, you may notice that some items may take longer for order and delivery. These are long-lead items.
This is why it’s important to plan for these items. Before bulk ordering most of the materials, it’s best to create a list of long-lead items. The quicker you obtain quotes, the quicker this process can begin.
Some items can take up to months, and paying for accelerated manufacturing doesn’t always speed up the process. Thus, planning the construction work as well as creating detailed schedules, will take a lot of stress off of your shoulders.
Anticipate Blockers With Pre-construction Planning
The largest way you can avoid delays in the pre-construction planning process is by identifying blockers. Blockers are tasks that you need to complete before you can move onto the next task. For example, you need to lay the foundation before you can build a house.
This may be the most important part of the process, as it helps you understand your overarching construction schedule. Preconstruction planning also ensures that there are no unnecessary delays when construction starts.
The construction process needs to run like clockwork. Anticipating blockers will help this. It will allow you to identify challenging areas and avoid bottlenecks within the process.
Final Thoughts
Finishing a commercial construction project overschedule is a result of mismanaged events and time. Through a systemized process of planning, contractors can ensure that they can complete projects on time.
At Chad Fisher Construction, we place a high priority on pre-construction planning and setting realistic expectations and schedules. This helps us to deliver projects on time and within budget to keep our clients happy.