This Podcast Is Episode Number 0275, And It Will Be About Four Project Management Tips and Tricks for Construction Contractors  Today's Guest Article Is From Chanell Alexander  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital projects bring a numerous amount of moving parts for construction contractors to regulate as project managers. Once someone scores the bid, the planning and strategy almost begin immediately. The leadership of the team, budget, design quality, and management of time rests on the head of the contractor. How can these professionals diminish the stress and stay on task? Read on for four project management tips and tricks for construction contractors. Make Planning a Daily Practice Contractors should always go into every project with a comprehensive construction plan that includes a strategy for budgets, hiring, and procurement for suppliers. Monitoring these developments should be a routine practice. Contractors should spend at least 10 to 20 minutes a day to assess how progress is being made regarding budgets, productivity, and deadlines. Plans should be revised and redeveloped as needed, and spending each day on planning allows contractors to immediately react to a scope or budget change before waiting too long to address potential problems before they spiral out of control. Install Mechanisms for Team Collaboration Communication is vital in any project, but even more so in a capital construction project. Safety, and staying in line with project scope depends on it. Since most of the work is done in the field, it may be difficult for workers to ask question or for contractors to have the time to answer them. Using a team collaboration platform, like Workfront, can help contractors answer questions, spread news, and update the team on relevant information. Assign Tasks Digitally and Track Time Utilizing a project management system is going to make managing a capital project move a lot smoother. Asana is another excellent choice for a user-friendly project management app to assign and track progress. The app can allow contractors to multi-task, store important documents, reduce emails, and quickly check the development of the project. Asana also integrates with Harvest, a time tracking application that allows workers to track their time so managers can immediately send out invoices from the app. Managers can keep records of invoices and project scheduling using both applications together. There are also other project management tools available for contractors to find the system that best works for them. This project management TrustMap can help managers determine what tool is best for their use case. Use a System to Help with Inventory It is easy for managers to become overwhelmed when it comes to ordering supplies and managing inventory for capital projects. This is why it is crucial to have systems to allow project managers to estimate how many materials they will need depending on the project scope. Using an inventory management system can help reduce waste and over-ordering to decrease the cost of a product. The Wrap Up Managing a capital project can be a tough gig. Having to hire the right talent, maintain inventory, stay on-budget, and adhere to the needs of clients. However, project management tools and some savvy planning can help managers keep the train from going off of the rails. While project managers experience struggles regardless of the industry, construction contractors have unique obstacles that the right system and strategy can remove. About The Author: Chanell Alexander currently resides in Atlanta, GA. When she’s not traveling and trying new restaurants in the Metro Atlanta area, she writes about the latest technology and tools for TrustRadius. Sources: 12 Proven Time Management Tips for Construction Project Managers, www.clockshark.com/Blog/12-proven-time-management-tips-construction-project-managers/ Who Else Wants More...