Let’s face it: project management in the construction industry isn’t a piece of cake. What with managing the expectations of a client which has to be juggled with the availability of your team and the needed materials, having all the details of a project in order is not always a given. What tools or procedures can make project management easier for a specialized contractor? Here are a few:
1- Estimating the Mileage and the Hours Worked for Each Worker
When an unforeseen worksite is added to the schedule of a day, several questions may come to mind:
- Are my workers available for this worksite or are they already assigned to other jobs?
- Do I have workers that live or that are working nearby?
- Will they be paid regular wages or overtime if I send them to this new worksite?
- Are my workers close enough that they’ll be able to reach that worksite in time?
Several questions… that aren’t always easily answered! However, with Cactusoft Construction, all of these questions are answered from one screen, when you create a tentative schedule for the day:
- You can see the estimated hours that will be done by each worker, by day. The preliminary work hours are added up for you, by the software.
- You can see the mileage a worker will do if they leave from their home or from another worksite.
- You can see the start time and duration of each of the worksites that are planned that day as well as which employees are assigned to which worksites.
Essentially, the software calculates each worker’s hours and mileage for you, per worksite and per day!
2- Sending Employees Back to the Same Worksite
When a project takes several days to complete, you often have much to gain in sending back the same employees to the same worksite. They are aware of the progress of the project, they have all the necessary training to be on that worksite, etc. However, when worksites are cancelled or postponed and the availability of your workers keeps changing, it’s not always easy to remember who has been on a specific worksite, even for your dispatcher! That’s why Cactusoft Construction comes with a magic wand; the software saves the information of which workers were active on which jobsites so that, when the magic wand button is clicked, the software suggests that worksite’s assignment for you, with the people who have already worked there!
3- Clear and Actionable Jobsite Logs
The work of reliable forepersons is indispensable for excellent project management. They are your eyes and ears in the field. By using Cactusoft Construction, your forepersons can create jobsite logs with:
- The hours, breaks, and absences of all the workers of the worksite. Work hours minus break times are also calculated for you and your paymaster.
- The delays on the worksite and the causes of these delays.
- The overall progress of a worksite (they can also include pictures and all kinds of relevant documentation).
All of this information is available in real time, to all of the right people!
4- An Up-To-Date Online Document Folder
Communication between all of the key people of a worksite is crucial. When everyone involved in a project is on the same page about the work that needs to be done, the documents that need to be filled out, and how the worksite should be progressing, the risk of errors and misunderstandings are greatly diminished, which saves a lot of time and money. That’s why Cactusoft Construction provides you with an online folder of documents, separated by project: all the right employees have access to the right files, up to date and available at all times. It then becomes easy for anyone to add digitized timesheets, completed COVID-19 forms, photos of the worksite progression, plans… When a file is no longer up to date, you can keep it, get rid of it, or simply replace it with a new file.
If knowledge is truly power, Cactusoft Construction empowers you and your team so that project management becomes a breeze. Like all things, project management requires the right set of tools. That’s why we’re offering you a 30-day free trial of our software, so that you can see how a high-powered software can make a difference for your company.
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