Productivity is profit. The smoother your operations, the more money you make. But because productivity encompasses every aspect of your business, it can seem pretty abstract and overwhelming. Let’s focus in on a few productivity improvement techniques you can apply to improve your bottom line.
5 Construction Productivity Improvement Techniques
It’s easy to get caught in a loop of doing things the same way they’ve always been done. These productivity improvement techniques are small, actionable changes that you can make now to improve the way your company runs.
1. Stop Scheduling Jobs via Text Message
If your team is relying on text messages and phone calls to organize work, then your productivity is suffering. Rather than communicating via text message, email, and phone, consolidate your work coordination in one place. You can track employee hours and scheduling automatically through Workyard—complete with GPS tracking that shows when your workers are actually on site.
When you schedule jobs through Workyard, your crew is notified immediately about new tasks. They can see their updated weekly schedules at a glance, and they always know where to look for their current schedule. Just as important, each time they complete a new task, you can see exactly how long it took.
2. Avoid Over-Promising and Under-Bidding
Over-promising or under-bidding on a project is a productivity killer. Over-promising makes you rush and cut corners; you spend more on your supplies, and you spend more on labor. Always leave a buffer when estimating your costs and your time.
When you log time in Workyard, you can easily see how many hours employees spend on each project, making it easier to determine how much a job is truly costing you. With the right data, you can be more realistic about your bids.
Break Your Larger Projects Into Smaller Milestones
Take the time to break larger projects into small, achievable steps with established deadlines. Breaking projects into smaller milestones isn’t just for your peace of mind. With smaller milestones, you can more easily see when a project has gone off course. Productivity is all about data; the sooner you see that a project is off track, the sooner you can correct it.
In Workyard, you can break your projects into discrete tasks and assign them directly to employees. Once the task is created, employees can communicate about work progress through notes and photos within the task. Individual tasks can be associated with projects and sites.
The end result? Reduced administrative time and guesswork.
4. Start “Block Scheduling” in Google Calendar or Google Sheets
You may already use Google Calendar, but you might not be using it the right way. Instead of adding every little thing to your schedule, block out time in large, color-coded blocks. It’ll give you the gist of what you should be working on without overwhelming you with a dozen little tasks.
By using Workyard’s construction time tracking features, in conjunction with time block scheduling, you can ensure that your employees are ready and available for meetings, training, and on-site work. Team members will never need to guess what their schedule holds: everything is right there in the app.
5. Check In With Your Client (More Than You Want To)
Construction reworks can account for 5% of the total cost of a project. But they’re easy to avoid by checking in regularly with the client. Not checking in isn’t going to make them more satisfied. You just won’t know what they dislike until you’re done.
Workyard makes it possible to collect better documentation throughout a project—leading not only to better communication and progress monitoring but significantly increased reimbursables.
Better Productivity Leads to Better Revenue
At the end of the day, productivity means doing the right thing at the right time. Even small improvements in your company’s productivity can increase your revenue. You don’t need a complete overhaul of your systems and processes. You just need the right tools at the right time.
Workyard makes it possible to track employee time effortlessly and more easily implement these construction productivity improvement techniques. Check out a free trial of Workyard today, or call 650-332-8623 to learn more.
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