Negosentro|Time is money.” You’ve heard the saying, and if you own a construction company, you know it’s true. Slow-moving jobs mean you put money into your payroll and spend less time bidding on your next job. If the project goes too far beyond the expected completion date, you could find yourself spending money via offering discounts to appease clients. There is a solution, though. If you want to create a better business model and bring in more money, you need to boost your efficiency on the job site. From technology to incentives for your employees, you can do this in a variety of ways.
Provide Better Safety Training
Most project delays have one thing in common: accidents. When someone has an accident on the job, you must stop working, assess the situation, and find someone else to perform the task while your employee heals. If the accident is significant, you could even find the job shut down indefinitely. Combat inefficiency by combating employee safety issues. Ensure your training materials are up to date with the newest safety methodologies and consider going above and beyond the safety training requirements to ensure your employees truly know what they’re doing on the job. You may even consider testing them before you let them work on a job site. Finally, provide ongoing safety training via refresher courses for current employees once or twice per year.
Make Use of a Drone
Nearly 60% of general contractors are using drones on the job site these days, and it’s easy to see why. Drones have become common enough that they are relatively affordable for most companies, and they make it easier to compile photographs and other information that allows you to see your job site, create 3D site models, and much more. Flying a drone over your site allows you to record spatial locations, track temperatures and humidity, measure distances, and do much more that previously would require multiple team members and much more time.
Gamify Your Work System
Sometimes, inefficiency is simply because your workers are becoming stagnant. Why not add a little competition to the mix? Turning work into a game gets adrenaline pumping. Provide them with goals, consider how you’ll score them (to prevent hazards, focus on accuracy over speed), and offer prizes for the contractors or teams of contractors who do the best work while staying on schedule. In addition to adding efficiency by motivating your employees, it also helps with other on-the-job goals, such as team building and building morale.
Track Hours With an App
Many companies use electronic methods for tracking time these days, but that can be a little more difficult when you’re at a different job site all the time. Paper time cards often make doing payroll much more time-consuming, but luckily, you have another option. An app like the Mobile Time Clock allows you and your employees to clock in and out, go on breaks, switch between jobs and much more, all while easily tracking it. You can also use the app to store pictures, receipts, and other documents related to the job, your employees, or your company.
Check in With Employees Regularly
Employees can’t do what you need them to do to be efficient if you aren’t communicating with them. By having regular, individual meetings with your construction workers, you can be sure they are on the right track with their jobs and do not have questions. It helps you provide praise and constructive criticism in a professional environment as well. It also helps to have a quick meeting before work each morning to touch base with everyone and keep the job productive. Efficiency won’t happen overnight, but it doesn’t need to be an unattainable goal, either. Implementing these ideas will put you, your employees, and your company on the path to productivity. Remember, though, that every business is different. If something doesn’t work for you, don’t be discouraged. Sometimes it takes trial and error to find what works for you, so don’t be afraid to try again.
