What You Need To Know About Construction Resource Management?
Looking for a way to set your construction company apart from the pack? We know it’s a tough market out
there, profit margins are shrinking and competition for key projects continues to be fierce. How about we
tell you that instead of implementing every new “trend” to managing your operations, the actual hidden way
to increase your company's bottom line is by implementing a construction resource management software.
Hear us out. Much like other industries, but even more prevalent in construction, are your resources. And
without proper resource management, projects can fall behind schedule, become unprofitable or never see the
end of the tunnel. You might have been using homemade spreadsheets or personally designed softwares to
manage resources, but often these tools operate in separate silos and don’t have the capacity to give an
enterprise-level view of resources.
Let’s take a deeper look at the role resource scheduling plays in the construction field and understand why
implementing a resource management solution
might be the hidden key to your company’s longevity and success.
Importance of Construction Resource Management
In any construction project the stakes and risks are high. Why? Projects are tied to predetermined time
bound objectives, material and resource costs are volatile, there’s a high influx of contract workers and
external factors like unpredictable weather. Project managers must take critical decisions to minimise
conditions that can extend tasks beyond scheduled duration.
A construction project also requires highly specialised talent, alongside temporary labour. Some of
prominent players in a construction projects are:
- Architect: The main man behind the scenes who brings the client’s vision and develops
the blueprint for the project.
- Estimator: The estimator is incharge of determining the total cost of a construction
project based on the Scope of Work. The Scope of Work is a document that lays out the entirety of work
that needs to be done in order to complete the building project.
- Supervisor/Shift Manager: The supervisor is the link between the field workers and the
management office. The supervisor oversees the day-to-day management and functioning of the construction
site.
- Quality Surveyor: Quality surveyors keep tabs on the contractual and financial aspects
of a construction project. They review the architect’s blueprint and calculate the cost of the materials
required.
- Engineer: Any construction project requires multiple engineers – building, electrical,
mechanical, and civil — each specialist managing their respective domains. For example, a civil engineer
will oversee the technical and safety aspects of the project, while an electrical engineer will focus on
designing, testing, installing, and maintaining large-scale electrical systems for the job site.
At any given time, a construction site can face the following challenges:
- Shortage of skilled labour due to poor resource
planning or key resources going on unplanned leave.
- Changes in scope due to external factors such as weather or materials not getting delivered on-time
which can add additional workload on existing resources.
- Poor communication about project scope and responsibility that results in employee burnout and
disengagement.
- Inefficient planning tools (legacy systems or spreadsheets that have just basic HR-related data) that
lead to key resources being over or under utilised or double-booking errors.
In addition to human capital, construction sites have to manage equipment and raw material inventory as
well, which adds another jigsaw puzzle in the mix. The result from having multiple prominent players and
moving inventory is that construction projects are dynamic, interdependent and ever-changing. There are
multiple moving parts and it’s easy for a project to get delayed or overshoot budget, even if one piece
isn’t planned or performing up to the mark.
This is exactly where a construction resource management tool can prove beneficial. A resource management
tool will build a comprehensive process that will allow for proactive planning, scheduling, and managing of
enterprise-wide resources for the construction industry.
5 Benefits of Using a Construction Resource Management Software
Resource management provides an array of advantages to construction project managers. Here are is a list of
some of the benefits availed from adopting the right construction resource management system are:
- Improved job site efficiency A construction management system will allow a manager to
monitor staff schedules, including their skill set and leaves, account for changes in demand, and even
prepare a resource forecast model. All of this will make the functioning of the job site smoother.
- Increased field productivity You can see which resources are available in real-time.
eRS construction resource management solution provides a centralised view of skills, qualifications,
experience, cost rate, and other vital information. One no longer needs to reconcile multiple
spreadsheets to identify and allocate appropriate construction resources for the project at the right
time.
- Fewer costly interruptions Using a dedicated construction resource management system,
over a DIY system like a spreadsheet, reduces any chances of planning or human errors. How? The system
automatically alerts you about availability and capacity of resources based requirements. eRS also has
resource capacity
planning capabilities that will identify any resource gaps; these projections can help
the management take data-backed decisions on how to plan for and manage shortage. With a resource
scheduling tool, you can build a buffer on resources. For instance, if a civil engineer has to leave for
a personal emergency, the system will show you the backup resource who is available so the project can
keep moving forward.
- Improved financial performance With KPI (key performance indicators) such as resource
utilisation, costs and billable tasks, it becomes easier for managers to keep the project in the
green.
Project managers can also control costs by tracking and comparing forecast vs. actual spending. If there
is a variance, necessary corrective measures can mitigate project risks ahead of time. The eRS software
can be used to create an accurate estimate of designs and labour, and the time period required to carry
out a project, so that the deviation between the actual costs and the projected costs doesn’t surpass
the allowable limit.
- Easier for remote collaboration Your team might be overseeing multiple construction
projects at one time, that too across different geographic regions. In construction, tasks are
interdependent. The quality estimator can only plan for resources once the architect has delivered the
blueprint. It’s essential that everyone is on the same page. Through eRS, everyone has access to all
project timelines and progress and thus remote collaboration becomes easier. The single-screen dashboard
provides real-time statistics on resource allocation, finances and utilisation rates. It eliminates any
guesswork and also builds accountability.
Construction Needs Resource Management & Planning
Resource planning and management is one of the most important ingredients for competitiveness and
profitability in today’s construction industry. Haphazard planning of a construction project
can affect the outcome of the project and your company's stature. Therefore, planning for optimum use of
labour, raw materials, architectural design, and schedules is essential for the proper distribution of
resources and a successful project completion.
Established in 2004, eResource Scheduler has helped more than 800 businesses across the globe, manage and
execute projects with minimal errors and disruptions. Our team of experts can provide a customised demo of
how our planning software can help your organisation so you too can hit your goals, stress free.
