How to Plan Resources for Your Construction Project?
Resource planning in construction management is essential for any construction company.
18/09/2020
Every construction company needs a committed
project manager who can maintain a productive
work environment and meet the goals on time. To
accomplish this, a project manager will have to
stay within a budget, ensure all the workers
have the equipment they need, and still make
sure there would be a good profit margin. That’s
why resource planning in construction management
is essential for a construction company.
Resource planning in construction management is
the activity in which project managers determine
the
resources they will need and assign them to
the different teams. All these resources are
directly connected with the objectives of the
project. This means project management and
resource planning need to work together.
When we
are talking about resources in the construction
industry, these could include materials, human
resources, facilities, tools, and equipment,
among others. Keep in mind it is not only
important to allocate all these resources.
Resource planning in construction management
also needs to focus on maximizing them and save
costs when possible.
There are some steps
you can take to ensure resource planning is well
done and brings benefits to all your projects.
Here we will tell you all you need to know about
planning resources for your construction
project.
What does resource planning in construction involve?
First, as a project
manager, you need to understand what exactly
resource planning in construction management
involves.
When you are developing
resource planning for a construction company,
some of the activities you will need to complete
are:
● Pick the resources and decide to whom they belong inside your team.
● According to the schedule you establish, make sure the resources are available for your workers’ tasks.
● Plan at which stage of the project, your team will employ each resource. This does not only apply to current activities. Look beyond, months before those tasks happen. Here is where construction resource scheduling software programs will help you. Go to Bridgit Bench and check out the best resource scheduling software program for your next project.
● Assign the resources taking into consideration how your employees will feel at work. When they have everything they need to work, they will do a great job. Otherwise, if they have to ask for resources every time they need them, that will delay your project.
Since now you know the general context of the assignments you need to perform, we will dive into the exact steps you should take.
How to do resource planning step-by-step
1. Have a definitive plan for the project
If you want to succeed in
resource planning for construction management,
you need to have a clear idea of all the project
phases and the objectives you need to
accomplish.
Remember that unless you have
a clear plan from the beginning, you won’t know
which resources you should assign for each task.
Develop a definitive procedure or as close as
possible to the final plan and stick to it.
Also, don’t forget there should be an individual
plan regarding resource management for
construction subcontractors. This means you need
to integrate their schedule into yours.
2. Select the resources you need
After
finalizing your plan, go through it again but
this time, take notes of the resources you
require. There are different ways you can
approach this. Our advice is to determine the
resources you need for each phase of the project
and then divide them into tasks.
To
select these resources, use your experience in
the field since this will allow you to pair up
resources that go together. Optimize all the
resources you can because this will help you to
keep your budget.
3. Assign the resources
Sometimes you will encounter that assigning
the resources once you have a list of them will
be easy. However, the part that will take up
most of your time is determining how tasks you
can reuse resources. Here is where your industry
knowledge will pay off.
Suppose you are
new to resource planning in construction
management. Don’t panic. You can solve this by
dividing each task into team members, materials,
and equipment. After you are done assigning, you
can check which tasks have a close time
performance and whether those repeat resources.
If they do, those are the resources you can
reuse.
There are main things you need to
take into account when assigning resources:
● Reusing resources is more manageable with tasks that succeed each other. Like, if you are using equipment for various tasks on the same site, you won’t have to worry about transport. This will also save you time and increase your efficiency.
● Resource planning construction management also includes workers. Don’t try to use the same person to do a great variety of tasks because they will not be able to reach your objectives. It helps to think about how many activities you will be able to handle on a day. This will avoid overworking your crew.
4. Authorization and reservation
If you are working in a big construction company, there is probably more than one project manager, which means they will also need resources. In this case, to ensure you will have all your resources, you might need to talk to the other managers and reach an agreement that can benefit both of you. Before calling other managers, you need to have a specific list with resources you need and additional information such as how long the task is, resource quantity, and start and end days.
5. Adapt to changes and track
It often happens that a project’s schedule will change, or there will be things that you can’t control. Tracking can allow you to foresee these situations and be prepared to adapt and re-assign resources. There are several software programs that you can use to track resource productivity.
Resource Planning in Construction Management: Conclusion
Construction projects represent a significant investment, and it is your job to make sure all the money invested in resources will pay off at the end with profits. That’s why resource planning in construction management will make a significant impact on any project you are assigned to. Whenever you feel lost in the process, just follow the step-by-step on this article, and you’ll be back on the right track.