Improve your organization through team planning

Construction site delays? Overworked teams? Poor organization can lead to additional costs. Team planning helps you improve team productivity and reduce unexpected events. Discover the benefits of optimized planning, and how to implement it. But before going any further, what is a team schedule?

Presentation of the schedule of journeymen on site

In construction, team planning is the essential tool to ensure the success of the construction site. Here are the things you need to know.

What is a construction schedule?

The construction schedule is the reference document for construction managers, site managers or team leaders for all construction projects. This document allows:

• An overall vision: each phase, each advance is planned.
• The clarity of the responsibilities: Who intervenes where and when? What are the materials to be provided?
• Workflow organization: the tasks are arranged to ensure smooth progress.
• Defined deadlines: no surprises. Each team member knows when their work needs to be done.

Thanks to a well-developed schedule, each stage of the project is carried out efficiently and on time.

Who is responsible for employee planning?

Site planning is generally entrusted to the construction manager, often in close collaboration with the contractor, construction economist and/or quantity surveyor. According to the organization, these professionals contribute to the planning of field operations, while the construction manager coordinates them, ensuring that each stage corresponds to the final objectives of the site.

The advantages of a well-planned construction site

The development of a site schedule is necessary for effective project management and implementation. In the construction sector, where multiple stakeholders collaborate and where the unexpected is frequent, planning well is essential to keep your commitments.

Full overview of collaborators and project progress

With a precise schedule, everyone knows what they have to do and where the project is at. This clarity is essential for the construction site monitoring.

• Everything is under control: a clear overview makes it possible to verify that every technical aspect is taken into account.
• The customer is in the loop: site supervision is facilitated and it is easier to continuously meet the expectations of the project owner.

The saving of time

During construction, every minute counts. An optimized schedule allows workers to work better, faster, and therefore toimprove the profitability of construction sites.

• Respect of deadlines: effective coordination allows progress in accordance with the schedule established beforehand.
• Optimal use of resources: by reducing hesitation, teams work more effectively. Profitability is better.

How do you manage unforeseen events and delays?

During construction, setbacks are common. Good planning helps to avoid construction disputes. How do you go about it?

• Anticipate the unexpected: have contingency plans to manage the unexpected
• React quickly: incorporate flexible strategies to adjust actions in the face of any unexpected change or problem.

On Alobees, each project has its own news feed for workers to post information, photos and comments. The construction manager receives notifications of recent posts. He can react in real time and modify the schedule of companions from his mobile application if necessary.

Method for managing staff schedules

Optimizing the planning of its staff is therefore necessary to guarantee the efficiency and success of construction sites. Here are our tips.

1. Know the objectives, constraints and schedule of the construction site

First of all, for prepare your construction sites well, remember your goals, taking into account the estimate that was provided to the customer and the expected time frame for the work. If the price study was not sufficiently detailed, Clearly list the works to be done.

Then list the constraints and risks. This includes items related to:

• To partners (project owner, suppliers, other companies, possibly the project manager, etc.).
• Under construction conditions (deadlines, weather conditions, types of materials and techniques used...).

If no planning has been made in advance, detail each of the tasks necessary to complete the works, taking into account chronological order, of Their duration And connections between them.

2. Identify personnel and material resource needs

The requirements for personnel and material resources are in principle indicated in the quantity surveyor's dry outlays. It details the quantities of labor, materials and materials for each work, as well as the associated costs.

If the estimate was prepared using the ratio method, these elements should be calculated for each task planned on the construction site.

The Centralization of Alobees documents allows regroup all the documents for a construction site. Access to the rooms in the design office is facilitated.

3. Check the availability of manpower and equipment

It would be problematic to realize at the time of the construction site that some workers are working on other sites, or that the equipment is being used elsewhere. It is therefore essential to reconciling construction site needs with availability collaborators. And to ensure that the necessary materials or materials are obtained from suppliers.

With the Intervention Management function, Alobees allows you to consult and adjust the agenda of employees in real time, thus optimizing site monitoring.

4. Create the construction schedule

After identifying the needs and considering the periods of unavailability, the next step is to assign team members and equipment to different tasks, according to these needs. Be sure to:

• Adapt tasks to the individual skills of each team member.
• Meet pre-defined criteria, including:

• The necessary accreditations.
• Specific skills for the use of particular equipment.

Thanks to its different types of planning, Alobees allows you to organize effectively the resources human and material for the construction site. Manage and validate their progress live, from any device.

5. Communicate the construction schedule effectively to staff

After finalizing the schedule, it must be shared with the team. Every worker must Know your tasks and schedules. A good understanding of the schedule guarantees the smooth running of operations on the construction site.

Communication is the key word for a successful project. The Alobees Task Organization allowsassign roles of each and each companion can indicate their daily progress. This allows the construction manager to have an overview of his sites.

6. Self-assess to improve

After the delivery of the construction site, it is important to take the time to self-assess.

• What worked well?
• Where were there delays or problems?
• How were the unexpected managed?
• Have customer expectations been met?

By answering these questions, you will be able to make continuous improvements to your planning process.

The Alobees Timesheets feature allows the construction manager to Easily compare planned hours to actual hours worked (via the score).

By methodically applying these steps, you optimize the coordination, the respect of deadlines and the productivity of your sites. As we have pointed out, it is Wise to rely on adapted tools to simplify and consolidate this process.

The various tools for team planning on site

Technology makes it much easier for construction managers to plan. But not all software is created equal.

Excel: free but impractical tool

Microsoft Excel is frequently used in the construction industry. Even if he didn't not designed specifically for planning For construction sites, many professionals turn to Excel when they start organizing and coordinating their work.

The benefits of Excel for project management:

• Accessible: no additional expenses are required.
• Ease of use: quick to learn and implement.
• Flexibility: add and customize as many columns and rows as needed.
• Customizable: adapt it according to the specific needs of your business.

Its faults:

• The use is time-consuming, the savings made at the beginning are offset by the loss of time on a daily basis.
• Its interface can be complex.

Most construction schedules created with Excel take the form of detailed tables. If this is your first attempt to create such a schedule, it would be appropriate to build on an existing model. But the use of more suitable software is recommended.

Alobees, the application designed for construction companies

Alobees, a mobile application for site monitoring, is the perfect solution for construction professionals. Thanks to its intuitive interface, you get a clear and precise vision of the state of progress of your projects, which guarantees serene financial management.

Main Features:

• Centralize all your essential documents into a single platform, thus facilitating more agile decision-making.
• Maintain contact under all circumstances, whether you are in the heart of a construction site, at your office or while traveling.
• Optimize communication by sharing important data quickly, thus avoiding misunderstandings and unexpected delays.
• Develop your site schedules accurately and ensure the best allocation of your resources.
• Keep an eye on it in real time on your teams' schedules and control labour-related expenses.
• Streamline payroll management by directly accessing the variable elements of your staff payslips.

Alobees offers two pricing plans: Standard at €40 per month and Pro at €80 per month, with an additional fee of €10 per user. This means equipping your business at a modest cost. Customer support is at your disposal, whether by phone, email, or chat. Try Alobees free for 30 days and take control of your projects. Click here for Learn more.