To take a commercial build from concept to closeout requires more than drawings and team players. With new project managers and students who often get taught, budgets, schedules, and quality can pull in a multitude of directions. This overview showcases some of the challenges and how teams are dealing with them in the field, while also teaching students/staff that small choices early in design and procurement, can have rippling effects throughout all phases of the project.

Why Do Construction Projects Face Delays?

Even the best-planned project will slip. Delays are typically a combination of scope change, procurement and coordination between trades. Understanding the initial causes of delay will enable managers to mitigate the schedule and advise stakeholders. Click here for further information.

• Scope creep and change orders diminish productivity because they create additional work not included in any plan and they push work back creating additional cost.
• Permitting and inspections can extend the schedule as associated drawings are needed to comply with building codes.
• Long lead items such as switchgear or custom curtain wall will extend the procurement phase.
• Design coordination issues create additional RFI’s and submittals which further delay the trade from mobilizing to the site.
• Missed sequencing typically occurs because the CPM (critical path method) was not tracked or communicated with the trades.

The Impact of Weather on Construction

Weather can affect safety, productivity and quality. Rain will halt earth work and concrete pours; wind will limit crane picks; and heat will limit execution and stress both labour forces and construction materials. Job teams that install weather stations on-site and ensure accurate forecasts, are able to make quicker decisions on go/no-go calls. Cold weather snaps often change curing time and may require heat and temporary or permanent enclosures. Good planners measure the risks associated with various seasons, establish weather days in their schedules, and protect in-place work with tarps, coverings, and drainage.

In strong commercial construction management, teams always set thresholds, such as wind speeds for lifting and/or moving materials, as well as contingency plans to continue safely until the conditions change.

Managing Subcontractors Effectively

Almost all commercial projects use several specialty trades who rely on a good General Contractor for a clear scope, a clean handoff, and timely communication to keep crew members heading in the same direction. Timely and easily understood pay apps and approvals, keep crews mobilized and swear allegiance to a schedule. If coordination is lost, rework only increases rework and absorbs daily costs, so it is vital the General Contractor leads from the front.

• Prequalifying and clarifying scopes can minimize gaps and overlaps before award.
• Look ahead meetings to align trades with deliveries, sequencing, and actual value engineering options with the master schedule.
• Field huddles and shared dailies help identify trade clashes before they become lost days.
• Quality checkpoints at significant milestones keeps bad work from proceeding to covered up conditions.

Safety Concerns on Job Sites

Safety is non-negotiable. Incidents slow down projects, affect insurance premiums and impact worker morale. An effective safety program will begin with a job hazard analysis and proceed to controls including guardrails, lock-out/tagout, and confined-space methods. Foremen might conduct toolbox talks to emphasize the importance stay within safe work limits including PPE, and they encourage their crew to document serious “near misses” to discover new trends in obstacles.

Site logistics coordination including the location of laydown space, clean access paths, clearly identified truck routes, and clarified signage can decrease struck by and trip hazards. Follow this link https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/falls.html to learn more about safety hazards.

An effective safety culture enhances and improves the workers’ ability to work confidently. Optimized safety culture will also drive down insurance rates and improve inspectors’ perceptions of the project.

Lessons Learned from Past Projects

Teams that take the time to reflect on turnover are quicker to improve than teams that do not. A turnover closeout debrief should help capture what went well, what did not go well, and how to infuse improvements into the next job. Transforming lessons learned into newly streamlined checklists, the detail sheets and potential preconstruction playbooks helps to ensure the next project is in a better position to start. Simple and not accusatory connected to actions rather than blame. The lessons drive updates to patterns of templates and habits translating into less surprises and more focused delivery.

• Establishing a repeatable change orders process will provide a visible paper trail of approved pricing, approvals, and schedule impacts in real time.
• Standardizing RFI and submittal logs with clear due dates and responsibilities will improve and shorten decision making cycles.
• Keeping a living risk register connected to the CPM schedule will be far better than a static list that no one reads.
• Closing out a contract with a specific punch list process assigning owners, dates and definitions of “done” is closer to habit than your excuse to find blame.

By identifying these challenges early and employing simple and steady controls, new managers can keep projects on track, keep on budget and continue to provide safe high quality builds that meet the owner’s objectives and goals.