How to Boost Efficiency and Streamline Project Management in Construction Using ERP Software

Efficient project management in construction is the foundation of a successful company. Preventing cost overruns and missed deadlines will save you money and ensure your customers are happy. 

ERP software with integrated project management makes it easier for construction project managers to know exactly how their jobs are performing with tools that will show you everything you need to know on your project, including up to date figures on job budgets, labour hours worked, materials, plant and equipment resources. 

In this blog, we’ll describe how to use project management for construction software to streamline processes, make smarter decisions, and save time and money.  

While each construction project presents unique challenges, most project managers face issues around scheduling resources, materials, and communicating the most recent information.  

If you’re like most contractors, you’re running multiple projects simultaneously. That means you must carefully balance the use of resources like heavy equipment to make sure your investments are used as efficiently as possible so that none of your jobs are delayed while equipment is deployed to another site. Similarly, you’ll want to ensure you can schedule labour teams and subcontractors at each stage of the job, so no one is waiting around or adding idle days to the cost of the project.  

Open communication between contractors, suppliers, subcontractors, and project teams can be a big part of a successful project execution. You must ensure the correct teams are available and on site at critical junctures along with the materials and equipment needed for completing their work. 

And when you work on multiple projects at once, your communication roadblocks can easily multiply. Easy access to the most up to date job information is critical for important decisions. You risk rework or other issues without certainty that you’re working from the latest drawings. Without an up to date understanding of the actual costs as compared with the budgeted costs, you could make decisions that only add to your budget overruns.  

Construction software with integrated project management features helps contractors manage all the information that’s part of running a successful project, helps centralize and automate information flows, and reduces manual data entry.   

Project managers can develop and monitor budgets throughout the project, manage schedules, and track variations and revisions, which means more efficient project management in construction.  

Using integrated software that’s made for construction, PMs can also manage resources, allocate responsibilities, and track their deployments in real time. That means PMs can raise and receive POs, direct stock to the correct jobs, schedule teams or subcontractors, and track equipment on all their projects at once.  

The project management features in your software should also be integrated with sophisticated reporting tools to report on data and key performance indicators for your project. For example, you may want to identify the largest variances on invoices for a particular job, or to identify discrepancies between budgeted and actual costs so they don’t get out of hand. 

Successful project management systems integrate data management and provide centralized reporting. For example, software that allows your PM to consolidate all the data related to a single project including planning documents, project plans, invoices, and more makes information accessible when you need it so you can act more efficiently.   

An integrated project management system streamlines the processes of planning and scheduling. With up to the minute data, PMs can adjust schedules and re-allocate resources to ensure that each stage of the job runs smoothly and reduces downtime.   

Contractors work most efficiently when everyone on the team is able to access the information needed to complete tasks on time without waiting to sort through paperwork, or importing and exporting from multiple different platforms. Using a unified platform for all your project data saves time and money by allowing your team to work with the same project data.  

Using software that includes specialized tools made for construction project management improves the ability to manage projects successfully. A single project management system can deliver better planning, communication, and implementation tools. More time savings, increased cost savings, and efficiencies that can be gained by deploying an integrated system mean that projects are managed more efficiently and productively. That means less downtime and a greater ability to spot issues before they hinder project completion.  

Release date: 18th April 2023