Schedule Management Planning

How to get Everyone on the Same Page

Scheduling and executing a project can be a mess. Whiteboards and walls filled with project progress updates, crew assignments, and vehicle locations. Papers shuffled from one office to the next in the hopes that they make it down the hall fast enough to notify the field supervisor of the new schedule before they leave the jobsite at the end of the day.

Making sure everyone has the most up-to-date information before the fleet leaves the next morning, or even in the next minute, can take countless emails, phone calls, and text messages. So how do you manage it all? How do you ensure everyone is seeing the same information at the same time?

We have seen a lot of companies struggle with these very questions. Over time, our specialists have developed some key questions for you and your team to answer when evaluating your schedule management plan.

  1. What tools do you have to create your schedule?
  2. Who will be in charge of creating and approving the schedule?
  3. What tools do you have to distribute your schedule?
  4. Who will be in charge of distributing the schedule?
  5. How will you manage schedule changes that occur one week, one day, and one hour before work is supposed to be performed?

 

Scheduling and Planning with TRUE

Within TRUE, project planning, scheduling, and even milestone tracking are equipped for you to have a plan in place when a new project is won. Create a gantt chart of your contract’s full prospective timeline and stages. Build schedules and assign the appropriate crew, equipment, and vehicles. Develop company-wide milestones to see how every project is performing across the board. All of this, related to individual project records for easy tracking and review.

 

TRUE Calendar and Scheduling

 

Since TRUE allows you to customize access permissions, only individuals with the correct permissions can approve, edit, distribute and change your schedules.

Have a last minute schedule change? Immediately notify the crew assigned to the project. With a simple click you can distribute alerts customized on an individual level to fit the communication needs of each crew member.

 

TRUE Milestone Tracking

 

Gone are the days of whiteboards, paper schedule pickups, and crew text group chats!

Want to learn more about the scheduling and planning features TRUE has to offer? Contact us today!

(833) GET – TRUE (438-8783)

sales@archive.constructtrue.com

www.constructtrue.com

Already have TRUE and need some help? Check out our help center to learn all about planning!.

TRUE Planning Module Help

RFIs

How to Better Manage Your Construction RFIs

Crafting efficient and informative RFIs is crucial in ensuring your construction projects are successful. When you are working with multiple individuals, it is vital that everyone involved work together towards the common goal. Take a look at this list of ways that will ensure your RFI process runs smoothly:

Embrace the Cloud

Using construction software, like TRUE, is without a doubt the best way to streamline your RFI process. Construction software enables managers, workers, and subcontractors to easily interact and work together to discuss issues, ask questions, and find solutions. Paper RFIs get lost in the shuffle and can be very time-consuming, whereas software allows you to instantly connect with everyone involved in the project, meaning faster and more organized RFIs which leads to more efficient projects.

Set Due Dates

When you send out RFIs, make sure that individuals know when you need a response by. Ensuring that due dates are known keeps people accountable. If you send out an RFI, but don’t specify a due date, it is likely that they will put it off until later and forget to respond.

Adopt Naming Conventions

By naming all of your RFI files the same way, it will make them much easier to find when you need to search for them and helps keep them more organized.

Provide Images

Including images with RFIs can be extremely helpful for the person receiving the RFI. Graphics help to give context to whatever question or issue has arisen. Photos and drawings also help the individual receiving the RFI to better understand the question and come to the best solution. Take the time to include images and it will speed up the overall RFI process and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Keep Everyone in the Loop

Communication is essential when it comes to RFIs. If you are using a construction software, like TRUE, add everyone involved so that they can view the RFI process. If you aren’t using a software, create a group email to keep everyone in constant communication. This ensures that everyone stays on the same page.

Encourage Discussions with Your Team

When you have meetings with architects and other contractors and subcontractors, encourage discussion. Ask questions upfront, so that you can avoid some RFIs altogether. This saves everyone time and money!

Review Responses Thoroughly

When an RFI is returned back to you, look over it to ensure that it is complete and clear. There should not be any questions in the response that you receive back. The question or issue should be answered fully and a concise solution or recommendation should be delivered. If you do not receive a complete response, send the RFI back and request a fully answered response.

Stay organized

Once your RFI is answered be sure to record the response and store is securely somewhere. If you are using construction software, this will automatically save and store the RFI, but if you are using paper, be sure store the document in a safe place. It can be very easy for paper RFIs to be misplaced or lost, so stay organized!

Update the Status

Make sure to update the RFIs status as it is being resolved. You want to make sure that all the appropriate team members are aware of any progress that is being made. Once the RFIs response is complete, mark it as closed out so that everyone is aware!

Construction Risk Management

Effective Construction Risk Management

Effective construction risk management is key to every successful project. It can be the difference between making a profit and suffering a loss. Due to the complexity of construction projects and the large number of unpredictable risks, it is vital that construction companies takes steps to properly manage the risks they face. Without proper construction risk management, contractors face project delays, additional costs, and potentially litigation.

TRUE has compile a list of some of the ways that TRUE Construction Management Software can help you better manage the risk of your construction projects:

Address Risks Early

Before you even bid on a project, it is important to identify all the potential risks that could arise on the project. Carefully review the all of the relevant bidding documents, plans and specifications. Once you have a full understanding of the scope of the project you can start identifying the issues that may arise down the line. Rely on information from previous projects. Get your project team to hash out the probable risk and potential opportunities. If you’ve never worked with a potential client, do your due diligence and conduct some research on them. Common risks include incomplete construction documents, site conditions, accelerated timelines, safety concerns, delays, change orders and unexpected increases in material costs.

Documentation

The foundation for every project is proper documentation. Document control can significantly help with construction risk management. With TRUE, you are able to document any issues that arise like delays, changes, or design deficiencies during a construction project can show lack of negligence or wrongdoing by the subcontractor. It’s important to gather all documentation from the project before you can move forward. In many cases, construction disputes arise months to years after the project is finished. As time passes, memories fade and personnel changes. Being able to show written and photo documentation helps quickly resolve construction lawsuits because of indisputable evidence.

Training

Risk management should be part of every aspect of your construction business, including the hiring and employment of your staff. This should begin with the training and onboarding of new employees and should continue throughout the employee’s career with your company. This training should include preparing employees to properly assess risk and teaching them the steps they should take to mitigate it. With TRUE Construction Software, you are able to track certification, licensing, and training in a central location with the ability to share and document Safety Talks.

Communication

The nature of the construction industry is that everything is constantly changing. Therefore, accurate and up-to-date information is vital when managing the risk of construction projects. When information can come from constant communication between team members using mobile cloud-based construction solutions everyone can  be informed as information arises and changes are made that affect the project or its stakeholders.

Real-Time Data

When making decisions regarding construction risk management, they must be made swiftly and without much time to consult with the multiple stakeholders involved with a project. In order make fast, educated decisions that will move your project forward, you must have the appropriate information available to you. If the correct, relevant information is inaccessible in this moments companies can be left making poor decisions that can set a project severely off course. The use of incorrect information in key decision making is a slippery slope for project managers, because one tiny mistake can set off a chain reaction that can be catastrophic for the profitability of a project. In this article, you will see all of the ways that the real-time data provided by construction software can take your business to the level.

Risk management is necessary for controlling the cost, schedule, and scope of any project. By utilizing construction software, like TRUE, you will be able to better manage the construction risks involved when working on construction projects more effectively.

construction quote

Crafting a Winning Construction Quote with Contractor Software

Generating leads is hard work. Regardless of how you acquire them between potential customers contact you by phone, through submitting a form on your websites, or through a client referral, when you are talking to a lead you want to make sure you do everything necessary so you get the job over anyone else! More often than not, you will be competing against other service companies for the job. When you’re competing for business, you need to set yourself apart. Our team has come up with a few ways you can make your construction quote stand out from the rest, so you win the business you compete for! Contractor software is a great way to create winning quotes.

Email your Construction Quote

If a customer phones you asking for a price, don’t just provide them with the price over the phone. You can take it one step further and send them a professional, detailed quote that reflects your attention to detail and professionalism with contractor software. By utilizing contractor software, you can capture all of the customer’s relevant information and offer to email the construction quote so they have a record to reference. Emailing your quote will showcase your professionalism, your dedication to customer service, and will help you stand out from the competition. By collecting customer information and emailing quotes with contractor software, you’re also able to easily follow up with your customer, which is a great way to win more jobs.

Writing a High-Quality Quote

Now we know that construction quotes should be emailed to clients, but what should be included in a construction quote? The key information that your construction quote should contain includes:

  • Company Name – For your company to stand out, potential customers need to know exactly who you are. Make sure that you include your company name and, if possible, include your company logo on all quotes.
  • Contact Information – Make sure that your contact information is clear and easy to find. For your customer to take action on the quote, they need to be able to contact you, so make it as easy as possible for them.
  • Identify Line Items – A well-written quote will help your customers understand what you are providing and what they are getting. Customers want to know what they are paying for, so list out each product and service with the associated price.
  • Client Specific Notes – If the quote is valid for a specified amount of time, or there are special details that your customer needs to know, be sure to include this information in the quote so there is no confusion. Your client will appreciate extra attention to detail. 

Contractor software takes the guess work out of creating high-quality construction quotes.

Start the Work

Once your new client accepts the quote, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. One of the great things about a well-written quote is that you and your client know exactly what the job entails. With contractor software, like TRUE, you can use your quote as the base for any work order you need to provide to employees in the field so they have the information they need to get the job done. A detailed quote and quoting process using contractor software will help you land more business and work more efficiently.

For more information about TRUE  and how it can help with the creation of accurate construction quotes, please contact our team at sales@archive.constructtrue.com.