Five Tips To Losing Less In Your Construction Business
Construction is a business that involves a lot of risk. We’re not just talking about risks of injury or accident (though there is that). There’s also a lot of risk of seemingly small decisions and oversights that can lead to major losses. To survive in the construction business, you need to learn fast to cut these kinds of losses out of the system where you can. This involves being on top of planning and maintenance. In this article, we’re going to look at five ways to make your business more efficient. You’ll lose less from mistakes, your employees and your practices.
The best employees
As much as you rely on them, a lot of time and money can be lost from your employees. If you’ve hired the right people for the job, they have their own lives and their own needs. Losing days and weeks of work from essential employees can cost you a lot more time than just their hours. An effective way to fight this is by cross training your team. Make sure everyone has more than one use so no one loss can hold you back too much.
Avoiding extra costs
Sometimes due to under-estimation, sometimes no-one’s fault, extra costs accrue easily in a job. To avoid miscommunication and unnecessary costs, make sure you have all communication filed. Most companies do this already, but neglect their emails. Set up proper systems so all kinds of correspondence can be easily referenced. Make all communication is clear between the owner and the owner’s project manager, too. If you get conflicting reports, get them confirmed before carrying on.
Maintaining your equipment
Closer care needs to be taken of the equipment on a construction site. Too much money and time is lost when a vital piece of equipment breaks down. Have them thoroughly inspected before they begin work on a new job. Make sure your equipment is up to bearing the kind of loads and demanding of designs with help from stud welding services. Don’t let your standards slip or you’ll be paying for a lot more than maintenance.
Reducing waste
In construction, engineering and manufacture, waste is a huge problem. That’s why LEAN practices have gotten so much traction over the past few years. Take steps to reduce waste in every way you can. Keep everyone working efficiently and to schedule with weekly or daily meetings. Track tools and equipment so time isn’t wasted finding them. Taking precautions like these can help you identify and eliminate the people and practices wasting your time.
Managing your assets
When you’re working in construction, you’re dealing with a lot of equipment, tools and parts. A lot of these are expendable and used in jobs regularly. Regardless, losing them can build up costs big time. That’s why you need to have a proper asset management system in place. Even for the inventory that you spend daily, have checks to insure you’re not using or losing more than you should. Be prudent with your assets and money saved will start to show.
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