6 Mistakes That Decrease Productivity on Your Construction Site

Maximizing productivity on your construction worksite will allow you to maximize the profits of your company. Quick Sand and Fill Corp. offers site preparation services that are perfect for starting your construction project out on the right track with proper site development, land clearing, grading and excavating.

Hiring effective site preparation services is not the only way to maximize productivity on your construction site. You can also avoid the following six mistakes as your project progresses to carry out a project that's as productive as possible from site preparation through to completion.

1. Neglecting to Seek Input From Tradesmen On-site
As an owner or manager, you may not have the specific knowledge of certain aspects of your site that the tradesmen who are working for you have. You should therefore seek their input and listen to advice that your employees have to give on issues that are hampering productivity on the site.

Some members of your staff might be reluctant to tell you what should or shouldn't be done. You should be especially inclined to seek out the advice of your staff when you notice a problem developing that is delaying the progress of your project.

2. Overlooking Safety Procedures
You might think that safety procedures hold back the speedy progress of your project, but overlooking them can cause enormous holdups.

An injury on your site can take a valuable staff member away at a time when work is in full swing. Also, an injury can create liability issues that you'll have to deal with, which can take you away from steering your project forward.

Put a concerted effort into analyzing each individual worksite that you're involved with to identify and address safety issues. Also, you can increase safety around the worksite by ensuring that your staff members receive proper training.

3. Letting Supply Needs Remain Unmet Until the Last Minute
One of the biggest causes of unnecessary downtime at a worksite is procrastinating supply orders. You never know if there will be a holdup in the delivery of construction materials and supplies, so you should plan well in advance whenever possible.

As construction continues, keep an eye on supply availability and cost so that you won't suffer any surprises when you can't continue your project until the next delivery comes in. Also, start off your project with thorough and accurate estimates so that you have a good idea of what materials and supplies you'll need to finish.

4. Failing to Have Management Personnel On-Site
Make sure staff members have access to management personnel who can help them. You need to strategically allocate your staff resources in order to maximize productivity.

The best way to do this is to make sure that management staff are easily identifiable and are regularly present so that staff can consult with them and take direction from them as the project progresses.

5. Having a Complicated Material Delivery Process
Simplicity is ideal when it comes to having materials delivered. You should incorporate material delivery into your site layout planning at the beginning of your project. This way, you can achieve free movement of supplies from one part of your site to another. While planning, aim at having a material delivery process that doesn't require work to temporarily stop on your site.

6. Neglecting Heavy Equipment Maintenance and Repairs
​Equipment malfunctions are another common cause of downtime on a construction site. The only way to prevent this type of downtime is by ensuring that all the heavy equipment you're using is both properly maintained and quickly repaired when something goes wrong.

Being behind in maintenance increases the likelihood of repair needs, and repair needs can snowball if equipment continues to be operated despite a malfunction.

Contact Quick Sand and Fill Corp. for help planning your construction site so that it is as productive as possible.