The Keys to Construction Project Scheduling Success

Optimized project scheduling means your business is utilizing every team member based on the phase of the project, and knowing how to use tools like Primavera means business owners aren’t stretching employees thin and creating unnecessarily difficult working conditions. Additionally, project managers can take a few extra steps to plan, execute, and complete a successful construction project.

Plan In Order

This may seem like an obvious tip, but it’s a great reminder even for the most seasoned construction industry veterans. Even before ground is broken, there needs to be a list of tasks to be completed over the project’s scope. At the beginning stages of planning, that could be a very streamlined list, but it needs to be arranged in the order the tasks need to be completed. 

Allocation Is Key

Each of these tasks needs a finite deadline, but it’s crucial to allocate enough time to complete each task and a margin for overruns or errors. Talk to your subcontractors during this process and get an estimate on the time frame: Allocate too much time, and it may impact the next dependent task; cut the window short and risk the task not being completed on time.

Don’t Forget the Equipment

When it comes to creating accurate bid proposals and keeping construction projects on track, one of the biggest challenges for contractors is estimating equipment costs. The first step to accurately estimating equipment costs for the bidding process is to grasp the number of hours you will use the equipment. You can best achieve this by focusing on project management and construction scheduling best practices.

Shift Your Scheduling Strategy

If you find that construction projects you manage are running over schedule, it may be time to try something else – like the critical path method (CPM). This is the method you use to determine how long each required task takes before it’s finished and includes project phases and the periods for each step, along with the project tasks and duration. Using the critical path method means mitigating or avoiding overruns that eat into your profit margins.

Don’t Forget Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is no longer a trend. It’s something that younger workers know that they need to stay mentally and physically healthy. Optimized project scheduling shows them that your business utilizes every team member based on the project phase. Knowing how to use tools like Primavera means business owners aren’t stretching employees thin and creating unnecessarily difficult working conditions.

Invest In New Scheduling Tech



Project managers who run into snags with vendors can tap into scheduling software from a distance, allowing for the rescheduling or reallocation of labor workforces (subcontractors, material deliveries, etc.) to meet changing needs. For example, workers can be on-site to meet delayed materials shipment with a few simple changes to the existing schedule. 

Offer Continuing Education

Primavera project scheduling software is constantly evolving like many other tech tools we’ve grown accustomed to using in the construction industry. By offering your employees the opportunity to revisit the tool and get thorough, expert training, everyone on the team will become more efficient at creating realistic schedules.

Outsource Project Management and Scheduling

Construction project managers develop a schedule to manage the work efficiently and cost-effectively and minimize delays. Comprehensive schedules are created to reflect realistic data from technical calculations based on years of experience and seasoned judgment. Daily, weekly or monthly updates ensure accurate reporting and facilitate enhanced communications. Like an insurance policy, it’s an essential tool for preventing costly disputes and claims.

Construction scheduling project management is a critical piece of any major project. A realistic, logical calculation of the best-case scenarios, likely scenarios, and worst-case scenarios gives you and the project team an accurate schedule to work by. Delays are mitigated or avoided by precise project planning and managing various construction time windows. With an expert on the ground, your project moves as seamlessly as possible through all stages of development.

We have many CPM packages available, using only the best software tools. Primavera P6 and P3, SureTrak (ST), and MS Project are highly rated and capable of delivering comprehensive reports and sophisticated analyses. We can also train your team to create highly accurate schedules and fuel your business’s success – let’s talk more.