Why Employee Scheduling Software is Important to Construction Project Management

Construction project management is complex and requires the proper employee schedule to ensure the project finishes on time and within budget.  There are various scheduling methods for construction projects such as the bar chart, the Critical Path Method, Line of Balance method, and Queue Scheduling.  Whatever scheduling method the project manager utilizes they must map out the entire timeline, each section and sub-section of the project, and put the entire project on a projected timeline with milestones and an end date. Once that is done, they must create the optimized staffing schedule, communicate the schedule with construction workers and technicians, and have a backup employee schedule for any weather disruptions to ensure the project finishes on time and within the terms of the construction contract.

Within this overall construction schedule, the manager must determine the number of construction workers, electricians, machine operators, technicians and various other types of construction workers whose skills are needed for each task in the project, and calculate how long each of these sub-projects will take. Ensuring the right type of worker is assigned to each step of the project is imperative. Many companies choose to utilize a construction employee scheduling software to easily create staffing schedules. If you have a certain type of construction project you perform fairly often it is probably a good idea to create a construction shift schedule template so that you can easily save different versions.

Usually, many portions of the projects have to be completed before the next task can begin and the next set of construction workers can start. Ensuring that each sub-section of each project begins and ends on time is very important to accomplishing the tasks and projects as a whole. Once this has been accomplished the manager must create an employee schedule with each construction worker assigned to the proper work site location and communicate the upcoming schedule to each worker. Tasks must also be assigned during their workday along with the appropriate breaks. Usually construction companies are working on multiple sites and draw from a pool of workers.  Things get especially tricky when various projects are going on, but the same pool of construction workers are assigned to those projects. Communicating which work site to show up to is very important in making sure the project is completed on time.  It is up to the scheduler to ensure each construction worker is not double booked or accidentally scheduled in two locations during an overlapping time period.

Construction projects are affected by weather conditions and the employee schedule must accommodate these as well as last minute no-shows. Creating a backup employee schedule, or being able to flexibly adjust worker schedules becomes imperative during these times. Being able to easily reschedule employees to stay on top of the deadline is key. If construction workers and technicians are not rescheduled properly the company can end up paying a lot of money in overtime to get the project completed on time.

The project manager has to worry about the big picture of the project’s schedule, but they also need to ensure that workers, electricians, and machine operators are scheduled properly and are notified of their work schedules, tasks, weekly hours, and location assignments to ensure the project gets completed on time. Construction worker scheduling is an integral part of project management and must be completely in sync with the project’s timeline.