// Tips & Guides
Articles

When you think about the term project management in association with the building industry it conjures up images of large construction projects such as Wembley Stadium, The Shard or the Egyptian Pyramids! (probably the biggest civil engineering project in history).
The scale and complexity of these types of building project are such that poor management and low productivity results in the build suffering significantly in two key areas. Time and Budget.
It is no great secret that the same two factors affect smaller scale building projects such as home extensions, loft conversions and remodelling.
Put simply, great project management is realised through having the skills and knowledge needed to produce a defined outcome (an extension or loft conversion) using the available budget within a given timescale.
Simple right? Apparently not. Unless the builder you select appreciates that he or she is a skilled project manager it is likely they will approach your building project hoping and assuming things will come together and that they will walk away with a nice profit.
Often that profit is generated because of an inaccurate or ‘back of a fag packet’ quoting process that requires the customer to stump up extra cash.
It is realistic to understand that requirements do change during the course of any building project. Good project management is ensuring a customer understands and is communicated with about such changes and appreciates and agrees to the adjustments required.
What you should expect from a builder who is skilled at project management:
- A clear understanding of what you, the customer wants to achieve
- Agreeing the timescales, costs and resources needed to deliver the project
- Drawing up a detailed plan for how to achieve each stage of the project
- Demonstrating knowledge of all areas of the planned build
- Directing a multi-disciplinary team and ensuring that each stage of the project is progressing on time, on budget and to the right quality standards
- Reporting regularly on progress
- Maintaining effective communication with you, the customer
- Resolving any issues quickly
- Making sure everything is on time, budget and built to the highest standards.
What you might experience from a builder who is poor at project management:
- Limited time spent identifying what the customer wants to achieve
- Underestimation of complexity, cost and scope of the building project
- Failure to establish appropriate plans and controls
- Poor quality workmanship
- Lack of risk management
- Not being on site to address issues and customer concerns
- Inefficient work flow and long periods of inactivity
- Failure to engage all stakeholders.
At Keystone we hold ourselves accountable for managing projects as efficiently and effectively as possible. No two building projects are the same and experience tells us to approach every job with a fresh pair of eyes and to ensure a significant amount of time is dedicated to the consultation and planning phase.
Project management begins at the first meeting with a customer and ends when the agreed project outcome has been delivered the customers complete satisfaction.
Contact us today for a free no obligation consultation about your project.
// Related Articles:
Lighten your Life
The brains neural patterns and mental health concerns are generally not at the top of the list when it comes to the reasons why we want to refurbish or extend our home, but perhaps they should be. Light within our home and at our workplace can affect our health and wellbeing. Natural light has so…
5 Reasons To Open Up Life In Your Loft
At a time when the housing market is a victim of the uncertain times in which we live there has been a dramatic increase in people pursuing the home of their dreams by staying where they are. This trend is underlined by a 114% increase in applications for loft conversions across the UK in the…