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Construction companies today have so many variables to account for to ensure their projects complete correctly and on time. Between weather, labor and staffing shortages, logistics and delivery of materials and equipment, work stoppages and worker attitude, risk of injuries, worker error and omissions, and timely project communication -- that alone would be enough to juggle.  However, now there is also software training, plan data synching and data quality control that need to be managed to ensure proper execution to plan. As if that's not enough, you also have to try to anticipate the number of change orders to forecast your timeline, plus plan for the high likelihood that your owner or client will expect the project to stay on time despite multiple change requests.

Given all these unpredictable elements, it's not surprising that many construction projects run over their planned scope of work and timeline.

"The Independent Project Analysis Group found an average of over 35% of all construction projects will experience a major change that can translate into a negative productivity impact. This group also found...

• One quarter of all projects grow past scope in the field by over 30%  (Whirlwind Steel) "

Once that occurs, how many other projects may be pushed past deadline or worse, be so rushed that the rate of error increases dramatically? This could cause a serious downturn to your business.  Given the extent of this dynamic then, it's also no surprise that more and more construction companies are now seeking outside professional help to better control those productivity risk factors that can be managed. One of those key areas is plan data and documentation.

Letting certified professionals manage your plan data and documentation can reduce your plan errors by ensuring all change orders are handled correctly. Proper and timely construction data management prevents wrong versions from being implemented. Wrong versions or small errors can quickly multiply into a tidal wave of mistakes in the field resulting in costly rework. If you're undecided about outside help, be sure to also consider the negative domino effect of allowing one quarter of your projects to overrun by a full 30%. Will the rest of your projects be able to remain unaffected? Or will they now start and end late and ripple into yet more subsequent jobs, or even steal time from taking on new potential projects?  Will this result in lost business to competitors?

Using Professional Construction Information Management (CIM) can free your teams up to focus on field activity that can more directly expedite the build itself. Also using a certified CIM team will ensure all your documents and change-order requests are objectively handled, and properly archived so they are ready to present as needed. That way if your project is pushed over (like many are) you will have clear and organized proof to justify why the extra work and timeline was required.

To learn more about Professional Construction Information Management view our short video at https://barkerbluebuild.com.  For further help please reach out for a free consultation to see how we can assist.