How to better collaborate with external parties during a construction project
A construction project is rarely done alone, you often work together with others. You are depending on each other for the project to run smoothly. It is therefore important that you know what the other is doing. At Prostream, we make cooperation in construction easier. And that starts with these five practical tips.
1. Determine what your common goal is
It sounds very obvious, but it is good to get together and discuss the ultimate goal. Put it on the agenda of the first lean planning session in the site hut. Take your time to discuss what needs to be done and what steps are needed to get there. Identify the milestones and delivery moments that will take the project from one stage to the next.
2. Make clear arrangements before and during your building project
Who is going to deliver what? Everyone must know what their role is within the project. A building project often consists of various phases and delivery moments. Link an owner to the various goals and interim delivery moments. This way, you make sure that someone is responsible for the goal or delivery in question, throughout the project. As the person accountable for the entire project, you are in control, because you know that other people have to complete their tasks.
It is also important to keep an overview. Provide a central location where all communication concerning the project takes place. This should be easily accessible and usable on the construction site. It is prefered to arrange this digitally. Only then, you can be sure that the most current information is being used and that there is no uncertainty about where information can be found. This can easily prevent a lot of mistakes that are otherwise bound to be made during the project. If all information is available to everyone, anytime and anywhere, trust in each other grows. Only then you are able to raise construction to a higher level, together.
3. Keep a finger on the pulse
It is easy to become absorbed in your own part of the project, but keep in touch with each other. It is important that you check in with one another every now and then, to see if everything is still on track. Make it a regular part of your lean planning sessions. This way, you will recognise it timely in case a problem is developing somewhere, or when the project is running late. It’s also a good time to catch up.
4. Take everything into account during a construction project
In the end, you all plan for the best. But you have to take the worst case scenario into account as well. Things can go wrong, or the project can be delayed for any reason. Look critically at the various parts of your planning and try to eliminate errors. Identify where things could possibly go wrong in advance and make sure that there is a plan B in place.
Make sure there are clear deadlines and that everyone is aware of them. Timely send (automated) reminder emails to the people responsible, if something threatens to be delayed. This way, you catch any errors as soon as possible and you give yourself a better chance of dealing with them intelligently, without these errors becoming too much of a burden.
5. Celebrate the successes
Finally, celebrate the moments when everything does run smoothly. That way, you don’t just hear from each other when things go wrong. And it is always nice to hear that you are doing well. You have to be able to rely on each other.