Build On Success: How To Increase Construction Productivity

It all starts with a distraction. 

A phone rings. People get to talking. Someone takes too long to come back from lunch, so someone else starts messing with the radio. Before you know it, everyone’s hanging out. None of it seems bad — until you realize it’s costing you money. 

For contractors, productivity is the difference between a successful project and a money pit. Here are some tricks you can use to boost your productivity. 

Have a deadline for everything

If an item is at the bottom of your to-do list, it will never see the light of day. 

If you need something done, make it a priority and assign a deadline. A date and time are all it takes to set wheels in motion. It lets your team know you’re serious, and it gives them a sense of direction. Deadlines bring work to life. 

Increase accountability

Once your team has a date to shoot for, someone has to hold them to it. 

This is what foremen and superintendents are for: to be good coaches. When you have someone walking the job site, keeping everyone on track, you are much more likely to get the job done.   

Experience is a big part of this. Good managers have been around the block. They know how long it takes to pour a foundation and put up a sheet of drywall. With that knowledge, they can set reasonable expectations, and their team will respect those goals. 

Keep meetings short and sweet

There are some issues that only a meeting can fix. For instance, you can’t always train workers one-on-one about a new piece of equipment. 

But meetings are notorious for wasting time. They breed distraction, and that makes them productivity killers. 

You want to avoid that as much as possible. So, if you’re in charge of a meeting, take ownership and keep people focused. If people get hung up on a minor detail, ask them to work it out offline or after the meeting. Drive the conversation and steer it when necessary. 

Don’t phone it in 

It’s hard to get anything done when everyone’s always looking at their phones. 

Every text, notification, or glance disrupts your site and takes away from your working cadence. Institute a policy that minimizes phone use and reserve it for breaks, if possible. Not only does it save time, it also sets the tone for a professional operation. 

Focus on one thing at a time

Once you’ve cut out distractions, then comes the matter of choosing where to direct that attention. While you may be tempted to multitask, research shows it’s not as effective as you might think. In the world of construction, it’s also dangerous, creating the potential for missed steps and overlooked issues.  

If you need to work on mulitple parts of a project at once, split your crew into teams that each focus on one thing. The results might surprise you. It’s easy to get into a groove once you’re locked in, and it feels great.

Another great way to increase productivity is to put the right equipment in your crew’s hands. At Sunbelt Rentals, we have exactly what you need to make that a reality. Get the most out of your team with advice from our experts. Contact us today to learn more. 

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