Time tracking is a crucial part of helping construction companies plan and organize their business and staff. It also helps them manage their resources well and make the projects successful. In this article, we’ll explore why time tracking is important in construction project management and share five easy tips to help construction teams.
Picking the right time-tracking software is the first step to construction project management. Modern software does more than just track time; it can bring many project aspects together in one place. This includes scheduling, job management, and tracking resources. Good software makes collaboration easy, keeps everything transparent, and holds everyone accountable.
The right software is not just about time tracking; it’s a vital tool that combines various aspects of project management.
Choose the Right Time Tracking Software
What are the most efficient time-tracking methods for construction companies? Below is a list of what to consider when making this choice. You want a software that is:
- Easy to Use: Look for a time-tracking software that is easy to use. It should be simple to navigate so that everyone on your team, regardless of their tech skills, can use it without any trouble.
- Useable on Mobile Devices: Since construction projects often happen in different locations, pick software that you can use on mobile devices. This way, your team can update progress and collaborate even when they’re on the move.
- Encourages Team Communication: Choose software that helps your team communicate in real time.
- Grows with Your Business: Whether you’re working on a small project or a big one, your time-tracking app should be flexible enough to adapt to your needs.
- Helps with Reporting: The software should have features that let you generate reports. This way, you can look at the data, see how the project is going, and find improvements. These insights help you make better decisions and plan for future projects.
- Affordable: While it’s important to invest in good software, also think about the overall cost. For example, consider how much the software costs, how hard it is to set up, and how much maintenance it needs. You want a software solution that helps your business without breaking the bank.
- Has GPS Verification: Use a time tracking app that will show you your staff’s location once they clock in on the app.
- Has Payroll Integration: You want to make sure your time-tracking app can integrate with payroll providers. For example, ezClocker has several we work with for easy integration. You can also send a CSV file to your accountant.
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Make Clear Time Tracking Policies
Creating good policies for tracking time is a vital part of managing construction projects. Clear guidelines help everyone on the team understand how to record their work hours accurately.
Let’s break down how to make these rules easy to follow:
- Start and Stop Times: Make it clear when work hours begin and end. This helps avoid confusion and ensures that everyone knows when they should start logging their time for the day.
- Define Break Times: Define how long breaks should be and when they can be taken. Having specific rules about breaks helps maintain a consistent approach across the team.
- Consistency is Key: Stress the importance of consistency in time tracking. Ask team members to follow the policies. This ensures that the time data collected is reliable and can be used for accurate project analysis.
- Communicate Expectations: Communicate the expectations around time tracking to the entire team. Let everyone know why accurate time tracking matters and how it contributes to the overall success of the project.
Effective time tracking works best when combined with job management. Modern project time-tracking software lets managers assign jobs or tasks and track the time spent on each activity. This helps teams stay on schedule and within budget.
Regularly Review and Analyze Time Tracking Data
Looking at how your team spends their time is vital for construction project management to go well. It’s not just about writing down hours. By checking this data often, you can see if there are patterns or trends. For example, you can see which jobs are taking longer or how productive your staff is on certain days. This helps you determine what needs to improve.
When you know how time is used, you can plan resources better. If some tasks always take longer, you can plan for that and use your team’s time more wisely. It helps you make changes and improvements. This way your construction projects will be more productive and successful.
Provide Training and Support
Applying effective good time-tracking requires the help of the entire team. Provide training on your time-tracking software and processes to ensure that all team members can use the tools well. Offer ongoing support to address any challenges or questions that may arise during the implementation phase.
Training and support are crucial for ensuring that time tracking becomes a seamless part of the construction workflow. When team members understand the importance of accurate time tracking and feel confident in using the tools provided, the entire construction project management process becomes more efficient and reliable.
Use Time Tracking for Accurate Cost Estimation
Accurate cost estimation is vital in construction project management. Knowing your costs helps projects run smoothly. Time tracking is a big part of this because it gives real-time information about how much workers are spending on tasks and using resources. Past projects can help you quote your jobs better.
It helps companies avoid spending more money than planned and keeps projects financially healthy. This careful way of managing costs is a big part of making construction projects successful and profitable.
Examples of Construction Companies Using a Time Tracking App
Here are a couple of construction businesses that use our time tracking app and why they find it valuable as a construction project management software.
Sandra DeSouza of Eagle Vision Construction uses ezClocker. Previously team members were writing down their times and would forget. Also, sometimes the company would be working on multiple projects at the same time. The team would text each other in a group chat to figure out who was going where and how to divide up materials and tools. Occasionally, the team wouldn’t look at the group chat or would misunderstand where they needed to be. This caused a lot of confusion.
They started using the scheduling feature on ezClocker. DeSouza would input addresses and add which employees are going to that location. When he publishes the schedule, the employees get a notification on their phones, and they navigate to where they need to go with the GPS feature.
Another example is Arthur Jordan of A&J Electric started using ezClocker because he realized paper tracking his team’s time was costing him money. He downloaded 6 apps in one day and found that ezClocker had the features he needed. As Arthur added more employees, he needed more features. Eventually, he began using the job list feature. With this feature, employees who work on more than one job site in a day can clock out of the first job and then instantly clock into the next job. This gives Arthur the ability to track hours not just by the employee but also by the job.
In construction, time is valuable. Good time tracking is a tool that helps projects stay on time and use resources well. A time-tracking app is a great way to make sure construction projects are successful and make money.
