How Technology Synchronizes Pre-Construction Planning for Enhanced Collaboration
By Peter Muench
A thorough preconstruction phase has always been crucial for delivering a project to a developer promptly while minimizing unexpected complications. Now, however, the pressure is greater to complete that phase quickly. Developers expect preparation to be completed in two weeks, or slightly longer, rather than the four-week period formerly more common.
Amid this change, variables have become more complex. With the uncertainty of the availability of materials and a labor shortage, planning and projecting costs is substantially more challenging than before the Covid pandemic.
Fortunately, advances in technology greatly streamline the process. New software enables savvy construction team leaders to plan more comprehensively, with greater synchronicity and complete transparency. The technology unites a development team with a working organizational document that is clean, easy to read, demystifies the process and increases collaboration. It empowers all stakeholders to agree on and communicate changes in real time. The result: no surprises for any stakeholder.
Preconstruction software immerses the team into a project’s details from the start. Everyone is involved. Everyone can suggest adjustments – maybe a change in materials for one item, or a reduction in planned landscaping. Everyone can immediately evaluate the impacts that changes would have, and which have been approved.
This contemporary software, combined with frequent meetings bringing the team together, strengthen team relationships by fostering all-important buy-in from the start. A developer whose project manager participates in the platform and meetings is immediately apprised of any reasons for a change or adjustment, and can communicate those updates personally to company leadership. The process creates a consistent message and empowers a strong sense of owner advocacy.
But, despite technology’s advantages, it is no substitute for assembling a great team. An experienced team brings the wisdom and innovation that the technology helps layer into the project. The people drive the technology, not the other way around.
In addition, the new technology bolsters advance planning and construction strategies that have long been effective. Those include anticipating which materials may require a longer lead time for delivery and ordering them early, and scheduling on-site activities so materials arrive only when needed and then are placed where it will be used.
Among the other preconstruction technology benefits:
- A revision in a plan can be tracked with a few clicks, rather than playing detective by sifting through countless documents. Changes can be traced backward to their origin, to illustrate impacts of the changes and how the project reached its current status.
- Developers and project owners can run what-if scenarios during internal team meetings, immediately demonstrating the value and impact of a change.
- With all stakeholders benefiting from transparency, changes can be seen by everyone – developer, contractors, subcontractors and others – in real time.
This approach meshes perfectly and mirrors the strategies we prioritize at LeChase Construction Services. The adoption of a collaborative “one big team” mentality in preconstruction is vital. It helps problem-solve and inspires proactivity. Even before the platforms and contemporary software were developed, pre-planning was key to saving time, optimizing value and efficiency, avoiding delays and, most importantly, ensuring clients’ greater satisfaction. That, in turn, strengthens your company’s reputation.
When properly implemented, with an approach that values strong partnerships, the latest technology can be instrumental in ensuring that preconstruction is smooth and results in completed projects that drive satisfaction and pride.
