Joke:  What is the definition of a project manager?  The conductor of an orchestra in which every musician is in a different union.

Most jokes are funny because they are true.  So if a project manager is a conductor and the crew he is managing is a symphony how does he keep every musician from playing their tune in order to create a beautiful melodious harmony?  Or in other words, how does the project manager organize all the different tasks to ensure everything completes at its scheduled time?  Use a Resource management solution like AboutTIme. 

Download this Free White Paper to see how you can manage your project pro-actively instead of re-actively. 

What type of software are construction companies looking for and why?

A study done by SoftwareAdvice (http://www.softwareadvice.com/)  found that buyers were looking to find software that would increase efficiency.

Why?
The answer is pretty easy.  The more efficient your business runs, the more profit you can make.

Efficiency becomes especially important when profits begin to reflect the fact that time is being wasted, and extra expenses are being incurred because projects are being run poorly.  In fact, 47% of the buyers surveyed were still using manual forms of field data collection, such as pen and paper, to manage their mobile projects.   In past blogs we have talked about how inefficient using paper can be.  

What features were buyers looking for to help their business run more efficiently?

1.    Project Management
2.    Estimating
3.    Accounting/job Costing

Why? 
Again, the answer is pretty easy.   SoftwareAdvice found that firms who use a mobile resource management software complete more projects on time and on budget than those who don’t, meaning their businesses run more efficiently.

Check out this infographic by AboutTime to see the difference between companies who use a Mobile Resource Management Solution and companies who don't.  Click Here

Standing Around

Tracking, documenting and managing a project from start to finish is a huge task.  It takes multiple people to complete a single project.  Each person has a specific role to play from design through completion. Everyone involved in a project cannot be at the project site full time to make sure that it is progressing correctly.   At the same time, everyone on the project needs to know what is happening on the job site to make sure it is progressing correctly. 

It goes without saying, standing around and watching workers do their particular job is the least effective way to manage a project, especially when there are multiple projects running simultaneously.    Not only is this ineffective but it is impossible. 

So how is it possible to proactively manage remote job sites without actually being on the job site?  TECHNOLOGY!  Using mobile resource management software in conjunction with smart phones and other mobile devices, information can easily be gathered and documented in the field and delivered in “Real-Time” directly to office staff.  This allows various staff members to make immediate, sometimes critical, decisions regarding the project.  

With the use of technology, the office can easily communicate with field staff, keeping the flow of communication open.  “Real-Time” means that the information is delivered “as it happens,” completely doing away with the need for office staff to physically be on site. 

Same Old... Same Old...

Tasks like filling out time cards, and reporting on job progress at the end of the day are often overlooked or pushed back to deal with at the end of the week.   The problem is that, by the end of the week, the information is no longer accurate.  A lot of guesswork goes into filling out time cards and end of the week paperwork that all needs to be submitted to the office.

"Hmmm, I think we worked on 'task A' for 3 hours and 'task B'  for 2 days" or "I am pretty sure everyone was here all week except for Joe and he missed Monday or was it half of Tuesday?"

So you scribble down some numbers on a time card or, if a time card is not within reach,  you use a scrap of paper from the ground and send it up to payroll.  Forms are filled out last minute, and they tend to be unreadable.

What you do not see is that for the next 20 hours poor "Patty in Payroll" is frustrated.  She is trying to decipher the handwriting on several scraps of paper, tracking people down to  get verbal confirmations,  and doing her best to decipher words from what looks like chicken scratch.  Then she has to spend hours entering the data into her accounting system.   Finally, she has a "guesstament"  on what tasks were worked on and how much time was spent on each task.  She compares the numbers to the budgets and realizes that "task A" is only 1/3 of the way done and it has to be completed by tomorrow!  

Big Problem!

  

How do you keep this from happening?  

A system like AboutTIme allows your employees to easily clock IN using their smart devices and then immediately choose a task to work on. Employees simply clock IN to a new task when they move to a different task.  Time records and job productivity are sent in Real-Time to the office where "Patty in Payroll" happily verifies the correct time and sends it off for processing.   Comparing budgets against actual work performed allows the office to see that while "task A" is falling behind it isn't a problem. In order to have it completed by Friday, you may need to send extra workers over.  

The problem is solved before it became a problem. 

It's no wonder that companies who implement an automated time and attendance system see  an 11% greater workforce capacity utilization  than companies who stick with the same old, same old.

Time 4 Fun - 6 Phases of a Project

I saw this joke recently.  It’s one of those jokes that everyone tenuously giggles at because it hits really close to home. 

6 phases of a project

1.  Enthusiasm 

2. Disillusionment. 

3  Panic 

4. Search for the guilty 

5. Punishment of the innocent 

6. Praise and honors for the non-participants.

Can you see my Point?  We have all been thorough these stages.  Probably repeatedly with each new project.  

Wouldn’t it be better if it looked more like this?

6 Phases of a project

1.     Enthusiasm

2.     Organization

3.     Progression

4.     Improvements

5.     Completion

6.     Praise and honors for the participants

This may not be as funny but I bet the smiles last a lot longer.

So how do you take your project through the correct 6 phrases?  Mobile Resource Management is the answer.  Today’s technology allows you to collect, track and document everything that happens on your job site.  You can then send that information back to your office in Real-Time where you can make critical decisions that affect your project.  Having information readily available lets you manage effectively through every phase of a project.