Blog > Guides
Mastering Construction Planning for Successful Projects
Every construction project must begin with a plan, which will shape the direction of the job as it progresses.
This means the process of construction planning is an indispensable best practice at contractor firms of all sizes and specialties, as well as a potential differentiator.
When construction project stakeholders intelligently and accurately set the parameters of their work in advance — including proposed budget, project schedule, construction logistics, project scope and more — they’re well-positioned to run an efficient jobsite. A combination of best practices and technology tools can help companies reach this elevated level of performance.
The technology side of the equation deserves a special level of focus, as advancements in capabilities can deliver real advantages to employees facing complex tasks and tight budgets. The new efficiency provided by automation and collaboration tools helps contractors and their collaborators thrive within the constraints they face.
Why Is Construction Planning So Important?
Construction planning is such an impactful process in part because it reaches every part of a project. Each internal stakeholder and external collaborator can grasp their own role in a job more effectively when there’s a centralized design to work from. Furthermore, having a construction project plan allows teams to measure their progress in real-time, comparing their efforts to benchmarks and making adjustments.
The importance of planning begins when a project is in its earliest stages. As NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association explained in its research magazine, advance planning is a common factor across all types of construction strategies, helping contractors maintain their timelines, budgets and commitments to build quality.
Some of those essential pre-planning considerations include creating a strong budget, setting a realistic project schedule and drawing up plans that contractors will be able to execute without logistical challenges.
Settling these matters in advance requires an investment of time and money, but their importance will become clear as the project proceeds.
A strong budget acts as a defense against unexpected cost overruns once the job begins, while an achievable construction schedule helps all parties align on their own roles without creating delays and a logistically sound itinerary for the job prevents conflicts and complications once work begins.
Contractors who take the time to include all these elements in their plans will enter a job with a clear vision of their potential profit as they pursue project objectives. They’ll also have a strong basis for communication and collaboration with the project owner and their network of subcontractors. These advantages are worth the early investment in construction project planning.
Discover the value of the preconstruction phase in planning a job.
What’s the Impact of Construction Planning on the Project Lifecycle?
While planning in the initial stages of a construction project is an important consideration, that’s not the only phase of the job where a strong, well-considered plan will have an impact. In fact, contractors will feel the effects of their planning investments through every step of a complex, evolving job, up through project completion.
A construction plan’s role as an organizing document for a whole project means it provides a consistent source of truth for stakeholders to refer back to, adding on as the job progresses. Important landmarks throughout a construction project run more smoothly with such a reliable backbone in place:
Pitching projects
Building a detailed construction project plan during the pitching phase can help contractor firms win more jobs. When owners read such an in-depth design, they can envision the results, as well as the necessary costs and intended construction schedule. It’s easier to sign off on an outline that requires no speculation or projection.
Preconstruction
Having a detailed plan at the preconstruction stage sets contractors up for success in everything that follows. Drawing up reasonable schedules, budgets and equipment lists — and sharing them with all relevant subcontractors — creates alignment before breaking ground at the jobsite. This sets the tone for the job to come.
Construction
Once construction activity is underway, the plan becomes a living document, evolving in real-time to ensure all parties stay on the same page. Communication and collaboration are easiest and most effective when there is a single source of data truth to work from, and that’s what a plan becomes. Everything from site logistics to safety to customer relations can benefit from a centralized plan.
Project completion
At the end of a job, contractors can compare the results to every stage of their construction project planning. This process won’t lead to surprises because the plan has been evolving throughout the job. Stakeholders can take a clear-eyed look at the outcome of the job and roll the lessons into the next project.
Carrying a job from initial conceptualization of project objectives through completion is a worthy role for construction planning, one that can help contractors thrive over the long term.
See how digital planning helps jobs get started.
What Are the Best Practices of Construction Planning?
While construction planning applies in a range of situations, affecting companies of all specialties throughout the building process, there are reliable best practices that apply across the industry. By adjusting these priorities to fit their specific situations, contractors can take maximum value from their planning practices.
Some of these widely applicable best practices include:
Begin Planning As Early As Possible
Plans are designed to evolve over time. When contractors build out a strategically sound and detailed plan during the pre-construction phase, they give themselves a strong baseline to work from. Setting expectations around budgets, timelines and more as early as possible is one way to lock in strong alignment that can last for the entire duration of a job.
Engagement between the project owner and the contractor firm, as well as essential parties including engineers, architects and surveyors, during preconstruction can create a strong basis for the project to come. This coordination and collaboration is at its best when there are strong technology tools in place to ensure everyone has easy access to consistent information.
Discover the impact of extensive planning in the preconstruction phase.
Be Comprehensive — Include All Elements of a Job
What goes into a construction plan? There are a variety of answers to this question, but companies that take a maximal approach may be the best positioned to thrive throughout the lifespan of a job. Including the major pillars of a construction project — its expected cost and schedule, along with the necessary materials and basic logistical information — is vital, but contractors can go even further.
When contractors incorporate elements like site logistics and reviews into their planning efforts, they can keep all subcontractors and teams aligned, even when coordinating their movements on the jobsite. Ongoing communication around shared documents, including marked-up 3D blueprints and building information modeling (BIM) files can help prevent conflicts and delays while keeping communication strong.
Learn the best way to handle planning on the jobsite in our Site Planning Webinar.
Maintain Living Documents, Updated in Real Time
In the era of cloud computing and hybrid work, there is real value in ensuring all stakeholders are collaborating on the same, centralized document sets. This prevents miscommunication as project contributors trade inconsistent versions of files via email. This general trend applies to construction planning — essential files produced during pre-construction should be maintained consistently through a job, receiving updates from the jobsite or the office.
Cloud-based sharing of key documents, including BIM files and permits, allows contractors to create a single source of truth. This makes it easy to stick to the plan, even as the exact nature of that strategy evolves over time due to the actual conditions and construction activity on the job site.
See how to optimize digital collaboration technology to help construction team members stick together through a job.
Ensure All Relevant Stakeholders Have Access to Important Documents
Affirming the importance of shared, updated documents raises a related issue — who should have access to those files? The impact of an effective construction plan is greatest when all relevant personnel can look at information tied to their roles. This may mean including subcontractors, regulators, architects, engineers and others alongside contractors and project owners. Dedicated construction software can extend access to these parties without compromising document security.
With advanced documents like BIM files, there is room for advanced interactions, with collaborators each leaving notes and markups to communicate essential information. These up-to-date files, with clear notes and revisions, should be accessible by everyone who needs to view them, including the workers on the jobsite who can coordinate their efforts based on the information contained within.
See what goes into BIM-powered engineering drawings.
How Does Technology Affect Construction Planning Today?
While planning best practices exist independent of a construction company’s technology choices, the fact remains: An effective choice of technology platform can make a massive difference in construction project management. Virtually every planning priority is easier to execute on when a contractor firm is using suitable technology tools that fit the business’s needs.
What does it mean to use optimal technology from a contractor’s point of view? There are a few traits to look for when refreshing an organization’s construction management software tools:
Cloud-based information sharing:
Cloud computing has become the default software deployment for a reason. Companies across industries find it easier to coordinate their efforts using cloud-based solutions, sharing consistent copies of documents across locations and between teams. This ensures construction businesses can connect their various construction team members between the office and jobsite and include subcontractors in planning processes.
Openness to collaborators:
Who can access a contractor’s important files? Technology designed for the construction field can include support for contributors outside of a construction company’s walls, because collaboration with partner organizations is deeply ingrained in the building process. Software that has effective permission systems can allow approved guests to access the system while guarding against
unapproved access.
Industry-specific functionality:
In addition to unique patterns of collaboration on the jobsite and beyond, construction also comes with unique feature needs. Contractors, architects, engineers and other related stakeholders deal with document types like 3D blueprints and BIM files, along with equipment inventory, site logistics and more. Ideal construction software for contractors will allow them to work with these files by default.
Dedicated Construction Industry Technology: Defining Features
Taking a closer look at the dedicated functionality associated with construction management software can help contractors verify that the platform they’re considering is truly suitable for their needs. Functionality to look for includes:
- Proposal creation, allowing contractors to produce comprehensive proposals in the right format for project owners to review and approve.
- Takeoffs and estimations, simplifying and automating the process of calculating material needs based on blueprints and architectural drawings.
- Site planning, which allows contractors to move people, equipment and inventory around a jobsite in efficient and safe ways.
- BIM integration, allowing all relevant stakeholders to work from detailed 3D files and mark them up collaboratively for maximum clarity.
Delve deeper into a key use of construction technology: digitization of plan reviews.
Ready To Revolutionize Your Construction Planning?
Contractors that embrace technology-enabled, comprehensive approaches to planning jobs can see distinct advantages at every step of the process. From smoother approvals to efficient planning and logistics once work is underway, each vital step becomes easier with the right methods and platforms. The plan becomes the backbone of the construction project, holding the whole process together.
Planning in the construction industry today means embracing technology. Manual processes can’t offer the same gains in construction project management, communication and performance that are possible with a dedicated suite of construction technology tools.
See why more than 3M users choose Bluebeam to address challenges with construction planning. Request a free trial.
Take construction planning to the next level.
