Projects in the construction sector require cautious coordination of various moving parts. Resource allocation, which means managing people and equipment between different projects and locations is not an easy task. When talking of construction resource allocation, there are multiple processes and sub-processes under it. You need to have clear insights into your organizational objectives and capacity for effective resource planning and management. When there are loopholes in the process, it can have rippling effects on the entire workflow. For example, if the challenges in the construction resource allocation are not resolved, it can lead to lack of productivity, wastage of materials, and idle equipment.Thus, resource allocation or management issues cause a loss of time, effort, and money on projects. Hence, it's vital to align the right resources to suitable projects at the right time. Sounds tough? A resource allocation tool can manage all this for you.
But let's first see what are the challenges in resource allocation in construction.
When there are many residential and non-residential projects, contractors end up taking on more work than they can handle. Imagine managing multiple people, projects, and several deadlines. Won't it create resource allocation challenges? Besides, an overburdened workforce cannot be very productive and can be more detrimental in the long run due to low-quality work.
Though your projects might be meticulously planned, you may still face unexpected deviations, crises, and complexity of work. Maybe the number or type of resources required also changes. The construction sector, in particular, can be quite unpredictable. There could be delays in material delivery, changes in client's requests, or sudden weather changes that might stop the work. All this can cause your project plan to go for a toss. Resource allocation tools like eResource Scheduler help you in streamlining your resource allocations. The contractors can easily monitor the status of the project and check if any deadline could get missed. The tool also helps in estimating the resources or time required to complete new projects. This Cloud-based resource planning and management tool update all changes in real-time. This helps identify viable alternatives if there is any change in the project scope and needs more or fewer resources.
Thoughthe demand for construction services is huge, there is scarcity of skilled resources or labor.It is tough to manage complex and largeprojects with limited workforce as thatoverburdens existing people and may lead to burnout. Scheduling your resourcesin such scenarios becomes very complex as you need to ensure that your people are utilized effectively and in a balanced way.
Work is delayed at many construction sites as they do not have the required material reaching them on time. Some sites do not have adequate storage for materials. Therefore, careful resource planning and managementshould be done to ensure that materials are being delivered at the right time. For example, if materials are delivered too early, then storing them securely will be a challenge. But ifthematerials are delivered very late, then the projects can be delayed, or you may need twice the number of resourcesto complete the workas per the schedule.
Many construction companies rely on paperwork or spreadsheets for resource allocation and management. Though that's a very low-cost alternative, it is highly prone for errors and manual work is very slow and inefficient too.If you do resource allocation and planning manually on documents, you can easily miss out important resources or miscalculate the schedule. So, how can you achieve accurate and effectiveconstruction resource allocation?
As construction is a very dynamic industry because of the changing situations in each project, it's best to use a leading construction resource allocation tool. The usual management software that most contractors use is not optimized for this industry. eResource Scheduler is a resource planning and management software designed especially keeping in mind the complex nature of construction projects. It streamlines resource allocation and enables achieving operational efficiencies and project management through the entire lifecycle of any project.
Advantages of implementing eResource Scheduler as your resource planning and management software include:
This resource allocation tool provides visibility of the entire list of projects, various resources, labor, and equipment in the organization. When you have visibility of all the current projects, resources, and schedules, you can easily allocate resources. You can also consider their skill level, availability and check equipment availability according to the project needs. You can also evaluate the allocation of resources among long-term and short-term construction project requirements.
It's very difficult for project managers to find who doesn't have enough work and who is overburdened. But with eResource Scheduler, you can detect over-allocated resources and the ones who are under-utilized. This construction resource allocation tool enables balanced workloads across various projects.The tool also helps to lift pressure from people and identifies which are the high and lower priority tasks or projects. This way, resources can be re-assigned to a different team where they are needed and utilized in a better way.
If resources or managers manage time tracking manually, it can be a cumbersome process.With eResource Scheduler, all the employees can easily track their time. Time tracking not only helps your team to stay on track but also helps managers to keep a tab on how well people are utilizing their time. Team members can check the tool for deadlines andsee how they are performing. They can also check the tasks lined up for themand plan their time accordingly. The project head or manager can track all the contractors' performance. The tool keeps an accurate record of the completed work, status, any challenges, etc. You can also check if the project is over-shooting the budget in terms of resources, and accordingly allocate the right people to the right projects. You can also prioritize projects and make amendments to high priority project plans and allocations. This construction resource allocation tool helps you do performance reviews and provides a real-time view of your resource utilization.
The main benefit of resource planning is that helps organizations to meet the project demands effectively. When resource allocation is done using eResource Scheduler, resources will be scheduled as per work and productivity demand. Under staffing or over-allocation is avoided which leads to exhaustion, attrition, and ultimately dissatisfied customersbecause of low quality work or missed deadlines. Another majorbenefit is that the tool enables effectively utilizing available skills. You can find the most suitable person with the required skill set in just a few clicks.This increases the operational efficiency, and the organization operates at an optimal level per shift.
A resource allocation tool like eResource Scheduler offers all the significant information to the management through comprehensive reports and dashboards. This helps them determine projects and areas where they should focus and maybe schedule more labor. Any challenges or project deviations are flagged well in advance to the management. This helps in making well-informed decisionsabout subcontracting more labor or to go for increasing the headcount.
The dashboards and visual reports help the management and the operations teams to discuss and plan a strategic workforce plan. eResource Scheduler provides real-time data, which enables evaluation of how effective your resource planning and management process is. The reports provide a holistic view of all the projects and their status. This helps in balancing your resource allocations on a regular basis so that the overall utilization rate can be stable. Regularly assessing your resource allocation plans also helps in recognizing those time periods when some resources may be under-or over-allocated and, thus, manage capacity accordingly. It also enables forecasting resource allocations for the upcoming months to make hiring and layoff decisions.
eResource Scheduler provides utilization and productivity reports that help the management to see how well are the employees and equipment utilized. They can make adjustments accordingly andcut down rental charges for equipment or overtime costs for labor. This way, the tool contributes to managing the overall costs and staying profitable.
Effective resource allocation and planning are critical to any industry, especially a sector as competitive and dynamic as construction. So, if you are looking for a solution tobring in transparency and higher visibility in your construction projects while generating profits, go for a leading resource allocation tool like eResource Scheduler. This flagship product from Enbraun enables you to manage your resources, time, and projects efficiently and get ready for success. By using this award-winning resource allocation tool, you can easily automate and enhance your resource planning and management. The timesheets and reporting feature and its financial module makes this tool a leadingresource allocation tool. So, book a free trail of eResource Scheduler today and check out all its benefits yourself.
