With construction bouncing back significantly, following a dip in bids during the worst of the 2020 pandemic, money is flowing back through business hierarchies, and project manager positions are re-opening apace. Project management is a wonderful step to take up from the job site, representing in you the mindset and conviction to run things right; here are four factors you’ll need to consider to find success in a new project management role.
Assess Risks Acutely
A huge part of being a successful project manager is the comprehensive evaluation of risks and hazards on your job site. The buck stops with you when it comes to injuries and mistakes on your project, and you can never be too cautious when it comes to safe working practice. Your team may not take too kindly to certain safety measures, but they will ultimately thank you when your project is completed without even a minor injury incurred. Start with the provision of relevant PPE to your team, to ensure they are dressed and shielded appropriately for a given job. Ensure health and safety information is posted up at various visible locations around the site, limit visitors and draw up a risk assessment before any necessary visitations occur.
Communicate Effectively
One of the greatest assets you can offer as a project manager is communication. If your team know exactly what they are meant to be working on at a given time, and have a broader understanding of the project’s time scale, they will be much happier in giving their all on the worksite. Likewise, your higher-ups will be happy to receive constant communication about your project’s progress, as it will inspire confidence from them that you have the work in hand.
Be Present
It is all too common for project managers, once they have reached their desk, to relax into it – a move which can endanger relationships with their team. Desk jockeys have the appearance of being lazy, even if there is a lot of paperwork to do; leaving a job site unattended can also create serious issues with regard to delegation of responsibilities, and the flow of the job. Be sure to visit your jobs sites regularly, and work from them if you can. Your team will thank you for being on hand and pitching in, and you can keep a closer eye on the project’s progress while you’re at it.
Embrace Digital
It may seem like digital processes have no place on a job site, but they can be an invaluable tool for project managers – for saving time, sharing data and promoting your work in the best possible light to executives. Embracing cloud-based construction software suites enables you to annotate, illustrate and otherwise edit various plans and processes, with the revisions shared immediately to everyone who has access. This way, valuable time is saved explaining changes to investors and teams, and you can continue the vital work of managing the project itself. A Gantt Chart excel template can go a long way in helping you with those wonderful Gantt Charts, a project manager’s best friend.