Identifying Common Construction Project Inefficiencies
While the construction industry strives to maximize efficiencies, before improvements take place, we need to identify where the inefficiencies lie. We’d like to share a recent study that analyzed data from 64 global construction projects and identified common indicators of inefficiencies in current construction industry processes.
The analysis of this data identified four metrics that represent areas across all projects where inefficiencies were present. These metrics can provide benchmarks to measure efforts to optimize the efficiency of your project going forward.
Metric #1: Return Visits
Return visits occur when a trade returns to an area to finish incomplete work and are extremely common on all construction sites. High numbers of return visits can cause increased labor hours due to inefficiencies in material and equipment gathering, staging, and evaluating where to reengage with the incomplete task.
In the studied projects, there was an average of over 6 return visits to each area by subcontractors to finish incomplete work on a commercial construction project. Regardless of the performance of a project, the occurrence of return visits is substantial. This means that even high-performing projects have the potential to improve by implementing methods to reduce those return visits.
Metric #2: Sequence deviation
Sequence deviation measures the instances of activities being started out of sequence in each area. It is also a common occurrence on construction projects, but working out of sequence limits a project’s ability to be completed on time and on budget. Often one sequence deviation causes a domino effect creating multiple new ones and it can undermine an entire project.
On average, 4.8 activities started out of sequence in each area of a project. Given there are 37 different activities on an average project, that means 13% of activities are performed out of sequence. There is a balance to strike between a strict schedule and allowing for flexibility. Managers who can exercise good judgment and show flexibility are key to finding that balance to maximize efficiency.
Metric #3: Area Utilization
Area utilization tracks the percentage of available areas that are worked in any given week. Utilizing every square foot of available space isn’t usually possible, given resource, schedule, and labor constraints. However, when an area does become available for utilization, having the resources and labor available to start work immediately allows for projects to be completed more cost-effectively and efficiently.
This study shows that on average, only 46% of available areas are utilized on a given project, meaning more than half of them are not being worked on. When a higher percentage of the area is being worked on, a project is much more likely to stay productive and meet its weekly completion goals.
Metric #4: Trade Output Inconsistencies
Trade output inconsistencies are a measure of the fluctuation from week to week in each trade’s output. Fluctuations can occur for many reasons like weather, poor planning, delays from preceding trades, or unexpected design changes, however, this makes it challenging to predict completion timelines and schedules.
The average trade output in this study fluctuated by 56% week over week. This means that in one week a trade could complete 10,000 sq. ft. and then only 4.400 sq. ft. the next week. There is a strong correlation between a delay in a project and the inconsistency in trade output. The ability to maintain consistent output helps project managers more accurately build reasonable project schedules and manage their resources appropriately.
These four metrics are just a small sample of the kind of data that can be used to track the efficiency of a project. To best maximize efficiencies, choose metrics that are specific to your projects, goals, and team’s strengths and weaknesses will ensure you get the most out of the data you choose to track then develop a strategy to monitor and analyze your data. Becoming a more metric drive company will allow you to increase your efficiencies on both individual projects and throughout your whole company.
