Do you run a construction company with lots of paperwork on your desk? If YES, here are 10 smart tips on how to organize your office for higher productivity. In the world economy today, the construction industry is one of the fields that is in the fore front. According to data that was gathered the previous year, about $10 trillion was invested into various construction sites and projects. In addition, about 7 percent of all the people in the world today work in the construction industry.
However, this sector is not without its problems, with one of the main ones begin productivity in the office. This is a problem that is faced by both small firms and big firms alike. It has been postulated that if productivity in the construction sector should grow, the industry would add $1.6 trillion.
Though the situation may come across as daunting, it is not without solution. Even slight improvements in productivity can have a great impact in the industry. Therefore, if you develop a construction project or you plan to do so, keep in mind these tips to increase site and office productivity. Here are some tips that will help you to do that.
10 Smart Tips on How to Organize your Construction Office for Higher Productivity
1. Have a well-defined road map
Many construction projects can be fast paced, and being organized through the whole process can be quite a difficult task. This can present a lot of issues for you and lead to a reduction in productivity as well.
This is why it is very important that before you start your projects, you should draw a road map that will detail how things will go. Your team will need to be very familiar with this roadmap before you begin implementing it so that it will go smoothly. Granted, this initial process can be difficult and time consuming, but it is very crucial if you want to prevent unnecessary waste and resource misallocation.
2. Communicate better
Even with a well thought out road map, all the problem concerning productivity does not just disappear. Inadequate communication is one of the major causes of reduced productivity in the construction industry and can heavily impact the final result in a negative way. As such, you should ensure that there is a seamless communication between workers and supervisors.
3. Organize your construction site
Most construction sites rarely ever look organized, and this can in turn lead to low productivity. As such, you should try your best to ensure that your project site is as tidy as possible. This helps to prevent accident and loss or damage of equipment. In addition, when people can’t find their equipment, they will have to waste additional time looking for it, thus reducing productivity further.
4. Delegate
In most teams, there are people who are highly skilled and smart, whereas there may also be others who are not as efficient. However, this does not mean that you should saddle the employees who you feel are most effective with all the responsibilities. The right thing to do would be to assign tasks based on people’s strengths. The key to getting fast results is to know how to delegate smartly and make sure that everyone is doing what they are best suited for.
5. Train your employees
The most valuable asset in any company are the employees and as such, if you want your office to be in a state of optimum productivity, you will have to invest in your staff. If you claim that you want to increase your productivity, then your staff need to know what they should be doing to achieve this. Employees should be used to the latest technologies and be able to teach their teams as well.
6. Appreciate the effort of your staff and offer recognition
Appreciating your high performing staff is a very good way of motivating your employees. When you see that they are doing things right, you should acknowledge their efforts and present them as an example to the others. You can also offer periodic rewards and prizes. This is the simplest method you can use to keep your employees motivated and to increase your productivity.
7. Make use of good construction management software
These days, there are a lot of tools that can be used for increase productivity that were not available before – software are one of them. A good construction management software can go a long way to help you to stay organized and free your table from clutter, thus allowing you to actually focus on what matters most.
Construction management software can handle bid management, billing and invoicing, contractors, document management, incident reporting, leads, time sheets, job scheduling, and so much more. There are also a lot of software that have been designed to handle things that were typically done with papers in the past. The invention of storing things in the cloud has helped to make things lot easier.
8. Do away with things you don’t need
Depending on the condition of your office, getting rid of unneeded clutter can take a few minutes, some hours or even a whole day. However, they must be gotten rid of to make space for more important things.
9. Keep your desktop clear of clutter
Your desktop is one of the most important physical spaces in your office. A lot of people are more productive when their desktop is free from clutter while some thrive in a setting that is disorderly.
If you are someone who is quite creative and prefers an environment that is disorderly, then you should do what you think best suits you. For the less inspired among us, a clean and pristine desktop is the best option.
10. Get a bigger trashcan
This may seem like a weird advice but there is a reason to it. A lot of the paper that goes into an office can be done away with or digitized instead of being filed away. Filing documents is one of those tasks that can be time consuming and as such, it is not unusual for people to procrastinate it for some other time, thus leading to clutter.
A large trash can is more prominent and as such you will see it more often. When unnecessary paper comes into your workspace, you’re more likely to place it in the trashcan than just stack it up on your desk. Having a bigger trash can also prevent your trash from overflowing unto the ground. This can be a source of clutter on its own thus causing what you wanted to prevent in the first place.
In conclusion
Even though you want your construction office to witness higher productivity, you should not set unrealistic goals. You will have to examine the resources you have at hand in order to determine the goals that are most realistic. In addition, unrealistic goals tend to put too much pressure on your employees, thus leading to stress.