America has been underbuilding homes for the past several years now, meaning new construction projects are essential to continue keeping up with population growth.
But managing a construction site as a project manager is never easy. From sourcing building supplies to the right construction equipment, it can be hard to understand exactly what your site needs.
This is why we’ve written this article to go through the essentials for every construction site project. Once you’ve read through this article, you’ll have a better understanding of what you need to do to get your site in working order.
1. Establishing a Secure Perimeter
Understanding the boundaries of your construction site is the first step toward total construction site safety.
Before you do anything else on your site, you need to secure the perimeter. That means making sure that pedestrians aren’t able to simply waltz into your site at any given time.
You need to establish barriers and appropriate entries and exits. The extent of these barriers will, of course depend on the size and scope of the project you’re undertaking.
Make sure you assess the size of your project on a map before you come to the site itself. This can be a reliable way of preparing your perimeter before you have to implement it.
Once you’ve secured your perimeter, you can then start assessing what needs to go inside it. But before doing that, there’s still more preparatory work to be done.
2. Ensure Your Documentation is in Order Before You Start
Every construction project that’s instigated in 2022 requires an awful lot of paperwork. That’s the case whether you’re working on a site in America, in the UK, in Australia, or indeed anywhere in the world.
You need to make sure all of this documentation is in order before you establish your construction site. Otherwise, you risk the entire site being shut down before you even start work.
Some of the most important documentation includes the rights to build on a particular plot of land. You’ll also likely need state-specific documentation, depending on which state in America you’re building in.
Finally, you’ll need to make sure you have all the health and safety documentation in place. This can also help you to prepare your site for all health and safety regulations, which are vital for ensuring employee safety.
While you’re at it, you should also keep documentation for your employees. That includes anyone working on-site at any given time, from builders and suppliers to drivers and more.
These are usually in the form of employment contracts or service agreements.
Once you have all this documentation safe and in order, you can finally start assessing actual building supplies.
3. Organizing the Right Amenities and Storage For Your Site
Though every construction site is different, they all have certain supplies and utilities required for a build to go successfully.
The first of these is appropriate facilities for your workers. That includes toilets that they can access no matter where on your site they’re working at any given time.
It also means shelter, particularly if you’re working during the summer months in a hot state. These shelters should have drinking fountains or freshwater supplies, so your employees remain hydrated whilst they work.
You should also provide somewhere for employees to take a break and to eat lunch. All of this should be provided on-site wherever possible.
You’ll need to inform all of your employees of these locations before they start working so they know exactly where everything is. For larger sites, it’s advisable to create a map for internal and external use.
All construction sites also require a large amount of storage space for all your building materials and other equipment.
It’s usually advisable to make sure this is a sheltered space, particularly if you’re in a state with a lot of rainfall. One bad day of weather can ruin the supplies of a particular site if it’s not been managed properly.
4. The Essential Equipment For Every Building Site
In addition to these facilities, all your employees also need equipment.
That includes PPE, or what’s known as Personal Protective Equipment. This usually includes helmets, hi-vis vests, goggles, and other clothing like gloves. But it can include even more diverse items depending on the nature of your particular building project.
Without the right PPE, your employees aren’t able to do their jobs safely, and your site could be shut down. It’s wise to source these items first, when you’re crafting your health and safety documentation, to make sure they’re sorted before building commences.
Sourcing all this equipment at once can be incredibly challenging for project managers. As such, it’s important to source them from a reliable, dedicated supplier of construction equipment.
You should do your research and only work with a company or website like shop.equipmentshare.com.
This is particularly true if your site needs heavy-duty equipment, like diggers, cranes, excavators, or other specialist tools. By working with experts in the field, you can make sure you only hire the best equipment for your construction site.
5. Finalise Your Workflow, Budget, and Timescale
Finally, a project manager is also in charge of a project’s timescale and budget. You should ascertain the scope of your project, and any costs involved, well before you start building.
This includes figuring out a proposed cash flow across a project’s duration. This ensures you’ll always have enough of a budget to complete parts of a building without any delays.
Make sure to align workflows with your timescale to improve overall productivity on your particular site.
If you plan all this out ahead of time, you should have no trouble delivering a building in time and within budget.
Where Can I Find Out More About Construction Site Management?
You should now know what you need to do when planning out your construction site as a project manager.
But if you’re still unsure, or you’d like to learn more about the construction industry, make sure to browse through some of the previous posts on our website.