You surely already have some kind of system for planning your resources. It may involve entering estimated required resources into a spreadsheet when client estimates are drawn up. It may involve counting and tracking resources on a paper sheet and then checking orders agains it to see what you need to order.
Whatever system you have, it is working, at least mostly, so why should you invest the time, effort, and money into a more comprehensive form of construction resource planning? Construction resource planning can save your company money. Here’s how.
1. Schedule More Projects
If you are making guesses about the resources at your disposal, you may be hesitant to schedule a project if you’re not confident that you’ll have what you need to get the project done by the deadline. If, on the other hand, you have exact predictions, you’ll feel confident enough to schedule more projects, which means an increased income.
2. Avoid Wasting Employee Time
Every moment of your employee’s time costs you money. Even “brief” delays while workers wait for someone with a needed skill to arrive add up over time. Wasting employee time can also hurt morale substantially, which will increase turnover. Employees want to know that they are working for a company that has control and is well-organized.
3. Prevent Stolen or Lost Resources
When resources aren’t carefully kept track of, it is much easier for them to be misplaced. If you don’t know who used a tool last, you’ll have a hard time tracking down what happened when it goes missing. Poor resource planning also means that resources are more likely to be left on the job site, where they can be stolen.
4. Plan Purchases Wisely
With careful resource planning, you’ll know how old your tools are, what kind of shape they’re in, and how often they’re used. This will help you to predict when a tool may need to be replaced so you can shop for a good deal, saving money. You’ll also be able to avoid any downtime when the tool breaks by having a replacement on hand.
5. Make Clients Happier
Poor resource planning results in delays, which upsets clients. Furthermore, if clients don’t think that you’re well-organized and competent, they may be less likely to use your services again or recommend you to others. Resource planning can make you lots of money in the long term with repeat business and recommendations
6. Save Manager Time
Good resource planning helps your company to move smoothly without delays or issues, which means managers will spend less time scrambling to keep things going. Freeing up manager time lets you operate with fewer levels of management and gives managers more time for long-term planning and forward-thinking.
How Can Construction Resource Planning Tools Help Save You Money?
Automating resource planning can help your business to remain consistent in their planning so that there are no gaps in data and nothing is overlooked. You’re busy and you may not think that you have time to integrate a resource planning tool, but in fact, a little bit of effort to learn how to use the tool will save you time and money in the end.
Keep track of all of your resources and allocate them intelligently without having to put hours into keeping up on resource tracking. See trends about how resources are used for different projects and how resource needs change over time to make predictions about the future. Construction resource planning can do a lot to save money and increase profits.