Has this happened to you? Someone in a group meeting throws out an idea. You muse about it for the rest of the day, then do some work to make that idea happen. And then you find out that two other people are also working on it, each independently and unaware of your work. Or, perhaps worse, you find out that the other two people had a chat after the meeting and are collaborating on the work, duplicating or contradicting the work that you just spent hours on.

In any group endeavor, communication is key and collaboration just makes sense. This is particularly true in the construction industry. On a construction project, there are many decisions that need to be made, much work to be done, and often, changes to the work along the way. Everyone involved needs to know what is going on, what work is needed now, and who is responsible for it.

Unfortunately, some construction teams are still fragmented and waste both time and money because of avoidable misunderstandings and mistakes. And that is a shame because project delivery in construction is highly dependent on the collaborative effectiveness of the project team. A project management system, such as the Spitfire Project Management System, is incredibly helpful in having such a team work well together.

For example, team members should be able to quickly find all project-related information (documents, specs, drawings, etc.) whenever needed without having to ask someone else “Where can I find it?”  (A central location for project files and documents helps!)

And every single person who needs to know about certain work or changes to work should be notified each and every time. (Automated distribution of documents to the appropriate people helps!)

And managers should be able to see progress at-a-glance, and if anyone on the team is holding things up, or has missed a deadline. (Summary information and alerts that can be seen on various platforms, including mobile devices, help!)

And all communication and decisions, especially approvals, should be recorded and kept to avoid future disagreements. (Audit trails and proof of who approved what and who got sent what when help!)

Companies with the most effective project teams often finish their projects on time and under budget, which is the key goal in construction.