The construction industry is no stranger to change, and traditional strategies are no longer enough for businesses wanting to maintain their competitive edge.
Predictive analytics is becoming increasingly popular as construction businesses find new ways to streamline their projects and provide a better service to their clients. In fact, 68% of those in the construction industry believe that clients would be willing to pay more for a service that utilizes predictive analytics.
When managing complex construction projects, predictive analytics can transform the process to help achieve a more efficient outcome. Let’s discuss some of the main ways that predictive analytics can improve a construction project…
When working towards a tight deadline, any small delays can quickly have a knock-on effect. Whether the delay is due to a labourer's absence, a late delivery, or poor weather conditions, these unexpected holdups can create a domino effect that causes havoc on the whole project.
Predictive analytics can identify any bottlenecks and make changes to the project plan before it has the potential to impact further workflows. By flagging these to the project manager as soon as they arise, alternative measures can be taken to minimize the disruption.
Poor resource management is one of the biggest contributors to a project going over budget. Both overforecasting and underforecasting can prove problematic, so using predictive analytics to forecast can lead to a smoother project. By using data from past projects to plan out labor needs, predict material requirements, and schedule equipment usage, project managers will quickly gain a good idea of what is needed to keep the project running efficiently.
Being able to optimize budget offers project managers the opportunity to provide a quality service at a competitive price.
By using predictive analytics to identify money-saving opportunities, savings can be made where they could’ve otherwise been missed. Whether this be making more educated purchasing decisions or switching to alternative construction methods, predictive analytics uses a combination of industry trends and past data to suggest the most efficient strategy.
A risk assessment is a crucial part of any construction project. By identifying any potential issues that could arise throughout the project and planning the action that will be taken to manage them, the scale of the problems can be minimized.
By using a data-driven approach to carry out the risk assessment, thorough checks can be carried out to ensure no key risks are missed.
When a project manager has to spend hours every day updating spreadsheets and planning schedules, they are able to focus less on what matters.
Using predictive analytics to automate those repetitive admin tasks can not only free up time but also reduce the likelihood of human error. By utilizing the power of technology to take such time-consuming tasks off their hands, project managers are able to spend their time managing their team and providing a great service to their clients.
Scheduling a project can be one of the most challenging aspects of construction management, as any mistakes can lead to missed deadlines. Being able to accurately predict how long different tasks will take and schedule in any dependencies requires a high level of accuracy and coordination. By using predictive analytics to make predictions based on past projects, a realistic schedule can be created to manage client expectations from the get-go.
The construction industry continues to evolve, and businesses need to keep up with current trends and technological advancements in order to remain competitive.
Predictive analytics takes the pressure off project managers as it can analyze real-time market trends to help them understand what changes are happening in the industry. By getting insights on market trends in the early stages, businesses are able to adapt their strategy and position themselves as industry leaders.
With predictive analytics taking the pressure off various members of a construction team, employees can focus their efforts on the duties that require human touch. This extra time in the day can be spent on the more important tasks, which can help the project stay on schedule. By cutting out the mundane tasks and ensuring that any specialisms are being put to good use, businesses are able to get projects completed faster – without sacrificing on quality.
Predictive analytics is becoming a staple for construction businesses, helping them achieve a competitive edge in such a saturated market.
From allocating resources to reducing risk, project managers are able to achieve much more efficient outcomes in comparison to traditional methods. By saving themselves time on repetitive admin tasks, they are able to focus their efforts on what really matters – providing clients with a high-quality service that meets their deadlines.
