The Right Construction Scheduling Tool Makes All The Difference

As a construction accountant with a Project Management Professional Certification (PMP) I love software; however there are times when a pencil and paper is better, quicker and more efficient than a piece of software and managing a small construction project is one of them.

A lot of small construction projects can be orchestrated with a 4' X 6' white dry erase board.

Steps To Follow:

1. A 4' X 6' white board 4' X 6' seems to work best and I have tried them all

2. Use black electrical tape to divide the board as shown in the picture
   

3. Write "Morning Tasks" on the top left and "Afternoon Tasks" and on the top right

4. Make a row for each work area as shown

5. Use sticky notes and write one task on each note

6. Put the sticky notes in the appropriate sections

7. Use dry erase markers to draw lines between tasks and make notes

8. Have a quick ten minute meeting in the morning before work starts and assign tasks
   

9. At lunch review what happened during the morning and plan for the afternoon

10. Have a quick ten minute meeting at the end of the day and update the whiteboard

Rules To Follow

1. Urgent issues go directly to the contractor or project manager

2. Non-urgent issues, material, tools, equipment and other issues get posted on the whiteboard

3. Before anyone leaves the project they check the whiteboard for anything that can be picked up and brought back when they return

4. Remove chaos by making certain everyone knows what is expected of them and make sure they have the tools, equipment and material when it is needed

This system works as we have used it many times on a variety of projects. It even works together with Microsoft Project on larger remodeling construction projects. To read about a real life example please click here.

QuickBooks Expert Specializing In Construction Bookkeeping Services