Tag Archives: Construction Builder Software

Time Management Tips that Actually Work

July 1, 2016UncategorizedAutomated Trackers, Construction Builder Software, Construction Management Program, Construction Scheduler, SAM, The Superintendent's Automated ManagerBhavin Patel

Business-owners are always on the lookout for hacks on how to reach bigger sales and exceed expectations. But the truth is, most of it will boil down to how well you manage your time. This is especially true for us builders. So today, let’s brush up on how to best manage our limited, and ever-so-valuable time.

Here are 7 simple tricks that will actually give tremendous impact on both your work and personal life.

1. Record your activities for a week

For one week, record all of your activities, thoughts, and discussions. Do this religiously so you can have sufficient data to analyze. This activity will help you to find patterns and see exactly where your precious time is going. When are you most productive? How much time are you spending on doing actual work? Which activities should you be spending less time on?

2. Allot a designated time for activities that are important to your success

For example, if some quiet alone time is when you tend to have your best ideas, then set an appointment with yourself and assign a schedule to it. Treat it like a high-priority meeting. The same goes for conversations, or some book-reading time. You have to identify these seemingly mundane, yet highly important activities.

3. Dedicate 50% of your time to “real” work

Make sure that at least 50% of your time is dedicated and spent on the activities that produce the most results. Again, it’s all about setting a plan and being dedicated to it. Assigning a specific number to it will help you to imagine your goal and make it concrete.

4. Schedule interruptions

To avoid burnout, schedule time for interruptions too. For example, after 1 hour of serious work, allot 10 minutes for a short social media or coffee break. You can also allot time for phone calls or text messages.

5. Start your day right

First impressions usually last. The same goes for your day. It pays to start it on solid footing. You can do this by dedicating the first 30 minutes of your waking day to planning. What is your agenda for the day? What are your priorities today? Where are you supposed to be? Who are you supposed to be meeting with? Use your first waking moments to get some clarity and direction.

6. Learn to say NO

Interruptions are all around us. So if you really want to get things done, you have to learn when to say NO. Block out social media if you’re on “work mode”. All of those notifications can drive anyone crazy. Just because your phone is lighting up, doesn’t mean that there’s an urgent response needed. Don’t be so quick to answer every single call and text. You don’t have to be online for instant messaging apps 24×7. Instead, allot some time at the end of your day for replying to all non-important messages. You can talk about weekend golf plans later.

7. You can’t do everything yourself

No matter how much we try, it’s impossible to get everything done by yourself. You have to delegate tasks because it’s necessary for scaling. Much like in basketball, in order to get a championship trophy, you must work as a team.

And as builders, we usually want to have as many projects as we can at any given time. This means managing several people, and organizing hundreds of tasks for each build. You won’t be able to do it alone. The success of your projects will depend on how well you can organize your timelines, tasks, and people.

This is where SAM comes in. SAM- the Superintendent’s Automated Manager is the go-to scheduler of professional builders in the US. Using SAM, you can say goodbye to messy paper and pen schedules, and go completely digital. Get schedule reports in one click. Update tasks and have everyone up to speed instantly. You can also synchronize it with your existing software. Don’t make your job harder than it has to be. Check out SAM today and test it out for FREE.

According to Building Professionals, Indoor Mobile Systems Increase Property Value

April 29, 2016UncategorizedAutomated Trackers, builder software, Construction Builder Software, Construction Management Software, SAM, Superintendent's Automated ManagerBhavin Patel

Did you know that there are roughly about 2 billion smartphone users in the world today? It just proves to show how much this technology has infiltrated our daily lives. The problem is that going indoors often affects our mobile signal. The result? Slower bandwidth. Slower internet. Stressed individuals.

It is therefore critical that residents, visitors and workers have access to strong and reliable network coverage even when they are indoors or inside buildings. Despite this high demand for seamless mobile usage and cellular coverage, only an estimated two percent of commercial buildings have dedicated technology to ensure strong and reliable mobile coverage and capacity indoors. Are you a part of this 2%?

An Untapped Business Opportunity?

There is a high consumer need and it could be an untapped business opportunity.

CommScope recently had a survey of construction professionals including architects, building managers, facilities managers, and real estate managers. When it comes to the benefits of connectivity, the surveyed professionals asserted that indoor wireless coverage could increase a property’s value by 28% on average. This means that a $2.5M office structure could be worth $700,000 more with a dedicated indoor cellular system.

The respondents also stated that other benefits include a 77% increase in workforce productivity, a 39% increase in visitors, and an employee consensus that indoor wireless connectivity is considered an office “essential”.

Dr. Ispran Kandasamy, Global Leader, Building Solutions, CommScope, believes building professionals should take greater responsibility.

“People are obsessed with their mobile phones and see indoor wireless coverage as important as having access to water and electricity,” said Kandasamy. “The time has come for building professionals to step forward and take ownership for connecting their tenants to mobile networks.”

The question now for home builders is this, how are you addressing this pressing need? Are your employees comfortable with the wireless mobile network signal in your offices? Are they performing at their best possible state?

And more importantly, how will you be able to incorporate this knowledge in your next home projects? Should you find a way to ensure flawless connectivity, how can you earn more from this premium benefit?

Be Mobile and Collaborate Wherever You Are

Speaking of the importance of mobility, is your construction team still bounded by geography and office walls? Wouldn’t it be great to collaborate with your entire team no matter where you are? Well, you can do so with SAM- The Superintendent’s Automated Manager. SAM is the project management tool of choice by today’s top builders. With SAM, you can update your task lists and sync your build schedules in just a few clicks. Builders have long been using SAM to coordinate tasks and juggle up to 10 projects at once.

Click here for more information about this automated construction project scheduler.

Productivity Tips: Get a Grip on That Elusive Focus

April 8, 2016UncategorizedAutomated Trackers, Construction Builder Software, Construction Management Scheduling Software, Construction Management Software, Construction Project Management Tool, SAM, Superintendent's Automated ManagerBhavin Patel

We live in a world of a thousand distractions. There are so many events happening in a single day. Hundreds of things are constantly competing for our attention. Most of us are driven crazy by the most mundane notifications on our phone. Add to these, the hundreds of tasks that you have to do for your construction projects, and you’ve got one stressed-out individual.

So today, we’re going to lessen your stress by giving you some tips on how to grab hold of that elusive focus. Let’s break down a few simple hacks on how you can concentrate on the things that matter, WHEN it matters the most.

1. Understand Your Unique Personal Work Style

When are you the most productive? For some people, they work best when in a crowded coffeeshop, surrounded by loud chatter. Others concentrate better when in an environment that’s sompletely quiet. At what time of day are you able to work best? Do you work best early in the morning, or are you a night owl? Do you need a hot cup of coffee beside you, or do you work better with an empty stomach? What lighting conditions work best for you?

We all have our own little rituals when it comes to getting things done. So it’s important to be mindful of these little details in order to recreate the best working environment for yourself. Remember that the mind can be programmed too. If you provide it with the correct stimulus, it will follow suit.

2. Do, Delegate, Defer, Dump

It’s hard to stay focused when you’re dealing with too much stuff. So one of the first things that you need to do is identify whether a task or issue is important (or unimportant), urgent (can be delayed). Group your tasks and if they fall under the category of important and urgent, prioritize them on your to-do list. If they are important but not so urgent, you can schedule them at a later time. If they are not too critical but needs to be done asap, delegate it to another team member. But if it’s neither important nor urgent, you better scrap it altogether. Differentiating the level of importance and urgency of each task will aid you in prioritization and focus.

3. Manage Your Reactions

A sudden buzzing on your phone can trigger an immediate response from us. But it may just be a friend sending you a funny cat meme. A new email notification may prompt us to read it asap, but it could be just a promotion from your local grocery. A colleague may be calling, but it could just be Hank, asking you out for drinks after work. There will be hundreds, even thousands of stimuli all wanting our immediate attention, the key is to manage how you react to each one. If you can, try to remove unimportant distractions so that you won’t be forced to react to them (Hello, social media!). But even work-related issues can be properly managed. Instead of panicking about a quick REACTION, take your time to craft the best RESPONSE. We humans are emotional creatures so our reactions are often fueled by instinct. In order to retain focus, we should let our conscious mind take control.

4. Learn to Say NO

As mentioned earlier, you have to lessen the stuff on your plate. Say NO to social media for certain hours in a day. Say NO to meetings in the mornings if that’s your most productive time of day. Say NO to little tasks that can easily be done by your subordinates. Say NO to that little voice in your head that keeps on saying that you need to do everything yourself. By lessening your load, you can actually focus, and do more of the things that really matter.

5. Reward Yourself for Focus

We’ve mentioned a while ago that the brain can be programmed. And one of the most tried and tested ways to program our minds is through reward systems. Therefore, after a super productive hour of legit work, reward yourself with something- be it a short walk, a delicious cup of coffee, or a literal pat on the back. Train yourself to feel good after accomplishing something. This way, you will be more inspired to focus and work because your brain knows that it will feel so good afterwards.

Of course, you also need the right tools to help you focus on the most important tasks of your business. To aid you in this, there’s SAM- the Superintendent’s Automated Manager. This unique construction scheduling software was designed to help builders handle several projects simultaneously. Click here to find out more about how it can help you speed up construction build times.

5 Tips to Become a Strong, Go-Getting Leader

January 8, 2016UncategorizedAutomated Trackers, Construction Blog, Construction Builder Software, construction management, Construction Scheduling Program, Construction Scheduling Software, SAM, Superintendent's Automated ManagerBhavin Patel

Before we proceed with this article, take a minute to stop and think about where your construction company is right now. How many projects do you currently have on-going? How many permanent employees do you have? How much is the company earning and spending on a monthly basis? You get the picture.

Okay, now that you’ve done that. Let’s move on with how you can become a stronger go-getter who can lead your construction company to success. This important because as the leader of your construction firm, much of its direction and success has to originate from you.

But here’s the clincher, you can’t be successful at something if you’re not clear with what you want. So let’s cure that with these 5 tips on how you can get exactly what you want for your company.

1. Picture what success is going to look like

Start envisioning. Get it clear in your mind what it is that you really want for your business. How many projects do you want for this year? What would the implications be if you were to add more hires? Draft our your metrics for success. The more you clarify this, the easier it will be to achieve.

2. Write it down

Don’t just store these metrics in your head. Write them down. In fact, you can even share them with trusted advisors or key personnel. Getting it out of your head will result in accountability.

3. Gauge your current power and control

It’s always a good thing to remember just what it is that you already have power over. List down the specific areas that you can readily act on or control. Make an inventory of your current manpower and network. Review your finances. You can’t be a superhero if you don’t know what powers you have in your arsenal. Knowing this will often make it easier for you to plan out exactly how to achieve the goals you’ve set.

4. Tackle adversity head-on

If you really want to achieve your vision, you will immediately try to solve the problems and overcome the challenges. Avoiding is just procrastination, and it’s precious time that you’re wasting. Face the people who have opinions that differ from yours and you’ll probably get some valuable insight from them. Define the obstacles that are blocking your way so you can effectively craft a solution ASAP.

5.Be persistent

You’ve set your vision. You’ve written down your goals. You’re ready to pounce on those obstacles. Now it’s time to be focused and persistent. Hold on to those dreams and don’t hold back. Be passionate about your goals. Think it, speak it, live it and breathe it. Your passion will surely trickle down to the team, once they see how dedicated you are.

If people know what your goals are, more often than not, they will more inclined to help you achieve them.

Oh and as a last note, please do your best to still fight fair and do honest business. One of your main goals should always be to provide the best service for your clientele. After all, you’re in the business of building not just houses, but also homes.

Click here to know more about how you can handle more construction projects as once.

Home-Buyers Don’t Want Fast, They Want Instant

November 27, 2015UncategorizedAutomated Trackers, Construction Builder Software, Construction Management Scheduling Software, Construction Management Software, project management software, SAM, Superintendent's Automated Manager, The Superintendent's Automated Manager, VICBhavin Patel

Once upon a time, our definition of “fast” meant overnight FedEx deliveries. People were even willing to pay premium for that kind of service. But the thing is, customers no longer want “fast”.

In a word where Google offers answers to just about any question within the span of a few blinks, where you can easily download an app if the need arises, where high-speed networks are the norm… your business has to keep up!

The web and the latest advancements in technology have conditioned us into thinking that we can get what we want, whenever we want, wherever we may be (as long as there’s good signal).

On-Demand Builder

So of course, clients expect you to be an on-demand homebuilder, an on-demand project manager. They demand responsiveness. After all, building a home is probably one of their biggest investments ever. An immensely critical decision. Something that is circling their minds 24×7.

Communication

So how will you address it? Email takes forever. Voicemail takes too long. People are even developing aversion to phone calls. These days, people would much rather text, chat, Viber, Whatsapp, Snapchat, and so on. Digital conversations. Conversations that immediately go back and forth.

This becomes very tricky for builders because we all know that our clients don’t necessarily understand the meaning of “business hours”. Out-of-office communication for us has long been the norm. Today, they just want it done much, much quicker.

Sharing Files

File-sharing apps and websites have become prevalent in recent years. Clients want quick access to files. And in addition, these files have to be within reach on different devices. If you’re talking about revisions or changes in the design, they want to be able to see it whether they’re on their phone, tablet, laptop or desktop.

Schedule Updates

When a client ask you about the progress of their home, you have to be able to answer confidently almost instantly (more so if you are face to face). Taking too long will hurt your credibility. Giving vague answers will plant doubts in your client’s mind. As a responsible homebuilder, you should incorporate effective project management tools in your business, so that answers are readily available to you in just a few clicks. Since your customers demand information fast, you have to prepare accodingly.

One of best tools for this is SAM – The Superintendent’s Automated Manager. SAM will veer you away from messy and complicated paper schedules, ensuring that everything is digitized, editable and quickly within reach. It will help you to keep key personnel updated on project milestones, as well as with schedule changes. You can input tasks, deliveries and meetings in SAM, and even get project reports at the push of a button.

Keep up and Stay Ahead

Technology is ever-changing and customers are getting more demanding. If you don’t evolve with them, your company will get left behind. So today put yourself in the shoes of your clients and imagine how they crave and ask for information. And always remember that these days, just “fast” is no longer acceptable.