Keeping Track of Your Construction Project in Real Time
The stresses of construction costs and meeting deadlines can be difficult enough but what really compounds these is a lack of communication. It’s not unreasonable for a property owner to know where they stand on the build whether it be the timeline, the execution of the work, problems encountered, etc. There’s generally not a real estate website or construction page dedicated exclusively to your project and when contractors dodge your phone calls it can raise a red flag. Therefore, how does a person stay in the loop when it’s their own livelihood on the line?
Apps
There are a number of apps being released semi-regularly which help in not only the efficiency of the construction project but also the communication side of the business. These apps work almost like a group text message with everybody invited getting real-time updates on the project but with much more details. Laborers can check-in with what project they are working on, contractors can post progress percentages, and homeowners can ask questions which all create notifications that all parties see. Some examples include:
Social Media
While some contractors may enjoy playing phone tag with you, it would really behoove them to answer their social media posts in a timely manner. If a local company has a Facebook page, all the citizens in the community can see your questions and whether or not the associated parties respond – or if they do so with courtesy. The last thing carpenters want is a bad reputation within the community so it may be the best resource to have your project concerns answered.
Ask For Daily/Weekly Status Reports
Whether it be through a real estate agent website builder creating a forum or a simple email, there should be no reason that you aren’t at least updated on the progress of a project weekly at minimum. Of course if you lived near the build a visit to the jobsite would give you the results you’d need but that isn’t always a possibility. Status reports help foreign investors or those who live in a different city access to project results.
Something to remember is that construction companies generally won’t lack communication on purpose. Sometimes the project does fall behind or unforeseen issues do arise. Many of these problems are not avoidable but honesty and an open dialogue help lessen the damage.