Organisation hacks for managing a construction project

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Whether you are a DIY hopeful or a seasoned construction worker, it is fair to say that your processes could be a little sharper. A construction project can always go sideways if you do not have processes in place that optimise your workflow and enhance your organisation. If you're about to start some work on your house or will be assisting on a larger project site, consider these organisation hacks.

How much time in the day is wasted searching for that one tool that you used only the day before? If your tools are not organised and securely contained, expect time wasted getting yourself organised with tools.

Many construction sites are equipping themselves with a tool crib storage system, as it not only houses all the tools but it logs when they are used, for how long, and when they are returned.

Start your day on-site with your tools organised so you can move from one job to the next without dead time finding that right power drill.

Anyone who has used a shared calendar is quickly converted. When you are working on a project with your partner, friends or family, so much time is dedicated to liaising on who is doing what, and asking for the third time when supplies will arrive.

With tradespeople on-site and several jobs planned, you can each enter those times and jobs into your shared calendar so you can see in real-time what the timeline looks like. Now when someone calls to book a quote, you can jump into your calendar and know what times work.

It is also effective as some projects cannot be completed until something else is. For example, you can't move in new furniture until your floors are polished. Enjoy greater transparency and start using a shared calendar.

When you are engaging builders, trade specialists and even real estate agents - they always want to see pictures and documentation of the job in question. Rather than scrambling to find and attach these files every time, compile all the information into a DropBox link that you can easily drop into an online enquiry form.

You can even create one for each project, like 'deck', 'bathroom' and even just a general 'design inspiration'. Drop-in detailed photos of the areas in question, a file with the measurements documented, building plans, permits, and anything else that will be relevant and helpful to a tradesperson.

This can also be great if you are finding that you can only attach a few photos to a service online enquiry form, or your email provider is finding the attachments to be too large. Now you simply have to drop your DropBox URL into the email or enquiry form.

Fail to plan, and plan to fail. It is an adage that we have all heard before, and it is absolutely true of project contingencies.

Depending on the scale of the project, you will want to have backup accommodation sorted in case something goes wrong or dates are blown out, you will want to have extra wriggle room in the building budget in case you encounter an issue, and you will want to vet your service providers to ensure that they have the appropriate licenses and insurances to complete the works.

Wherever possible, seek expert advice so that you are not operating under just one 'source of truth' and can actually assess possible issues from your own research.

You can also ask your builders and tradespeople for a timeline or works too, as this is like a contract that you both stick to so that you can organise the next parts of your project.

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There are a number of budget apps and mood board apps that will collate all the relevant information and figures so that you can view them frequently. You can never be too prepared for a construction job so start planning!