Building Construction Project Management Best Practices

Glen Palmer, PSP, CFCC, FAACE and I are honored by AACE publishing another of our Top Ten series of papers in the Cost Engineering Journal. Resource management sits at the heart of project success—and, too often, at the root of costly construction claims. Why Focus on Resources? Most construction schedules are built on assumptions about production rates, durations, and quantities. But when resource planning falls short—whether due to unrealistic manpower peaks, lack of skilled labor, or poor coordination—projects risk delays, cost overruns, and disputes. Rather than waiting for claims to arise, Palmer and Carson argue for a proactive approach: plan, validate, and monitor your resources from day one. Key Takeaways from the Top Ten Approaches: 1. Validate Resources by Discipline: Go beyond surface-level schedule checks. Detailed resource validation—using field-experienced personnel—can identify unrealistic resource peaks and prevent unachievable schedules. 2. Formalize Punch and Warranty List Management: Avoid never-ending completion and warranty periods by developing comprehensive, early punch lists and using structured warranty management systems. 3. Check Resource Earning Curves: Ensure planned progress is actually achievable by comparing planned manpower curves and production rates to real-world constraints. 4. Manage Schedule Compression: When compressing schedules, understand the risks and costs of acceleration and recovery. Use structured analysis and documentation to avoid disputes. 5. Review General Conditions Labor: Monitor and budget field overhead costs carefully, and avoid relying on variable, hard-to-track level-of-effort activities. 6. Use Constructability Reviews: Always have experienced field experts review “fast-tracked” project schedules to spot resource and constructability problems early. 7. Address Trade Stacking and Overcrowding: Analyze crew concurrency and area usage to prevent inefficiencies from too many workers or trades in the same space. 8. Specify Resource Requirements in Schedules: Include resource histograms and percent curves in scheduling specifications to enable thorough schedule reviews. 9. Plan for Resource Availability: Evaluate the availability of skilled labor and specialty resources, especially on large or geographically constrained projects. 10. Minimize Inefficiencies from Disrupted Trade Work: Align procurement, sequencing, and trade starts to reduce disruption, and use targeted planning to ensure work is completed efficiently on the first attempt. Conclusion: Resource-related claims are often avoidable with disciplined planning, honest schedule validation, and ongoing monitoring. By following these ten approaches, project teams can dramatically reduce the risk of disputes, keep projects on track, and protect both profit and reputation.

The construction industry's dirtiest secret: Most disasters are caused by what happens BEFORE the project begins. Here's how to avoid the trap that costs 70% of property owners millions: Remember that time everyone blamed the contractor for your project disaster? Plot twist: The problem started in those boring pre-construction meetings everyone skipped or scrolled through emails during. Construction disputes average $30M per case and take 16.7 months to resolve. That's longer than some marriages last these days. For Texas hospitals, schools, and municipalities, it's even worse – you're basically planning your grand opening and your legal defense simultaneously. Fun times! But most of these disasters are completely preventable. The secret? Treat pre-construction planning like it's the season finale, not the boring pilot episode. 4 drama-preventing moves every institutional owner needs: 1. The "Who's Actually In Charge Here?" Chart Create a decision matrix that prevents those classic "I thought YOU approved this?!" moments that happen at 4:55pm on Fridays. (Nothing says "happy weekend" like discovering nobody authorized that $2M change order!) 2. The Process Police Designate "process guardians" with actual authority who can call out violations without fear of becoming the office pariah. They're not the heroes we want, but they're the heroes we need. 3. The "This Is Taking Forever" Escalation Ladder Any decision pending >5 days gets kicked upstairs automatically. Because "we're waiting for approval" is the construction equivalent of "the check's in the mail." 4. Document Everything Like Your Career Depends On It (Because It Does) In construction disputes, undocumented work is like that tree falling in the forest – if it's not documented, it simply didn't happen. "I sent an email about that!" won't save your $400M project. Use platforms like Procore that create a single source of truth. Projects using these report 50% fewer RFIs – that's like having 50% fewer awkward holiday dinner conversations. The ROI stories are better than fiction: A Houston hospital prevented $7M in rework on their $400M expansion. Dallas ISD strengthened its construction management by implementing process improvements, helping deliver major school projects efficiently, with ZERO claims. Their planning investment? Less than 1% of budget. Their return? 8-10x that amount. The choice feels a lot like deciding whether to get insurance before or after the accident: Invest in planning now, or involuntarily invest much more later while explaining to the board why everything's on fire. The most successful Texas institutions have already made this shift. Will you join them, or continue starring in Construction Disaster: Season 12?

I've managed $500M+ in projects over the years. The successful ones were all built around the same 10 principles: Give me 3 min, and I'll show you how you can lead your next project with confidence. 1️⃣ Start with Why Most project managers think they’re paid to produce deliverables. That’s bogus. Every project exists to create value. What’s the driving reason behind yours? Dig deeper than the first answer. Your project's purpose becomes a compass for decisions—and a powerful narrative to align and motivate your team. 2️⃣ Define “Conditions of Satisfaction” If your client, architect, and field team aren’t aligned on the definition of done, you’ll never truly finish. Before diving into details, clarify what you’re building and how success will be measured. Get expectations on paper. Show sketches. Build mockups. Whatever it takes. Your goal: never have the “Wait—I thought we were doing XYZ” conversation. 3️⃣ Know the Constraints Every project is defined by five levers: • Time • Scope • Budget • Quality • Value Only one (maybe two) truly matter to the client. Know what you’re optimizing for so you can make smart tradeoffs. 4️⃣ Get the Right People Your project will never be better than the people on it. You don’t need warm bodies. You need the right people in the right roles. Build your team around functions, not names. Set expectations early. Give feedback often. 5️⃣ Big Goals, Small Steps Break your project into major deliverables—then smaller chunks. Boulders -> Rocks -> Pebbles -> Sand Use tools like product breakdowns, sketches, and process flows. 6️⃣ Build a Real Timeline Every construction job has key milestones. Use pull planning, Takt, & LPS to lay out each step with realistic durations. Validate your plan with your team. Then—and only then—negotiate. 7️⃣ Risk Management Something WILL go wrong. Build a Risk Register early. Review it weekly. Rank risks by impact × likelihood. Use the TAME framework: - Transfer - Accept - Mitigate - Eliminate Antifragile projects absorb shocks. Fragile ones shatter. 8️⃣ Dealing With Change A single change won't hurt you. 100 will. Standardize how changes are submitted, evaluated, approved, and communicated. Track every change in a central log and communicate it widely. 9️⃣ Tools & Processes Your tools exist to do 3 things: - Communicate - Coordinate - Document Don’t chase shiny features. Choose tools your team will actually use. Then build repeatable processes around approvals, onboarding, access, etc. 🔟 Stakeholder Communication Most projects fall apart because of miscommunication. Map your key stakeholders. Spend 80% of your time on the 20% who can make or break your job. Tailor how and when you communicate to meet their needs. - - - - - 📌 P.S. Interested in project leadership? Join 7,500+ construction pros who read The Influential Project Manager—a free weekly newsletter with 1 idea to lead people and predict outcomes. Every Tuesday.