How to improve teamwork and team building in the construction site

When it comes to construction projects, the one thing that is of highest importance is the good collaboration between the people working on the job site… or in other words, quality teamwork. There are few groups that are always included in the work groups for the construction project: designers, architects, engineers, investors and contractors.

The team members must share the vision to complete the project effectively and efficiently before the deadline. Combining the interests of every work group together is the ultimate goal of the project.

Important to mention is that bringing people together will not automatically make them effectively work as a team. That is why, before you even start the project, you have to select the team members.

Selecting the team members

Some researchers claim that if you are surrounded by people of high ability, you strive to show your potential. However, in creating and managing a team, you should not look for only technical skills or abilities, but also individuals sense for co-ordination and interpersonal skills.

When selecting potential members, it is essential to look for people who can be part of the company culture and people who aim to grow and develop within a team.

Techniques to increase the quality of the team

We offer you four techniques to increase the teamwork and team building in the construction site: Shared Goals, Establishing Trust, Responsibilities and Risk Management.

Shared goals

The first step is to define the goals of the project. This is important because when people understand the end goal of the project, they can deliver on a higher level through the project – since they understand the “big picture”.  In the construction industry, this can happen either in a preconstruction meeting or in kick-off meeting.

Everyone should agree on the objectives, what materials would be used, techniques to use them, scheduling, safety program and completing the project within the planned budget.

Establishing trust – teambuilding

One of the aspects, when you are working in a team, is to learn to trust and respect each other. The goal is to increase the teams understanding or the team dynamics and improve how the team works together.

Wind range of activities can bring them together, which would result in increased team performance. This should not be confused with “team recreation”.  Team building can be viewed in the day-to-day operations and improved by implementing the right activities and leadership.

Responsibilities

During the project, every member has its own duties and responsibilities. In order for the team to be effective, team members must understand each other’s duties and responsibilities – as well as the other group’s tasks. In the inception of the project, every member has to know what his assignments are.

This can overlap confrontation with the task between the members, which will lead to higher costs and time wasting.

Risk management

At the beginning of the project, team members have to decide what the risks are from delegating the assignments and responsibilities, and how to manage those risks. For example, insufficient numbers of workers can effect on expensive project delays, injury on job site can extend the time frame and add cost.

Teams should make a list of the risks, prioritizing those with the highest percentage of happening and develop a plan on how to minimize them.

What is essential for all of this?

One word: communication. If you want your team to function as one, you will have to make them “uber” connected and enable them to depict, communicate and share information among themselves.

The perfect and appropriate software is an elegant tool for improving a project’s teamwork. The correct app can help build teams that will be unstoppable when it comes to execution in the construction site. More useful advice on improving construction productivity can be found in the free ebook, The Circle of Productivity.