Construction and contractor firms need to work to provide the best quality services. Quality service involves using efficient hoist and lift equipment, choosing the right materials, following the right process, and many more.
One mistake can trigger a series of unfortunate events ranging from expensive rework, injured workers, or compromised structure safety.
Common Construction Issues You Need to Know
Understanding the factors that can cause problems will help you manage the quality of work on the construction site. Here are some of the most common problems and how to solve them.
Low-Quality Materials
Damaged or low-quality materials can cause some serious problems in your construction project. For instance, if you mix too much water/sand in your concrete or if you use incorrectly graded steel— it can result in a widespread construction quality issue.
This low-quality or damaged materials will not only fail but will also create construction safety hazards due to their unpredictability during the building process.
You can avoid this problem by ordering your materials from trusted suppliers and assigning a quality control officer to ensure each shipment of materials.
Mishandling on Site
Some of the issues in construction sites are due to human error. This issue can happen if you or a subcontractor hires workers that do not have the right skills or enough training. For instance, hoist and lift operators should be properly trained and certified before they handle said heavy equipment.
Unfortunately, some issues due to workmanship errors can go unnoticed for a long time.
You can avoid this problem by thoroughly screening subcontractors and other employees to verify if they are skilled laborers. Skilled workers can usually catch their own mistakes before they become a bigger problem.
Incomplete Documentation of Changes
Sometimes, the issue is not directly related to a mistake. Sometimes, the issue is with the lack of documentation of the changes.
For instance, if you decide to substitute a certain material with something else that has a completely different maintenance and replacement cycle, not updating the final documents can result in improper handling from the maintenance team.
Aside from being thorough with your documentation, you can also use a digital file management system that will allow you and your team to update the documentation in real-time.
Last-Minute Changes
Usually, the construction process starts with a plan and design. These plans and designs are carefully drafted, checked, and finalized before the construction company starts working on them. It means that every part of the plan and design is well thought of before the project starts.
Last-minute changes in the design can result in a serious quality issue. That last-minute change is not as well planned as the rest of the design. In some cases, the design will only look mismatched, but it can also result in dangerous situations.
You can avoid this problem by setting a deadline for the designs. Do not accept last-minute changes unless you can arrange to extend the deadline to verify and test any adjustments on the design.
Miscommunication
Miscommunication does not only ruin relationships, but it can also cause problems in construction projects. Miscommunication can lead to a lot of problems such as:
- misapplication of new techniques
- mismatched materials
- lack of secondary and tertiary testing
You can avoid this problem by discussing the project with the team. Set clear goals with definite instructions. Make sure that everyone is on the same page to avoid quality issues due to miscommunication.
Ignored or Unnoticed Audits and Testing
Some construction companies ignore the results of third-party testing and auditing plans which means that they proceed to use designs with flaws and existing issues.
You can avoid this issue by assigning a designated person to do quality control and ensure that the requests for changes in audits and testing in audits are applied. A clear workflow will help the team address any issue with the problem in both the materials or the design. Changes will surely be applied if someone is reinforcing them.
At the end of the day
Quality should be a top priority on all construction projects. Maintaining quality can be difficult but it is a necessary effort in the industry. Quality materials with skilled laborers with the right equipment will help you achieve wonders in any project.