06/01/2026
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION - A BOON OR A CURSE.
We frequently search for one primary source of project delays, such as design modifications, material change, procurement shortfalls, or contractor matters.
But are these the only culprits in delayed timelines of completion and handover. Yes, to some extent they are, but we must understand that if we really want to win, we need to stress more on closure of all pre-construction activities prior to ground breaking.
The essence of construction and ex*****on is acting on several pedals at once, from pre-construction to handover. Preconstruction services and capabilities have become a true differentiator
We also need to decide early on about which software and Technology adoption should be considered for closure of all pre construction as well as during ex*****on activities. Technology adoption remains a critical barrier to the delivery of today’s complex projects.
• Right at the early stage, we need to first understand the different timelines that may be needed for any activity related to either pre-construction functions and ex*****on.
• The stakeholder needs to define the clear-cut goals and requirements that needs to be achieved from the envisage project, be it revenue, timeline, target occupants or customers etc.
• Different types of various consultants that needs to be on-board for complete closure of pre-construction activities with defined schedule of their appointments and the clear-cut expectations of deliverables from them.
• The entire team of inhouse developer’s representative and consultants need to define a crisp schedule that will be required for each stage of pre-construction activity of the project. Pre-construction capabilities become a true differentiator to achieve the desired goal of the project. So, as I have mentioned above that “Technology adoption remains a critical barrier”, it needs to be ensured that the hired teams are not using static standalone tools like Excel and PDFs which cannot be integrated into a system.
Here it is important to note that Estimating capacity is the core bottleneck in any preconstruction activity. Most of the estimation happen on manual basis where 50% of time is consumed due to manual take-off sheets. with use of extensive Excel spread worksheets. This needs to change. Here BIM may help to a great extent, provided the level of detailing is fairly extensive to help in estimating every component. Preconstruction doesn’t just need faster yet disjointed tools. It needs a backbone. A shared software ecosystem can solve this problem. A unified platform. This allows estimators to concentrate on the things that really make a difference: risk analysis, pricing strategy, vendor alignment, and scope clarity. Adding AI supported software are key game changers today.
• Prepare all the required drawings and define the type of materials required in advance with defined specifications and prepare a material board for approvals from all stakeholders. Half-cooked drawings, ambiguous specifications, and material uncertainty are some of the aspects that creates delays before even the work begins.
Important components of pre-construction activities include single-point ownership of the entire process, thorough reviews, cross-functional coordination and cooperation, and well understood and balanced trade-offs between design requirements versus its constructability.
• Prepare a list of compliances that may be required and the expected timelines of achieving the same, since without them the construction will face legal hurdles.
• Prepare the list of all the plant and machineries required for ex*****on including its time of hiring as per the defined construction sequence.
• Prepare the list of sequence of activities during construction and the sequence of materials purchase. Late changes and endless iterations derail timelines, hence the design and ex*****on drawings needs to be frozen. Even a small design or details changes, during the ex*****on process will eat away months and will delay the timelines.
Thus, it is important creating a contractor’s performance management system with regress check-list for each and every activity on construction site. Always integrate construction plan with links to other overlapping engineering functions and activities, as well as planning buffers for unforeseen circumstances.
• Prepare a list of vendors in advance for specific long lead items or material with clear indication of its schedules order placement and delivery, well integrated into the work sequence.
• Use a unified ERP software across the platform for seamless data entry and output and ease of collation of data for MIS reporting to stakeholder.
• Ensure that facility teams are involved right at the inception stage for better understanding of their operational requirements and to control Capex and Opex costs.
In construction industry having effective manpower planning and deployment is equally important, but mechanization of activities is also important due to labour shortages these days during the construction period.
Each team member needs to understand his clear roles, his accountability, and his alignment with his key performance and of course with ownership mindset. The accountability and ownership mindset across the organization is very important aspect for any project of complex nature, where inter linkages of various engineering function cannot be ruled out completely.
