Why Details Matter in Construction

Construction is a large-scale undertaking. And with all of the massive structures, budgets, and equipment, it can be easy to sometimes overlook the smaller details. But those little details can end up costing you big.

How missing details impact your projects

When details slip through the cracks, it can have compounding effects on your project’s profitability and completion date.

Preventable delays

Delays aren’t uncommon in construction, but they’re still a pain every time they happen. And when you have repeated delays, it seriously affects your bottom line.

Here are a few ways missing details can cause delays:

Confusing or messy daily reports

Paper reports, or reports hastily-typed up in a word document, are usually insufficient. Not only can mistakes easily be made, but they leave out crucial information or get misplaced.

A lack of context, including weather details, equipment usage, or additional notes and photos, can easily result in miscommunication, which causes delays.

No visual documentation

Even if you do write detailed reports, lacking visual documentation of the jobsite can lead to confusion. For example, subcontractors outside of your expertise could misinterpret reports and think certain tasks were completed when they weren’t. Or vice versa.

Safety incidents

Unchecked safety hazards can easily cause delays. That’s because work will often have to pause after certain safety incidents, at least in the specific areas where they happen. Then, if OSHA gets involved, severe unaddressed hazards could result in an imminent danger notice.

Also, if a worker is severely injured or worse, that would lead to a staffing shortage that could further disrupt your project deadline.

Liability issues

Few unexpected expenses are as daunting as legal fees, fines, and litigation costs. There are two major ways a lack of details can open you up to liability issues:

Poor compliance

Whether it’s compliance with internal company policies, state laws, or OSHA regulations, poor compliance controls can create major issues down the road. 

For example, if your company operates in multiple states, you’ll have to pay close attention to state regulations for construction sites in each state, and make sure those regulations are communicated clearly to your supers and project managers.

Incomplete documentation of work

A lack of proper documentation, including photo evidence, can open you up to lawsuits or fines. If you can’t prove that a certain task was performed correctly, or even performed at all, defending yourself from litigation will be much more difficult.

How to make sure details don’t slip through the cracks

Double checking work

Check, re-check, and double check. If you don’t understand something in a daily report, ask for clarification. 

More importantly, you should never assume upfront that everyone is doing their work exactly how they’re supposed to. That doesn’t mean you have to micromanage subcontractors and employees—but it does mean you should make sure to verify that things have been done correctly.

Digital daily reports with photo documentation

By using a digital daily reporting tool like Raken’s, you can avoid miscommunication by ensuring reports are easily accessible and always up-to-date, no matter what. No more chasing down hastily-scribbled daily reports that are missing crucial details.

Just as important are the photos and videos you can attach to your reports, giving a clearer picture of the jobsite so stakeholders can clearly visualize what’s going on.

In one case, a Raken customer was able to avoid paying up to $100,000 in fines and litigation by proving they’d performed their work correctly with photo evidence.

Project management software

By organizing documents digitally, including submittals, change orders, and RFIs, you can avoid the chaos of messy file cabinets and easily locate critical documents when you need them.

Raken’s project management features enable you to build, track, and manage all of your critical documents in one place.

Safety and quality management software

Proactive safety management helps you avoid expensive delays down the road. Digital toolbox talks and checklists help keep workers safe by alerting them to potential hazards and ensuring tasks are performed correctly, while incident reporting and observations help you document issues quickly and effectively.

Raken’s safety and quality features help you take control of your safety practices and prevent unnecessary delays on the jobsite with all of these tools, as well as detailed dashboards and reporting to empower future decision making.

Let Raken handle the small things

While sweating the details is crucial to project health, Raken can do the heavy lifting by taking all of the small things off your plate. Sounds counterintuitive, but those little details add up, and they can weigh down your project if you neglect them.

Get in touch today to schedule a demo so we can show you how it all works in real time.