Apart from being risky and unpredictable, construction is a very innovative industry. It is always ready to change and improve the approaches, strategies, and working practices if they do not fit the desired outcome. Pull planning is a relatively new concept in the construction industry. The phenomenon of innovation is more common in developed countries such as the United Arab Emirates, as compared to under developing countries which do not have enough resources.
What is Pull Planning in Construction?
Most of the contractors and construction project owners are only aware of the critical path scheduling method, which gives control of planning in the hand of one person. On the other hand, pull planning is also a scheduling technique that stresses involving everyone in the planning phase and efficiently completing the project.
Benefits of Pull Planning
One defining feature of the pull planning method is the reverse order working, which stresses the perfect completion of the previous task before starting the new. This method offers a variety of benefits for all the involved parties. Some of them are the following:
- Improved collaboration
- Flawless communication at all levels
- Optimize work processes
- Boosts efficiency
- Ensures transparency
Keep scrolling down this article to learn a comprehensive guide about pull planning in the construction industry.
Top 8 Steps to Ace Pull Planning in Your Construction Projects
Pull planning is usually designed by writing the project outlines by hand and adding sticky notes about feedback and recommendations. The practice makes it much easier for all the involved parties and people to share their opinion. The opinions are then also reviewed and considered.
Here are some important steps for you to ace the pull planning method in your construction projects.
1). Bring Everyone on Board
The very step of pull planning in construction is bringing everyone on the board. Ensuring the involvement of every single individual is crucial to make the process successful. Some important parties that you need to get on board are:
- Project manager
- Design leader
- Scheduler
- Quality assurance supervisor
- Leaders of all involved traders
- Foreman
- Owners’ representative
Most construction parties also acquire the service of construction claims consultant in UAE and bring them on board to readily tackle claim related issues which can emerge at any stage of the project.
2). Set and Follow the Milestones
The second step in the process is setting and following the project milestones. Setting the milestones is crucial to develop the outline and fix a reminder about all the necessary tasks and activities. The more important thing after that is strictly following the milestones to complete the activities according to the plan.
3). Set Schedules and Durations
Once you have set the milestones, you need to set the schedule and duration of all the major and minors activities included in the milestone. Without setting the project’s schedule and duration, you are likely to not keep up with the pace. It will lead the project to delays and other related issues. So, set and follow the schedule.
4). Develop Weekly Plans
Developing weekly plans is one of the most important steps of the pull planning method in construction projects. It helps the involved parties to divide the overall work into little chunks of weeks. In this way, it is not only easier to carry on the progress but also review it without putting any extra effort.
5). Organize Daily and Weekly Meetings
One of the key steps of the pull planning method is organizing daily and weekly meetings. The daily meetings help the involved people review the activities of the previous day and plan for the current day. On the other hand, the weekly meetings are meant to look over the bigger aspects and monitor the overall progress of the project.
6). Review Project Activities
Another crucial step of this relatively unique concept is reviewing the project activities. The meetings may not be enough for this, as you need to visit the site and check the progress of individual activities. This step requires paying attention to all the major and minor aspects before declaring the activity as complete.
7). Update the Plans
After conducting daily, weekly meetings and review the project activities, the next step that follows is updating the plan. If you have accounted for any issue in the activities or plans, it is only right to modify it. Daily meetings and reviewing help the authorities uncover the issues in initial stages and fix them without delay.
8). Track the Progress
The last step of the pull planning process is to track the progress. Without tracking it, you will not be able to complete the project on time. If you are tangled in claim issues, do not waste your time on argumentation. You can hire the service of construction claim consultants to resolve the issue with the best of their knowledge, skills, and legal procedures. You can ensure to deliver the project on time.
Follow pull planning to boost construction productivity!
The pull planning method ultimately boosts the productivity of the project. It ensures all the activities are receiving due attention and care, which ensures their timely completion. However, issues can arise unannounced, so it is always better to include the experts in your project to identify and resolve the issues as soon as they occur.