2 Key Steps To Face The Hazards In The Execution Of Construction Sites

Project owners can testify to this, unforeseen events on construction sites are commonplace in the sector.

No client can validly boast of having carried out construction or building renovation work without ever having faced unforeseen events. Hazards are indeed an integral part of all construction projects. However, project owners and stakeholders on the site try to reduce them as much as possible in the execution of the work, because they can have disastrous consequences on the financial management of a construction site. Unforeseen events can be of a very different nature: technical climatic, economic, but also administrative. The most common hazards are bad weather, theft and vandalism, construction site accidents, failure of companies or supplies, errors in design, planning, and administrative slowness.

The general contractor in charge of carrying out the work, which also manages subcontractors, is at the forefront of these potential obstacles to the smooth running of operations. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the risk beforehand and define the actions to be taken to overcome these unforeseen events when they occur.

Site preparation: anticipation

In order to avoid having to deal with a significant amount of setbacks, the first step, which is also the most fundamental, is to plan for them in order to better avoid them.

Carefully choose the various stakeholders in the construction industry

Anticipating difficulties begins as soon as companies are consulted. The choice of the various bodies of state of structural work and second work that the company will make to constitute its teams is decisive for its organization and its site management. It must rule out any uncertainty as to the seriousness of the subcontractor but also as to its financial soundness.

Conscientiously draft contractual documents

To carry out the project, rigor in the drafting of work contracts with service providers must also be required. It is indeed necessary to provide for modifications to the provisions of the contract following the possible occurrence of hazards (extension of the duration of the work, application of penalties, price variation …).

Clearly organize schedules and supplies

Organizing the construction sites also means coordinating the work of the various trades that will intervene successively. The provisional schedule includes the progress of the work. It is to be established with precision and rigor and must include the supply of materials necessary for each company. The construction site has an interest in starting at a favorable time of the year in view of the bad weather. The products must be easily substitutable.

Establish a rigorous Risk Prevention and Safety Plan (PPRS)

The safety of workers and all persons who have access to the site is an important factor in the occurrence of unforeseen events, especially in terms of accidents at work. This is why compliance with safety rules is a decisive aspect of site management. A risk prevention plan is mandatory in the coordination of the work of all construction companies operating simultaneously or successively.

Site monitoring: monitoring and action

Despite all the anticipation that the company shows, the work on the site can give rise to difficulties that it must face anyway.

Control the work according to the technical file

The architects design and then propose a preliminary project to the client. As soon as the latter accepts it, the general contractor holding the contract must comply with it in such a way that upon receipt of the work, the work carried out complies with the customer’s expectations. Strict adherence to implementation plans removes many of the possible difficulties.

Monitor work through regular site meetings

To carry out this project and ensure the proper execution of the work, nothing beats constant monitoring. In the building and public works sector, the mobilization of people and technicalities is such that scrupulous monitoring of construction sites is essential until their completion. The construction manager, in collaboration with the project manager, must organize very regular site meetings in order to detect the slightest error or complication.

Have a high level of responsiveness to the unexpected

Most often revealed during a weekly meeting, unforeseen events can however occur at any time during the completion of a construction site. In either case, the person who directs and coordinates the work has no choice but to be reactive to deal with it and prevent the situation from getting worse. A small setback can easily become a significant delay on the schedule if it is not treated in time.

Invoice according to the progress of the work

The contract signed between the general contractor and each of its subcontractors necessarily established a billing schedule corresponding to the progress of the work. In this way, it retains both a means of pressure towards all the state bodies and a sufficient cash flow to face possible hazards such as additional work or additional purchases.