How to Increase Productivity in Construction Using Time Cards
How to Increase Productivity in Construction Using Time Cards
Table of Contents
Why are time cards important in construction?
Like with any other business, keeping a close record of the hours that employees work is important for maintaining efficiency. In construction, time cards should not only record the amount of time worked, but also should include what task was accomplished on the jobsite. With this information available, managers can analyze employee output and effectively create and change project schedules as needed. Time cards also build employee morale and self-esteem in the field by providing them with feedback and record on the work that they have put in.
How can using time cards increase productivity?
As stated above, the first way in which time cards increase productivity on the jobsite is by providing workers feedback on their labor which helps workers analyze their progress and efficiency. The second way is by providing managers record on what was accomplished that day on the site which shows them the time spent on productive work and non-productive work such as material handling, waiting for instructions, and rework. With this information in hand, managers can cut down on non-productive labor by recognizing what is causing it and then making the necessary changes.
Time cards allow managers to determine if the labor crew met the desired production goal for that day. They also enable them to see which crews are more efficient at certain tasks. Some crews will be more productive at certain projects than others, so managers should use time cards in deciding the tasks to assign to individual employees to boost efficiency.
Results of time cards should also be used to communicate and show an example of good work done by other employees. For example, if one labor crew completes a task with high productivity, the time card can be used to show another crew what exactly was done to get those results.
The introduction of mobile time cards:
Of course, the benefits of using time cards are evident, but laborers continue to use them incorrectly which defeats their purpose.
Construction workers need the time recording process to be as simple to use as possible. They tend to lose paper time cards and not fill them out accurately because of their confusing format. At the end of the day, recording what one accomplished is the last thing on a laborers mind. They often wait until the end of the week to fill out a full week’s time card, which ensures that the time card will be inaccurate; or worse, they do not care to reflect on what they have spent the last eight hours doing. To combat this, mobile timecards should be introduced into your record system.
Using a mobile time card system is easier for laborers to use than the traditional paper system, allows them to record their progress as they are working, and provides managers with more detailed information. They increase employee productivity, improve efficiency, and increase profits by saving on daily costs and non-productive labor time. Mobile time cards also decrease employee time theft by using a GPS system to track the locations of employees.
How do mobile time cards work?
Just like with any other mobile application, mobile time card apps are built into the device and can store information even if one loses service. This is important to understand so companies can stay away from web-based mobile time card systems which often duplicate data when phone service is lost.
With mobile systems, employees can track their hours and describe what they have accomplished by pressing a button or touching a drop down screen on their device. This information will then be forwarded to a server in a secured location and will be instantly accessible to the office. Office workers will be able to transfer this information into their accounting systems with ease. Instead of having to enter all of the information manually, the information will already be stored in the cloud.
Field workers can log the following in a mobile time card system
– Time
– Attendance
– Lunch and break times
– Cost codes
– Inventory
– Job progress
– Custom fields (weather, injuries)
– Team clock in
Office workers can view the following real-time job information:
– GPS tracking information
– Mileage and idle time
– GPS smart fence technology
– Time and attendance reports
– Inventory
– Dispatched work orders
– Overtime hours
– Required breaks
– Current payroll hours
– Hours spent on tasks (framing, floor prep, demo, etc.)
Conclusion
It is clear that keeping track of the hours worked and progress of employees is important for efficiency in production. Time cards are one way that managers can keep track of employees progress. In businesses like construction, time cards are often not used correctly because they are not user-friendly. Mobile time card systems solve this issue, cut down costs, and also increase productivity. They do this by tracking employee progress accurately, controlling overtime hours, reducing the cost of labor through the elimination of rounded up hours, and tracking employees by using a GPS system. Mobile time card systems are the future in construction management and should be strongly considered by any business that wants to operate more smoothly.
Sources:
AWCI
