Construction projects are structured with schedules, budgets and resource allocation. Many people work on them, from general contractors overseeing subcontractors to architects and, of course, the project owner. A preconstruction meeting ensures that all those parts are working together on a common goal. Get the most out of a preconstruction meeting by knowing who must attend and the items to cover in your preconstruction agenda. To help you once you break ground on your construction project, we’ll throw in some free construction project management templates on estimating, scheduling and budgeting. What Is a Preconstruction Meeting? In a preconstruction meeting, project exceptions are defined, roles are clarified and risk mitigation strategies are discussed. It’s also when the project schedule and budget are reviewed with the parties involved in the coming construction project. Construction projects, as noted, are made of many distinct teams of contractors and subcontractors who are responsible for a specific piece of the larger whole. They have unique skills, but all those jobs must come together to create an integral structure or whatever is being erected. Therefore, the preconstruction meeting is the first step toward creating a collaborative environment among all the separate workers who will be tasked with various aspects of the project. All parties must have a shared understanding of the project’s goals and objectives and communication between these people must be clear and well-defined. Project management software acts as the glue that holds the project together by managing tasks and balancing the team’s workload. ProjectManager is award-winning construction project management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office, on the job site or anywhere in between. When onboarding teams, general contractors can set their availability, from PTO to vacation and global holidays, which makes assigning tasks easier. Our color-coded workload chart shows everyone’s allocation and general contractors can balance the team’s workload right from that chart to keep them working at capacity and staying productive. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. Who Should Attend a Preconstruction Meeting? Everyone involved in the construction planning should attend the preconstruction meeting. It ensures everyone working on the project, regardless of their part, will have a clear idea of what’s expected and when it’s expected to be completed. The project owner, developer, contractor, architect and engineer of record are some of the project stakeholders who will be involved in the preconstruction meeting. But there’s also a presence from the municipality in which the construction is being done. These people include city staff, such as the plan review engineer, planner, building inspector, public works personnel and traffic engineer. In addition, the general contractor and all the subcontractors hired will attend the preconstruction meeting. Benefits of Preconstruction Meetings The advantage of having a preconstruction meeting is that it allows the general contractor to ensure everyone working on the project is on the same page, with a clear understanding of what must be done during the construction phase to deliver the project successfully. The preconstruction meeting identifies obstacles that might prevent that so the team can be on the lookout for them and know what to do if they show up. The preconstruction meeting can also reveal holes in the construction plan. It will become evident if the project has been poorly scoped or has unclear specifications and quality requirements. It’s best to know these things before the project begins so they can be addressed without disrupting the project schedule and its budget. It also provides an opportunity for the stakeholders to ask questions and provide feedback. When the project is being executed, there may be questions, but having the majority of those questions answered before breaking ground saves time and allows the project to run smoothly. The preconstruction meeting is one more step that can be taken to ensure the successful completion of the project. What to Include In a Preconstruction Meeting Agenda There’s no exact outline for a preconstruction meeting agenda. However, some basic topics will likely be part of any preconstruction meeting. The following is a typical preconstruction meeting agenda and an explanation of each item. Introductions The preconstruction meeting begins with introductions. There will be many people present, most of whom haven’t met one another, such as subcontractors just brought on to do specific jobs. Introductions will include sharing phone numbers, addresses and other contact information for everyone from the general contractor, project foreman, engineer and project manager to the project inspectors, owner and their representatives. Roles and Responsibilities As part of the introduction, you can include the roles and responsibilities. Everyone should understand their part in the larger project. They and everyone else need to know what they’re responsible for in the project and the chain of command if they have any questions that need to be answered. Scope of Work The scope of work lists all the obligations of the project and work activities that the contractors, subcontractors and suppliers will be responsible for. The more detail, the better to ensure everyone knows what’s in and out of scope. Therefore, you can address milestones, reporting frequency, deliverables and what the end product should be. It can be helpful to have visuals to accompany this preconstruction meeting agenda item. Material Specifications Discuss the different construction materials that will be delivered to the site, such as abrasives, coatings, thinners, caulks, etc. Materials are often delivered to the job site with a certification of compliance with the contract documents. Whoever accepts the materials will should review documents such as the material takeoff or bill of materials as there can be serious consequences if the contractor accepts and installs incorrect materials. Construction Schedule The start and completion dates need to be communicated during the preconstruction meeting. The scheduling plans for the project will also be shared with the project team and any potential issues, such as road restrictions, weather or site conditions and time constraints, will be discussed. The general contractor will speak to the estimated duration of the project, whether work will continue on weekends and holidays and the status of a notice to proceed documents, if required. Construction Budget Confirm the construction budget and cost estimations so that all parties are clear on the allotted costs for materials, labor, overhead, etc. Communicating this will help to keep the project on budget and avoid costly mistakes. Construction Site Identify the safety hazards associated with the construction site to provide a safe working environment for the project team. Introduce the safety professional, if the site requires one. Note the frequency of safety meetings with the safety professional and their level of authority. Also, discuss the site conditions, access routes into the site, any erosion and sediment control issues, the boundaries of the site, site cleanup when closing out the project, etc. Payment Schedule The terms and conditions of payment as defined by the contract will be discussed and a schedule of values should be utilized to track the payments made to contractors. The specific project components and payment options are also reviewed. Discuss the level of completion that’s required for payment and whether partial payments will be allowed and, if so, under what conditions. Construction Documents & Drawings Review the construction documents and drawings that are most critical to be understood by the project team. There will be too many to go over them all, so you must be selective. But those that are chosen must be thoroughly reviewed with major items discussed by all involved. Free Construction Project Management Templates One way to ensure that the project is ready to start is by preparing for it with construction project management templates. We have over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that cover every aspect of the project across multiple industries. Here are just a few free templates you can download to help plan your construction project. Construction Estimate Template The more accurate your estimate, the more secure your profit margin. Our free construction estimate template for Excel breaks down your project into phases, which all include a description of the work, who will do it, the labor and material costs, etc., so you can forecast costs better. Construction Schedule Template Use our free construction schedule template to organize and track everything from your deliverables to deadlines. You’ll also get resource management tools, be able to link dependencies, set milestones and filter for the critical path. Plus, track costs related to executing your activities. Construction Budget Template There are a lot of costs to track when compiling your construction budget. Our free construction budget template for Excel helps you identify them to create an accurate forecast of your project costs. Track labor, materials and other costs to create a budget and then track your actual expenses to help you stay on budget. How ProjectManager Helps Manage Construction Projects Templates can help you prepare for a project, but they’re limited in scope. These are static documents that require manual updates and aren’t collaborative. Why create schedules and budgets in templates and then upgrade to project management software when you can do it all in one tool? ProjectManager is award-winning construction project management software that allows you to schedule with robust Gantt charts and then track your resources and costs in real time to help you stay on budget and deliver on time. Create Construction Schedules With Gantt Charts Schedule your construction projects to meet tight deadlines, organize tasks and manage resources all in one place. Our powerful Gantt charts can be shared with teams and stakeholders, updated by dragging and dropping new start or end dates that automatically adjust related work and you can even filter for the critical path to identify essential tasks. All four types of dependencies can be linked to help avoid costly delays. Once you’ve scheduled work, set a baseline to capture the plan and be able to compare it to your actual progress and spending in real time to stay on track and within budget. Track Resources and Costs The ability to track resources and costs helps you avoid falling behind schedule or overspending and eating into your profit margin. Our real-time dashboard automatically collects live data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, costs, workload and much more. It’s like an instant status report whenever you want one. Unlike lightweight alternatives, there’s no lengthy and confusing setup required with our dashboards. You can track labor costs with our secure timesheets and see how far along everyone is on their tasks. Related Construction Content There’s more to construction than the preconstruction meeting. If you’re interested in reading more about construction project management, we have a ton of articles you can view for free. Here are some construction-related pieces of content. What Is Preconstruction? Activities, Checklist & More The 5 Construction Phases (Templates Included) 10 Key Construction Job Titles: Overview & Salary ProjectManager is online construction project management software that connects teams in the office, on the job site and anywhere else they might be. Contractors and their crews can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. 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