Construction projects are often complex and multi-faceted, making it difficult to gauge their overall progress and performance. This is where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come in.
KPIs provide a means of measuring and tracking progress against specific objectives and goals, and can be tailored to each individual project. By benchmarking KPIs, construction professionals can identify areas of improvement and potential bottlenecks, and take corrective action accordingly.
There are a number of KPIs that are commonly used on construction projects, such as project completion rate, safety record, customer satisfaction levels and cost control. However, the specific KPIs that are used will vary depending on the nature of the project and the objectives that need to be met.
When benchmarking KPIs, it is important to compare them against similar projects or against industry averages. This will give you a clear understanding of how your project is performing and where improvements need to be made.
If you are not already using KPIs on your construction projects, then now is the time to start. By benchmarking your KPIs, you can ensure that your project is on track and that you are making the most efficient use of resources.
Certain KPI's are quantitive in nature and the data is easily obtainable and comparable such as building cost or cost per square meter. However, qualitative data such as health and safety breaches and client satisfaction are less obvious to quantify and compare project to project. In this article we will propose ways of retaining the insights that further qualitative benchmarking can provide without losing sight of the bigger picture by quantifying qualitative data.
The following table will suggest some KPI's based on the major categories of project benchmarking that are applicable to most construction projects. It will offer specific KPI's to track and a suggested unit to quantify each into, the description column offers commentary on best practice for data collection. This is not an exhaustive list, but should provide a foundation for creating a comprehensive benchmarking program specific to your project.
The benefits of benchmarking time as a key performance indicator on construction projects are many and varied. By tracking time-based KPIs, construction professionals can track time across RIBA stages and compare them to similar projects identifying any issues or holdups in project design early on. This has the added benefit of offering your clients clear and solid time related advice for each stage to prevent frustration.
Cost is already one of the most tracked KPI's especially by quantity surveyors as it is very easy to extract and compare however there are areas of cost that are tracked less, notably the pre tender estimate which is often forgotten once the tendering period is over however comparing the accuracy of PTE's can improve further PTE's by suggesting a baseline for further comparison.
Life cycle costing is another area where benchmarking can be used to track cost, this covers the total cost of ownership for an asset and is used to make decisions on whether to refurbish, maintain or replace an asset, the data required for this is not always available or accurate but again by benchmarking this data it can be improved. LCC is a complicated process that often takes time and resources to complete however even a predicted cost or percentage allowance helps build a picture of future costs.
Building quality influences all other aspects of the benchmarking process, higher quality and specification buildings will be easier and less costly to maintain over their lifespan. Quality also has a direct impact on the health, safety and wellbeing of occupants and the environment.
Achieving quality in the construction process requires the effective management of materials, labour, equipment and the environment. By benchmarking quality as a key performance indicator, construction professionals can identify areas in which their project is falling behind and focus their efforts on addressing these issues.
Benchmarking quality as a key performance indicator can also help to improve communication between all parties involved in the construction process, as it provides a common language and understanding of what is required to achieve quality outcomes.
Client satisfaction is a difficult heuristic to capture however it is one of the most important factors to benchmark when measuring the success of a construction project. Client satisfaction can be measured in a number of ways, but one of the most important methods is to survey individuals who have been involved in the project.
There are a number of benefits to benchmarking client satisfaction as a key performance indicator on construction projects, as it can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the project delivery. It can also help to identify any areas of improvement for future projects. Furthermore, benchmarking client satisfaction can also help to build and maintain relationships with clients.
Every construction project will change whilst in the process of being built, weather the changes come from the client team, the architect or the contractor however tell us a lot about the parties involved and lessons we can learn for future projects. Changes become costly the more time progresses
Whilst some changes are inevitable, others can be prevented by better communication and planning at the start of a project. By benchmarking the changes that do occur, we can learn from them and take steps to prevent similar changes happening on future projects.
In order to benchmark changes, we need to track them. This can be done using a simple spreadsheet, which should include the following columns:
Once we have this data, we can start to see patterns emerging. For example, we might see that most of the changes are happening early on in the project, which could be an indication that the project team need more time to plan and communicate at the start of the
Profit levels, return on investment and repeat business are all outcomes of projects that construction businesses seek to achieve. These are different to other benchmarks as they have little influence over further project improvement, they are key however to track for example when choosing to tender for a project or decide upon the type of buildings to construct having data like this available to companies and clients provides a competitive advantage over the competition
There are a number of benefits to benchmarking health and safety as a key performance indicator on construction projects. First, it can help improve safety standards on construction sites. By benchmarking health and safety, construction firms can identify areas where safety standards are not being met and take steps to improve them. Second, benchmarking health and safety can help identify potential hazards on construction sites. By tracking health and safety data, construction firms can identify trends and take steps to address them before they result in accidents or injuries. Finally, benchmarking health and safety can help improve communication between construction firms and their clients. By tracking health and safety data, construction firms
Our carbon footprint is not only imperative for the future of the planet but clients and wider society are now aware of their role and responsibility when it comes to the construction process, therefore by tracking how much carbon is being used on a project we can ensure that we are constantly reducing our impact on the planet and moving towards more renewable materials, construction methods and processes
Not only is it becoming increasingly important to monitor our impact from a moral standpoint but from a financial one too, as the cost of carbon is only going to rise as legislation catches up with the science. By benchmarking our carbon emissions against other projects we can not only improve our own performance but also lobby for change at an industry level.
In order to benchmark we need to first understand what our emissions are, and this is not always as straightforward as it sounds. There are a number of different ways to calculate emissions, and the most accurate way will depend on the project type, location and data available. However, once we have a baseline we can start to compare ourselves against other projects