Most people in the project management business will know the adage that each project has three variables. On-time, according to specification and within budget. The legend goes that you can pick any two of those that you want but that you can never have all three on the same project. Of course, this is nonsense and it is possible to get the full house – but this takes both careful planning and costing and then careful management. One of the best ways to ensure that the project is completed on time is to make sure that there is little or no scope for uncontrollable elements to enter the equation. With this in mind, here are a few simple pointers to help you ensure that your projects are always done on or before your deadlines.

Be independent

If you want to eliminate any uncontrollable variable from the equation, then you need to ensure that you are in control of all the potential failure points. One of the most critical of these is power, and in this regard, you should make sure that you source a place where, at the very least, you can find a 250 kva generator for sale. Being able to generate your own electricity on-site is a huge win and it means that no matter what happens you manage the flow of electricity on the site and that at no point will be caught out by power failures or disconnections.

Extend your working hours

Having committed to completing a job by a certain date, one of the best ways to buy extra time is by extending the number of hours that you are able to work on the site. Traditionally work starts at sunrise and it stops at sunset, but with the erection of lighting towers, you can add a good few hours of productive time to the day. A couple of hours perhaps at the start of the day and certainly a good few at the end. You might have to pay a bit of overtime to the labourers, but it will almost certainly be worth it – especially if you have factored this into the costings that you have given to the client.

Stay on top of things

Successfully completed projects are ones that have been well managed. In this regard, you need to ensure that you have a properly qualified business project manager as part of the team. Not just a person who is quite organised and who comes cheaply, that is not good enough. A good project manager is qualified in their field, they know the trade inside out and they command respect. There is no scope for pulling the wool over their eyes and they won't fall for silly excuses. Also, they are not afraid to manage client expectations and to head trouble off at the pass. A good project manager is indispensable and is key to any project that has multiple moving parts.