What most people don’t realise is that construction projects never go according to plan. There’s always the prospect of delays, misunderstandings, and overshooting the initial budget waiting to pounce if given a chance.

As industry professionals, we gauge the success factors of a construction project on how smooth the process went from start to finish.

That is the project success criteria top firms in the industry go by. And thus, it should also be the same construction project success criteria everyone should adhere to.

The problem is, how do you make sure you get to implement said project success factors, and what are the processes you need to follow to keep it that way?

In this article, we will discuss the different project success factors and success criteria that contribute to the success of construction projects.

We will share our own experiences as industry experts and provide you with insider project management techniques for planning, implementing, monitoring, and minimising project risks.

Are you ready to jump in?

In life, understanding the root cause of a problem makes it easier to pinpoint solutions to it.

Like it or not, a construction project is filled with different challenges. Some are unavoidable, while others are due to incompetence, neglect, or inadequate preparation.

Below are the most common challenges faced by construction projects in Malaysia – and even around the world.

Most project managers use safeguards geared towards addressing long-term construction risks – leaving short-term ones forgotten or ignored.

The problem is that these short-term risks if left unchecked, can snowball into problematic delays that could significantly impact the efficiency, cost, and completion of a project.

These short-term risks can come from decision-making delays from key stakeholders, scheduling conflicts, or using unreliable contractors and subcontractors.

The best thing to do is to have a detailed planning and scheduling system made by professionals. A system will provide your project manager with a macro and micro view of your project – allowing them to monitor each task, check for potential risk – throughout the project life cycle – and address it quickly before it gets out of hand.

Without clear goals, there won’t be any way to measure success accurately.

You should not see “goals” as an “end of the line” thing. It is an “aim” and an “anticipated” result of careful planning and committing to achieving tasks within a set time. In the construction world, “quality” is also factored in.

Yes, it is possible to meet goals without those factors mentioned. But what’s the point of achieving a goal if the project had numerous delays, went over budget, or the quality of work is substandard?

Goals should go hand in hand with performance management. Each individual must have clearly defined tasks, quality control metrics, and achievable deadlines.

We strongly advise breaking big projects into smaller tasks, establish reasonable daily targets, and instil a sense of accountability to everyone involved in the project.

Ultimately, the project needs structure in order to achieve its goals and meet its success criteria.

Communication is one of the essential tools in any business.

There is a need for clear communication between parties in the construction industry because work gets delegated to several individuals or groups at any given time.

Without a clear and effective way of communicating with one another, vital tasks might end up not completed on time, resulting in delays that could impede the entire project’s progress.

Implementing an effective and clear line of communication within a construction project ensures that every person knows what he/she needs to be doing each day.

It also serves to hasten the resolution of problems proactively as a form of a project evaluation scheme – especially when personal meetings are not a readily available option.

There are hundreds of internet-based communication tools that work teams can use and a way for them to send documents to each other.

Having cloud-based scheduling and planning software like Primavera and MS Project can significantly improve efficiency and monitoring for project managers.

There will be instances where a client will ask for unrealistic completion dates or success criteria, request to accelerate schedules or work with limited funds.

While an experienced project manager can meet said expectations, it is by no means a walk in the park.

In fact, said demands would not only make the completion of a project much harder, but they can also hinder efficiency and productivity for everyone involved in the project.

The cause for these demands though is not necessarily due to a client being stingy. More often than not, it also stems from bad project status forecasting.

Forecasting, in a nutshell, is all about answering two key questions.

• How long will it take to complete a project?
• How much will it cost to finish it?

Bad forecasting focuses more on long-term rather than short term assessment.

Said approach fails to anticipate or factor in historical trend based data, disregarding minute risks.

Without including these risks, they could eventually manifest as delays – which will further complicate the completion of the project.

A sound forecasting system breaks down goals into daily, monthly, and weekly sections – making project success more realistic and achievable.

The fact of the matter is, if a project runs out of money, it would be difficult to complete it on time.

This problem stems from the project owner not providing said funds or mismanagement by incompetent project managers. In most cases, this stems from flawed data analysis and below-par planning and scheduling systems.

Example of a bad planning and scheduling practice would be a project manager ordering way too many materials before it is actually needed.

For example, cement, if not stored correctly, can be ruined by bad weather. There are no problem ordering materials in bulk – but only if works teams need the materials immediately and not wait for weeks or months before getting used.

Of course, there will be times when the problem stems from the project owner lacking available funds. If this happens during the implementation stage of a project, then there is no other way but to work with what the project team has or halt the project for the time being.

This scenario could not have materialised if there was a planning and scheduling system right from the get-go.

Said system ensures that the project owner knows how much money is really needed to complete a project.

From a small house to a high-rise building project, completing a project relies heavily on how competent the people involved in the project are.

From the project manager, architects, engineers to the person mixing cement, each one should be good at what they do – as a single weak link in this chain could affect the entire system.

Ensure that you check and verify the reputation of every person before you bring them into the project or associate yourself with them.

Always keep in mind that the construction business revolves around reputation. The better the reputation, the fewer challenges there will be.

Malaysia is one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia.

The Malaysian construction industry has been a significant contributor to this success, with the country’s growth rate tripling from 5% in 2004 to 15% in 2010.

The construction success rate in Malaysia is reasonable but not as impressive when compared to other countries.

When Malaysians measure how successful a construction project is, they usually base it on project length, whether it went over the deadline or if it stayed within budget(or with an acceptable variation from these two benchmarks).

For Malaysia’s success rate to be competitive against other nations, its construction sector needs to improve all major infrastructure developments, by at least 80% completion rates, over the next three years.

It also needs to minimise cost overruns or delays versus initial project estimates.

The main benefit is that this should lead to increased international confidence in Malaysian built construction projects and the industry’s public image.

In turn, this could lower risk premiums and potentially cheaper financing costs, reducing overall project cost (and increases return).

Generally, the Malaysian construction sector seems moderately successful as its average completion rates hover around 80% – even after accounting for delayed or never completed development plans.

There’s also the need to avoid a culture where long-term contracts provide higher incentives over shorter ones while not providing enough opportunity.

The reason for this is that it drives costs up without focusing on quality or safety.

This practice could hinder future construction projects within Malaysia as project success rates will fall further.

And when compared with other globally competitive countries in the construction industry like China – with their average completion rate close to 95% – it is plain to see the importance of improving the methodologies and processes of the Malaysian construction industry.

Now let’s talk about the main talking point of this article.

To ensure that a project is successful, project managers should know how to do their job properly and understand the things they need to consider and focus on.

These are proven methods of increasing project success.

Regardless of how small or huge a construction project is, it needs to start with creating a feasibility study.

By doing so, stakeholders will fully understand what it would take to plan, implement and complete a project.

You can start by making a Project Initiation Document (PID).

The document needs to describe clearly:

People – which is the identification of the exact amount of workforce needed to complete the project.

Resources – pertains to the gathering of materials and resources needed for the project.

Budget – which should indicate the total cost for construction permits, fees, equipment, materials and wages.

You don’t need to be super technical about this at first – as that will come later.

What is essential at this phase is that you will have a general idea of what you need to kickstart the project.

Project performance systems are methods for tracking project efficiency. These systems provide a visual representation of project progress and help identify potential problems preventing the team from reaching their goals. They also give managers an idea of how to implement project performance systems and how they can track your project’s progress.

There are numerous ways to implement project performance systems.

For instance, a manager could create a Gantt chart that shows the team’s progress concerning their goals on an individual timeline (or forecasted timeline for each significant stage of a task). It can also monitor specific project benchmarks and milestones.

A project manager can track project performance by assessing the time needed to complete a task versus the output of persons working on it. Of course, it also factors in work quality.

Another way to track project performance is to create milestones before the start of a task. The project manager will then use those milestones to check the amount of work done and materials used and establish any wastage.

There are many ways of forwarding information to team members within a construction site. The old method was to use two-way radios as a way of communication.

But with the advent of the internet, such methods have become antiquated – especially when compared to cloud-based systems where one can converse and send documents, images, and files in real-time.

There are many apps available specifically for this, with some being more specialised than others. Even the most basic messaging apps can send photos and videos from one person’s phone directly onto another device without having them download an attachment.

To ensure that project team members do not miss out on essential updates, reports, attachments, or discussions, the project leads should disseminate a single plan, schedule, and monitoring systems such as Primavera or MS Project. Such software gives key project team members access to crucial information and records about project ongoings and updates.

And when it comes explicitly to messaging platforms, you can use Slack – which has both chat and call functions and doubles as a file transfer and depository system. If you want something that mimics the handheld radio systems of old, you can use apps like Zello.

Of course, it goes beyond saying that your project site needs to have a decent internet connection for these apps to work.

Accountability is not about pointing fingers. Instead, it’s about instilling the idea that there are consequences for mistakes.

Objectively speaking, not all mistakes are products of poor craft or incompetence. Sometimes, it’s just fundamental human error.

Nevertheless, these mistakes must be addressed and analysed as to why they happened.

Suppose a mistake is proven to be deliberate or a product of incompetence, then the offending person should receive the appropriate sanction.

Though this may sound harsh, a construction project is not a democracy. It is a dictatorial environment where key stakeholders make the rules. Everyone below them follows it down to a T.

The cost of building materials can rise, typhoons in the middle of summer, or a massive chunk of your workforce calling in sick at the same time.

Those are just eventualities that can, or may not, happen – but one that you should have contingency plans for.

When making a contingency plan for your construction project, make sure that it includes a list of steps you need to take to address the issue.

Start with a basic list with a few key points. You can then expand on each of those points based on what you think is the fastest and most efficient way of dealing with a problem.

Your contingency plan should also include how much time it will require to resolve the problem and its delay on a task. That will help you and other stakeholders accurately reschedule the completion date of said task.

Also, you need to document the entire process and see how practical and effective your approach was.

Documentation will not only make it easier for you to deal with similar issues in the future – but also a way to fine-tune your processes to their most efficient form.

Lastly, don’t worry about being “over-prepared” as there is nothing wrong with it.

Remember, your main goal is to create an efficient construction project. And preparing for any eventuality, no matter how far-fetched it may be, is just you being competent in your job.

We at RPMS have also been in your shoes when we first started.

We had stories filled with dread, panic, and indecisiveness on what to do to ensure project success.

With over several decades of collective experience and years of working under the RPMS name, those stories are now but a memory – and is something that we laugh about during company gatherings.

You know what, you will eventually get to where we are now.

You will eventually gather enough knowledge about project efficiency, scheduling, planning and management – that resolving issues and maximising project efficiency will become second nature.

For now, though, you need to be patient, learn, and don’t hesitate to ask for help. All of that you must do if you want to dish out successful construction projects within Malaysia consistently.

So if you need advice or clarification about something, don’t hesitate to send us an email or give us a call.