Types of Construction Project Planning

In any project, planning is the first step in the overall sequence of project execution. After planning, the following steps would be organising and controlling every aspect of the project and how the team will materialise them. Planning is the most fundamental part of a project as a project well-planned, more often than not, succeeds. We all know everything may not go according to plan. With this, excellent construction project planners or managers never forget to include contingency plans and a portion of the budget for these additional expenses.

For centuries now, construction projects remain as one of the most intricate works to execute. However, every day there’s a new building or structure somewhere on this planet. There are risks and hazards in construction sites; thus, safety becomes one of the projects’ priorities. When you’re the owner of the building waiting to be constructed, it’s a massive investment you’re getting into. Planners must be able to estimate the budget accurately or at least appropriate to the project schedule and resources required and work within it. Construction project planners may fail to define the budget effectively. In contrast, project managers may not do well in controlling the project and follow the budget wherein they might go even beyond the allowance for risks or errors. A detail-oriented expert should do construction project planning, has strong communication skills, and is a problem-solver.

Types of Construction Panning

Construction project planning mainly consists of identifying the required resources and defining the budget. It involves synthesising the steps or work tasks needed to result in the envisioned structure and finalising the duration of every work task or stage in the project’s execution.

You may think there’s only one standard type of planning for all construction projects. Yes, there is an overall construction master plan, but you can break it down into three types of planning:

Strategic Planning

In strategic planning, owners decide on what to build with the guidance of planners. After they have chosen, they work on setting the project objectives that will contribute to the construction’s primary goal. The owners also decide on a feasible completion date so planners can strategise on how they’ll meet the date. This type of planning is the foundation of the construction master execution plan. It involves the top-level selection of project goals and objectives.

Operational Planning

Construction planners and project managers are in charge of laying out the operational plans. Most owners do not have expertise in construction as much as expert planners possess. Thus, not many owners tend to give a say in the project’s operational planning. Some who have little or in-depth background knowledge on construction projects may still want to be a part of formulating the working plans.

Meeting strategic objectives is the primary consideration in making operational plans.

Scheduling

The time scale set in strategic planning is one of the most significant parameters for the project execution. In scheduling, operational plans are integrated into this time scale.

Planners and managers should carefully do construction project planning since a poorly planned project will turn into a disaster. However, planning and management must go hand-in-hand. It is possible to have a detailed and comprehensive plan yet poor project handling and execution.