In recent years, the search for increasingly efficient processes has led the construction industry to reinvent itself exponentially.

At the same time that we strive for faster preparation and execution of projects, continuously improving quality is also a priority. In this context, agile methodologies in civil construction have become very popular.

Any construction project requires a lot of planning and great execution capacity to work without scares or budget problems.

The methodology tests and approves of companies from different sectors and sizes, It is relatively simple to apply, and does not involve a large investment.

In this post, you will find out how you can use Scrum for construction projects in general.

How to apply the methodology in civil construction

For starters, it’s important to adapt the team’s roles within the builder or developer.

In the case of work, the Product Owner may be the responsible engineer. After all, he has greater technical knowledge of the project. Any properly trained employee can be the Scrum Master, but this role may be well aligned with the normal tasks of the project manager.

And the Scrum Team is multidisciplinary, as it depends a lot on the Sprint objective and the tasks that the project will prioritize. But one thing is certain: the Scrum methodology is flexible and with the right training everyone will know what to do at the right time.

Steps that any construction company needs to take to apply Scrum on the construction site

If a construction company wants to apply Scrum on the construction site but needs to start planning from scratch, what to do? Applying the steps below is the best solution to get started right:

Understand how Scrum has already been used in the industry

The first step to applying Scrum on the construction site is to understand its full potential and its practical applications by studying what has already been done in the market. For example, you can use the methodology to:

• plan phases of the work;
• carry out feasibility studies;
• organize the logistics of equipment and materials;
• Offer training to everyone

In addition to understanding how Scrum can help, it is necessary to make everyone in the company understand it and, more than that, be motivated to adopt the method. This goes directly through training.

The more training and guidance employees receive, the greater their chance of making Scrum work consistently across the organization.

Define the backlog of the work

Last but not least, it is essential that the professional who will act as the Product Owner, possibly the engineer or the manager of the work, define the to-do list.

After all, this is what will serve as the basis for the preliminary planning analysis and as the starting point for the sprint.

The Scrum methodology is simple to understand and very dynamic to help teams’ productivity and effectiveness.

Do not think that this work model only works for other sectors, because there are already companies that are achieving positive results in the civil construction sector. The key is to understand the processes and apply them as soon as possible.

Why apply agile methodologies in civil construction?

Traditional civil construction is for lot of bureaucracy and formalities in the development of its projects. The many legal requirements, documentation, and deadlines involved further increase the need to control the progress of projects.

A construction project usually involves long stages and different teams in each one. Alignment problems between the professionals involved, lack of clarity in terms of deadlines, and obstacles in the transparency of the process to the client can seriously compromise the quality in the execution of work.

Thus, agile methodologies offer us new ways of executing projects, bypassing these common problems. Thus, everything ends up being a consequence of the change in mindset that agile brings, which is to put the customer at the center of all decisions to be taken.

The purpose is not just to build something for the customer.  But together with the customer, participate as much as possible in the process. With this, we were able to identify errors much more easily in the processes. In addition to allowing more flexibility to adapt what is necessary during execution.

Check out the main advantages of agile methods below:

Communication and collaboration

The constant interaction between the team involved in the project and with the client itself considerably improves problem-solving.

In addition to a well-aligned team that is aware of all ongoing processes. There is constant communication prevents conflicts, improving coexistence in the company, and collaboration between departments.

On the other hand, transparency also increases the customer’s trust in the company.  And also this brings more credibility to the construction company within the market.

Risk reduction

As agile methodologies keep all parties involved in the project in constant interaction, this also allows for testing and feedback on a much higher frequency.

Reducing risks, in turn, also means reducing costs and saving resources that would waste if there were no continuous monitoring of each stage of the project.

Project customization

Since many processes are simplified in agile methods. This gives the team more independence and flexibility to adapt processes as the project runs. In other words, this means finding the most complete solution for the needs of that project in question.

Working on a flexible project ensures that the final product will be able to alleviate all the pains of the client.

Increased team productivity

As agility is the main premise of these systems, the main advantage of agile methodologies is, obviously, the increase in productivity.

This is not because teams work faster or faster, but because they focus on executing what matters. Creating customer value and validating it in short cycles.

More than efficiency in planning, it seeks above all agility in execution. Therefore, projects carried out with agile methods can meet all stipulated deadlines. It is much more easily than projects carried out under the traditional management model.

Why Scrum methodology can change the way you manage works

One of the great advantages of the Scrum methodology is easier to avoid communication between the noise of the work employees.

Communication noise is one of the most responsible for waste and reworks in the construction site. It is possible not only to understand the impact that the work of each employee has on the project but also to identify and correct possible deviations from the route more quickly.

In addition, these meetings allow you to evaluate the way it works. To perform improvements in their processes so that future executions are increasingly efficient.

GitScrum supports your team to better and understandable self-organization!

Set your workflow and board to guide your Agile team, assign Tasks, Subtasks and keep in charge of the whole process evolvements. Allow your Agile team to collaborate.