How to reduce high costs in your construction business

Running a business involves many costs. But you know that already. There are many anticipated and undesirable costs that you have to deal with. I have not yet met a construction company confronted with low costs. It’s impossible. Take a look at your last month’s figures. Can you calculate the total cost? Sometimes it is difficult to pay attention to these details. You should however. Costs can nibble your money right in front of your eyes.

In short, you can act to reduce these high costs. If you do it right, you can save millions. It may sound a bit optimistic, but it makes perfect sense.

Fleet of vehicles

If you manage a large fleet of trucks and vehicles, you need to know why their operating costs are growing every month. It is crucial to analyze the problem. If you do not know how to do it, ask someone to do it. Analyze the size of the fleet and the quantity of vehicles. The end result will shed light on their performance. Think about whether you should sell them and buy more powerful models or if you will continue to spend money to solve problems.

Opt for ecology

Everything is recyclable. The “green” environmental standard has changed considerably. What has hitherto been reserved for households can now be applied to businesses? Everything can be reused. Whether it’s paper, filing cabinets … If it’s no longer possible to reuse them, recycle them. This has two advantages:

• Reduce purchase costs
• Reduce the waste collection invoice

Incentives

How often do your employees have a solution? They are the first users. If this has not happened so far, they must be encouraged to do so. Reward them for finding an idea to save money. If you do not know where to start, a first step is to do a brainstorming to find out how to honor your employee. You can offer employee benefits, extra leave, a free lunch for a week or just a cash bonus. If the company can save money with this idea, it deserves attention.

New technology (hardware and / or software)

Your obsolete technology costs you more money than it brings you. Maintaining an old technology (hardware and software) with weekly interventions greatly affects the budget of the company. It probably does not have the necessary functionality for a certain project. This forces you to appeal to third parties to solve your problem. And leads to additional costs. Go for the new software and / or hardware that works. This is a one-time investment that will pay for the long term. The need for weekly maintenance will disappear. And the cost involved will be reduced to a minimum.

Multipurpose workforce

This aspect is more complex, but it is worth the detour. At a time when all are trying to produce more with less effort, the versatile workforce is welcome. What does it mean? Look for specialists in your team who have the ability to perform multiple roles.

Order of amendment

Do not forget the change order when you build. Make sure that you have invested in a very controlled order change process. You must ensure that everything is done in the rules and to all well documented. Any additional costs will be approved. In this way, you will have a complete view of the circumstances and changes that occur.

Tax on transactions

This is every time the last time. When you are in a hurry, you always buy something that is accompanied by high taxes. You swore it would be the last time and you continue. So it never is. All building materials can be purchased duty-free and stored until you need them. I do not know if you know, but the taxes on the transactions are not due until the goods are actually transferred to the construction company.

Spend money

At first sight, it is the opposite of what we have just explained. If you dig a little, you will see that it makes sense. How? By investing in the future of your core employees. They must be happy at all costs. It’s a way to keep them at your side when times are tough. Invest in safety programs to reduce compensation costs for workers. Consulting them to know how to reduce the high costs is not useless to earn points from them.