6 Construction Project Management Trends to Know About

Back in 2020, McKinsey predicted that the construction industry would see a fundamental shift driven by digitalization, new materials, and industrialization.

Fast forward to today, and these predictions are becoming a reality, especially in how companies manage their construction projects.

Today, we’ll explore six key trends that are reshaping construction project management and show you how to leverage them to your advantage.

If you want to stay ahead, it’s time to embrace these trends.

Digitalization of Processes

Digitalization is transforming industries across the board, and construction is no exception.

Gone are the days of relying solely on paper-based processes.

Today, digital tools are streamlining project management and boosting efficiency like never before.

Franck Le Tendre, former CEO of Finalcad, a global leader in digital transformation for construction, captured this shift perfectly:

So, what does this mean for you?

It’s time to embrace construction technology.

Technologies like construction project management software, building information modeling (BIM), asset management tools, and artificial intelligence lead the charge.

Construction Project Management Software

The global construction management software market is expected to grow from $1,985.6 million in 2022 to $4,767.7 million by 2032, with a CAGR of 9.4%.

This is no surprise, given all the capabilities it brings.

Construction project management software is a unified platform for project planning, scheduling, cost-tracking, and team collaboration.

And this is precisely why companies rely on it.

Safet Mustafaj, Executive Director & Contracts Manager at S&M Solutions LTD, a building contractor from South East London, confirms it.

“For example, we utilize project management software for efficient scheduling, cost-tracking, estimating and collaboration among team members.”

All in all, by streamlining communication and collaboration, providing real-time analytics, and allowing access to project data from anywhere (if cloud-based), this piece of tech ensures you stay on budget and on schedule.

BIM

Next up, there’s building information modeling (BIM).

BIM creates a digital representation of a building’s physical and functional characteristics, like in the image below.

This leads to three key benefits: better and faster visualization of a project, easier coordination of a design, and improved collaboration among stakeholders.

Asset Management Software

Managing construction assets—like equipment, tools, and materials—is another essential part of a project manager’s job if they want to keep projects on track.

Asset management software, like our very own GoCodes, helps project managers monitor the location, condition, and usage of assets in real time and from one platform.

This makes planning projects much easier, as it ensures you have what you need, where you need it, and when you need it.

This further reduces downtime and prevents delays in construction projects.

Artificial Intelligence

AI is another powerful tool that is currently reshaping construction project management, particularly during the initial planning phase.

For instance, AI automates material procurement, significantly speeding up the process.

Before AI, contractors manually sifted through design specs and product sheets, trying to match requirements to available products.

Now, AI handles this in a fraction of the time, freeing you to focus on other critical aspects of the project.

But AI’s impact doesn’t stop there.

It’s revolutionizing scheduling, risk management, and even predictive analytics, making construction projects more efficient and less prone to delays and budget overruns.

Use of Predictive Analytics

The ability to anticipate challenges before they arise is invaluable, especially when working on multiple construction projects.

In 2022, Jenny Moshea, former Chief Information Officer at Sellen Construction, highlighted precisely this as the missing piece in the construction industry:

Fortunately, in recent years, predictive analytics has started to fill that gap.

By leveraging historical data, statistical modeling, data mining techniques, and machine learning, project managers can now more accurately forecast project timelines, identify potential risks, and make better-informed decisions.

And the industry is catching on.

A 2020 study from Singapore highlighted the following as the top applications of predictive analytics in construction:

For example, by analyzing historical cost data, material prices, labor costs, and other project parameters, predictive models can help forecast project costs more reliably.

This, in turn, reduces the likelihood of budget overruns.

But predictive analytics goes beyond just prices.

It also enables project teams to analyze data from various sources, such as traffic patterns, weather forecasts, and supplier lead times.

This is helpful for both predicting delays and preventing them by finding the most efficient routes for delivering materials to job sites.

All of this can significantly improve project efficiency and make the project manager’s job easier.

On top of that, with the help of predictive analytics, you can now address one of the biggest concerns in the industry—labor shortages.

According to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk, 91% of construction firms are struggling to find workers.

Predictive analytics can help here, too.

How?

By processing vast amounts of information in real time to improve workforce distribution and schedule predictions.

In short, predictive analytics provides you with the insights needed to make proactive, data-driven decisions, keeping your projects on track even when faced with uncertainty.

Given its growing importance, now is the time to start leveraging this trend to your advantage.

Adoption of Green Building Practices

As awareness of climate change grows, the construction industry is stepping up by embracing green building practices.

According to the 2021 World Green Building Trends report by Dodge, global commitment to green building is on the rise.

In 2021, 28% of companies focused on making over 60% of their projects green—a number expected to jump to 42% soon.

Why the increase?

Well, with growing concerns about the environment, construction managers are rethinking how they build.

They’re adopting sustainable materials, implementing energy-efficient systems, and committing to certifications that ensure projects meet stringent environmental standards.

Cristina Gamboa, CEO of the World Green Building Council and the partner of the previous research, sums up the broader mission of green building:

One of the most significant trends in this area is the increased use of renewable energy sources, like solar and wind power, to run construction sites and power buildings.

This shift not only reduces reliance on fossil fuels but also contributes to long-term sustainability.

The industry is also turning to materials like recycled steel and low-carbon concrete to cut carbon emissions and minimize waste.

Additionally, materials like bamboo are gaining popularity for their sustainability.

Waste management is another critical issue that green building practices want to tackle, given that the construction industry generates a significant amount of waste.

For example, 62% of all waste in the UK comes from construction.

To combat this, companies are adopting circular economy principles, such as recycling and reusing materials.

Another innovative example is the use of 3D printed materials, which also reduce material waste and, additionally, enable cutting-edge designs.

Skanska, a leader in sustainable construction, pioneered the use of 3D-printed cladding on a major London building project.

Specifically, for the 6 Bevis Marks office project in London, they used 3D printed cladding ‘shrouds’ for the top section of the ETFE canopy on the building’s roof terrace, showcasing the potential of these advanced materials.

However, going green in construction isn’t exactly a new trend.

Many companies have been leading the charge in sustainable practices for decades, and Skanska is one of them.

Swati Paul, Executive Vice President at Skanska UK, explains their mission:

Skanska’s focus on resource efficiency, material choices, and opportunities to increase circularity has set a benchmark in the industry.

And it all starts with project managers leading their projects in a sustainable, green direction.

More Focus on Safety

Safety on construction sites has become a major focus as the industry faces serious risks.

In 2022, in the US alone, there were 1,056 fatalities among construction and extraction workers.

This marks an 11% increase from the previous year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This makes construction one of the most dangerous jobs, right after transportation and material moving.

With these alarming numbers, it’s no wonder that there’s a big push to improve safety, starting right from the planning phase of a project.

Construction project managers are now using advanced tools and technologies to keep workers safe, and one of them is BIM.

If BIM technology is implemented in the early stages of your project, you can gain a significant advantage in terms of safety.

Let’s take the installation of a building’s facade as an example.

Typically, this involves workers being exposed to the risk of falls while working on scaffolding or lifts outside the building.

However, BIM can make the process safer by planning better ways to access the exterior, reducing time on scaffolding, or designing protective systems.

So, the main benefit of BIM here is spotting safety risks early and finding ways to reduce them.

But there are other tools in the market that are also becoming a trend in the industry when it comes to increasing safety.

Smart helmets are one of them.

These helmets look like regular hard hats, but they come with built-in technology like sensors and augmented reality.

They can warn workers about hazardous conditions and send alerts if someone needs immediate help.

According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, smart helmets have improved both productivity and safety.

Workers don’t need to leave their work areas as often, and the health-tracking tools and emergency alerts make these helmets a vital part of site safety.

All in all, safety now begins long before construction starts.

Managers are incorporating safety measures into their project plans to make sure risks are managed from the outset.

And, by using these modern tools and techniques, the industry is taking significant steps to protect workers and make construction sites safer.

So, with all these advancements, safety in construction is moving from a reactive to a proactive approach, ensuring that workers are better protected and accidents are less likely to occur.

Implementation of Agile Project Management Practices

Agile project management is making waves in construction, and for good reason.

Unlike traditional project management methods, which follow a strict sequence of steps—planning, designing, building, and closure—agile is all about flexibility and continuous improvement.

It breaks projects into smaller, more manageable parts and allows teams to adapt as they go, responding to changes and new information.

Below is an illustration of agile’s iterative nature:

Agile is especially effective in the planning, design, and pre-construction phases.

These stages involve a lot of changes, and agile’s flexibility allows for early feedback and adjustments.

For example, teams can use site plans and sketches to gather feedback and make changes before construction starts, avoiding costly rework and delays later on.

However, agile also helps address issues later in projects.

Namely, construction projects often suffer from poor transparency, with processes tracked through spreadsheets and informal updates.

Agile improves this by promoting visualization at every stage.

Tools like Kanban boards make it easier for teams to see their workflow, identify bottlenecks, and react quickly to emerging issues.

Additionally, agile practices aim to reduce rework by incorporating regular quality assurance steps throughout the project lifecycle.

Frequent monitoring helps teams catch issues early and minimize excessive rework.

Communication is another critical area where agile shines.

Ineffective communication can lead to project failures, but agile promotes regular feedback loops and interaction among team members.

Daily meetings help teams stay aligned, discuss progress, and address blockers.

Felipe Engineer-Manriquez, an advocate for Agile in construction, cites an example of a team using the Agile Scrum framework for a large healthcare construction project.

They managed this complex project alongside several smaller ones, doubling their output without needing extra staff or extended hours.

The team’s success highlighted agile’s effectiveness in improving performance through constant communication, feedback, and breaking work into manageable units.

Simply put, agile project management offers a flexible, adaptive approach that enhances efficiency and handles changes effectively, especially in the early phases of construction projects.

While traditional methods remain essential, agile is proving to be a valuable tool for improving project outcomes and communication in construction.

Emphasis on Better Communication Between Stakeholders

Communication has always been a challenge in construction, often leading to project delays and cost overruns.

Historically, slow information transfer from stakeholder to stakeholder and from the office to the site caused friction and inefficiencies.

This further prevented collaboration between all parties.

In fact, 62% of construction leaders identify this lack of collaboration as the main cause of project delays.

But here’s the good news: this is changing, thanks to advancements in technology.

Before, sharing information between various stakeholders on a project involved cumbersome documents like PDFs and spreadsheets, which were prone to errors and miscommunication.

Now, new tools and technologies are improving how we communicate in construction.

AI, for one, is transforming the way data is shared and used. Modern tech solutions also address the challenge of scattered data.

In the past, information from different teams was often difficult to access and analyze.

But today’s technologies organize and centralize this data, making it more accessible and useful.

This means everyone involved can easily share and use the same information.

Forest Flager, CEO of AI-powered platform Parspec, puts this into perspective:

“There’s an opportunity to bring more accessible product data to other stakeholders in the process, including designers who would like information about availability and pricing when they’re setting their requirements; contractors who are interested in those same attributes. And manufacturers today would love better information about what is being demanded in the marketplace and understanding, project by project, what are the different criteria that customers are most interested in.”

Moreover, BIM, which we mentioned many times today, makes communication between stakeholders even easier.

David Wood, with over ten years of experience in implementing BIM at Chapman Taylor, sums it up.

Finally, with robust project management software, sharing documents and seeing real-time updates has never been easier.

The result of this new technology?

Faster and more effective communication between stakeholders.

By improving how information is exchanged and accessed, construction projects are less likely to face delays or cost overruns, ultimately making construction projects more efficient and successful.

Conclusion

As the construction industry evolves, staying informed about these six key trends in project management is essential for keeping up.

Embracing digital tools, adopting green practices, and improving communication are just some trends that are reshaping how projects are managed and executed.

Projects that integrate these approaches are already seeing better outcomes than those that don’t.

So, watch out for these trends, stay ahead of the curve, and manage your construction projects more successfully.