Construction manpower planning apps – also known as construction workforce management or resource planning apps – help contractors in the construction industry plan their people and projects.
Bridgit Bench has been named the #1 construction manpower planning app that helps contractors across North America optimize their workforce management and streamline work assignment efficiency. Capterra also featured Bridgit Bench in the Top 20 Construction Management Software of 2019.
This blog post will take you through the top construction manpower planning features you should look for, the benefits of using a construction manpower planning app, how to run a resource planning meeting using a manpower app, and what teams should have access to your manpower app.
Top construction manpower planning app features
According to Capterra, construction and operations professionals look for the following features when implementing a manpower app for construction resource management and scheduling:
Capacity management
Forecasting
Reporting/project tracking
Resource allocation & planning
Resource scheduling
Search/filter
Skills tracking
Utilization reporting
Gantt charts
Project scheduling
Staff calendar
Here are some of the top Bridgit Bench features our users love:
Full project history
Skills and experience tracking
Under and over allocations
Custom permissions groups
Powerful Gantt views
Utilization reporting
Unlimited users and projects
Real-time dashboards
Cloud-based web and mobile applications
Implementation and customer support
Benefits of using construction manpower planning apps
With our simple user interface and construction-first workforce management features, contractors can easily access their workforce plans and make changes on-the-go.
According to the users of our construction manpower planning app, Bridgit Bench helps them:
Cut bi-weekly manpower meetings by 50%
Gain operational efficiency
Save 15 to 20 hours a month on resource planning processes
Simplify and organize workforce plans
Cut resource planning prep time by 84%
Ditch manual processes with whiteboards and spreadsheets
“Bridgit Bench enables us to be much more organized and systematic in how we plan our resources. It’s an integral tool that helps us be smart in our growth.”
— Stephen Miller, VP Operations at Andres Construction
Running a meeting using a construction manpower planning app
Depending on the size of your organization, you may be running your manpower meetings on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and looping in anywhere from 2 to 10 team members. These meetings are critical for ensuring you’re on the right path with your workforce plan. This means ensuring sure these meetings are productive is critical to the success of your organization.
Mike Dennis, Operations Manager, from GE Johnson said it best:
The information gets put into our manpower app – it’s the gospel – and we act on it that day.
Using a manpower app during your construction resource planning meetings will allow for:
Collaboration – make changes simultaneously across different teams and levels in your organization (see below for a list of what teams should have access to your manpower app)
Correct, real-time data – you’ll have access to your most up-to-date people and project data like under and over allocations, skills and experience tracking, and employee profiles
Dynamic dashboards and reports – view live Gantt charts for people and projects, utilization reporting
On-demand workforce plan history – you’ll have access to your full project history (like delayed or completed projects) and full people history (like incoming interns or deactivated employees)
We’ve also pulled together 8 tips for running effective manpower meetings here:
Assign someone to facilitate your meeting
Choose your conferencing tool
Communicate your meeting schedule early
Create a single source of truth for your project and workforce data
Set your meeting agenda and stick to it
Set your manpower meeting guidelines
Specifics around running the meeting
For more detailed information on how to execute on the above tips, check out our post on how to run a remote manpower meeting.
What teams should use construction manpower planning apps?
Ensuring the right teams have the right access to your manpower app is important for ensuring buy-in across your organization and transparency when it comes to construction resource planning. We recently ran a survey of construction workforce management trends, and found that North America’s top contractors share their workforce plans with the following teams:
Construction
Executive Leadership
Operations
IT & Innovation
HR
If you found this article useful, you can also check out our article on the top 3 cloud-based tools for construction workforce planning meetings.
Lauren Lake
Lauren Lake is the COO and co-founder at Bridgit. She holds a degree in Civil Structural Engineering and is well-versed in construction workforce management and resource planning processes. Lauren has been named to the Forbes Manufacturing & Industry 30 Under 30 and Best Of Canada Forbes Under 30 Innovators lists. Lauren has presented at industry events and conferences, including BuiltWorlds, Canadian Construction Association, Procore Groundbreak, and more.
