Effective Construction Material Management

  • Editorial Team
  • News
  • 2 November 2022

Even though the construction industry suffered a lot due to the 2020 recession it managed to recover by 2021 and peaked at $1.57 trillion in July of the year. However, the growth has also made the industry much more competitive and now construction businesses are constantly trying to reinvent themselves in order to stay in business. This also means that construction companies need to be smarter about construction material management. A capital-intensive industry like construction requires proper management of inventory. But most construction companies struggle with handling their huge inventory of construction tools, equipment and materials. 

There are a lot of materials involved in the construction of an infrastructure or building and streamlining their management process is necessary. Through this process you will be able to ensure that there are no quality control issues and all your projects will be carried out smoothly. You need to make sure that you have a material management strategy that ensures quality for your project. Your strategy should involve everything from selection of raw materials that will be used to details regarding how to handle purchase and delivery, all while staying within the budget. 

Safe handling of construction materials

During the construction of an infrastructure or building heavy equipment, tools and materials usually need to be moved from one location to another. When you are transporting materials in bulk you need to make sure that you use safe handling methods. You can either use the horizontal movement or the vertical movement to transport materials. In the horizontal movement the safest and shortest route is chosen for the material to be transported to another project site in order to limit travel time. Vertical movement is used when material needs to be carried to a different floor of the same project site. For this method the load needs to be fastened correctly and lifted carefully so there is no risk of an accident during transportation.

Choosing a handling system for your business

When you are choosing a handling system for your business you need to make sure that it is compatible with the current storage equipment. Material handling is an important task whether it is before or after the equipment has been transported to the project site. Make sure to do a proper cost benefit analysis of all the systems that are available for sale in the market. When you are choosing a handling system for your business you will need to look at the capital and resources that are available before making your decision. However, you still need to make sure that the handling system you choose will be able to meet future demands. 

You have the option of choosing between manual or mechanical handling when you are streamlining the process. If you choose mechanical handling, you will be able to use machinery and automated mechanical tools in order to move material. Manual handling requires extensive use of labor but, it is usually a lot cheaper and better for handling material in confined spaces. However, using mechanical handling tools and machinery can really speed up the whole process.