Best Practices: Job Site Materials Management

4 Tips for Managing Job Site Materials

Unmanaged job site material can affect many aspects of a project such as: timeline,

budget, and the overall success of a building. Job sites can easily become hectic

and hard to manage because there are multiple moving parts that all depend on

each other. So what can you do to manage materials in the most effective way?

#1 RFID Solutions

Radio frequency identification allows the materials manager to tag and scan every shipment of material to keep record of

when and where it was delivered as well as what building or section of a project the

material is supposed to be used for. Once the material is received and tagged, it

should be moved to a (2).

#2 Central Location

Storing material can be hard when you have large, heavy materials in large quantities. One way that

you can be sure material is accounted for and easily accessible when needed is by keeping

everything in a monitored central location. Having a check-out system to keep track of when

materials are used can help to make sure that materials are accounted for at every stage of the building process, all the way through installation.

#3 Inventory Apps

Since everything in today’s world is done electronically, using an app on your smartphone

might be the easiest thing for a materials manager. Apps such as Inventory Scanner and Inventory

Tracker are easy and cost effective ways to track materials. These apps allow for you to use your

phone to track materials with a click of a button. Another positive about using an app on your phone

is that the information you need is at your fingertips whenever you need it.

#4 Have a Policy

Once you have determined the best way to track material for your project, it is important

that the method is communicated to everyone using the material. In order for your

method to work, everyone involved with materials needs to know who to contact about materials and the proper way to remove the materials from the central

location.

Make Your Next Project Great!

No matter which technique is best for you and your project, the most important thing is that you have

clear method and that you communicate that method with your team. Job site materials

management is something that makes a difference between good projects and great projects.

Make your next project your most productive project ever by making materials management a top priority.