FREE Construction Project Management Template
Master construction project management timelines with our intuitive construction project management Gantt chart template.
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Why use our Construction Project Management Templates instead of Excel or Google Sheets?
Get started with our Construction Project Management Templates in seconds while skipping the hassle involved with Excel or Google Sheets.
Build Gantt charts in minutes, not hours.
No project management experience? No problem. Tom's Planner offers a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface that's intuitive and easy to learn. Creating Gantt charts is a breeze, saving you time and effort. Compare that to the time-consuming, frustrating, manual formatting-intensive process of building a Gantt chart in Excel or Google Sheets.
Move at the pace of modern business with no learning curve or Googling formulas.
Good luck figuring out how to make a Gantt chart work in Excel or Google Sheets. Excel’s user manual weighs in at a hefty 500+ pages. It takes just five minutes with Tom’s Planner to start planning your first real project plan.
Headache-free collaboration and sharing.
Tom's Planner offers powerful options for sharing and collaborating on Gantt charts, including public links, PDF exports, and team access with customizable permission levels. It’s never been easier to communicate or ensure everyone’s on the same page. Compare that to Excel, where sharing and collaboration mean jumping through hoop after hoop and dealing with confusion and chaos.
How to use Tom’s Planner’s construction project management templates to build and share your construction project.
Getting your project off the ground is as easy as 1-2-3.
Step #1
Click the 'start with template’ button to open the Construction Project Management Templates.
Step #2
Register for a free account and watch a short video on using Tom’s Planner. The account is free forever, with no strings attached.
Step #3
You’re all set to use the Gantt chart template. Need additional help? Our AI assistant can create a custom Gantt chart Construction Project Management Templates based on your project description.
What is a construction project management template?
Construction projects have many moving parts. You must balance material deliveries and inspections, subcontractors, permitting, and so much more. Of course, there are also unpredictable factors, like the weather that must also factor into your plans.
The point is that construction projects require a high degree of planning. You can’t just blindly push forward — that leads directly to a project going off the rails. The more detailed your planning, the more likely your project is to finish on time and within budget, without any unwanted surprises. A construction project management template makes that easier.
Beyond PM templates: How a Gantt chart improves planning capabilities
A construction project management template is a critical tool, but it’s essential to include others. A Gantt chart like Tom’s Planner is a flexible, adaptable tool that allows general contractors and others to handle incredibly complex projects easily. It’s a pre-established document populated with roles, responsibilities, and next steps, all customized to the specific project at hand.
The point of a construction project management Gantt chart is that it provides at-a-glance guidance to everyone involved, so they can easily see what’s required of them in their unique role, as well as the dependencies between their tasks and others. Gantt charts let you plan and schedule tasks, allocate and manage resources, add colors and labels, set task priority, and more.
But should you use a construction project management Excel template? The truth is that Excel and Google Sheets aren’t well suited for this type of thing. Instead, use a dedicated construction project management plan template and skip the hassles and headaches.
Typically, a construction project management template will include several pre-set fields, such as:
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) codes
- Milestones
- Payment schedules
- Start and end dates
- Tasks and subtasks
However, using a Gantt chart like Tom’s Planner introduces the ability to customize your documents for better planning and overall success. Examples of customized fields include:
- Dependencies that link tasks and subtasks
- Expense tracking across tasks and the project as a whole
- Inventory of materials and supplies plus allocation information
- Subcontractors assigned to specific tasks plus their contact details
A construction project management Gantt chart empowers your planning capabilities and helps ensure that your project goes as smoothly as possible from start to finish.
When to use a construction project management template
A construction project management template should be used with any construction project, regardless of scope or budget. Even DIY projects can benefit from this document. Some of the key times to use a construction project management Gantt chart include:
Planning Phase:
The strength of a construction project management Gantt chart is that it allows you to plan your project in detail. During the initial stages, you can use it to clarify tasks and timelines, define and allocate resources, set budgets, and more.
Resource Allocation:
All construction projects require labor, materials, supplies, and equipment. A Gantt chart like Tom’s Planner makes it easier to plan, allocate, and manage those elements, encouraging a successful project.
During the Project:
Don’t think of your construction schedule as permanent. It’s a dynamic, living document that will change over time. Using a Gantt chart allows you to adjust fields to match current situations versus planned outcomes easily.
While a construction project management template can streamline many aspects, it’s critical that you utilize other tools, too. A Gantt chart can complement and amplify what your template offers, helping to keep your project on track.
Who should use a construction project management template?
Who benefits from using a construction project management Gantt chart? The simple answer is that anyone involved in the project will benefit. Some of the most common users include the following:
Architects and Engineers:
A construction project management Gantt chart helps you plan your project in detail. That begins with the architect or engineer, who can use this document to coordinate their inputs with each phase.
General Contractors:
A Gantt chart allows general contractors to coordinate subcontractors, communicate with stakeholders, manage budgets and deadlines, and adjust plans as situations arise during construction.
Clients:
Clients must be able to make informed decisions during construction, such as financing or preparing for occupancy. A Gantt chart helps communicate key information with clients so they’re prepared when the time comes.
Using a construction project management Gantt chart dictates your project’s success (or lack thereof).
Start with templateThe top three pitfalls to avoid with a construction project management Gantt chart
While a construction project management template helps keep your build on track, simple mistakes can derail progress. Here are three pitfalls that you should avoid:
- Not taking the time to create accurate estimates
The goal of a construction project management template is to streamline everything. However, if you don’t take the time to create accurate estimates, no project management document can help.
Solution:Plan your project accurately. Include projected timelines from the very beginning and update them as the project evolves.
- ailure to plan and assess risks correctly
All construction projects have risks, regardless of the project’s scope. It’s crucial to identify the risks pertinent to your project and detail what they are, how they arise, and how you’ll get around them.
Solution:Identify risks and develop plans to mitigate them if and when they arise. A Gantt chart allows you to plan for all eventualities.
- llowing the project to descend into ordering chaos
All construction projects require materials and supplies. You’ll need to order many of them for delivery to the site.
Solution:Nail down what you’ll need to order, when, and from whom, and then detail that information in your project management template.
What does a construction project management template include?
To be effective, a construction management template must include the right information. Without these data, the document becomes less useful and can leave stakeholders and contractors in the dark.
A well-structured construction management Gantt chart will provide critical insight into the required resources, the project’s budget, and the efforts required to successfully complete the project. While each construction management template will be unique to the project in question, here are some of the most common things to include:
- Project goals:
What are the goals of the project? Usually, these go beyond “finish construction of the house” or something similar. Be specific and detailed here. That makes it easier for stakeholders and owners to work toward the project’s ultimate goal(s) while avoiding pitfalls and problems.
- Stakeholders:
Some stakeholders are obvious, like the property owner and lender. However, all construction projects have a wide range of other stakeholders. These will vary from project to project, but it’s important to list all of them so that information can be communicated quickly and accurately, without leaving anyone out.
- Scope:
What’s the project’s scope? Your construction project management template should include at least a rough scope that details primary milestones, costs, materials, contractors and subcontractors, and other important details. Note that this can be a truncated version of your more formal construction project scope of work.
- Timeline:
What’s your timeline for completion? When will the project start? What milestones indicate progress toward successful completion? When is it projected to end? Include all the information your team and other stakeholders will need to ensure that the project stays on track and on time.
- Those involved:
We’ve touched on stakeholders, but every project has other people involved. We’re talking about contractors and subcontractors responsible for different tasks. Who’s responsible for what during the project? What tasks hinge on others being completed successfully? Clearly highlight the roles and responsibilities within the project so that everyone is on the same page.
- Communication:
All successful construction projects require accurate, ongoing communication. Your construction project management template should include details about your communication channels so that everyone involved can stay informed.
Four tips on how to make sure you reach your deadlines
Construction is a deadline-driven industry. Failing to meet a deadline can mean cost overruns and unhappy clients. To help ensure that you can meet your deadlines, follow these three tips.
1. Communicate effectively:
No construction project is successful if everyone involved cannot communicate effectively. Set up reporting processes, define communication channels early on, and then make sure everyone knows what they are and how to use them. Note that you should have a range of communication tools, from phone calls to email to chat apps and in-person meetings.
2. Spell everything out:
How will the client know when the project is finished? Do they assume that you’ll also handle landscaping once the build is done? Set clear expectations and spell out what’s included in the project and what’s not. That will help avoid unrealistic expectations and improve overall satisfaction.
3. Plan for the unexpected:
All construction projects face unexpected circumstances. Maybe an order is delayed or perhaps a subcontractor must opt out due to other commitments. Inspection delays can mean permits aren’t issued in time for other tasks to be completed. You know the drill. Plan for the unexpected and have workaround plans in place where possible.
4. Create an effective guide:
Planning is the key to project success. Regardless of the scope or nature of your project, it’s essential that you start with a robust plan in place. A Gantt chart allows you to create timelines, assign and manage tasks and subtasks, track expenses, and more.
Gantt charts in Tom's Planner vs in Excel
| Excel | Tom's Planner | |
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| Cost | License required | Free version available |
| Learning curve | Hours | Minutes |
| Create your first Gantt chart | Hours | Minutes |
| Making an update in your chart | Several minutes | Seconds (drag & drop) |
| Sharing charts with others | At some point you will save and email a file titled: version_4_def_usethisversion_reallyfinal.xlsx | Online, one source of truth, always up to date, with no confusion |
| Look & Feel | Messy | Clean, polished and professional |
| Dependencies | 
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| Filtering | 
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| Zoom in/out |
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| Automatic Legend |
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| AI-assist |
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Let our AI assist do the work for you |
| Export to image or pdf | Requires workarounds to export | One mouse click |
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