5 Biggest Challenges in Construction Project Management and How to Solve Them

Construction is a massive industry, employing over 8 million people and generating nearly $2.1 trillion in projects each year, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). But despite its size, inefficiencies like project delays, budget overruns, and lack of coordination continue to create hurdles.  

A big challenge for many construction teams is the lack of visibility into what’s happening on their jobsites—and when. Without that clarity, timelines slip, costs rise, and rework becomes the norm. 

The good news: These challenges are solvable. With the right approach and tools, you can overcome obstacles and deliver projects that make both you and your clients happy. So, let’s dive into the five biggest construction project management challenges you’re likely to face and explore practical solutions that can help transform your project management approach.   

1. Keeping Projects on Budget 

The Challenge: 

Think about your last project that went over budget. Was it due to rising material costs or labor expenses that weren’t tracked properly? It happens more often than we’d like. In fact, the International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology found that 9 out of 10 construction projects typically experience cost overruns. Without close cost monitoring, unexpected expenses can quickly add up, reducing profitability. Poor tracking and inefficiencies make it harder to stay on target, impacting both timelines and financial outcomes.  

How to Address This: 

• Monitor expenses daily instead of waiting for monthly reviews. 
• Use forecasting tools to anticipate where you might overspend. 
• Adjust quickly when things change before they become major issues. 
• Set budget alerts to flag when costs creep above planned thresholds. 

Real-time financial visibility gives project managers a chance to course correct before the budget breaks. 

2. Connecting In-House and Jobsite Teams 

The Challenge: 

Communication gaps between field teams and office staff are a major contributor to project delays, misalignment, and costly rework. A study conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) found that poor communication is responsible for over 30% of project failures.   

In today’s construction industry, real-time collaboration isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. Without a unified system, teams often rely on disconnected emails, phone calls, and scattered spreadsheets, making coordination difficult. This lack of visibility results in errors, delays, and increased costs.  

How to Address This Issue:  

• Adopt a cloud-based collaboration platform that updates in real time.   
• Equip field teams with mobile tools so they can log updates on the go.   
• Automate task notifications to keep everyone aligned.   
• Hold short sync-ups to review progress and blockers across teams.  

When teams have a single source of truth, decisions get made faster and fewer mistakes slip through the cracks.  

3. Managing Contracts, Documents—and Gray Work 

The Challenge: 

Every construction project generates tons of documents—bids, drawings, work orders, safety reports. But too often, these files are scattered across inboxes, folders, or desktops. This leads to what we call "Gray Work": repetitive, manual effort that slows teams down. Our Quickbase's latest Gray Work research reveals that: 

• 59% of Construction professionals spend 11+ hours a week chasing down info 
• 73% of respondents said using multiple tools makes it harder to share project data 

Because project documents —like RFIs, drawings, or permits—are frequently updated, teams run the risk of referencing outdated versions when there’s no consistent, centralized system to manage them. 

How to address this issue: 

• Centralize documents in a digital system 
• Use construction project management software to manage versions  
• Control access by role to avoid confusion or errors 
• Set reminders for deadlines or expiring documents 

As Robert Salaj, Industry Solutions Lead at Quickbase, puts it, "Instead of talking about standardization and writing a standard on paper, software lets you develop that standard simultaneously." 

4. Keeping Projects on Schedule 

The Challenge: 

A construction project schedule is more than just a sequence of events. It’s a balancing act with multiple moving parts. Without proper visibility, delays can snowball into major disruptions. While it’s natural to think of projects in a linear way—starting one task and moving to the next only after the first is complete—construction doesn’t always follow that pattern. Waiting for one phase to finish before beginning the next can lead to unnecessary downtime and missed deadlines, especially when multiple subcontractors and teams are involved. Staying on track requires visibility into dependencies, timing, and opportunities to work in parallel. 

The Solution: 

According to Alex Pederson, AI Product Lead at Quickbase, the right software enables teams to quickly adapt when schedules shift, preventing minor setbacks from escalating. Here’s how: 

• Implement real-time tracking to quickly identify and address issues 
• Shift labor or resources when timelines slip to stay on track 
• Coordinate dependent tasks to avoid slowdowns 
• Get notified instantly when key deadlines are at risk 
• Keep all stakeholders in sync with up-to-date scheduling info 

5. Managing Risk and Improving Safety 

The Challenge: 

Construction workplace fatalities are rising, with 5,486 worker deaths in 2022, a 5.7% increase from 2021 and 15.2% higher than 2020, according to BLS. Falls, electrocution, and struck-by incidents remain the leading causes.  

Despite efforts to improve safety, challenges like limited safety tracking, inconsistent training, and delayed incident reporting continue to impact job site safety. A proactive, technology-driven approach is crucial to mitigating risks and ensuring compliance.  

The Solution: 

A proactive approach to risk management can help construction teams prevent accidents and maintain compliance with safety regulations. 

• Store and access all safety policies, audits, and incident reports in a centralized system. 
• Enable employees to document photos and explanations of incidents to understand risks and prevent recurrence. 
• Ensure OSHA and regulatory compliance by setting automated alerts for required safety actions. 
• Use past observations and near-miss data to improve safety protocols in future projects. 

How Quickbase Can Help 

Let’s look at what these challenges have in common. They all stem from a lack of real-time visibility and disconnected data and information. The right construction work management app doesn’t just help fix individual problems—it transforms the way your teams connect, plan and execute. Construction teams need tools that reflect how dynamic and complex their work really is—tools that reduce gray work, simplify communication, and bring clarity across the entire project lifecycle.  

That’s where Quickbase’s Project Hub Pro App comes in. It’s a centralized platform built to give project teams visibility, control, and flexibility—without adding more complexity. 

With the Project Hub Pro App, you can: 

• See budgets, schedules, and field data in one place 
• Track RFIs, safety reports, and permits with ease 
• Equip field teams with mobile access 
• Set proactive alerts for delays or cost risks 
• Standardize workflows and cut down gray work 

Whether you’re managing a handful of projects or scaling across regions, Quickbase’s all-in-one construction project management toolhelps your team stay connected and in control. 

Now the question is: Are you still managing projects with outdated systems, or are you ready to streamline your operations with modern solutions? Explore Quickbase’s construction solutions today.