COMMERCIAL CASE STUDY Martin-Harris Construction CLIENT: MARTIN-HARRIS CONSTRUCTION CHALLENGE: Martin-Harris needed an interactive solution to allow team members and subcontractors to access project data from their mobile devices without having to bounce around different software platforms to do so. SOLUTION: Procore s cloud-based software and mobile apps provide Martin-Harris with a one stop shop for storing, sharing, and accessing the most current documents and drawings from anywhere.
In business since 1976, Martin-Harris Construction Company is a broad-spectrum general contractor specializing in office, flex, government, industrial, healthcare, retail, restaurant, hospitality, vertical residential, recreation, special use, and education. It took less than a year for Martin-Harris to see big improvements on projects after switching to Procore s cloud-based project management solution. Procore has increased the effectiveness and overall quality of our drawings and daily logs exponentially, says Brian Schmidt, senior project manager. Not only do teams now have access to current drawings wherever they go, but superintendents have also found a huge time-saver in the Daily Log Tool. At the end of the work day, it used to take them about 30 minutes to summarize the day s activities. Procore has entirely eliminated that. Brian credits the mobile app s user-friendly features, which include photo and voiceto-text functions, for the improvement in daily logs. Now, the Daily Log is just something that happens throughout the course of their normal job site tours, as they re walking around the job inspecting what is going on. Shaving half an hour from daily activities adds up to big savings over the course of projects that can take months and even years to complete. But for Brian, the perks of using Procore do not end there. REASONS TO SWITCH TO PROCORE Previously, Martin-Harris used project management software that resided on the company s in-house servers. The general contractor s information technology (IT) staff maintained the software, backed it up, and spent ample time saving data, copying data, and moving data. The software didn t do what we needed it to do, so we found ourselves using additional software from other vendors to supplement it, adds Brian. Staff members were using Timberline s Sage 300 CRE software for accounting which they still use, PlanGrid s mobile app to access drawings while in the field, and the note-taking app, Notevault, for daily logs and other field-based tasks. The workarounds proved to be less than ideal. Because the project management software did not integrate well with separate platforms, team members ended up having to access drawings from one platform and retrieve RFIs, submittals, and everything else from another. Since the supervisors and foremen were already relying heavily on mobile devices in the field, it made sense to move to a software solution that included a suite of mobile apps. We found that Procore gave our superintendents an effective way to use the software while they were on a job site directly from their smartphones and tablets without having to move to a trailer somewhere, says Brian. Procore operates like an FTP site allowing us to store large files and data that we can all access from anywhere, he explains. It s an all-inclusive platform eliminating the need for multiple software solutions. Now everyone receives the same information from the same place. Furthermore, since the software is cloud-based with automatic software updates, Martin-Harris IT staff isn t burdened with maintaining it. 2 3
PAINLESS IMPLEMENTATION When Martin-Harris first decided to switch vendors, the company formed a 15-member team to test the software on a handful of projects. The team met weekly with Procore staff to identify any potential issues and determine where special training was needed. Another reason for this tactical team, says Brian, was to develop knowledgeable employees that could in turn train and mentor others in using the software once a solution was selected. Four months later, the general contractor implemented the software company-wide. Two months after that, the weekly meetings were no longer needed. Any additional training and updates became a part of the company s monthly training program. The transition was relatively painless, compared to some of the other software changes that we ve made in the past, says Brian. We used Procore s training videos and the software is easy to use. EASY IMPLEMENTATION One of the things we re really happy with is Procore s sensitivity to feedback. They actually listen and react, says Brian. You don t get that with Oracle or Prolog. A lot of other software companies pretty much make what they make and you have to figure out how to use it. Martin-Harris works with a dedicated Procore account manager who helps their users navigate through the software and training. Plus, Brian has found Procore s online chat option to be useful for quickly troubleshooting issues: Generally, we can have someone on the other end of the computer in less than five minutes. Perhaps most importantly, whenever team members find processes that aren t a good fit for their work, they are able to talk to someone on Procore s product or engineering team about customizing those features and processes. If the changes cannot be made immediately, the software designers use that customer feedback as guidance when developing additional features. They are making changes that are actually things that we want rather than blindly adding more features we won t use, says Brian. 4 5
THE MOBILE ADVANTAGE Procore s mobile platform gives us a technological advantage over competitors who may still be operating in the Dark Ages of spiral notebooks and software tied to inhouse servers and desktops, says Brian. The cloud-based platform and mobile apps provide team members with the versatility to access all the documents and tools they need to do their jobs regardless of their location. Procore has also enabled the general contractor to simplify the RFI process. Previously, project managers had to send RFIs in multiple emails to various parties while staying on top of resulting communications. Now they send and track an RFI through Procore for all users on the distribution list to review. Overall, as a software platform, Procore has all of the functions that you would hope for in project management software, says Brian. To complete its transition to one do-it-all platform, the company plans to integrate Procore with Sage s accounting software within the next two years. Procore s mobile platform gives us a technological advantage over competitors. The cloud-based platform and mobile apps provide team members with the versatility to access all the documents and tools they need to do their jobs regardless of their location. Brian Schmidt Senior Project Manager 6 7
Everything on One Powerful Platform. Procore offers the most comprehensive construction platform, combining drawing, financial and quality management into one application. We ve put the power of complete construction management into your hands with a mobile solution that keeps everyone in sync. Build collaboration from bidding to closeout with unlimited users, implementation assistance, online training, and unmatched customer support. Let your drawings take the lead, while efficiency, productivity, and faster building times follow. Procore Technologies, Inc. 6309 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 866-477-6267 // www.procore.com