Enhancing project communication to reduce delays and errors

The Challenge

Communication was complex and dispersed across various channels and with multiple people. Avila Construction found it difficult to keep the entire project team up-to-date in real-time due to the extensive use of emails, texts, and project documents spread across different locations. The decentralized nature of communication posed a risk of miscommunication and potentially led to wrong decisions and rework.

The Solution

Avila found a solution in Procore Conversations, a technology that provided a centralized communication hub. Procore Conversations helped streamline collaboration by consolidating project-related communication into one location. This allowed project teams to communicate quickly and accurately with each member, ensuring that critical information was easily accessible to everyone. The tool facilitated the creation of different groups with the right stakeholders, making it easier to manage responses and track communication.

The centralized communication approach also brought a higher level of organization, with group messages, threads, and direct messages funneled into one location. This organizational improvement enabled Avila's project teams to identify the right people, track responses, and ensure the correct information was available at the right time, contributing to more efficient project management.

The Results

• Centralized communication allowed all project discussions to reside in one location within Procore, ensuring visibility into historical exchanges
• Streamlined collaboration enabled teams to create focused conversations, surface relevant information, and close out key tasks faster
• Saved time and increased efficiency provided immediate access to the project team for quick answers and resolution of outstanding issues

The Story

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Avila Construction Company has developed over $800 million in 25 multifamily transactions since 1986 for its own account and on behalf of global and institutional investors. Avila’s unique operating platform provides a broad investment perspective that is complemented by extensive, local market knowledge. Avila is dedicated to creating and promoting attainable housing in underserved communities. With a small but nimble team, the importance of staying on top of communication is imperative to the speed and accuracy of any project outcome. Each project has thousands of emails, texts, and project documents, all in different locations. Keeping every member of the project team up-to-date in real-time with all the different streams of communication is challenging. “Miscommunication is expensive”, says Garrett Smith, Project Manager, “If the right person was not copied on an email or did not see a specific project detail within all the different streams of project communication, a wrong decision can be made, ultimately leading to rework.”

When looking for a communication solution, finding a technology that could centralize and simplify project collaboration was top of mind. Procore Conversations stood above other communication solutions because of its ability to simplify and centralize project collaboration, without the need to onboard an additional piece of technology. The ability to connect the entire project team, right inside Procore, was unmatched.

Streamlining Collaboration with a Centralized Communication Hub

One centralized location allowed Avila’s project teams to quickly and accurately communicate with each member of the project team while keeping everyone up-to-date with critical information. In the past, managing text threads with different groups was challenging. With so many unknown numbers, it was difficult to confirm who was in which group texts and manage the different responses that came through. Procore Conversations makes it easy to create different groups with the right project stakeholders and track responses.

This new centralized method of communication also creates a higher level of organization. Now, group messages, threads and direct messages are funneled into one location. This simplifies communication management significantly. Avila’s project teams can clearly see which project members are in certain groups, quickly identify which threads require a response and easily track responses. This new way of organized communication helps Avila ensure the right people have the right information at the right time working on the right thing.

Empowering Field Productivity and Streamlining On-the-Go Communication 

Procore Conversations not only supports those in the office but also those in the field. Questions often come up when working on a jobsite. Having a simple and clear way to communicate has increased productivity significantly. As a Project Manager, Garrett Smith is often on the go. “In the past, if a question came up from someone in the accounting department, for example, they would add me to a long email thread that I likely would not read until I was back in the office or they’d call me. Now they have a quick way to contact me via direct message and I can quickly respond on my mobile device in the context of the information. This reduces the number of emails and distractions when I’m in the field, enhancing my day-to-day productivity.”

This new method of communication also improves how Avila’s project teams communicate. With Procore Conversations, any member of the project team can link a Procore project item directly to a communication thread. “I was just onsite with a superintendent asking for proof of permit. Instead of sifting through documents, exporting it to a PDF, and attaching it in an email, I was able to send it directly to him, in just a few taps with Procore Conversations,” Smith says. The ability to link directly to project items inside of Procore ensures the entire team is referencing the most up-to-date and accurate project information. With the right information, teams can make the best decisions on the go, ultimately decreasing rework.

Save Hours by Streamlining Collaboration

This new way of collaboration makes communication and project collaboration easier which has saved Avila’s team hours. As Smith puts it, "On average, I save about five hours per week, if not more, simply by leveraging Procore Conversations." This powerful tool has provided Avila with a streamlined avenue to quickly address questions that arise, solving problems faster. This allows their teams to focus on the task at hand, supported by the most up-to-date project information.

Long gone are the days of sifting through emails and text messages to find critical information. Procore Conversations centralizes collaboration for each project team member, allowing them to find the information they need and connect with the right team members to get their questions answered and keep the project moving. Hours that were once spent sorting through various communication threads are now spent doing what Avila does best — building.

Procore Conversation's ability to centralize communication, increase productivity, and save time has deeply impacted Avila’s day-to-day productivity but also their overall project success. By consolidating messages, threads, and direct communication into a unified space, project collaboration is organized and efficient. Avila now navigates a more organized and responsive project landscape, where decisions are made with the most up-to-date information, ultimately advancing its mission to create attainable housing in underserved communities with precision and dedication.