Empowering the field with seamless access to data

The Challenge

The team at Engelberth wanted a solution that was going to give their field staff easy access to all project data and, in turn, increase the amount of information documented.

The Solution

Procore’s unlimited user licenses and mobile app allows all team members to stay up to date with relevant project information. In addition, the quality of information has significantly increased with Procore’s easy-to-use field tools.

Making the Switch from Constructware

Tom Clavell, Executive VP and CFO, knew that Engelberth needed a solution that was going to push their company forward.

"We were in a three-year contract with ConstructWare and we had been with them for 15 years. We were actually one of the first companies using ConstructWare," says Tom. "Chris [Russell] and I had gone out to ConstructWare to discuss our next three-year contract and find out about the development and features that they were working on. We didn't feel like the development roadmap—where they were putting development funds, what features they were coming out with, and what direction they were going—was something that would benefit us or our needs as a company."

Mobility is Everything

Mobile tools were essential for the field staff at Engelberth, and Constructware was far from where they needed to be. Tom asked Chris Russell, Director of Information Systems and Process Development, to find a new solution that would meet the company's growing needs. Once Chris began comparing software platforms, he discovered Procore and knew the team could easily make the transition. "I started comparing ConstructWare and Procore side by side, and I realized that 80 per cent of what we had already been doing day to day, we could do similarly in Procore. We knew it would be an easy transition, and we gained that mobile functionality," says Chris.

It was easy for Chris to convince the team to make the switch, knowing that the future of construction was in mobile. "We found that, while ConstructWare wasn't putting money into the mobile tools, Procore excelled on the mobile front. We've been using a desktop version of software for a while, and in order to take the next step, we really needed to make the change to mobile. Procore really shines in that area."

From the beginning, Engelberth knew they were looking for a project management solution that was focused on mobile development and field tools. After just a few weeks, Tom was already noticing an improvement in the field teams' use of the software. "That was maybe the biggest difference we saw, and that was where all the gains were going to be made—taking the product into the field," says Tom.

Tom has also noticed the field team taking advantage of iPhone features that make documenting information significantly easier. "What's great about the mobile app is that people can use Siri to translate speech to text and record their notes in Procore using their voice. That's something we've been asking for for years. Plus, adding pictures has become much easier. Previously, we had to take pictures, go back to the office, upload them, rename them, and then attach them to a file. Procore's mobile app takes away that entire process and makes it almost enjoyable to do."

Not only is the field team taking advantage of the mobile tools, but the quality and quantity of information that is now being documented is definitely better. "The mobile tools make it easier for people to access and input data. Now, the quality of our data is significantly higher than it used to be."

With Mobility Comes Better, Faster Data

Almost instantly after making the switch from Constructware, Chris noticed that the field staff seemed less resistant to documenting information.

"Some of our project managers who have never done meeting minutes before have gone in and are using the Meeting Minutes Tool because it's so much easier," says Chris. Team members who previously spent time marking up drawings by hand, are now using Procore to save time and eliminate manual work.

"One of the first employee comments I heard about Procore from was a gentleman who makes a lot of markups and provides very in-depth comments on everything," continues Chris. "Before, he was doing that in a PDF but now, Procore does a good chunk of that for him so he doesn't have to do that anymore. He comes to me and says, ‘Their Drawings Tool is awesome!'. He was very impressed with the OCR technology as well. It was taking him 2-3 days to link all the RFI's and addendums to the drawings and it literally takes him a couple hours now."

Chris and Tom both agree that the biggest improvement they have seen after switching from Constructware to Procore is the amount of information that is now being recorded. Chris has found that the amount of information in the daily logs is continuing to grow every day, and employees are finding the platform easy and helpful to use.

"I would say the biggest improvement we've seen with Procore is the ability to capture data in the field. The daily logs have grown exponentially. Those who previously did not have time to go back to the office to enter information, are entering information from their phones. People who didn't like to use the computer before are now our biggest users of the mobile app; they're putting in the most amount of content for safety-related issues and jobsite documentation. Mobile is now their friend, not their enemy."

With more complete reports, the accuracy of the reports has increased as well. "Most daily reports had been previously done at the end of the day. Now, the mobile tools offer them the flexibility to do their daily report as it's happening. They're able to make notes and comments and add pictures in real-time."

Engelberth has recently started using the Inspections Tool with Procore. Chris has noted that, because employees do not have to leave Procore to create a new inspection, adoption has been high. "Before we had to use different tools for inspections because we couldn't do them in Constructware. Now, with Procore, that information is stored in conjunction with all our other project information. So you no longer have to look in different places."

After 15 years on Constructware, Engelberth Construction made the switch to Procore and the benefits were immediate. Information is now documented instantly, visibility amongst all team members has increased, and employees are able to work more efficiently. Having all relevant project information and tools in one comprehensive platform has allowed the field staff to perform inspections, upload photos, and mark up drawings in minutes.