Saving time and driving greater consistency across regions, projects, and teams

The Challenge

Harrell-Fish Inc. managed projects with various disparate solutions. But when the team landed an especially large job, they realized they needed to simplify their tech stack to one centralized platform. What’s more, they wanted a solution that enabled their field teams to easily access and view 3D models on site.

The Solution

Procore’s BIM and Design Coordination Tools were not only easy to use, but they were also seamlessly integrated in one user-friendly platform. Plus, with Procore’s unlimited user license model, all teams could access the information they needed, when they needed it.

The Results

• $20,000 saved over the course of a year
• 7 hours a week saved for the Virtual Construction Coordinator with Procore’s BIM viewer
• 8 hours saved per week for the payroll team of three

The Story

Before implementing Procore, Harrell-Fish Inc. relied on an array of disparate solutions to manage projects including Excel spreadsheets, Dropbox, and email. Senior Project Manager Chris Summers recalls, "There was a real need for consistency in document management, and most importantly, a much more consistent and more powerful solution to connect our office to the field."

Harrell-Fish Inc. had a large project on the horizon, and the team quickly realized that consolidating their tech stack was no longer a nice-to-have—it was a necessity. Vice President David Mood explains, "We were growing from a $40-million-a-year company to a $100-million-a-year company in a very short period. We also added branch offices so we needed to standardize our processes. Procore was certainly a big part of that as we grew," he pauses. "Before COVID, we were all trying to figure out how to work remotely, and now it's even more important."

In order to drive greater consistency across regions, projects, and teams, Harrell-Fish Inc. turned to Procore. Chris notes, "One of the great things about Procore is how there's no limited number of users. That's a big deal. That was something we had been fighting with all the other systems."

What also stood out to Harrell-Fish Inc. was Procore’s BIM and Design Coordination Tools. These enabled their team to catch design conflicts early on the project—before they resulted in costly rework. "It's something we use to communicate internally as well as externally with engineers. We send things back and forth smoothly before the whole RFI process gets started," says Virtual Construction Coordinator Noah Evans, adding that Procore’s BIM viewer was especially beneficial for field teams. "It's such a powerful tool for the field to communicate different things in the model."

Best of all, these tools were also part of a larger ecosystem that connected all tools in one centralized location. Chris notes, "Noah’s team has lauded Procore many times because it gives them a very consistent place on every project to find information. Procore saves them a bunch of time communicating with project managers on where their information is and whether or not they have it. Now they know they get all that information right in Procore."

Harrell-Fish Inc. found the Procore tools to be intuitive and easy to use, saving teams both time and money. In fact, they estimate that Procore saves them almost $20,000 a year. With streamlined processes, their payroll team of three saves about eight hours a week. For Noah’s role specifically, the Procore’s BIM viewer saves him at least seven hours a week.

For David, return on investment doesn’t always come down to numbers. He explains, "The Procore BIM viewer is such a powerful tool that we even have other subcontractors asking to borrow our iPads so they know where to put their conduit or ductwork. I mean, other trades are coming and using our tool to help them do their work—how do you put a value on that?"

With more collaborative and streamlined tools—and more importantly, all accessible on one platform—Harrell-Fish Inc. has improved its processes and won more business because of it. David explains, "We have a large industrial client that was so impressed with how we were managing the project with Procore that they are now asking us to potentially be the prime contractor on much larger projects that would typically be managed by a large general contractor."

Noah adds, "What separates us from our competitors is we try to be on the leading edge of everything we do. That translates to trying to be leaders in the area of VDC and BIM and having technology like Procore. We can show GCs what we bring to the table that other subs can't," he continues. "Procore is part of our team atmosphere. Good collaboration and communication are what everybody strives for, and having Procore as part of that makes it easier for us. Having everyone be on the same page, with the same goal—that's what separates us from our competitors."