With Procore, Moss can take risks without risking revenue

The Challenge

Moss, a top-ranked US contractor with a thriving solar business, is proud of its entrepreneurial spirit. But that sometimes meant working under too many proceed-at-risk change orders, putting the company in danger of not getting paid for its work. Moss also needed help communicating and accessing information in the field, but the right management platform would have to interface with its ERP.

The Solution

Vice President Josh Carson, who was familiar with Procore from a previous job, took a chance by implementing the platform on one small but important project. Moss’ leadership team quickly saw how smoothly the project was being run, opening the door to using it on other projects and eventually adopting it across the entire company.

The Results

• Minimized proceed-at-risk change orders by improving project visibility and decision-making
• Saved time and improved accuracy with easy access to updated drawings and work orders
• Attracted tech-savvy workers by signaling Moss as a forward-thinking company

A partnership rooted in core values

Before it was one of the most respected names in construction, Moss was a family business built to care for its people. Founded 20 years ago by Bob Moss — and overseen today by his sons, Chad and Scott — Moss has been named America’s #44 top contractor and #1 contractor in solar by ENR, and the #3 Best Workplace in Construction by Fortune.

But as satisfying as it is to win awards, the company is proudest of the things that it’s built. And its team is top of the list. “I like to tell our young recruits, we're really a people company that just happens to build buildings,” says Vice President Josh Carson. “Our end product's phenomenal — we change skylines, we create places for people to work or lay their head at night. But the journey is really what drives us, and our people is what makes us different.”

“A lot of people can build great buildings, but not everyone has great teams,” he adds. “Our people are driving a really good business and taking care of our clients, and we're having a lot of fun along the way.”

Moss operates on three core values: Honoring Relationships, Contagious Energy and Entrepreneurial Spirit. “There aren’t a whole lot of ‘no’s at Moss,” says Carson. “We are not scared of trying just about anything.” That can-do spirit drives a lot of success at Moss, but it can also bring exposure to risk. “We sometimes have to do a lot of work before the paperwork catches up,” says Carson, resulting in a large number of proceed-at-risk change orders.

Having worked with Procore at a previous job, Carson knew that the platform could help Moss get control of the situation. Embracing Moss’s Entrepreneurial Spirit, Carson – working with the Procore salesperson from his previous job — convinced his regional president, Mike Mazza, to let him use Procore on one small but important job. “Mazza likes to say I weaponized our core value,” Carson says.

Carson knew he’d made the right choice when one of his most hardened employees, a 65-year-old superintendent that Carson refers to as “the field general,” started using Procore without any urging or instruction. “This guy started uploading daily reports and progress photos, and I hadn’t even taught him how to do it,” says Carson. “I did not ever think this would ever happen.” The project moved fast, with the entire field team using the platform to communicate with each other and share updates with the client.

When Moss’s leadership saw how well the project was going, they said, “This team gets it – they’re doing stuff a little bit differently and they're seeing huge benefits from it,” according to Carson.

Better communication, easier recruitment, happier employees

As the company began deploying Procore across more of its projects, it saw more and more benefits. “Our superintendents loved having access to information that they didn't usually have easy access to,” says Carson. And it wasn’t only management that was appreciative. “One leader loved that we were finally using it because he was tired of all the young people asking for it.”

From there, the decision to implement Procore across the entire company was an easy one. The only potential obstacle was integration with CMIC, Moss’s ERP. “We weren’t interested in leaving CMIC, but we really wanted the tools that Procore offered,” says Carson. “We wanted to figure out how to help those two talk to each other and move the data back and forth.” Moss and Procore worked together to make the integration happen, clearing the way for Moss to become a Procore enterprise user. “We’re still in the early phase, but our ROI with Procore has been great, and it will only be better as we get more people into the system.”

One unexpected benefit of using Procore has been its impact on recruitment, particularly of younger workers. “Procore has been like a secret tool for us, which is great, because I love recruiting people to our organization,” says Carson. Moss is already proud that more than 50% of its staff is GenZ or Millennial, and having Procore as its management solution signals to other young candidates that the company is forward-thinking and not afraid of technology. “Whenever I’m at a university, five or 10 students will come up and say, ‘Hey, do you guys use Procore?’ or ‘Hey, I’ve got seven certifications that I did as a student,’” says Carson. “That's awesome for us, because it means they’re ready to hit the ground running.”

Two friends growing big businesses together

It’s just one example of the good things that happen when two companies that are focused on the same values work together. “The fact that culture is so important to both organizations drives a deep sense of partnership between Procore and Moss, because neither of us are looking at these as transactions,” says Carson. “We're not looking for small wins. It's about how do we do this together? How do we grow together?”

“I know there's 15,000 or 16,000 other users of Procore, but I never feel like a number,” says Carson. “This is truly a partnership. Whenever I see our sales guy, I give him a big hug, because this is not a shake-hands business. This is two friends growing big businesses together, and it's an awesome story.”

Adopting a new technology platform across a company as large as Moss is never easy. But when two companies complement each other the way Moss and Procore do, the relationship can make everyone stronger, better and more successful. “We're a best-in-class general contractor,” adds Carson, “and we want to be associated with a best-in-class solution like Procore.