Improving efficiency and transparency in project management

The Challenge

As Concosts Group of Companies steadily grew, so did the complexity and time it took to manage projects. The company was still managing its business processes the way it had for several decades. Most projects were run using Excel or paper, which meant a lot of double entry, lack of standardization and little transparency into what was happening on the projects at any given day.

The Solution

Concosts needed a management solution that would run its business processes in a more streamlined, up-to-date, and efficient manner. Now with Procore, each project member, whether in the field or in the office, has up-to-the-minute project updates. Project drawings and documents are continuously and automatically updated and stored in one secure and central location. This means more time, cost savings and less headaches.

The Whole Project Picture at a Glance Saves Concosts Time and Money

Started in 1968, Concosts Group of Companies has grown from five employees to 55 and offers a wide range of services from construction management to loans. Today, Concosts' construction management arm specializes in commercial and multi-unit residential builds.

The Burnaby, British Columbia-based company's growth added to the complexity of running a multi-specialty company. It needed to move from an outdated construction project management system to a software solution that will not only propel it's business forward, but make everyone's lives easier.

The Dangers of ExcelConcosts' name comes from the words "construction costs," which represents the firm's core principle: "To deliver quality construction, on time and within the budgeted cost." For Concost to continue delivering on that promise it needed to switch from its old way of managing construction projects. Concosts needed a management solution that would run its business processes in a more streamlined, up-to-date, and efficient manner.

"From a construction management aspect, everything was done either using Excel sheets or paper," recalls Paul Zasitko, a deputy project manager at Concosts. "It was old school and outdated."

"I'd be sitting there working on Excel and if I forgot to do step three or four, it could affect my budget by $100,000," adds Paul. "In an age when people can get a hold of you at a drop of a hat, it's easy to lose track of what you're doing. It was a big eye opener."

Time SavingsBefore adopting Procore, the company spent a lot of time manually going through documents and continuously having to update each one, make multiple copies, and distribute them all to the project team.

"It was the responsibility of the people involved in the projects to make sure everyone had updated documents," says Paul. "If you forgot anything, it was complete panic; you needed to then manage what you forgot."

Now that Concosts is using Procore, the need for crisis management is a thing of the past. With Procore, each team member, whether in the field or in the office, has up-to-theminute project updates. Project members now have peace of mind knowing that project drawings and documents are continuously and automatically updated and stored in one secure location.

With project updates every 15 minutes, all field crews are turning to their mobile devices to do their job. With Procore everyone is involved and in the loop. There are no surprises popping up a day later.

"Now at lunchtime I can find out why the electricians aren't on site, rather than 24 hours later," says Paul.

"With Procore, everyone is working off the same information," Paul says. "We don't have to spend an hour making sure all the documents are the same—now we have an extra 55 minutes to spend on something else."

Another time saver for Concosts has been Procore's Tendering Tool, which enables the company to solicit tenders for projects and keep them in one central location for more efficient management and status updates. Submitted tenders can also go directly back into the system.

"The way (the Tendering Tool) connects directly to drawings and documents makes that process so much more efficient," says Paul. "It's a very strong tool that has saved us a lot of time and has allowed us to run multiple projects at the same time."

Prior to Procore, tendering a job would require one full-time person over a three-month period. "Now you can have one person doing three jobs at a time," Paul said. "That's how efficient it is."

Procore's Daily Log Tool has also allowed the company's clients to have more transparency into their builds. With Procore, key stakeholders have easy access to their project's progress from any mobile device.

"The Daily Log has been one of the most important tools for us," says Paul. "As a project manager, I can go on holiday and my owner in Toronto has the peace of mind of knowing what's going on that day. Like whether the drywallers showed up that day. It's huge."

Procore = Peace of Mind

But it's not only what's happening day-to-day day that is critical for companies like Concosts—which manages multiple multi-million dollar projects at once—mitigating risks is also top of mind.

The greater the job's complexity, the greater the chances that a company's work will be brought into question. With Procore's automatic recordkeeping, all of Concosts project information is continuously captured and securely stored in Procore.

"I can go back to a project last year, and go to a specific date and get all of the details that happened; who was present, what material was used, and if anyone got hurt," Paul explains. "It's great for work safety and legal purposes. If someone takes us to court, we have the documents."