Driving efficiency and sustainability in construction

The Challenge

When it comes to delivering outstanding work and better outcomes for its customers and communities, Henstaff takes a modern approach. This meant that when information silos began cropping up across the business, not to mention time-consuming admin and paperwork slowing down productivity and frustrating teams, the team needed a solution to ensure the extensive workload it was seeing didn’t risk its high standards. With Henstaff not short of new work and clients, the key for them was finding a system that could support their ability to make a profit.

The Solution

Purpose built by construction, for construction, Procore has ease-of-use at its core. This meant the Henstaff team got to grips with its features quickly and soon saw the benefits in their day-to-day work, eliminating the need for laborious paperwork and manual data entry in the process. Because Procore can be used on mobile devices, teams are always connected and have comprehensive insight into Henstaff’s business and projects. This not only means people feel informed, but that they can easily communicate and provide real-time information – minimising duplicate tasks, and improving accuracy and productivity.

The Results

• Mobile optimization in Procore improves communication, linking Henstaff’s remote site managers seamlessly
• Real-time site diaries in Procore offer Henstaff clear insights into productivity and project updates
• Henstaff reduces rework by using Procore’s centralized data, keeping project information always up-to-date

Henstaff Construction is a self-described traditional Cardiff-based building and civil engineering contractor. Founded 25 years ago, Henstaff sees its 20-strong employee base split between the office and on-site.

The Henstaff team knew that making the lives of their site managers easier would pay off for the company as well as the on-site team. Working for high-calibre clients such as the local health authorities and the major housing associations meant that project management can be very intense, and put more pressure on teams to deliver on budget and on time.

This became an even greater challenge given that Henstaff’s systems were not fully digitalised. Working on paper and in spreadsheets meant data silos were common and visibility across the team proved an ongoing struggle without one accessible hub of information.

Integrating Procore solved this with an accessible, single source of truth, eliminating the need for copious amounts of paperwork. With mobile optimisation, data input doesn’t have to wait until the end of the day, but can happen in the moment — and is often more accurate as a result.

Another major benefit of Procore, according to John Lewis, Construction Manager at Henstaff, is the Site Diary feature. Whether it’s the weather, manpower, visitors or any other number of factors that can occur in a day’s construction – the Site Diary keeps track of them all. This provides one accessible portal for team leaders to have an overview of a project’s timeline. Procore not only helps track delays or record waste, but through timecards, can also track the billable hours of workers. For John Lewis, this is particularly helpful.

“You know who’s on site, why they’re there, for how long and what they’ve worked on,” John Lewis explains. “It’s great for visibility, and means that generating reports to look into site and labour productivity are even easier to create.”

Another boost to the level of oversight John Lewis and his team have is automatic notifications. Before Procore it was down to the team leaders to chase timecards and to encourage the team to complete their admin. With Procore though, the team receives automatic notifications to keep things on track and to ensure nothing slips through the cracks, as well as help manage subcontractors. This is a huge timesaver for Henstaff, meaning the team can dedicate more time to high-value work.

As Akbar Ali, Managing Director at Henstaff jokes, "The only complaint we’ve had is from people getting a notification which reminds them of something they haven't done!"

Driving a cultural shift for business gains

John Lewis and the team took their time researching the different construction management platforms on offer to ensure Procore would meet the needs of the business.

“We tested systems over a two-year period,” John Lewis recalls. “For six months at a time, we used them to understand how they could solve our business challenges. We didn’t find anything as intuitive as Procore. It’s so easy to use, the training and onboarding were so quick.”

This level of market research is crucial when it comes to software — especially ones intended to have a wide-ranging business impact, and that employees use daily. Procore provides a single source of truth for all projects, allowing teams to input their unique data or integrate with existing systems.

Ease of use was key to John Lewis and the wider Henstaff team. Included with Procore is a robust training and onboarding process where an account manager ensures the platform’s benefits are explained to the team, and that any questions they have are answered.

As John Lewis explains, “Training is quick and can happen at people’s leisure. The training videos were integral and meant we could do things at our own pace, while the mobile app means our team can use Procore anywhere and everywhere. This was crucial, because we wanted to see a high level of data entry — and for it to remain accurate, we wanted it to happen on-site and in real-time. Before Procore I would have to spend my evenings back at the office catching up on admin. Now, this sort of data entry is done throughout the day.”

This level of use not only reaffirms the Henstaff team’s decision to use Procore, but helps when it comes to compliance. Processes that might otherwise have been admin-heavy are far simpler as data collection is now a natural part of the day for Henstaff.

“We started using Procore just after Covid hit,” says John Lewis. “Unfortunately, like most other firms, we lost work due to delays or cancellations of projects. Because we have Procore in place we have a detailed record of everything we have done to date which would aid any procedure or application for relevant delays claims. Without Procore, I’m not sure we would have managed it.”

Another major milestone in how Henstaff has evolved is in its information management with Procore – namely, in its BIM accreditation. Being ISO 19650-accredited has opened the door to Henstaff optimising its preconstruction practices and collaborating openly with project members in accordance with its standards, entering into a modern era of construction in the process.

“Procore has put us at the cutting-edge of construction,” says John Lewis. “We have a platform that allows us to better collaborate and communicate, which ultimately leads to better quality on site.”

Any digital transformation can prove hard-going when there’s a workforce to convince. But today, the Henstaff team are fully onboarded with Procore.

As John Lewis says, “Simply put, the benefit of Procore is that we have people doing what they should be doing when they should be doing it.”

Going above and beyond to make a sustainable impact

While digital transformation was a major focus for Henstaff, this didn’t mean they took their eye off their sustainability ambitions. In fact, one proved beneficial to the other.

“Sustainability is hugely important in construction,” says John Lewis. “A big part of that is reducing waste. Limiting our use of natural resources and recycling used materials is always a consideration at Henstaff. Now, through Procore, we are able to ensure we’re reducing rework as much as possible.”

Henstaff’s BIM accreditation is already playing a huge role in this, ensuring that through technology, Henstaff are forecasting any potential construction errors before ground is even broken. The lack of communication and influx of outdated information that often leads to rework is now curtailed thanks to Procore’s level of visibility and collaboration.

While sustainability is a fundamental part of Henstaff’s construction, it was even more so when it came to their work on Roseheyworth – a learning facility situated within a recycling centre in Gwent. Designed to educate children on the importance of reducing waste, recycling and reusing materials, Henstaff ensured this sentiment began with the project’s construction.

Built using a concrete shell as well as using recycled timber in the skirting, decking and pallet sections, Roseheyworth is a remarkable looking building with an even more remarkable message for future generations.

“If the building is meant to teach sustainability to children, then it first needs to be built in a sustainable way,” says John Lewis. “It’s no secret that construction in the UK needs to do more to cut its emissions. At Henstaff, we’re working hard to play our part – from recording our carbon footprint, to being ISO-accredited, to setting ourselves ambitious objectives. We’re definitely exceeding expectations when it comes to sustainability, and Procore is at the heart of that.”