case study

CO
MM
ER
CLIENT: MARTIN-HARRIS CONSTRUCTION
CHALLENGE: Martin-Harris needed an interactive solution
to allow team members and subcontractors to access
project data from their mobile devices—without having to
bounce around different software platforms to do so.
SOLUTION: Procore’s cloud-based software and mobile
apps provide Martin-Harris with a one stop shop for storing,
sharing, and accessing the most current documents and
drawings—from anywhere.
L
Martin-Harris Construction
CIA
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
MARTIN-HARRIS
In business since 1976, Martin-Harris Construction Company is a broad-spectrum
general contractor specializing in office, flex, government, industrial, healthcare,
retail, restaurant, hospitality, vertical residential, recreation, special use, and
education.
MARTIN-HARRIS
REASONS TO SWITCH TO PROCORE
Previously, Martin-Harris used project management software that resided on the
company’s in-house servers. The general contractor’s information technology (IT)
It took less than a year for Martin-Harris to see big improvements on projects
staff maintained the software, backed it up, and spent ample time saving data,
after switching to Procore’s cloud-based project management solution. “Procore
copying data, and moving data. “The software didn’t do what we needed it to do, so
has increased the effectiveness and overall quality of our drawings and daily logs
we found ourselves using additional software from other vendors to supplement it,”
exponentially,” says Brian Schmidt, senior project manager. Not only do teams now
adds Brian.
have access to current drawings wherever they go, but superintendents have also
found a huge time-saver in the Daily Log Tool. “At the end of the work day, it used to
Staff members were using Timberline’s Sage 300 CRE software for accounting—
take them about 30 minutes to summarize the day’s activities. Procore has entirely
which they still use, PlanGrid’s mobile app to access drawings while in the field,
eliminated that.”
and the note-taking app, Notevault, for daily logs and other field-based tasks. The
workarounds proved to be less than ideal. Because the project management software
Brian credits the mobile app’s user-friendly features, which include photo and voice-
did not integrate well with separate platforms, team members ended up having to
to-text functions, for the improvement in daily logs. “Now, the Daily Log is just
access drawings from one platform and retrieve RFIs, submittals, and everything else
something that happens throughout the course of their normal job site tours, as
from another.
they’re walking around the job inspecting what is going on.” Shaving half an hour
from daily activities adds up to big savings over the course of projects that can take
Since the supervisors and foremen were already relying heavily on mobile devices in
months and even years to complete. But for Brian, the perks of using Procore do not
the field, it made sense to move to a software solution that included a suite of mobile
end there.
apps. “We found that Procore gave our superintendents an effective way to use the
software while they were on a job site—directly from their smartphones and tablets—
without having to move to a trailer somewhere,” says Brian.
“Procore operates like an FTP site allowing us to store large files and data that we can
all access—from anywhere,” he explains. “It’s an all-inclusive platform eliminating the
need for multiple software solutions. Now everyone receives the same information
from the same place.” Furthermore, since the software is cloud-based with automatic
software updates, Martin-Harris’ IT staff isn’t burdened with maintaining it.
2
3
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
MARTIN-HARRIS
MARTIN-HARRIS
PAINLESS IMPLEMENTATION
EASY IMPLEMENTATION
When Martin-Harris first decided to switch vendors, the company formed a
15-member team to test the software on a handful of projects. The team met weekly
with Procore staff to identify any potential issues and determine where special
training was needed. Another reason for this tactical team, says Brian, was to develop
knowledgeable employees that could in turn train and mentor others in using the
software once a solution was selected.
“One of the things we’re really happy with is Procore’s sensitivity to feedback. They
actually listen and react,” says Brian. “You don’t get that with Oracle or Prolog. A lot
of other software companies pretty much make what they make and you have to
figure out how to use it.”
Four months later, the general contractor implemented the software company-wide.
Two months after that, the weekly meetings were no longer needed. Any additional
training and updates became a part of the company’s monthly training program.
“The transition was relatively painless, compared to some of the other software
changes that we’ve made in the past,” says Brian. “We used Procore’s training videos
and the software is easy to use.”
4
Martin-Harris works with a dedicated Procore account manager who helps their users
navigate through the software and training. Plus, Brian has found Procore’s online
chat option to be useful for quickly troubleshooting issues: “Generally, we can have
someone on the other end of the computer in less than five minutes.”
Perhaps most importantly, whenever team members find processes that aren’t a
good fit for their work, they are able to talk to someone on Procore’s product or
engineering team about customizing those features and processes. If the changes
cannot be made immediately, the software designers use that customer feedback as
guidance when developing additional features. “They are making changes that are
actually things that we want rather than blindly adding more features we won’t use,”
says Brian.
5
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
MARTIN-HARRIS
MARTIN-HARRIS
THE MOBILE ADVANTAGE
”Procore’s mobile platform gives us a technological advantage over competitors who
may still be operating in the ‘Dark Ages’ of spiral notebooks and software tied to inhouse servers and desktops”, says Brian. “The cloud-based platform and mobile apps
provide team members with the versatility to access all the documents and tools they
need to do their jobs regardless of their location.”
Procore has also enabled the general contractor to simplify the RFI process.
Previously, project managers had to send RFIs in multiple emails to various parties
while staying on top of resulting communications. Now they send and track an RFI
through Procore for all users on the distribution list to review.
“Overall, as a software platform, Procore has all of the functions that you would hope
for in project management software,” says Brian.
To complete its transition to one do-it-all platform, the company plans to integrate
Procore with Sage’s accounting software within the next two years.
“
Procore’s mobile platform gives us a
technological advantage over competitors.
The cloud-based platform and mobile apps
provide team members with the versatility to
access all the documents and tools they need to
do their jobs regardless of their location.
”
Brian Schmidt
Senior Project Manager
6
7
Everything on One Powerful Platform.
Procore offers the most comprehensive construction platform, combining drawing, financial and quality
management into one application. We’ve put the power of complete construction management into your
hands with a mobile solution that keeps everyone in sync. Build collaboration from bidding to closeout with
unlimited users, implementation assistance, online training, and unmatched customer support.
Let your drawings take the lead, while efficiency, productivity, and faster building times follow.
Procore Technologies, Inc.
6309 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013
866-477-6267 // www.procore.com