The Challenge
Brymor Construction used manual processes and relied on Excel, Word, an internal drive, as well as a separate cloud-based system to manage projects. However, this meant teams had to double enter information into multiple systems, and uploading documents was painstakingly slow. It was also not conducive to collaboration or standardisation.
The Solution
Up-to-Date Drawings: Instead of updating drawings in multiple systems, collaborators could access the latest versions from one location.
Identify Risks Sooner: With instant access to real-time project information from their mobile device, teams could address issues in the moment rather than weeks down the road.
Data When You Need It: Teams no longer had to dig through files and folders to find answers. Instead, all information was easily accessible in the palm of their hand.
“The old process involved putting information into our internal drive, then our cloud drive, then our drawing register, while also making sure it was sent out to everyone. Now, those four processes are one. It’s saving a lot of time”
Zarra Laverick
Ditching Pain Points for Possibilities
Before implementing Procore, Brymor Construction relied on manual processes including Excel and Word, and they used an internal drive as well as a separate cloud-based system for documentation. But since the two systems weren’t integrated, teams had to do double the work by saving documents in both systems. Not only was uploading documents slow, but since not everyone had access to them, collaboration was often cumbersome and time-consuming.
Additionally, without a single repository for information, projects lacked standardisation. Site managers often had their own way of labeling and storing documents which made it difficult to track down information quickly. It also sometimes made auditing company procedures unreliable.
Quality Manager Lisa Gurney explains, ‘The moment we realised we needed to get software to help us was when I was doing my end-of-year report for the board. The statistics weren’t consistent. It was really difficult to report on how we were performing against our own procedures’.
The team began researching various solutions, one of which was Procore. Brymor liked that it offered a comprehensive solution with tools for project management, quality, and safety. It also was much more intuitive to use than many other solutions which meant it would be easier for site teams to adopt.
Soon after, Brymor decided to partner with Procore. Not only did office and field teams like the user-friendly tools, but they also had access to Procore’s knowledgeable support staff at any moment. Moreover, Brymor was assigned a dedicated Customer Success Manager who was based right in the UK to help ensure a smooth implementation.
Gurney recalls, ‘Procore’s implementation process was outstanding. We got an agenda of exactly how it would be implemented, and each week we had scheduled phone calls. It made the process so much smoother. Procore was always there if we needed them’.
Leveraging Mobile to Save Time and Improve Quality
With Procore, teams could easily set user permissions so that collaborators—including project managers, site managers, site engineers, architects, and clients—could access important project documents. This improved accountability across teams and ensured nothing slipped through the cracks.
Risk and Compliance Manager Phil Dyer explains, ‘Now everyone knows exactly what they have access to and what they don’t. That way, they complete their sections and there’s no gaps left in the process’.
Leveraging the mobile functionality, teams could easily view, update, and share documents on site— saving them extra trips to the office. Dyer explains, ‘Before Procore, everything was either handwritten or photographed, brought back to an office, put onto a laptop, and emailed out individually. Now, we can use the Procore mobile app on our phones and tablets. Everyone is far more efficient, and issues are dealt with there and then. No one has to go back to the office and redo it again on another piece of software’.
Gurney adds, ‘Procore has really helped with record-keeping and document control’, noting that now all confirmations of verbal instructions and other changes on site are easily managed and tracked in Procore. ‘With the old paper system, we would have boxes and boxes of archives. You’d have to go and sift through it in a room to find the information you wanted, whereas now, it’s all located in the same place and available at the touch of a button’.
Office & Project Coordinator Zarra Laverick adds, ‘The best way to describe Procore is time-saving. The old process involved putting information into our internal drive, then our cloud drive, then our drawing register, while also making sure it was sent out to everyone. Now, those four processes are one. It’s saving a lot of time’.
In fact, the team saved hours in administrative work. ‘Site managers probably gain two to three hours every day by using Procore’, notes Dyer. ‘That means that the quality and the quantity of the information that they’re recording has improved. It also means that they’re now freed up to concentrate on the core deliverables of our projects, which are quality and safety’.
With greater efficiency and consistency, teams didn’t need to dedicate as much time to busy work, helping reduce staffing costs. It also gave them more time to dedicate to the most important tasks.
Dyer explains, ‘The repeat exercises and double entry that we used to do is now gone. The amount of time that our site managers and project managers save can now be used on site. Our ability to deliver on our core values increases because we can spend more time with our clients and make sure we deliver what we promised at the beginning’.
Securing Business Now and the Future
Once a new drawing is uploaded to Procore, all collaborators—from employees to subcontractors—have real-time access to the drawings. This helps improve accuracy and reduces the risk of rework, ultimately protecting profit margins.
With one central hub for all project information, teams can locate information quickly and efficiently—even those who have less tech experience. ‘With Procore, it’s so much easier because we’re all singing off the same sheet’, says Laverick. ‘If someone is looking for a document, I can just say, "Along the top tab, click on that one, come down four spaces. You’re there, you’ve got it”. Procore is really easy—especially for people that aren’t very tech-minded’.
But Brymor didn’t just leverage Procore to improve the day-to-day operations of their projects—they also used it to be proactive about potential risks. With Procore’s reporting tools and dashboards, Brymor was able to easily gauge the health of a project and quickly identify areas of improvement.
‘The dashboards stand as a health check for each of our projects—meaning we can see remotely from the office whether there are any issues that are developing in the early stages’, says Dyer. ‘It means that we can contact each individual site and make sure they are accountable. Without Procore, we wouldn’t necessarily understand there was an issue until we were physically on site, which may be another 2-3 weeks down the line’.
Not only did this allow the team to catch issues before they escalated, but it also sped up turnaround times. With the office and field having full visibility into project updates, teams could make better data-driven decisions and expedite resolutions. That meant more streamlined processes, enabling Brymor to deliver high-quality projects now while also bolstering their reputation to secure future business.
‘We were recently awarded South Coast Business of the Year in 2018 and the Customer Service award in 2018’, continues Dyer. ‘Those are both driven by Brymor’s ability to deliver on our promises and stick to our core values. Procore will continue to help us deliver that now and in the future’.
