The Challenge
Although Prime Build had been using project management software for years, it was not offering their teams the level of functionality they needed. Their management teams decided to find a more comprehensive solution that provided real-time visibility with mobile capabilities, allowed them to assign accountability to tasks and offered a user-friendly interface.
The Solution
Procore's cloud-based platform not only offered these features, but it also gave Prime Build insight into their projects' health, in all states at any point in time. With a strong focus on quality and safety, they also found that Procore's robust toolset helped support these standards.
“Over the last year since we've implemented Procore, our safety standard has risen dramatically. That's because we're tracking data a lot better, and we're giving accountability for observations. People are owning them, and inturn, closing them out.”
Mathew Carnuccio
For nearly a decade, Prime Build has provided a wide range of construction services in commercial, residential and retail markets across Australia. Although they had previously used project management software, it only offered baseline functionalities. Prime Build realised they needed a solution with a more comprehensive toolset that not only streamlined their processes but also complemented their decades-long focus on quality and safety.
Improved Collaboration with a Centralised Platform
When Managing Director Tim Thompson formed the team at Prime Build, he noticed that their current software solution did not offer the visibility and real-time data that project teams needed. With about 80 employees and projects spanning across Australia, Tim understood they needed a centralised platform that would provide easy access to countless projects across a wide geographic region. In an effort to find a better solution, he spent 12-24 months researching various platforms.
In his search, he found Procore, which offered a much more user-friendly interface that allowed employees to begin using the platform within a matter of weeks. They could easily access important project data, collaborate in real time and clearly assign accountability to tasks to ensure that items were closed out. Procore's unlimited licensing structure also allowed all users to log in and view items such as responses to RFIs, photos and progress changes.
"We had used other software in the past and they were per seat, but that really goes against the whole point of collaboration. You want everyone to be using the same platform. Procore's licensing structure allows all of our subcontractors, employees, clients, architects, superintendents—everyone—to use the platform to its full potential," says Tim.
Another key benefit of Procore was that it integrated with their other systems including DocuSign, which was critical for the quick turnaround time of their retail projects.
"Retail construction and refurbishment run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so it is very fast-paced and, therefore, we need to have the best technology to allow our business to communicate with suppliers, clients and stakeholders. They all need to be able to access information that's up to date at any point in time. Procore really helps with that," says Tim.
Tim notes that choosing to partner with Procore also stemmed from another key factor: Procore's vision. He says that Procore's commitment to improving the platform and its dedication to R&D helps ensure that the tools are intuitive, further improving communication between the office and the field.
Robust Quality & Safety, a Step Above the Rest
For Prime Build, Procore's Quality & Safety tools proved to be crucial in helping monitor trends and issues across projects. Safety Manager Ronnie Boukaram says that day-to-day, teams use the Inspections Tool and Observations Tool to help carry out and track critical quality and safety tasks in the field.
"Due to our geographic spread around Australia, it would be almost impossible to manage and track safety compliance at such a high level. Using Procore, it's much easier, and I can track every job in real time."
The ability to streamline these processes has saved Ronnie and his team countless hours of unnecessary work and travel time. He explains, "Procore helps the safety team save an enormous amount of time by not having to go back on jobs to check if something has been closed out. We might have jobs hundreds of kilometers away—we can just go there once, conduct our audits and then maintain all the close-outs through Procore."
In doing so, Procore's toolset has helped support and bolster Prime Build's robust quality and safety standards. Ronnie concedes, "Over the last year since we've implemented Procore, our safety standard has risen dramatically. That's because we're tracking data a lot better, and we're giving accountability for observations. People are owning them, and in-turn, closing them out."
Going Mobile
With many of their employees utilising laptops and iPads, Procore's mobile capabilities helped their team eliminate manual paper processes and double entry.
Senior Site Manager Mathew Carnuccio says, "If I'm walking around the site and haven't got the drawings with me, I can just bring the app up on my iPhone, log in to the project and go straight into the drawing that I need to refer to. It's very easily accessible and time-efficient."
Furthermore, the ability to access important project data in the office, the field or on-the-go has helped Prime Build expedite resolutions to any potential issues. Matt explains, "If I want to pinpoint a defect on a building site, I can bring up the drawing, select the defect function and drop the pin where I found the defect. It saves the Site Manager looking through the drawings and plans. It just comes up on his phone that he's got a notification and knows the exact location of the defect that needs to be rectified."
Ultimately, Procore not only helped Prime Build streamline their processes and improve collaboration, but it also gave Prime Build peace of mind that they were partnering with an innovative leader pioneering the industry.
"Before Procore, I had never used a platform this efficient and in-depth. It's quite user-friendly so anyone from a labourer to a director can just jump on, anywhere, on-site or off-site. If they have internet access, they can access the information they need. I think in terms of efficiency, it's been a major advantage to Prime Build—and an innovative move as well," says Matt.
