Construction software buyer’s guide Software Advice selects Procore for iPhone as “our favorite construction app.”
Procore has highlighted buyers’ guide site Software Advice before on our blog. We think Software Advice provides a great service to the construction industry. The people at Software Advice match companies looking for software with vendors selling software. They save people time, money and a lot of hassle. The Software Advice service is free to people shopping for software.
If you’ve ever searched for construction-specific iPhone apps, you’re probably aware of one challenge when looking for construction software. Search for “construction” in the App Store, and more than 225 apps will appear. Worst of all, these apps include games and other apps that are irrelevant for someone trying to get some work done.
Software Advice has a solution to this confusion. They took the time to filter out all of the junk for you. The result is a list of over 120 iPhone apps that can be used by someone involved in architecture, design or construction. The Software Advice list of “construction iPhone apps that can actually be used in construction” can be found here.
We are also pleased that Software Advice singled out one app on their list from the rest:
“Procore – This is our favorite construction app. It allows users of Procore construction software to create, manage and share Procore project data from their phones. Specifically, users can create and manage punch list items, access contact data, share and store project photos, log time card entries and more. The Procore iPhone app has a rating of 4.5 and can be used on iPhones (OS 3.0 or later), iPads and iPod Touch.”
Thanks, guys! We’re glad Software Advice likes Procore for iPhone, and we think all Procore users will be impressed with how much they can do with the app. Especially since we’ll be adding some new features very soon to make Procore for iPhone even more useful.
Click here to download Procore for iPhone from the App Store.
Procore works great on the iPad!
Our customers have been using Procore’s construction project management software on their iPads during the weeks since the iPad’s release. Almost from the day the iPad became available, we’ve seen Procore users logging in and accessing Procore from their iPads.
We’re happy to report that Procore is as easy to use on the iPad as it is on standard laptop or desktop computers.
Procore users can combine Procore for iPhone, Procore on the iPad, and Procore on their computers to create, manage and share construction project data, no matter where they are—on whatever device they happen to be using.
Procore on the iPad provides a user experience similar to using Procore’s web-based construction project management software, but with the advantages of iPad features. The lightweight iPad offers instant-on, touch computing usability, and integrated wifi and 3G Internet access (depending upon the iPad model). Users can create, manage and share Procore project information from any location with Internet connectivity.
A recent story in CIO Magazine highlights the real-world experience of using an iPad on construction sites. The article, entitled iPad at Work on Dirty Jobs: 5 Lessons Learned, provides some real-world insight on how the iPad is helping make one construction industry services firm more responsive to its customers.
D7 Consulting’s President Joseph Daniels notes one of the advantages of using the iPad that isn’t so obvious – the ability to streamline business processes and communication as well as make a company look smarter:
“Consider this scenario: A client will sometimes ask a Quality Assurance Officer (QAO) a difficult question, putting the QAO on the spot. Instead of saying, “Can I get back to you with the answer tomorrow?” the QAO can fire up the iPad, shoot out an email (with accompanying files) to a reviewer, and the reviewer can respond with the answer.
In essence, the iPad makes D7 Consulting look like a smart firm that taps technology for efficiency, accuracy and classy presentation of reports—all in front of the client at the site. Meanwhile, D7 Consulting’s competitors still carry binders full of paper.
“We want to show people what we’re doing and how we’re doing it,” Daniels says. “Hopefully, that will lead to more work and more interest in our company.”
Our users report that using Procore improves efficiency, reduces communication cycle times, and avoids project management errors. Our goal is to make Procore accessible from whatever device our customers are using. That device can be a notebook computer, an iPhone, and now, an iPad.
Let us know if you’re using Procore on your iPad—we’d like to hear about your real-world experiences!
Procore is proud to announce the release of Procore for iPhone, a full-featured iPhone app for creating, managing and sharing construction project data. That’s right – now you can have full-featured construction project management software right on your iPhone.
Procore for iPhone brings key features of Procore’s web app to the iPhone. Users can create, manage and share project information that is immediately synced with Procore’s web-based construction project management software.
The first release of Procore for iPhone offers several tools, including: photo creation and sharing; punch list item creation and distribution; directory contact access and sharing; time card logging; and daily job log note taking. Procore for iPhone also transcribes voice dictation audio into text and adds project information to Procore’s web-based construction project management software.
Screen shots of Procore for iPhone, as well as tool descriptions, product literature and the Procore for iPhone User Guide (PDF), are all available on Procore’s web site at www.procore.com.
The reaction from Procore’s customers to the release of our first app for construction project management has been positive. A sample review on the iTunes App Store states:
“Fantastic app that ties in flawlessly to (Procore’s) web-based project management. This is a great solution to keeping your projects updated from the field with reports that will be viewed by the project team…great job guys!”
Procore for iPhone is provided at no additional charge to all Procore registered users, and can be downloaded on the App Store immediately.
Jeff Brook of Project Technology Solutions presents another of his straight-from-the-job-site videos about using Procore. This week, the topic is why older client-server construction software systems are as outmoded as a “rusty tractor”.
Jeff talks about how inefficient it is to use old software technologies when a cloud-based solution like Procore is available from wherever you have Internet access. As we’ve noted in previous posts, Jeff is a GC who’s been using Procore for about four years. He knows the software, he has experience with Procore’s support team and software developers, and he believes in Procore so much that he’s started his own firm to sell Procore’s construction project management software to general contractors like him.
In this video, Jeff notes that Procore’s clients don’t need to purchase new server hardware, create and execute lengthy implementation programs, or distribute and manage individual user license keys. Procore is simple to learn, and your project team can start to use Procore as soon as you make the purchase decision—not weeks or months later.
Click on the video below to see Jeff’s comments:
As cloud-based computing becomes the dominant form of new software releases, Procore is seeing more clients come to us who are seeking the simplicity and ease-of-use of web-based construction software. The old way of buying construction software – purchase a few user licenses, then pay a systems integrator to set up the software, then spend thousands of dollars training a few key employees – has become a thing of the past.
Video Primer: All About Cloud-Based Computing
The video below was created by CRM software firm Salesforce.com. This video explains exactly what cloud computing is in about 3 minutes. If you’re new to the idea of cloud computing, watch the video below. Just about everything covered in the video applies to Procore—Procore is a multi-tenant, cloud computing software application for construction project management. We think Procore is the best cloud computing construction software on the market today – why not give us a call and let us show you?
Jeff Brook, Senior VP at general contracting firm Cartmill-Rogers, has been in construction for most of his life and is responsible for major projects at Las Vegas landmarks such as the Mandalay Bay Hotel; New York, New York Casino and Hotel; and the Paris Casino & Hotel.
Click here to learn more about Project Technology Solutions
Click here to learn more about Cartmill-Rogers Construction Company
Do you want to show people that your company uses the world’s best construction software? Send us a quote on what you like most about using Procore for construction project management, and we’ll send you a free t-shirt to wear at your job site or wherever your work may take you.
We’ve updated the Customers page on our web site with some current customer quotes, and we’d like to add your positive review to the web page. If you have something nice to say about how Procore helps your project team work better and smarter, send us an email at support@procore.com.
We’re proud that our new Customers page includes quotes from construction firms that are both big and small, as well as from organizations including privately owned GC’s, public agencies and universities. We designed Procore’s construction software so that it is easy to use no matter who you are, where you’re building your project, or what type of construction project you’re working on.
Procore helps our customers get their projects built on-time, on budget, with a minimum amount of effort spent on keeping track of project information. That’s why our Customers page has positive quotes from ENR Top 100 engineering firms, staff at city government agencies, residential builders and commercial contractors. Procore’s construction project management software works for all of these firms, because everyone is facing the same challenges in getting their projects built.
As Procore extends our customer list to a worldwide user base, don’t be surprised if you start seeing Procore’s t-shirts being worn by some of the smartest construction project managers in North America and around the globe.
So, if you’re a Procore customer using our software for construction project management, send us a quote. We’ll send you back a Procore t-shirt as a “thank-you” gift, feature your quote on our Customers page, and link back to your web site.
Using Google Maps, the tech wizards at Procore have created a map of the location of every construction project in North America that uses Procore’s construction software. From our first project more than seven years ago, Procore has continued to grow until now Procore is almost everywhere!
As you can see from the map below, Procore’s construction project management software is used to manage projects in every US state, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
(Click on the map to zoom)
This map gives a good idea of Procore’s reach. We think the map also shows how easy it is to get up and running with web-based construction project management software. Getting client-server software installed at all these locations would have taken decades (as it has for some of the older vendors in our industry).
Most of the projects on this map joined Procore during the last year—while other construction software companies have been standing still, Procore has seen record revenues and big-time growth. The reason is that Procore’s construction software is easy-to-learn, simple to use, and a rock solid value.
Plus, Procore is hassle-free. No implementation hassles, free training, unlimited support, and we’ll get your project online the same day you sign up.
Most Procore users start using Procore on a pilot project. Once Procore proves its effectiveness, more projects are brought on board.
Looking for a world map of Procore projects? Check out the world map of Procore projects live on our web site that shows the global reach of Procore’s construction software.
If you’re evaluating web-based construction project management software, you may be interested in the biggest feature that isn’t evaluated until AFTER most companies have actually bought and implemented their new software.
We’re talking about speed – meaning, how fast does the web-based construction software actually work?
Scroll down to see a chart of what we’re talking about, but here’s the background on the data:
Many prospective buyers of web-based construction project management software evaluate different vendors’ products by creating a “must have” list of features and functions. These lists include the ability to track documents, manage communications, create project schedules—standard stuff for the construction software packages in the marketplace.
What those lists don’t cover is the actual user experience of the software. In other words, what is it like to actually be the guy who has to use the construction software on the job site?
One thing we’ve learned at Procore—if the software is slow, the guys at the job site won’t use it. Ever.
Most construction software vendors make it difficult, if not impossible, for potential users to judge exactly what the user experience is going to be like. Vendors will show you all sorts of PowerPoint presentations and “canned” demos, but they’ll never let you actually get in and knock around with the software. These companies also don’t offer any kind of pilot project evaluation, because selling just one project instance of their software doesn’t make sense with their business model. Software vendors that rely heavily upon implementation and configuration charges need to sell an entire company-wide software implementation before their users even get a chance to try out the software.
The result? Many investments in construction software fail because the software is hard to use and SLOW.
Older client-server and web-based construction software technologies get slowed down by the load of simultaneous users. That’s why Procore uses the latest and greatest 21st century web technologies, not old code left over from the earliest days of the Internet.
Procore invests a lot of time in making sure our construction software has fast response times and no lag. A fast page response means our users spend less time waiting for the information they want to see. And when the software is fast, the guy at the job site is happy.
We benchmark Procore against other web-based construction management software packages. As you can see from the chart below, Procore handily beats the other vendors, even under equivalent load conditions:
The chart shows that Procore’s pages consistently load faster than any of our competitors’ pages. This is because our competitors don’t have the highly scalable infrastructure that Procore has to deal with the load of many users. In addition, Procore’s competitors use older technology that can deliver web pages under loads from multiple users, but only at speeds that are half as fast, or much worse, as Procore.
The lesson is clear: with web-based construction software, speed matters. Don’t forget about speed when evaluating web-based construction software. Make sure to ask construction software vendors if you can try a pilot project before you buy their product.
Click here to download a PDF of Procore’s Web-Based Construction Software Load Testing Chart
Jeff Brook of Project Technology Solutions presents another of his straight-from-the-job-site videos about using Procore. This week, the topic is project scheduling using Procore.
Jeff reports on how simple it is to use Procore’s web-based construction project management software for scheduling. As we’ve noted in previous posts, Jeff is a GC who’s been using Procore for about four years. He knows the software, he has experience with Procore’s support team and software developers, and he believes in Procore so highly that he’s started his own firm to sell Procore’s construction project management software to general contractors like him.
One big issue that Jeff experienced in his commercial construction business was the lack of project team clarity on schedules. With most contractors that Procore works with, project schedules are “dead documents”—a schedule is typically created at the beginning of a project and it’s used for the project kick-off meeting. Then that schedule is printed out on a huge piece of paper and proudly hung up on the job site trailer wall. Wow, isn’t that a great schedule! Look at the beauty of that thing.
Then, two days after the project starts, a weather delay occurs. Or a sub can’t make it to the job site. Or some materials can’t be delivered in the full quantity needed. Soon, it becomes too much of a hassle to update the schedule. If you’re on the job site, you know what’s going on. If you’re not on site, well, too bad.
This isn’t the ideal way to run a project, or to keep a schedule, but it happens all too often in the real world. What GC’s need is a simple way to keep project schedules up-to-date and accurate—and the entire project team has to be able to have access to that project schedule.
In his latest video, Jeff talks about how easy it is to keep project schedules up-to-date with Procore. Procore’s construction software automatically integrates with project schedules created in MS Project, Primavera’s scheduling tools, or other leading scheduling software. With Procore, everyone on the project team has access to the latest up-to-date project schedule—and Procore can even be set up to send emails out to specific project team members whenever the project schedule is changed or updated. Procore construction software makes it easy and simple to keep everyone in the know when it comes to project scheduling.
Click on the video below to see Jeff’s comments:
Jeff Brook, Senior VP at general contracting firm Cartmill-Rogers, has been in construction for most of his life and is responsible for major projects at Las Vegas landmarks such as the Mandalay Bay Hotel; New York, New York Casino and Hotel; and the Paris Casino & Hotel.
Click here to learn more about Project Technology Solutions
Click here to learn more about Cartmill-Rogers Construction Company
Does your company use iPhones or even the recently-released iPads? Is an iPhone your standard tool for business communications in the field? If the answer is “Yes,” we’d like to talk to you.
If you use an iPhone and think that a Procore app would be a good idea, we’d like to talk to you about what Procore functionality would be most useful to have on your phone. Which Procore functions would you like to use on your iPhone—would you like to review RFIs, approve Submittals, or forward contacts from a Project Directory? Take photos with your iPhone and store them online in Procore?
Apple Computer recently announced that more than 50 MILLION iPhones have been sold worldwide in less than 3 years—which means that at least some of Procore’s customers are using iPhones for their business. If you think that Procore would be great to have on the iPhone, here’s your chance to help out. Let us know what functions from Procore should be added to an iPhone app first. Procore wants our construction software to be where you are, and if that means doing construction project management on the iPhone or iPad, then we need to have an app for our customers to use.
On his blog ForConstructionPros.com, Sam Simon recently interviewed Johnnie Munger, CTO of diggerslist.com. Munger related his perspective on how the iPad can be helpful in the field for construction professionals. Munger noted how the iPad provides a highly portable device for email, as well as the fact that the iPad can display project and work portfolio photos with ease.
During his podcast, Munger was not able to give any examples of full-featured construction project management applications that are currently running on the entire Apple ecosystem of iPhone/iTouch/iPads. Aside from some pre-release announcements by vendors that have yet to demo actual working apps, the need for construction software on the iPhone and iPad remains unaddressed. Procore is considering bringing one of the first “full Apple ecosystem” apps to market, but we’d like to get actual customer input before we develop the app.
Call us at 866-477-6267, or email us at support@procore.com if you’d like to help us imagine how Procore would work on the iPhone. We’re considering building our own iPhone app, but we need your feedback on what the best features of a Procore app would be.
Here’s another great video from Jeff Brook of Project Technology Solutions.
Jeff reports directly from the job site on how he has found value using Procore’s web-based construction project management software. Jeff is so impressed with the impact that Procore’s web-based construction software has had on his general contracting business that he started a new company to sell the software to general contractors like his own firm.
Jeff highlights the convenience of web-based software, as well as the advantages of getting his entire project team on the same page.
As Jeff says, “Procore changed how I work.”
Click on the video below to see Jeff’s comments:
Jeff Brook, Senior VP at general contracting firm Cartmill-Rogers, has been in construction for most of his life and is responsible for major projects at Las Vegas landmarks such as the Mandalay Bay Hotel; New York, New York Casino and Hotel; and the Paris Casino & Hotel.
Click here to learn more about Project Technology Solutions
Click here to learn more about Cartmill-Rogers Construction Company
Procore has several clients who are using our construction software to manage Internet data center facility construction projects across the US.
Data centers are also known as “mission critical” facilities because the web and data servers they house must be able to function at all times. Imagine how much it could cost a major e-commerce company if their website servers went down for even an hour. If a data center is not properly built, all kinds of problems could crop up and affect not just one tenant, but hundreds or even thousands of “virtual tenants,” companies that have their web servers housed in that facility. An issue with poor electrical systems design or a leaking roof can have repercussions for many data center clients and thousands of customers for those companies.
That’s why data centers have to be built right. Because so many companies and people depend on the data center to provide a secure home for mission-critical equipment and data, the facility has to be built to a high standard. Likewise, the construction project management software used to build a data center has to be accurate and dependable—there’s no room for communication errors, lost project documents, or mismanaged change orders because of a construction software error.
Procore’s construction project management software is helping to build the facilities that actually power the Internet. Several Procore clients, including Nova Corp (NY/NJ), XL Construction (CA), and Concept Construction (NY), are using Procore as their construction project management software standard for more than a dozen different mission critical facility projects throughout the US. Using a web-based construction software tool to build the data centers that house the Internet’s web servers makes a lot of sense.
If you sell construction services to high-tech clients, demonstrating Procore’s construction software as part of your sales effort can do a lot to demonstrate your technology literacy. Do you have competitors who still use a legal pad and a cell phone to manage their projects? Make sure your prospects and clients know you’re using Procore as your construction software in order to run a 21st century business.
Procore client Cartmill-Rogers got so excited about Procore that they’ve started a company to sell Procore’s construction project management software to other contractors.
Here’s the full story:
Cartmill-Rogers is a general contracting firm in Las Vegas, NV. They started using Procore about four years ago for major projects along the Vegas strip and the surrounding area. For the principals of Cartmill-Rogers, using Procore was eye-opening. Suddenly, chasing paper and emails became a thing of the past. Communications headaches were reduced. Accountability and transparency increased. Everyone on the project knew what needed to be done, what had been accomplished, and what still needed to be worked on.
For most companies, that would have been the end of the story. They bought some software, the software worked, everyone’s pleased.
But there’s more to this story. Cartmill-Rogers saw an opportunity to bring Procore to other companies in the construction industry. They approached Procore, and worked with us to start a brand new company, Project Technology Solutions, or “ProTech”. The mission of ProTech is simple: they sell Procore construction software to commercial contractors.
That’s a great customer testimonial. And now the sales guys from Project Technology Solutions are out on the streets, doing Procore demos and spreading the word about Procore.
Jeff Brook, Senior VP at Cartmill-Rogers, has been in construction for most of his life and is responsible for major projects at Las Vegas landmarks such as the Mandalay Bay Hotel; New York, New York Casino and Hotel; and the Paris Casino & Hotel.
Click on the video below to see Jeff’s comments on why he believes the construction industry needs Procore:
Click here to learn more about Project Technology Solutions
Click here to learn more about Cartmill-Rogers Construction Company
North Carolina solar installation firm FLS Energy has chosen Procore to be the company’s standard for construction project management software. Procore was selected after the FLS team evaluated construction software from several different vendors, and then actually used Procore’s software on pilot projects for over four months.
The selection process compared Procore to other construction software packages, including several older software applications which use more costly client-server technologies and require extensive staff training. Procore’s web-based construction software was chosen because FLS realized that Procore provided all of the power they needed, in a way that makes it easy for their entire team to quickly get up and running.
FLS Energy, based in Asheville, NC, is a solar energy generation company whose mission is to establish solar as a mainstream technology. FLS Energy specializes in solar energy systems that provide hot water and electricity to provide its clients with a hedge against rising energy costs and a clean source of energy. FLS Energy installs a range of solar energy systems from small commercial solar thermal and photovoltaic applications to utility scale solar farms. The firm is using Procore to coordinate the efforts of its entire project team, from in-house system design and engineering to project management and installation.
Procore CEO Tooey Courtemanche commented, “FLS works with a large team of system designers, project managers and installers. They can’t implement a tool that’s cumbersome to use or hard to learn, and they needed a solution that would allow them to provide value to their entire customer base, which ranges from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Procore’s web-based construction software fits the bill, and we’re proud to have been adopted by a company that’s in the vanguard of the implementation of green energy.”
Monitor Builders Inc. (MBI), the construction management affiliate of architectural firm DiGiorgio Associates, Inc. (DAI), has chosen to standardize its project collaboration and communication on Procore’s construction software. Boston-based MBI specializes in meeting the unique needs of the healthcare industry. MBI is using Procore to enhance the coordination between project team members working on major hospital and healthcare centers throughout the Northeastern US.
MBI often teams up with its affiliate DAI, which provides planning, architecture, engineering, and interior design services to clients. MBI then steps into the process to take over the management of complex construction phasing. Successful project coordination is vital to reduce the impact of construction operations on staff, patients and the overall function of clients’ healthcare facilities.
Procore is part of the technology toolset that MBI uses to ensure that authorized project team members have seamless access to a centralized source for project documents, contracts, submittals and RFIs. Because Procore is web-based, access can be granted to any team member with an Internet connection, regardless of whether they are employees of MBI, DAI or an external sub-contractor or trade partner. Documents can be shared via email or web access, and communications such as RFIs and submittals can be handled using respondents’ regular email software, on any email device—including smartphones.
MBI selected Procore after using the software for over a month on a pilot project. This ability to try out the system before deciding to move forward with standardization is a clear advantage when Procore is compared to older, client-server technologies. MBI also does not have to invest in purchasing server equipment to run Procore, and all of their project team members receive unlimited training and support at no cost.
“With over 25 years of experience designing and building specialized healthcare facilities, the team at MBI and DAI knows exactly how much value tight coordination adds to the construction process, ” noted Procore CEO Tooey Courtemanche. “Procore is proud to be selected as a key technology component that is helping to ensure MBI’s continued leadership in their industry sector.”
Procore has been selected by Michigan commercial contractor Irish Construction Company as its company-wide construction project management software application. Procore was selected after a rigorous evaluation process conducted over several months by Irish’s project managers.
The selection process compared Procore’s ease-of-use, functionality and value to a wide variety of other construction software packages, including several well-known applications which use older client-server technology. Procore’s web-based construction software was chosen based upon its power and simplicity, and Procore’s ability to work on any computer with an Internet connection. Procore’s simple pricing model, which uses a flat fee instead of requiring cumbersome individual “seat licenses” for users, also separated its software from the competition.
Founded in 1974, Irish Construction is a hands-on General Contractor, Construction Manager, and Design Builder specializing in mid-to-large commercial, institutional, and industrial contracts. Recent projects have included Michigan State University’s Surplus Store and Recycling Center, U of M’S Big House Renovation, and the Delhi Township (MI) Biomass to Energy project.
Procore CEO Tooey Courtemanche noted, “Established general contractors like Irish Construction don’t change their business processes just to match the latest new software model. Irish Construction knows its business inside-out, and the company will only adopt new tools when the benefits are easy to recognize and the technology is simple to implement. Procore is proud that we’ve been selected as the construction software standard by one of Central Michigan’s most respected general contractors.”