The IT Nerd

Procore Technologies, Inc. today announced Procore Copilot, a new artificial intelligence-powered conversational and predictive experience that will provide customers the ability to automate time intensive, manual processes across the Procore Platform.

The introduction of Procore Copilot underscores the industry’s high demand for technology that can cut down on manual tasks and streamline arduous workflows. According to the 2023 How We Build Now Report, 28 per cent of total project time is spent on rework, while 18 per cent of project time is spent searching for data, significantly impacting project performance.

Procore Copilot will work in the background to flag important information and help customers operate in a more proactive and productive manner, all while running on data from within the Procore Platform. Procore Copilot acts as an extension of the project team, and can quickly search and surface information securely on web or mobile. And, two of the construction industry’s most trusted technological partners, Procore and Microsoft, are working together to extend the power of Procore Copilot enabled by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, into the Microsoft products Procore’s customers use every day.

Procore Copilot is currently under development and functionality will be rolling out in beta over the coming year.

To learn more about how Procore is revolutionizing construction workflows with AI, register for Groundbreak Live.

Today Procore Technologies released its construction industry benchmark report, How We Build Now: Technology and industry trends shaping Canadian construction in 2023. 

The survey was conducted by independent research company Censuswide. A total of 502 construction decision-makers and influencers across Canada participated in the report. 

How We Build Now examines the general sentiment of the industry on issues including the labour shortage, the supply chain, digital transformation, sustainability in construction, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 
Construction firms in Canada understand that digital transformation is required to overcome the labour shortage: 22 per cent of construction businesses consider themselves a digital-first business and 51 per cent are ‘well on the way’ to adopting digital formats and workflows. Construction decision makers recognize that technology provides benefits, particularly around resource efficiency through less rework, an enemy of sustainability. The survey shows 27 per cent of the total time spent on a project is spent on rework or rectifying issues. Other findings: 

• Almost half of all projects go over budget (50%) and over schedule (49%) according to respondents
• Over 30 per cent of respondents identify needing new technology to improve operational efficiency and cost controls amid economic volatility
• Paper remains a common medium for Canadian construction decision makers. About a quarter of respondents (23-28%, depending on the workflow) still use paper-based records or non-digital processes as part of their workflows 

According to the report, the industry realizes the value of data yet they are not able to leverage it to the fullest. 

• 41 per cent of respondents feel that they would be able to make better decisions if they had better access to real-time and historic information on project performance. 
• Respondents believe they could save up to 12 per cent of their total spending on projects if they captured, integrated and standardized data more efficiently

The full report can be found here: http://www.procore.com/en-ca/ebooks/how-we-build-now-report-can

In partnership with Procore Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of construction management software, Dodge Construction Network today released the results of its 2022 Top Business Issues for Specialty Contractors Report. This report highlights key issues impacting specialty contractors, including workforce management, technology and profitability to help businesses better understand recurring trends while broadening industry awareness of the advantages that can be created by leveraging digital solutions.

This global research was completed by five types of specialty contractors: mechanical, electrical, plumbing, steel and concrete. Key findings include:

Labour Shortage and Supply Chain Will Continue to Afflict the Industry

Research found that over 90 per cent of specialty contractors report their projects have been negatively affected by a shortage of skilled labour. Experts anticipate the current shortage to worsen: on average, 33 per cent of the current workforce is likely to retire in the next five years.

The labour shortage, alongside supply chain disruptions, is having a significant impact on the industry. About one third of specialty contractors (31 per cent) cannot pass materials cost increases on to owners on half or more of their projects. This is highest among steel contractors (43 per cent), who face a very volatile cost market. Specialty contractors identify poor resource management (ie: labour, materials, equipment) and poor client communication as top drivers of rework.

To counter the negative impact of labour shortages, specialty contractors most frequently cite construction technology investments to improve productivity.

Rework is Significantly Impacting Profit Margins

Poor resource management often drives unplanned rework, which is a key drain on productivity, schedule management and cost control. In addition to that, unbillable change orders represent major lost revenue, especially for larger companies. On average, 30 per cent of project revenue is lost because of unbilled and unpaid change orders, according to survey respondents.

Leveraging Construction Technology Can Help Alleviate Some of the Industry’s Most Pressing Challenges

On average, specialty contractors report that 20 per cent of workers’ time is currently spent on low-productivity tasks, such as tracking down information or documenting information on paper. According to the report, an average of 39 per cent of respondents state they still primarily use whiteboards, spreadsheets and other outdated processes. This lack of standardized processes hurts field-to-office communication, negatively impacting the effectiveness of key project processes.

In order for contractors to advance and evolve to meet the needs of their clients, the report suggests company leaders must identify where inefficiencies are present within their organizations and adopt more dynamic technological solutions to address them.

Best practices for technology evaluation and implementation include:

• Identifying needs before evaluating options
• A phased roll-out plan
• A structured process for engaging key stakeholders
• Metrics to determine success

To learn more, download the report here.

Xero, the global small business platform, has partnered with leading global provider of construction management software, Procore Technologies, Inc., to provide a new integration between Procore’s construction financial management solution and Xero’s cloud-based accounting platform.

The new app integration is now available on the Xero App Store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It helps solve some of the biggest challenges small and medium construction firms face by enabling them, and their advisors, to connect field and back office teams with real-time, accurate, financial data in the cloud. This in turn supports the delivery of multiple complex projects on time, and on budget.

According to McKinsey, the construction industry accounts for 13 per cent of global GDP, but productivity has grown by just one per cent annually over the past 20 years and digitalization is lower than in nearly any other industry.

You can try the new Procore app in the Xero App Store here.

Procore Technologies, a leading global provider of construction management software, today announced a new integration with Building Transparency, a nonprofit organization with the mission to enable broad and swift action to address the construction industry’s role in climate change. The integration enables Procore users to leverage the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) in an effort to drive sustainability across the global construction industry.

Between 2015 and 2050 worldwide, two trillion square feet of buildings are expected to be built or renovated, and the World Green Building Council estimates that construction materials account for approximately 11 per cent of global carbon emissions. In order to address Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainable building practices, the EC3 tool is a free database that calculates the embodied carbon emissions associated with design and material procurement, ultimately helping specialty contractors, general contractors and owners reduce embodied carbon emissions in construction. The EC3 calculator was co-conceived and developed by Skanska and C Change Labs; it was jointly seed-funded by Skanska and Microsoft. 

The EC3 integration provides Procore users the opportunity to reduce construction waste and rework, accounting for nearly $500 billion annually across the globe according to the 2018 FMI Report. By giving construction professionals the tools to benchmark and assess their carbon footprint, the tool actively helps companies realize their sustainability targets and reduce carbon emissions. 

To learn more about how Procore is partnering with Building Transparency to support greener construction practices, register for Procore’s global Innovation Summit taking place April 19. 

Procore Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of construction management software, today released the results of its 2022 Customer Return On Invest (ROI) report. The report explores how the Procore platform is helping customers tackle the most daunting challenges in the industry, including sustainability, safety and the labour shortage by analyzing responses from 2,600+ customers across North and South America, Asia and Europe. Key takeaways include:

• Building Scalable Businesses: Customer respondents state that using Procore enables their project teams to manage 48 per cent more construction volume per person, on average.
• Reduced Rework: 75 per cent of respondents agree Procore has helped reduce the amount of rework.
• Improved Efficiency: Customer respondents reported saving an average of 15 days on the overall schedule on a typical project.
• Safer Jobsites: 79 per cent of customer respondents that use Quality and Safety agree Procore has improved their company’s safety programs.

Rising material costs and supply chain issues, labour shortages, slimming margins, continued project delays, increasing carbon emissions due to rework and waste and the need for more sustainable solutions are just a few obstacles the industry is facing and will continue to face in the years to come.

Key takeaways and supporting customer responses can be found below:

Building Scalable Businesses: Customer respondents believe using Procore enables their project teams to manage on average 48 per cent more construction volume per person.

Reduced Rework: 75 per cent of customer respondents agree Procore has helped reduce the amount of rework taking place on their projects which leads to less carbon waste, more efficiency and delivering more projects on-time and on-budget.

Improved Efficiency: Customer respondents reported saving an average of 15 days on the overall schedule on a typical project.

Safer Jobsites: 79 per cent of customer respondents that use Quality and Safety agree Procore has improved their company’s safety program.

Procore’s sole focus is construction, from preconstruction to closeout, the Procore platform is purpose-built and developed to meet the needs of the construction industry. Continually recognized with top honours by leading user review sites such as G2, the Procore platform helps customers produce more value, deliver better project outcomes, and develop stronger, safer, and more productive teams.

To discover the tools that are driving results for construction leaders across the globe, download the Procore 2022 ROI Report today.

Procore Technologies, Inc. a leading provider of construction management software, today released Canadian-focused findings from a report developed in partnership with Dodge Data& Analytics, a leading provider of commercial construction project data. The report found both owners and contractors in Canada face a variety of challenges when it comes to project cost management, but they believe using one streamlined tool will help facilitate construction projects and cost management more efficiently.

Conducted in July 2021, the report explores the industry’s perception of project cost management and how construction professionals across multiple regions leverage technology to effectively manage costs. Participants included construction owners, general contractors, and subcontractors in the public and private sectors across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Technology’s Role In Cost Management

When it comes to leveraging technology to track projects and costs, Canadian organizations are split — with many using multiple applications and spreadsheets to manage the information. While many are confident in their ability to track information to the benefit of their business, there are still many areas where there are needs for improvement.

Key Findings of Procore’s New Construction Cost Management Report:

●  Canadian Confidence: Canadian respondents were confident in how they are managing information.

• Of all the regions surveyed, Canada led the way in knowing the real-time profit/loss status of projects/portfolio, with 68 per cent of Canadian respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that they know where they are making or losing money on a project or across their portfolio, at any given moment.
• Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians indicated they can easily uncover cost details and create comprehensive financial reports from a single source of truth.
• Sixty-three per cent said they can dynamically track every dollar in their budgets and forecast critical costs with real-time data from the field, while staying in sync with the accounting system.

The report shows that owners expressed more confidence in their overall cost management capabilities than contractors surveyed, and each type of owner studied (public and private) is more confident than either type of contractor (general and trade). General contractors are more confident than specialty trades.

●  Staying on Top of Costs: When asked which cost-management activities their company has the greatest difficulty with, the top five selected by Canadian organizations are as follows:

• Determining appropriate contingency amounts (32 per cent)*
• Accurately estimating total cost to complete for activities in the work breakdown structure (31 per cent)*
• Tracking costs for every aspect of the job to determine how they impact overall project cost (31 per cent) 
• Control of project cash flows (29 per cent)*
  • Understanding in real-time where they are making or losing money (26 per cent)
    
    * Canada also leads in these three challenges when compared to its global counterparts. 

●  Varying Workflows: Canadian respondents are collaborating with external partners in various ways — including older, traditional processes — when it comes to workflows related to cost management:

• Email and attachments (17 per cent)
• Generic, third-party collaboration software (17 per cent)
• Telephone and personal communication (16 per cent)
• Manual processes relying on printed paper (14 per cent)
• FTP server managed by a project team member (13 per cent)

When it comes to internal collaboration, third-party collaboration software (18 per cent) and email and attachments are the top tools.

• The Cost of Technology: Globally, general contractors and specialty contractors reported notably different levels of satisfaction with their use of software for cost management. The disparity sends an important message that the right technology — and the right amount of it — is needed to effectively support the workflows of every team member in order to advance the entire industry.

• And, while a high level of Canadian respondents indicated they know where they are making or losing money on a project or across their portfolio at any given moment, the results show there is room to spend more on the technology they need to be successful with 20 per cent of Canadian organizations said they are spending “the right amount” on technology required for cost management practices and 30 per cent said they are spending somewhat or much less than they should.
• Improvements Needed in the Next 3-5 Years: When asked about the most important future needs to solve with project cost management, tracking dollars and data were high priorities. Globally, forecasting critical costs with real-time data from the field topped the list (30 per cent). In Canada, respondents cited these top three as the most important:

• Dynamically tracking every dollar in my budget (30 per cent) 
• Leveraging data from previous projects to benchmark cost performance (29 per cent)
• Accurately assessing risk related to any changes or performance issues (29 per cent)

Listen to the conversation between Jas Saraw and Stephen Jones during the Cost Management: The State of the Industry webinar here. 

Download The Construction Cost Management Report here. 

To learn more about Procore solutions, including Financial Management and the ERP Connector Platform, visit Procore.com. 

 Procore Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: PCOR), a leading provider of construction management software, today announced the next wave of enhancements for a smarter and more connected platform. 

Procore Quick Capture Highlights Investment in Mobile, AI and ML 

Procore is bringing innovations to mobile that connect the field and office. With acquisitions of INDUS.AI and Avata Intelligence, Procore has invested in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology across its platform to help unlock the value of project data and drive efficiencies.
Procore Quick Capture is voice-enabled input technology that will launch in 2022, automating and simplifying data entry in the field by “telling” Procore what it should enter. With Procore Quick Capture on the Punch tool, users will be able capture a video of punch items and simply talk to Procore. Through AI and ML, Procore will create the punch item, attach a photo, and even assign it to the appropriate trade. Early testing has shown that this new voice-enabled punch can cut down the time required to capture and log information in the field for reporting by at least 50%. 

Procore Conversations is Contextual Messaging for Construction 

Collaboration on projects starts with communication. Today, that communication is rigid and is fragmented across multiple channels, such as email, text, and third-party messaging solutions. Procore Conversations, available in pilot in the fourth quarter of 2021, brings intuitive, contextual messaging to Procore, saving time and integrating communication across channels. Conversations are organized, prioritized, and easily accessible on mobile and web. Critical updates, questions, and discussions will happen seamlessly across the office and field, and are contextual to the item being discussed, such as an RFI, Change Order, or Observation. 

New Mobile Home Experience Personalizes and Prioritizes Daily Work

Procore is focused on creating unique experiences for every stakeholder in construction. That experience starts with mobile, where customers will have unique experiences based on who they are and their role in the construction project. The new mobile home experience, available in the fourth quarter of 2021, prioritizes daily work, with quick access to check in on progress, change status or create a new item – RFI, Observations, or Punch. It ensures when customers are in the field they have a complete view, so projects stay on schedule.

Connecting Everyone in Construction with The Procore Construction Network 

Procore’s mission is to connect everyone in construction on a global platform. Currently in pilot, the Procore Construction Network is a free online business directory connecting general contractors, specialty contractors, owners, architects, engineers, suppliers, and vendors. With location-based search and advanced filters, customers will be able to use the Procore Construction Network to quickly find and connect with new construction partners. This will make it easier for construction professionals to expand their online presence, promote their businesses, and grow their networks. 

To learn more about these platform enhancements, register and join Procore virtually at Groundbreak, the company’s annual conference being held October 12-14.

Procore Technologies, Inc. a leading provider of construction management software, today announced multiple platform updates to further meet the needs of its global customers —from document control to data and privacy enhancements. Used in over 125 countries, Procore’s platform is continually advancing to provide customers with everything they need to meet business and security needs worldwide. 

Collaborative Document Management Goes Global

Procore is taking its world-class document solution global to improve how the industry collaborates on construction documents across all project stakeholders. This is often a fragmented and inefficient process with construction teams using multiple disconnected solutions for versioning, markup, and workflow management. In 2020, 90 million documents were uploaded to the Procore platform. 

Procore’s new collaborative document management solution, coming soon, will offer a more flexible and configurable approach, making it easier and faster to access and collaborate on documents. It will provide customers with an integrated markup experience, offer custom approval workflows with granular file level permissions, and provide a solution that helps them meet common data environment (CDE) requirements and ISO compliance standards.

Global Cloud Infrastructure and Security Features to Meet Global Needs 

Procore has expanded its global infrastructure with 11 new cloud data centers for file storage, now 15 in total, that allow customers to store certain project data locally, while also improving the speed and performance of the platform. Procore provides enterprise grade security and privacy features such as data encryption-at-rest, managed bug bounty program, strict access control policies, and more. Procore solutions can assist customers in meeting their data privacy and governance requirements, including GDPR, California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Australia’s Privacy Act of 1988 — learn more here. 

Platform Flexibility and Global Enhancements Drive Customer Success

With feedback from global customers, Procore is building customization into the platform to meet the diverse needs of customers around the world. Whether building an inspection test plan in Australia or contractual correspondence in Germany, Procore’s customizable platform flexes to support regional business needs. Custom and Configurable fields are now supported by every product across the platform.

Industry Votes Procore as Top Construction Platform Solution

Procore was recently named the tenth best software company in the world on The Software Report’s list of 100 Top Software Companies of 2021, and received top honors from G2 in eight categories of software: construction management, construction project management, bid management, construction ERP, construction drawing management, construction accounting, punch list, and jobsite management software.

To learn more about these platform enhancements, register and join Procore virtually at Groundbreak, the company’s annual conference being held October 12-14. 

Procore Technologies, Inc. a leading provider of construction management software, today announced that it has again received top honours from G2 users across several software categories, increasing its leadership status from the previous G2 2021 Summer Report. 

In the G2 2021 Fall Report, Procore maintained its leadership status across construction management, construction project management, bid management, construction ERP, construction drawing management, and construction accounting. In addition, Procore was named a leader in the punch list and jobsite management software categories. 

Procore achieved its rankings in the G2 Fall 2021 Report based on real users on G2. Inclusion in the report means a product must have received ten or more reviews in each category. Some of the top scores Procore received for construction project management include:

• 97% of users rated it 4 or 5 stars
• 92% are likely to recommend Procore
• 93% believe Procore is going in the right direction
• 89% rank the software as easy to use
• 93% say they are satisfied with the quality of support

The Procore platform was purpose built for construction, with a deep understanding of the industry’s unique challenges and the needs of construction professionals. The platform provides complete visibility into construction projects by centralizing every app, document, and project team member in Procore’s cloud-based platform. This reduces miscommunication by providing a single source of truth.

Find the overview of the G2 Fall 2021 findings in the summary report.