Increasing efficiency and streamlining communication

The Challenge

Faults in communication are frustrating, regardless of your occupation. However, those faults are not only frustrating for those working in construction – they can be detrimental. Prior to Procore, Rancho California Water District’s (Rancho Water/District) manual processes exacerbated challenges around communication and created numerous inefficiencies throughout the project lifecycle. Additionally, even with the organization’s focus on sustainability, the District was consumed with literal paperwork, which made tracking project documents a tedious and time-consuming process.

The Solution

Rancho Water’s Senior Accounts Analyst, Rhonda Barkey, knew there had to be a better way to get things done – and she was right. Procore’s cloud-based platform drastically improved communication and collaboration by digitizing their processes in a single source of truth for all stakeholders, saving the district an incredible amount of time and paper.

Time Savings and Efficiency

Before Rancho Water implemented Procore, their processes were manual and extremely time-consuming. Barkey was responsible for creating, sending out, and organizing project documents such as Requests for Information (RFIs) and submittals. The manual process could take days if not weeks, and with each passing day, the information became even more outdated. Furthermore, inspectors could not easily or quickly access up-to-date information in the field. Instead, they carried around hard copies of drawings and paperwork and used a physical journal to detail each project, only to have to plug that information into a computer at the end of each day.

Today, everything is done within the Procore platform, which has notably amped up Rancho Water’s efficiency. Barkey said that “before we started using Procore, we were doing everything manually, from RFIs to submittals. Now, with Procore, everything is done online – no mailing anything out. The inspectors can submit online, and within a couple of hours, they have their submittals back with their comments. Same thing for RFIs. It's been a huge time saver for me, the engineers, and even the inspectors. It's been a huge plus for us.”

Additionally, users can work from a singular platform from anywhere at any time via the mobile app, making it simple for those in the field to access and transmit project data with the click of a button. Barkey said, “Procore has made us more efficient because everything is done seamlessly. It's all done through the cloud. There's no wondering where a submittal went off to, or if it got lost in the process. It's all right there and at the ready.” She then added, “Inspectors are loving Procore. They are able to take their iPads out to the field, look at drawings and do their dailies in real time, and go on to the next project. It's been a huge time-saver for them.”

Improved Communication

Rancho Water faced several challenges directly related to flaws in communication. With the Microsoft 365 integration, Rhonda attests that the teams at Rancho Water can do far more in a day. “We started using Procore through our email. We integrated the email portion, and that's how we communicate with the contractors and subcontractors, and keep tabs on different areas of the project. When there are issues that come up, we email through Procore. With the Outlook integration, we can just drag and drop emails into Procore that weren’t originally there. With the Microsoft 365 integration, we can keep the correspondence together project by project, so that has also been a real benefit.”

Having real-time data and a digital platform specifically designed for the construction industry has made collaboration easier than ever. Procore streamlines its processes and allows the District to focus on high-value activities and the work they’re there to do. Barkey explained, “Procore has helped us collaborate throughout our departments. There's better communication because everybody on each project is able to discuss the job with real-time information.”