Customer Story
Smart Commercial Energy scales complex energy delivery
Smart Commercial Energy uses Procore across 250 Australian projects to keep knowledge, finances and accountability visible while delivering complex energy solutions.
The Challenge
When growth demands more than individual project knowledge
Smart Commercial Energy designs and delivers commercial solar, battery and EV charging projects across Australia, with systems ranging from smaller commercial installations to projects of up to five megawatts.
At any one time, its project team can be responsible for around 250 active jobs. Engineers, project managers, subcontractors and site teams need to coordinate design, procurement, construction, commissioning, safety and budgets while keeping clients informed.
Before Procore became part of Smart's day-to-day operations, project information could sit across spreadsheets, server folders, emails and other systems. The company had also trialled a general project management platform, but it created more work without giving leaders the project oversight they needed.
“We could see early on that we weren’t getting the insights and the oversight that we needed,” said Ben Adamson, Head of Projects and Performance at Smart Commercial Energy. “We wanted something that was really made for the job.”
For Project Manager Nicholas Thomson, who has managed around 40 to 50 projects over the past few years, the risk was equally practical. Photos, conversations and decisions could remain with the person managing the job.
“Project managers move on, suddenly photos get lost in their emails,” Nick said. “My biggest fear is, is there something I’ve forgotten or have I overlooked?”
In electrical construction, that uncertainty can affect safety, cost, quality and delivery.
The Solution
Keeping the project story visible from site to office
Smart selected Procore after Ben had used the platform in a previous construction role and knew it worked well for both project managers and subcontractors.
Smart uses Procore Financial Management, including Budgets, Commitments and Head Contracts, alongside Procore Project Management tools including Inspections, Site Diaries, Photos, Drawings, Meetings, Action Plans, Conversations and project email. Together, they give project managers clearer visibility of their own jobs while helping leaders see project performance across the wider portfolio.
“The key for me was implementing it a little bit more gradually,” Ben said. “Once they’re used to living in Procore, you start to add other modules and make it more and more part of the overall process.”
Subcontractors can submit progress photos and site information from their phones. Engineers can upload drawings for site teams to access. Crucially, project emails remain with the job. Daily records, inspections and safety information can be reviewed without relying on one person to explain what happened.
For Nick, that structure supports the way he manages multiple moving parts.
“The way Procore is structured for us makes it easy for me to be very process-driven,” he said. “It keeps me accountable.”
The Results
- Gives project managers daily visibility of budgets, commitments and changing costs
- Keeps project knowledge available when people are away, change roles or leave the business
- Saves 20% of project manager financial administration time
- Keeps thousands of project photos and ITCs traceable and accessible to the wider team
- Carries proven quality processes from major projects into future SMART work
“With Procore, we can pick things up much quicker and reduce risk. If something looks different to last week, we can question it early rather than discovering it later when it’s too late.”
Ben Adamson
Head of Projects and Performance
Smart Commercial Energy
Less chasing and greater confidence
Smart can now give project managers detailed visibility of their own jobs while giving leaders a broader view of risk, cost and performance across the business.
“It definitely reduces the risk and allows us to pick things up quicker,” Ben said. “We can spot that something looks different to last week and question it early, rather than later on when it’s too late.”
Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) demonstrated what that approach could support on one of Smart's most significant projects.
Smart was engaged to deliver a 4.5 MWp solar system across the terminal roof, piers and walkway canopies. The team had to coordinate with multiple contractors, designers and engineers while responding to numerous design revisions within a complex multi-year construction environment.
WSI became one of the first major projects Smart ran comprehensively through Procore. The project record includes approximately 12,000 photos and more than 90 ITCs managed through Inspections. Project managers reviewed budgets daily, using Budgets, Commitments and Head Contracts to understand what had been ordered, approved and changed.
Ben estimates the financial workflows saved project managers around 20 per cent of the time previously spent manually updating spreadsheets, filing documents and reporting costs.
The project also influenced how Smart delivers future work. The ITC process proved effective enough for the business to expand the approach across other projects, strengthening quality checks and reducing the risk of errors being missed.
For Nick, the day-to-day result is simpler.
“It saves our legwork because we don’t have to go chasing the information,” he said. “There are only so many hours in a day.”
For Smart, that means project knowledge stays with the business, managers can act earlier and teams have greater confidence that the information behind each project is available when it matters.
