Driving 10% greater efficiency

Primarily reliant on spreadsheets and email to track projects; these manual systems didn’t allow for an easy way to organise and manage project data - let alone efficiently communicate with stakeholders. With a goal to transform the construction industry and differentiate from its competitors, Cook Brothers needed a construction management solution that would partner with them to disrupt the norm of manual processes and give them a competitive edge.

Leveraging Procore’s user-friendly platform consolidated all the information into one centralised location. Not only did the site and office staff readily adopt the solution, but it was easy to communicate with everyone. With greater consistency and efficiency, the team was able to provide a point of difference competitively and grow as a company.

When CFO Adam La Hood joined Cook Brothers Construction, teams relied primarily on spreadsheets, email and written notes to manage projects. But this proved to be a challenge as there was no central repository for project data. Not only did it inhibit communication, but tracking variations and approvals were growing increasingly complex.

The executive team decided to set up demos with leading construction management solutions in the New Zealand market. Adam recalls that during their research, they liked that Procore’s tools were easy to use for both site and office teams.

‘We need it to be user-friendly and we need people to want to use it because it’s used across our whole business’, he explains, adding that it also helps support their commitment to a positive working environment. ‘We’re huge on culture. We try to attract the people that would embrace our culture, and we’ve been able to grow because of it. Now we get a lot of people coming to us saying they want to work for Cook Brothers’.

In fact, Cook Brothers Construction has made the Deloitte Fast 50 index of the fastest-growing companies in New Zealand three times in the last ten years. Since Adam’s entry into the business, he cites that turnover has tripled in the years since they implemented Procore.

“It’s not about establishing in more locations, it’s about working on bigger projects. Having something like Procore onboard really helped us. You can be limited by manual systems when working on large-scale projects.”

“It’s essential to have the right systems and technology to be able to do that. That’s why we really like Procore - we know this is a partnership that will help us grow in the long run. We believe the more we utilise it, the more growth we’ll have".

The company placed product experts in each of their regions to aid implementation and ensure all staff was equipped with the right skills to use the software. During implementation, the team also leveraged Procore’s certifications and training resources to get teams up to speed quickly and reduce the barrier to adoption.

‘Even some of the employees that were more resistant to technology like it. When they actually adopted it, they would often say, “This is great”’, notes Adam.

By using a more streamlined system across their business, Cook Brothers not only ensured consistency but also boosted communication and collaboration. Moreover, teams were more efficient and no longer had to double enter information. In fact, Adam estimates Procore saved employees roughly 10% of their time.

Ultimately, a more efficient solution also helped the company differentiate itself in a competitive market. ‘We were an early adopter of Procore in New Zealand’, Adam explains. ‘We want to transform the construction industry. We want to be different, and we saw Procore as a very good partner because they want to challenge what’s out there. That’s exactly what our vision and philosophy are as well’.