Streamlining data management processes

As it became a recognised leader in large-scale project management, design and construction, PBS found that its project management systems, which included siloed technology, paper-based records, and manual data entry became problematic, because they didn’t integrate with one another. COO Matthew Rayment and his team were tasked with reviewing and streamlining technology and processes to ensure better movement of data and enable faster decision making, particularly in terms of quality and safety.

PBS selected Procore for construction management, financials and quality and safety across the business. They had a pre-existing relationship with SignOnSite for site attendance and induction management, so its seamless integration with Procore was a big selling point.

“The SignOnSite and Procore relationship is vitally important to PBS, because the information entered into one system is then transferred into another - so our site teams don’t need to manually transfer data themselves.”

For years, PBS persisted with disjointed systems, resulting in double handling and duplication of project data. In 2018, Chief Operating Officer Matthew Rayment said PBS strategically made the decision “to really look at the way we operate in terms of how we use our systems, and to redefine how we operate by using technology to manage our processes.”

Matthew and his team conducted an analysis of its existing operations and identified six areas across the business where systems required manual entry. These included: project reporting and forecasting; financials; quality and safety; and document management.

Quality & Safety was a key area for improvement. “It was heavily paper-based,” Matthew said. “All of our health and safety forms were either Word based or Excel based individual forms. It was heavily labour intensive and too complicated.”

PBS had been relying on paper records for things like certifications and induction records, which soaked up hours of time and was a major friction point for the team.

PBS had been successfully using SignOnSite for site inductions and attendance records, while trialling other solutions to meet requirements such as quality inspections, incident management and equipment management with automation and efficient reporting. The team attended Groundbreak in 2018, where they spent time speaking with Procore, learning about the Quality & Safety tool.

“We started to develop a bit of a roadmap about how Procore and SOS could work together to manage the health & safety requirements of PBS,” said Matthew. “And that’s the solution we ended up working with.”

“We wanted information to be able to sync through all parts of the business automatically without having to duplicate the data; we wanted data from a project lifecycle to transfer from start to finish without the need to enter that data into multiple systems; and reporting to automatically transfer to the board and senior management team through analytics or some sort of dashboard so the people making the business decisions actually had the live information to make better decisions.”

Procore was implemented by PBS not just for Quality & Safety but for construction management across the business. PBS submitted Procore to a rigorous 12-month trial where the technology was used for the duration of five construction projects, one of which was delivered defect-free.

“Procore and SignOnSite are building the best in class solution for the industry by tackling different ends of the spectrum,” said Matthew.

PBS uses Procore for top-down construction management and SignOnSite for bottom up communication at the worker level. The easy transfer of data between each is vital in eliminating manual data entry and enabling streamlined analysis and reporting, while ensuring each solution fits the requirements of the user - whether onsite or in the office. “The integration of information was key to our entire vision for our system.”

PBS is now working in partnership with both Procore and SignOnSite to develop custom solutions to meet the firm’s needs. “It’s definitely a partnership between PBS, SignOnSite and Procore,” said Matthew. “We don’t feel like we’re just treated like we purchased a software, we feel like we’re using a software that’s been developed by a real partner.”