Construction professionals know: project management software is a game-changer. Compared to the old-fashioned system of email, phone calls, and faxes, cloud-based project management applications help building teams stay in communication, stay on track, and complete projects with timelines their predecessors could only dream of.
Among the best of these software solutions is Procore, whose Construction OS platform is utilized by over 2 million people around the world.
If you’re one of those 2 million people, then you’re in luck, because your project management software just gained some exciting new functionality. Procore and Multivista recently partnered to develop an integration between their two platforms, and the result is a suite of new workflows designed to make it easier to leverage Multivista visual documentation for your project management needs.
If you thought construction project management software couldn’t get any more efficient, think again. With these new workflows, Procore users can shave days or weeks off existing timelines, decreasing delays and increasing profit margins.
How?
Answer RFIs Faster
Requests for information (RFIs) are an integral part of the communication on any construction project. Unfortunately, they are also a major reason why work slows down and deadlines get extended so often.
Even with a project management solution like Procore, answering an RFI can still take over a week. The chain of communication might involve several independent players, like architects, contractors, engineers, and foremen. They often involve major questions, like errors in the plans or incorrect materials. And they typically require a site visit to answer with certainty, which, depending on your location and schedule, can delay work for days.
With Multivista and Procore, you don’t have to go to the construction site to respond to an RFI, because Multivista photographers have already been there, capturing as-built photographic records of every part of the project. When you receive an RFI, you can open up Multivista, navigate to the right part of the plan, view the latest images, and determine the proper answer. Then, you just click “Add to Procore,” and the image, its location, and the date it was captured will be automatically added to your RFI response within Construction OS.
With the “Add to Procore” button and Multivista, a process which previously took days or weeks can be finished in minutes or hours.
Complete More Observations
During a construction project, a variety of people are responsible for walking the site and completing observations. These observations are vital, because they help the building team catch errors before they get worse, and help ensure that work is being done safely and correctly.
Unfortunately, these observations are rarely comprehensive. On larger sites, it’s simply not possible for professionals to observe the entire project, especially if they’re required to do it on more than one occasion.
Multivista users know that visual construction documentation is a critical addition to the observation process, because Multivista’s cameras are capturing site conditions even when observers can’t. Since integrating with Procore, using these inspection-grade photographs to complete observations has become easier than ever.
Architects, commissioning agents, contractors, and others can now complete additional observations remotely using Multivista, then send the photographs to Procore with just a few clicks. Observers can even change the status of their Procore observation task right from Multivista.
The ability to perform more observations enables construction teams to catch more errors and reduce safety risks, limiting delays and helping projects get done on time.
Tackle Punch Lists With Ease
Ah, the punch list — the last thing standing between construction and completion, and between the building team and payment. Procore changed the punch list game with the ability to create items from the field, assign them to specific users, and organize them by due date and level of completeness. Now, Multivista takes this process one step further.
In order to complete punch list tasks as effectively as possible, contractors and subcontractors have to know exactly what they need to do. At this important final stage of the building process, team leadership is likely to be extremely busy, so they won’t always have time to clarify punch list items. With the Multivista/Procore integration, owners and contractors can limit punch list confusion by including as-built photographs directly in the assigned item, giving valuable visual context to whomever needs to get the work done.
Getting the punch list done fast is the final step in getting the project done fast, and getting the project done fast is in everybody’s best interest.
These are just a few examples of how the new Multivista/Procore integration is helping construction professionals save time and improve their daily operations. From integrated webcams to change events, meetings, and more, these two platforms are rapidly becoming greater than the sum of their parts.