Construcciones Yamaro: Procore shapes the future of construction
From its humble beginnings, Procore has grown into a powerhouse in the construction industry, pioneering a new era of data-driven innovation. Reflecting on Procore’s remarkable growth reveals a story deeply rooted in the passion and vision of its founder and CEO, Tooey Courtemanche.
Courtemanche’s journey into construction began early. Growing up in California, he worked after school at a construction company, gaining hands-on experience from a young age. After high school, he briefly attended college before deciding to pursue a career as a carpenter and also working as a real estate developer in his early 20s.
“I gained experience in everything from swinging a hammer to managing project budgets,” Courtemanche recalls. “I then left the construction industry, and my wife and I moved to a small town in California called Santa Barbara, where we bought a house.”
A pivotal moment came when Courtemanche, while running a technology company in San Francisco in an industry unrelated to construction, started remodelling his home. Returning to construction work was a revelation, he says, highlighting the extent of the industry’s stagnation in technological advancement.
“I realised that technology had failed to deliver for construction, and as such most of construction had not advanced significantly in the 20-odd years since I had left the industry,” he says. “Meanwhile, technology was transforming other industries.”
Combining his construction background with his skills as an engineer, Courtemanche developed software to manage his home remodel. This innovation became the foundation of Procore.
“That was over 22 years ago, and after completing my house, I realised there was an opportunity to take this solution to the world,” says Courtemanche. “I have been on that journey ever since, building a global company around that idea.”
Breakthroughs and ongoing challenges
With nearly 40 years in construction and over two decades at Procore, Courtemanche has witnessed many industry changes. Yet, what he finds most intriguing is what has remained the same.
“If I rewind time back to 1982 when I started in construction, everything was written down on legal pads, everything was very analog, and people were picking up the phone to call each other,” he says. “Technology has made it to the project site, which is transformative, but we are still in the early stages of transitioning the industry from analog to digital.”
“Many of the people we talk to every day are managing their projects using Microsoft Office – Outlook, Word and Excel – but they are now becoming more aware of modern platforms like Procore.”
People who were previously constrained by the lack of technology now have access to tools that enable them to build better, smarter and safer.
Another significant industry change Courtemanche points out is the increased focus on quality, as a result of the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 and Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. Five years ago, Procore built products to meet the quality needs of its Australian customers, and now those products are benefiting its global customers as well.
The rise of platform technology
Courtemanche notes that the early use of technology in construction was quite basic. The release of the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2011 marked a turning point, introducing point solutions that allowed users to download snag list apps, manage tasks, take notes and send emails directly from their phones.
The industry has now evolved to embrace modern technologies, including web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions like Procore. As a platform, Procore offers fully interoperable products and technologies that are accessible both online and offline. Users can continue working even without an internet connection, with all data syncing seamlessly once connectivity is restored.
According to Procore’s How We Build Now: Technology and Industry Trends Connecting ANZ Construction in 2023 report, construction management platforms have been implemented across 49 per cent of Australian and New Zealand businesses. These platforms are by far the most popular choice to drive change over the next three years.
“Today, the most common technology deployment on project sites is platform technology like Procore,” says Courtemanche. “This allows customers to aggregate a lot of data entered into the platform daily, enabling them to effectively manage jobs by leveraging the insights gathered. The beauty of this data is that it is structured, allowing for the application of newer technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).”
“This provides better insights into necessary activities, manages risk more effectively, and captures new opportunities on the jobsite – all because of the structured data built on this platform.”
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Unlocking insights
Platforms like Procore underscore the importance of interoperability in modern solutions. Without interoperability, relying on disparate point solutions can limit the system’s value, as data remains fragmented and isolated. In today’s dynamic and competitive construction environment, integrated platforms that connect and communicate effectively are essential for unlocking insights and enhancing project productivity.
Courtemanche explains that when a request for information (RFI) is required in the field, it often impacts both cost and schedule. Therefore, an effective RFI tool must integrate with financial controls and scheduling systems to provide valuable insights.
“That’s where the magic happens – that interoperability on a single platform,” says Courtemanche. “You get stifled if you have a siloed product that doesn’t talk to all your other products.”
“Procore doesn’t have a product for every single solution in the marketplace right now; we have many partners who build on our platform today that extend our capability and allow our customers to do more.
“Our customers don’t really feel like they’re not using Procore; it feels like they’re using Procore, but they’re actually using a third-party integrated application to solve problems.”
Investing in a data strategy
While Procore provides a plethora of data to help drive project efficiencies, Courtemanche emphasises the importance of investing in a data strategy to standardise and report that project data. He has observed that the most successful companies are investing in developing a robust, multi-year data strategy.
Despite this, Procore’s 2023 How We Build Now report highlights that only 14 per cent of companies have implemented a data strategy, with quality varying based on the company’s data maturity.
“Some organisations will dabble, having someone treat their data strategy as a part-time job, and they’re consistently unsuccessful,” says Courtemanche. “The most successful companies are those that take data and data strategy seriously, often assigning one or more full-time employees to it.”
“Ultimately, the wealth of knowledge in the data can help them build more profitably and avoid risks that could be the downfall of their business, if they can effectively extract that knowledge.”
A robust data strategy is crucial, particularly in an industry with such narrow margins. General contractors operate on low gross margins, where a single mistake or oversight can potentially lead to insolvency, a scenario that occurs all too frequently in today’s climate. Implementing an effective data strategy enables executives to avoid these risks, providing them with the confidence that they are making informed decisions based on available information rather than relying on ad-hoc approaches.
Growing demand
Procore’s technology is playing an integral role in supporting developers in sectors that are seeing growing demand like data centres. The company has a large footprint globally in these projects, with Procore customers building many of the largest data centres around the world.
Courtemanche notes that data centres are increasingly viewed as a commodity by developers, who are seeking ways to construct them more quickly and cost-effectively.
“With Procore’s system, our customers are actually building standard operating procedures and documenting them in Procore as they go,” he explains. “When they finish a data centre, they look for areas of inefficiency in the data and then for the next data centre, they solve for that by updating their standard operating procedures.”
“Procore is extremely valuable in helping our customers build more productively and to gain developers more business to build more data centres, because they do it better than anyone else.”
Procore helps customers maximise efficiency by enabling them to build more with fewer resources. This is particularly valuable in sectors such as residential and multi-residential construction, which are grappling with housing shortages and population growth.
According to the company’s statistics, customers using Procore can manage 48 per cent more construction volume per person compared to those not using the platform. This improved efficiency is crucial in the housing market, where interest rates significantly impact both developers and potential buyers. As a result, developers can offer lower-cost products that become more attractive to consumers. These consumers benefit from purchasing affordable homes that maintain high standards, thanks to the efficiencies gained during construction from using Procore.
“We believe that by enabling our customers to build more productively, we enable them to deliver on our housing targets,” says Courtemanche.
Navigating industry challenges
One challenge facing major contractors is the chronic labour shortage. By enhancing productivity through a unified system and standard operating procedures, Procore helps customers achieve more with fewer resources. This approach not only increases construction volume per person but also allows field workers to focus on their core job – building – rather than wrestling with technology.
On average, 14 per cent of total spending on projects could be saved with more efficient data management, according to Procore’s 2023 How We Build Now report.
Additionally, Procore’s university education program, recently launched in Australia and New Zealand, reflects its commitment to advancing industry skills and knowledge.
“In the US, 98 per cent of undergraduate construction programs accredited by the American Council of Construction Education use Procore,” says Courtemanche. “Students cannot graduate without learning Procore.”
“Our goal is to offer this service for free to every construction management university program in Australia and New Zealand, allowing graduates to benefit from Procore right from the start.”
An industry partner
In a constantly evolving industry, Procore has remained at the forefront of technological advancements, excelling in providing insights and enhancing productivity across various project stages.
“We firmly believe that we are the only company solely focused on the construction industry that provides a platform as broad as we do globally, and that is a big differentiator for us,” says Courtemanche. “We have also long seen ourselves as more of a partner than a technology provider.”
“We do not look at a software sale as a transaction; rather, we see it as entering into a long-term partnership. What this does is build a level of trust with our partners – our customers.
“Over time, as people move from one construction company to another, they bring Procore with them because we are recognised as a trusted advisor, not just a vendor.”
Courtemanche explains that many competitors offer products that are not connected and market them as platforms, though they lack true integration. He emphasises that Procore, which was built as a cloud-based platform from the start, distinguishes itself by not only developing its own software but also by boasting over 500 partners who build on its platform. This integration allows for a unified data system, enhancing the application of AI and the overall benefits of having consolidated data.
Procore invests $300 million annually in its platform, with plans to invest $1 billion over the next three years, matching the amount invested in the previous three years.
“We are a global, enterprise-grade construction platform,” says Courtemanche. “We recognise the importance of data sovereignty, localisation and other factors that major global construction companies value highly.”
Next frontiers
Procore shows no signs of slowing down, with a host of new innovations on the horizon. The company is set to launch its Document Management product soon. According to Courtemanche, this capability has been highly requested in the Australian market. Procore has conducted a beta program with some of the largest builders and developers in Australia and New Zealand, receiving outstanding positive feedback.
“We believe this will be a major enhancement and a significant benefit for our customers, as it allows teams to manage their quality programs and site activity alongside formal document control and correspondence in a single project delivery solution,” says Courtemanche.
Courtemanche also highlights Procore’s Correspondence tool, which was developed in response to feedback from its customer base in Australia.
The company envisions a future where construction operates within a seamlessly connected environment, enabling stakeholders – such as developers, head contractors and subcontractors – to interact effortlessly. To achieve this, Procore is developing a platform integration that will allow each entity to maintain their own Procore account while being interoperable with others. This means they won’t need to leave their private accounts to collaborate, as everything will be interconnected. The integration is currently being released in the US and is expected to be introduced to the Australian and New Zealand markets in the near future.
With its extensive suite of connected products and more innovations on the way, Procore is poised to continue shaping the future of construction.
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