This article is part of Construction Junkie’s coverage of Groundbreak 2020, Procore’s annual technology conference. Buildr will be in attendance in the virtual exhibitor hall. More details can be found below.
It’s no secret that closeout is one of the worst parts of any construction project. As the job is nearing its end, there are still a ton of forms, as-builts, warranty documents, O&M manuals, and other paperwork that need to be collected and put into binders to hand over to the project owner – a process that can take hundreds of man-hours, in some cases. Nevertheless, closeout is a vital component to successfully turning over a project and ending on a good note.
So while the traditional closeout process can be pretty painful, the good news is that a company called Buildr is making that process much quicker, while also providing the contractor a great value add to offer to their customers.
Buildr
First and foremost, Buildr is a post-construction platform that focuses on the project closeout process. Through a simple, online platform, users can upload all of their required closeout documentation and Buildr then transforms it into an easily navigable, highly interactive, PDF document that contractors can deliver to the owner.
The documents are automatically added to a table of contents with clickable links, making it extremely intuitive to find any document after the project is complete. Buildr also has a built-in system to remind subcontractors who have not submitted required documentation, relieving the general contractor of the hassle of continually following up.
courtesy of Buildr
Value Add for the Owner
Not only does Buildr make the closeout process much less painful for the contractor, it also creates a huge additional value to the project owner. With the PDF document, all of the most important information that the owner or facility manager will need is kept in the same place and is always immediately accessible. As a contractor, that’s a great way to set yourself apart from your competitors.
Owners and facility managers also have the ability to create warranty calls directly in the Buildr platform. The warranty call will be sent to the GC’s warranty claims representative and is logged in the warranty requests tab for status updates and historical data.
Buildr + Procore
Two of Buildr’s co-founders were early employees of Procore, helping build the construction management platform up to where it is today. With their intimate knowledge of the software, they were able to create an extremely helpful integration between both platforms that allows the pertinent closeout documents from each project’s Procore page to flow into Buildr with the click of a button – a “magic” green button, to be exact. Once that button is pressed, Buildr goes to work creating the PDF closeout document with no additional work necessary from the user.
Buildr is also part of Procore’s embedded app experience, which means that users can log into Buildr with their Procore credentials and use the full version of Buildr without ever leaving Procore.
Interview with Caleb Taylor, Co-Founder of Buildr
I was recently able to interview one of the Co-Founders of Buildr, Caleb Taylor, which you can watch below. The video contains an extremely helpful demo of the software, allowing you to see exactly what the closeout process within Buildr looks like.
Find Buildr at Groundbreak 2020
Groundbreak will be held virtually this year on October 27 and 28. For those interested in finding out more about Buildr, the sponsor showcase hours for the virtual exhibitor hall will be held:
Tuesday, Oct 27 - 11:10am - 12:30pm
Wednesday, Oct 28 - 11:10am - 12:30pm
There’s no doubt that one of the most important aspects of managing a construction project is being able to quickly and easily analyze your financials. There are a ton of moving parts on each project, from the estimate, to ordering materials and equipment, to billing, and having that information where and when you need it can make all the difference.