From Blueprint to Reality: How One Project Manager Chose His Construction Management Software of Choice

Today’s Community Contributor is Michael McKeown, a project manager for Colantonio Inc., a General Contractor and Construction Manager located in Holliston Massachusetts, located about 25 miles west of Boston. Here, he is comparing Procore with Newform and Submittal Exchange. He has been with Colantonio since 2001 and has used all three programs during his career. Check out some of the great reviews Michael has written about other software he’s used here.

Presently our primary Construction Management Software we use is Procore, using it on all our projects for the last four years. We have previously used Submittal Exchange as a program as well for numerous projects. We have used Newforma on a few projects, only when required by the Architect and the Client, and when we use Newforma, we use it in conjunction with Procore.

I like Procore as a complete Construction Project Management Software for all aspects of a construction project. As a company, we use Procore for all our projects because it works excellently for our PMs, APMs, and Superintendents and we can easily add the Architect, Consultants, Owners, and more importantly Subcontractors. We use Procore to upload all the Plans, Specifications and Addenda for the project available to all parties. Both Procore and Submittal Exchange have modules to create and process RFI’s and Submittals, which are the most important aspects of a construction project. Both programs allow the ability to track whose responsibility and when items are expected to be completed. Both have excellent customer service which is a huge benefit for both programs.

What sets Procore apart from Submittal Exchange is it allows us to separate the plans to individual drawings and update as RFI’s, Proposal Requests and Shop Drawings are issued on a project. This is not an option in Submittal Exchange and Newforma is only available for Contractors to upload and download documents. This allows the Subcontractors on a job site to open Procore on their mobile device and see what changes have been made in real-time. This has saved thousands of dollars and maydays on projects for us due to work being completed the first time correctly and not have to be redone.

Another huge benefit that I believe sets Procore apart is the ability to take and upload pictures. Not only does Procore allow you to take and store pictures, but it gives you the option to link pictures to the drawings. You can then open the tag on the drawings and see all the pictures that have been taken at that location. This is great to see the progress of the job from the start to the end of the project. You can also make albums of pictures so you can easily review and find pictures at any time during or after a project.

Based on my observations and experience with all three solutions, ultimately, Procore is the Construction Management Software of Michael McKeown and Colantonio Inc.