Laissez les bons temps rouler!
(Let the good times roll!)
For three days in November 2022, WAMers Jim Jeffrey, Joe Chin, Steven Luong, Suraj Thapa, and Angie Simon attended Procore Groundbreak in New Orleans. Groundbreak is Procore’s annual conference and this is the first in-person that they’ve hosted in three years! Groundbreak gives an opportunity for Procore users to collaborate, innovate and learn more about the platform. It was a packed three days!
- During the keynote talks, Procore provided insights on newly developed functionality and provided insight into the direction of the platform
- We were able to meet with our Procore account manager and talk through challenges, issues, and ideas for using the platform. He was able to take us to meet the developers and product specialists for different tools in Procore. Making these connections have helped resolve some of our issues and will lead to better utilization of Procore!
- A major part of Groundbreak is the vendor expo. These are products/companies that either integrate to Procore or have a focus on the construction industry. Being able see what other products are out there to help us on our projects and talk about our processes has helped us select programs to do further research on, but also determine which would not be a good fit for WAM
- There were also many seminars where Procore users shared their experiences and best practices. There were also presentations on general construction topics. Angie Simon presented two programs on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion!
Groundbreak provided WAM’s Groundbreakers an opportunity to refocus our efforts with Procore and continue to implement it’s tools. We’re looking forward to attending Groundbreak 2023 in September 2023 in Chicago, IL!
Suraj Thapa on what he took away from ProCore Groundbreak:
This event was one of the best events I have attended in recent years and my first Groundbreak. There was a lot happening on the expo floor and at the guest speaker panel sessions. There are a lot of smart hardworking individuals working to transform the way we do construction and Procore is bringing them all together with its platform. There is competition and at the same time, there is unity. This is very hard to see but we can all learn from it as this speeds the innovation process.
I personally learned a lot. There are companies working on every sector of the construction process from bid time to closeouts. I do not personally get involved in safety and material tracking (ladders, tools, etc.). However, I got to see and talk to people that are making safety a priority. They are introducing software for better document control, inspections, etc. They are making the tech user-friendly at the same time. Procore had an innovation lab where people could go in and provide feedback and it was fun to go through all the sticky notes. I was also very much intrigued by Procore connect which will allow the user to connect two companies’ accounts. This should make the collaboration process even easier.
One thing I started using right away was the “quick capture” function in Procore. I could take a picture and create multiple punch lists at the same time and assign individuals for a response. This will save everyone a lot of time in the field.