Insights from the Field: How Commodore Builders Transformed Daily Construction Operations for Project Teams
For project teams in the field, staying on top of contracts, specifications, documentation and other requirements is a daunting task. However, Commodore Builders is enabling its teams to streamline contract execution and reduce risk while accelerating project timelines… and they’re doing it with Document Crunch.
At Commodore Builders, Sean Tierney, a Project Manager with six years of industry experience, and Jessica Zeliger, a Assistant Superintendent with three years in the field, both share a common appreciation for construction's dynamic nature. "I love that it changes every day when you come to work," says Sean, highlighting the industry's ever-evolving challenges. Sean and Jessica are currently working together on the Lynnfield Public Safety Building project in Boston, MA.
However, there’s always a daily grind.
Both Sean and Jessica faced significant challenges managing contracts and project documents, as most of the construction industry does. Jessica recalls the labor-intensive process of preparing submittal logs. "I read the whole spec book to put together my submittal log and identify all our testing procedures, all our required mockups, and that took me over a week's worth of sitting and reading and highlighting and copying information from the specs into my spreadsheets," Jessica laments.
"I read the whole spec book to put together my submittal log and identify all our testing procedures, all our required mockups, and that took me over a week's worth of sitting and reading and highlighting and copying information from the specs into my spreadsheets.”
Sean echoes these challenges, noting that contracts were particularly challenging to navigate when dealing with change orders and specifications. He explains, "Contracts can be a struggle at times, a lot of times they're long and tedious. Referring to them, especially when they're on paper or in a PDF document can be tough because you want to make sure that you understand all the provisions they have."
Then, they found Document Crunch.
Document Crunch transformed how the Commodore Builders team handles contract-related tasks. "When I first heard about Document Crunch, the first words that came to mind were time saver," Jessica recalls. The platform has particularly streamlined her submittal review process, allowing her to quickly verify specification requirements without manually searching through lengthy documents.
For Sean, the platform offers peace of mind. "Document Crunch makes my life a lot easier. It makes it quicker, and it also makes me sleep at night because I know that I'm not missing anything."
"Document Crunch makes my life a lot easier. It makes it quicker, and it also makes me sleep at night because I know that I'm not missing anything."
This confidence is particularly crucial when dealing with complex contracts that may reference important items multiple times or in different ways, Sean adds.
Project kickoffs are centered around Document Crunch’s Playbooks.
One of the most significant benefits has been the improvement in project kickoffs and team coordination. "Document Crunch pulls out the important information [out of the contract and documents] that everybody needs to know or that everybody needs to find quickly," Jessica explains. This capability has transformed how project information is communicated to field staff and team members throughout the project lifecycle.
Meanwhile, Sean emphasizes the importance of using Document Crunch from the very beginning: "Every project should kick off with Document Crunch. It reassures everybody we're on the same page, gives everybody the confidence that the information is correct, and everybody knows where to find it."
"Every project should kick off with Document Crunch. It reassures everybody we're on the same page, gives everybody the confidence that the information is correct and everybody knows where to find it.”
The Document Crunch Difference
By streamlining document analysis, ensuring comprehensive contract review, and facilitating better team communication, Document Crunch has proven to be a valuable asset in making construction projects more efficient and reliable.
Jessica's experience has been equally positive, noting that "it's definitely made my life and my whole project team's life way easier on this project and I think all of us will definitely use it going forward."
Sean adds, "If anybody was considering Document Crunch, I'd tell 'em to do it because it gives you the reassurance that you know what you're talking about, and that you're not going to miss anything in whatever document you're looking at.”