How NDX Boosted Net Profits by Using Clearstory as its Change Order Communication Tool

Brian Nielson is done arguing over Change Orders. Since discovering Clearstory at an AGC event and unleashing Clearstory’s shared, cloud-based Change Order Log on grading and utility projects across Nevada, he says he hasn’t had to explain a thing. “I can’t stress it enough,” Nielson says. “Clearstory replaces the need for us to explain or argue over Change Orders with our GCs and project owners. It creates transparency and accountability in a place where we can all track everything in the same place at the same time. It’s been great for us.”

That’s because prior to adopting Clearstory, NDX project teams were captive to manual, error-prone processes for documenting extra work driven by design changes and the occasional set-backs common to grading and utility jobs (like hitting hard rock where you weren’t expecting it).

From mismatched photos to illegible hand-written T&M Tickets to driving documents back and forth from the jobsite to the office and trying to hunt down supervisors for signatures, getting Change Orders packaged, processed, and approved was a nightmare. 

Eliminating COR Discrepancies and Delays 

“It just seemed like we struggled to get the Change Orders or T&M Tickets from the field to the GC and the owner in a way that didn’t result in discrepancies or arguments or delays,” Nielson says. “With Clearstory, all of that has gone away.”

Purpose-built to help Specialty Contractors reduce risk and get paid faster on out of contract work, Clearstory’s shareable, cloud-based Change Order Log creates transparency and alignment with General Contractors to eliminate surprises. In addition, Clearstory provides a suite of tools to supercharge processes like a mobile app for digital T&M Tags, electronic signature capture, instant pricing, Change Order templates, notifications, and much more. 

It didn’t take long for NDX project teams to gravitate to Clearstory for capturing and communicating out-of-contract work, nor did it take long to see tangible and significant ROI from adopting Clearstory. Instead of communication gaps and lags between the field, the home office, and the General Contractor, Clearstory automatically organizes and logs uploads from the jobsite, provides standardized Change Order Request templates, and keeps all stakeholders up-to-date with one-click access to a shared Universal Change Order Log.  

“Clearstory replaces the need for us to explain or argue over Change Orders with our GCs and project owners. It creates transparency and accountability in a place where we can all track everything at the same time. It's been great for us."

Brian Nielson

President and Chief Operating Officer, NDX

Streamlined Processes and Faster COR Approvals

Indeed, the ability to instantaneously access documentation from the field significantly streamlined NDX’s own internal processes so they could surface and communicate costs quickly to GCs, accelerating payment and ensuring revenue wasn’t lost because of poor documentation or lost, illegible, or unsigned tickets.

“Once our field teams got onto Clearstory, they understood right away how it could save days of manual processing work for us, and how easy it was to get paid and make everyone’s job more successful,” Nielson says. “Clearstory has put our business on steroids. It just lifted everybody, everybody has seen the benefit of it.”

In fact, individual project profit margins are improving on jobs where NDX has deployed Clearstory, and GCs and project owners are taking notice, too. In the first six months, Clearstory raised net profit on NDX projects by 3 percent. Schedule-challenged, marquee projects are also finishing early as crews take advantage of the productivity from not having to manually document out-of-contract work. 

“We've done a couple of big school rebuilds including the Northeast Technical Career College in North Las Vegas where the schedule was tight and the owner was doubtful we’d get work done on time,” Nielson says. “But we hit all of the goals. In fact, we were ahead of schedule for most of the duration. It was a big deal for us and we were using Clearstory on that job.” 

Improving Stakeholder Relationships and Bottom Line Results

By providing GCs and owners with a cloud-based Change Order Log that continuously updates itself and keeps documentation organized and matched to specific Change Order Requests, NDX has replaced the antiquated processes that led to delays and disagreements between stakeholders.

“It just creates a lot of trust and transparency, and so for us, has created better relationships with our GCs, because they’re now able to effectively communicate Change Order status to their owner clients, too.” 

And by achieving Change Order transparency in real-time with Clearstory’s shared Universal Change Order Log, NDX is no longer negotiating away the value of out-of-contract costs, which puts hard-earned (and already spent) money back in the bank. 

“I definitely think Clearstory is good for any Subcontractors that are looking to tidy up their Change Order approach and improve their bottom line,” Nielson says. “If you’re using Clearstory, there’s no way that your bottom line can’t come up and your stress levels go down.”

About NDX

Headquartered in North Las Vegas, NDX provides grading, demolition, and utility services to military, public works, and commercial construction projects across the state of Nevada. Since buying the company in 2006, the current ownership team has grown the company from $3 million to $30 million in gross annual revenue.