How Stiles Construction Used Clearstory’s Integration With Procore to Reduce Risk and Eliminate Data Entry

About Stiles Construction

Established is 1951, Stiles Construction is a family-owned full-service commercial real estate firm with a clear mission: Invest. Build. Manage. Stiles is recognized for developing more than 52 million square feet of award-winning office, industrial, mixed-use and multifamily residential projects across the Southeast, and is recognized for integrity, honesty, and earned trust built upon clear communication and transparency in all programs and services. 

Jeffery Marquez has 20 years of project management experience in the construction industry, where he's consistently applied problem solving, planning and estimating and forecasting skills to deliver successful projects on time and within budget. In February 2023, Marquez joined Stiles Construction as the project manager for Sky Apartments, where he encountered Clearstory for the first time.  Marquez recently joined Clearstory for a conversation on his success, the seamless integration between Clearstory and Procore, and why he recommends Clearstory’s Change Order Communication Tool to all GCs and Specialty Contractors. 

Clearstory: Hi Jeff, thanks for stopping by to talk with us about your experience using Clearstory. Can you give us a quick snapshot of Stiles and the Sky Apartments project?

Marquez: Stiles is involved in a multitude of asset types from multiuse to office and highrise. There’s nothing we can’t construct depending on the needs of our clients. Currently, I’m the project manager at Sky Apartments, a multi-use project with first floor retail, three floors of structured parking including a Klaus parking system, a dedicated floor for Oakland Park City Hall offices, and a residential parcel with 119 units. So my day-to-day includes budgeting, scheduling, and dealing with the everyday problems that occur on a jobsite. 

Clearstory: And it sounds like Sky is one of your first Stiles projects, and your first project using Clearstory. How did you manage Change Orders at previous jobs?

Marquez: On previous projects at other companies, it was all through email. You’d have to sort through spreadsheets and excel, the whole nine yards. Just tons of emails every day, and it’s easy for one to get missed or forgotten. So organization has always been key: especially with project management, and especially with Change Orders.

Clearstory: How does using Clearstory as a Change Order Communication Tool help keep things organized?

Marquez: Because Clearstory brings everything to the table all in one place. You don’t have to search through emails anymore. All of your information is uploaded and updated in Clearstory: the amount, the backup, the pending and approval status, everything is in one place, and all you have to do is click on a Subcontractor, view the information, approve or void, and it sends out all of the notifications for you. 

“With Clearstory you always known what you have for your forecast, so I feel confident that there aren't going to be any surprises, and nothing is going to be missing or forgotten. Not with Clearstory.”

Jeffery Marquez

Project Manager, Stiles Construction

Clearstory: How does Clearstory work in tandem with your other software and technology?

Marquez: It’s outstanding. The integration with Procore is crisp and clear. With one click it lets you create a Change Event directly from Clearstory or tie into an existing one in Procore, and all of the backup is updated and included, so I don’t have to go and search for that, either. Whether you need to revise and resubmit or approve or move forward, everything is just one click away, and Clearstory updates your Subcontractor and other stakeholders involved in that project immediately, too. 

Clearstory: A lot of GCs feel like their Specialty Contractors will never use a new technology. What’s been your experience with Clearstory?

Marquez: I’ve got nothing but positive reviews because it’s so easy to start a Change Order on Clearstory: you simply press create and it walks you right through it. Upload your backup, fill in your info, and send. I thought subs might have an issue with another app, but on the contrary, I say send it through Clearstory, and five minutes later, it’s there. 

Clearstory: Does Clearstory make Change Order Requests too easy for Specialty Contractors to send?

Marquez: No, it just makes the process better. Change Orders are a part of any project, and they’ve got to have merit at the end of the day. The fact that Clearstory allows contractors to easily create and send Change Orders only helped with adoption. Plus, you can’t miss or lose anything because everything for every sub is organized, saved, logged, and dated in Clearstory. If it’s not there, they didn’t send it, and if they need sign-off or approval, they can notify our team instantly, too.  

Clearstory: What about the idea that Clearstory can create better trust and transparency between GCs and Specialty Contractors?

Marquez: The fact that you can document information and communicate with each other in real-time without any confusion as to what you are writing about or asking for is huge, because there’s no way to be confused, there’s no way to get it wrong. You don’t have to click out and look at other apps or emails or spreadsheets – it’s all right there. 

Clearstory: Any expectations on how Clearstory will help speed the close-out process at Sky Apartments?

Marquez: Top-out was just last month, and we’re doing great as far as the schedule is concerned. Close-out isn’t even a thought. With Clearstory you always know what you have for your forecast, so I feel confident that there aren’t going to be any issues or surprises, and nothing is going to be missing or forgotten. Not with Clearstory. 

Clearstory: So what’s your recommendation to someone who is looking to dispense with all of the hassle and headaches of managing Change Orders the old way?

Marquez: Give me a call, send me an email, we can talk. You want organization? You want to make life easier with Change Orders and Time and Material Tickets? Get Clearstory. Don’t just take my word for it or everyone else’s word whose life is getting easier by using Clearstory. Try it out and see for yourself.