We sat down with Raymond Group's Vice President and Area Manager, Ray Gilbert, to hear how implementing Clearstory reduced the company's Change Order processing time and eliminated T&M Tag headaches.

Clearstory has saved Raymond's project teams countless hours each week and protects critical revenue on Change Orders.

• Faster Change Order processing time and payment

   

• More efficient collaboration and communication between project team members and General Contractors

• Better cost transparency

• Zero lost revenue from unsubmitted T&M Tags

• Increased productivity for field staff

• Better quality documentation and fewer disputes

Change Order Challenges Before Clearstory

Processing time for Change Orders was a challenge prior to the adoption of Clearstory. Time and Material (T&M) Tags could sit on jobsites for upwards of four to eight weeks before being submitted as Change Order Requests (CORs). This was because of the cumbersome process of manually completing a Tag, chasing down a signature, transporting the Tag to the office, compiling pricing and documentation, then submitting the CORs to the GC.

Additionally, COR log updates were done manually and sent via email. "There were tickets falling through the cracks because of the time it took to process them," Gilbert said. This negatively impacted cash flow because Raymond cannot bill for extra work that had been completed until the Change Order Requests are approved.

Problems Solved With Clearstory

Clearstory's Change Order Communication platform streamlined, digitized and automated Raymond's Change Order process.

Faster Approvals and Payments

Clearstory has also improved COR approval time for Raymond because now, it's easy to see what CORs are still outstanding. Raymond can easily contact the GC to clarify any issues and move the process along much faster.

"With Clearstory, processing Change Orders takes half the time."
– Jesse Moore, Senior Project Manager

Better Documentation and Fewer Disputes

Previously, Change Order Requests didn't always have photo documentation attached, which created opportunities for General Contractors to push back on approving the extra work. With Clearstory, photos are easily attached. "We're doing a better job of getting pictures on our Tags. Change Orders and trade damage are undeniable when you have the pictures to document it," Gilbert said. This has led to fewer disputes and more approvals overall.

Increased Productivity in the Field

The field staff loves Clearstory because of the hours it saves them each week documenting and submitting T&M Tags. With Clearstory, field personnel save time by creating T&M Tags on their mobile devices, attaching photos, and uploading them instantly. Once the Tags are signed, it is out of their hands and in the home office!

Raymond Group's field personnel seamlessly adopted Clearstory intuitive, easy-to-use software.

Executive Reporting and Management

From an executive standpoint, the ability to have detailed cost information and supporting documentation is invaluable. "Previously, I would have had to jump between my accounting platform and Excel. With Clearstory, it's all in one spot," Gilbert said.