The Problem: Documenting Large-Scale Projects
Construction is already a risky business. Demolition? Even more so. Although Gramercy Group ensured they followed all their milestones and safety measures on their projects, their documentation method didn’t always reflect it. Without a modernized reporting process—especially for large-scale projects—there was little visibility into just how much care Gramercy put into their work. As a result, compliance appeared significantly lower than it actually was.
The Solution: Better Reporting
To get organized, more accurate field data, Gramercy chose Raken’s easy-to-use platform. They not only gave their crews a tool built for the field—but they also increased project visibility and compliance. That meant crews spent less time filling out daily reports, and more time doing their best work. Tracking progress, and making data-driven decisions to improve projects, became easier than ever.
Tracking Five Buildings with Cost Codes
Gramercy used Raken for a recent demolition project in Hudson Square, Manhattan, New York. The project consisted of the full abatement and demolition of five buildings—each with its own characteristics and permits—in one city block. How did they effectively stay on top of resource allocation? Cost codes.
Gramercy’s Project Manager Maxiel Rodriguez created cost codes to track progress and resources per building, per activity, and allocated resources accordingly within Raken’s platform. She then ran weekly reports on each cost code to track materials and workforce utilization. They managed a total of 20–30 workers and streamlined their workflow. But it wasn’t always that simple.
“Before Raken, we relied on written daily reports and extra work tickets that were incomplete and barely legible,” Rodriguez said. “Looking back, and at how we handle it now? It’s two different things. Completely. Raken made it so easy.”
A Field-First Approach to Reports
Software isn’t just built for the office. After all, field crews are the ones who use it to log crucial updates on the jobsite. That’s why the main feature Gramercy looked for in their software was ease of use—and why Raken came out on top.
“All of our information comes from the field. So the field crew needs to be the first to buy into the software. If they can’t document quickly and easily, it just doesn’t work,” said Rodriguez. “We had a couple of our Superintendents try the app for a week, and they picked it up pretty quickly. We then started incorporating the rest of the gang.”
For nearly all of their projects, Gramercy uses Raken as a daily reporting tool. Crews use the field app to upload notes, descriptions, and photographs of the progress at the jobsites. After they sign off their report, it’s sent back to the office as a downloadable PDF. This cleaner way to collect data means better project documentation and insights—without the extra back-and-forth. It also allows them to send a copy of the daily report directly to their clients.
“Having it all consolidated in one document has made it so much easier to maintain progress records,” said Rodriguez. “Even when we use it as a simple daily log, with minimal descriptions, it’s still a more professional and reliable tracking tool—and a great improvement on how we did things before.”
Less Onboarding, More Success
When it comes to construction, time is money. Less time integrating a new software—and training your employees—means more time getting the results you want. With little to no training required for Raken, Gramercy was all in.
“After we realized how easy Raken was to use, there wasn’t much consideration time,” Rodriguez said. “Let’s just go for it.”
Achieve More with Raken
With Raken, Gramercy gets cleaner, more accurate field data for every jobsite. From photographs and descriptions to cost codes, it's never been easier to track resource allocation—and improve the quality of work.
Schedule a demo to see how you can achieve more with our field-first software, like Gramercy. (It even comes with a free trial.)