How Online Project Management Changes Everything

The process of working with a roofing contractor is very similar to eating at a sit-down restaurant. Here’s what I mean.

Imagine that you walk into a nice sit-down restaurant, and you get shown to your seat and given a menu. You decide what you want, but the waiter isn’t around.

You’re frustrated, because you want the chef to start on your meals. You know that the longer the waiter takes, the longer it’ll be before you get your food.

When the waiter finally does come over and take your order, you relax and have a good time with the others at your table – for a little while. Then, you check your watch and realize it’s been half an hour, and you haven’t heard anything from the waiter in all that time.

Is your food almost done? Have they forgotten about you completely?

I’m sure you’ll agree that this tracks pretty closely to your experience with contractors you’ve worked with in the past. Let’s face it: contractors are notoriously bad at communicating with their clients, and their reputations reflect that poor level of service.

The frustration most clients feel can be summarized by three questions that never get answered adequately:

1. When will the project get started?
2. What stage of work is completed so far?
3. When is the project going to be finished?

That’s all you really want to know, isn’t it? You want to know that the project is underway, that it’s on track, and that it has a firm deadline for getting done!

Communications at Castro

At Castro Roofing, we use a sophisticated online project management (OPM) solution that we call LOOKOUT. It streamlines the whole process of communicating with our clients, because the online software archives pictures and information about every project we have, every day.

Once we agree to a project with you, with online project management you’ll get a notification five days before the project begins, and you’ll get another one each day prior to the start date. Then, while the project is ongoing, you’ll get LOOKOUT reports from us that include 12-16 pictures of the job site.

These pictures span the whole workday, from the beginning to the end, so you’ll always know what stage the project is in.

Why it Matters

So, what’s in it for you as a building owner, facility manager, or purchase department employee? It’s the ability to check on the progress of any job at the click of a button! Our OPM even includes graphs that show the percentage completed and the completion date.

You can also go back and see any day of the project to check on factors like weather, construction progress, material delivery, job safety, and more. Because of our transparency throughout the process, you’ll be able to tell whether the job is quality, who’s working on it, and how it’s progressing.

Lastly, if you’re a busy owner or manager using us for multiple projects at any given time, it’s huge to be able to view progress without having to inspect it in person! We employ someone whose job is simply to take pictures and include descriptions of a job site each day, so you’ll always have access to all the information you need.

With Castro Roofing, babysitting your contractor is a thing of the past. Entire organizations and multiple departments can easily access and stay apprised of the progress on a project. If you haven’t experienced this yet, I urge you to give it a try.

You’ll be amazed at the efficiency and value of an online project management system.

Contact us today for more information!

Roofing above the rest,
Rudy Rodriguez
Chief Executive Dreamer