GOFORMZ CASE STUDY
AT-A-GLANCE
As a result of company growth, Balmain & Co were looking for a tool to complement their Balmain & Care program, streamlining the management of handover and post construction services on the mid-high rise apartment projects they deliver. Prior to Balmain & Care, they were faced with challenges surrounding the management of information coming in from various sources and delivery methods throughout this period, which resulted in a lack of efficiency when it came to sorting and addressing resident needs.
Balmain & Co utilized GoFormz’s integration with Procore to support the flow of information into their Balmain & Care program, optimizing their workflow from the initial submission, through to rectification and completion. The online form provides a simple way for purchasers, residents, and building managers to log customer care claims easily from any device. This form also ensures that Balmain & Co receive the information necessary to assess a claim, including images and real-time categorization based on urgency. The information captured within the form seamlessly routes to Procore which can then be reviewed, assigned and managed efficiently.
THE FULL STORY
Balmain & Co develops and builds bespoke, contemporary projects with a commitment to controlling quality. With headquarters in Melbourne, and a construction division in Queensland, they collaborate with industry-leading developers and consultants on high-end residential and complex commercial developments, education, civil and infrastructure projects.
Balmain & Co builds high-end contemporary projects and provides a high level of service throughout the design, construction, and post-construction of their projects. While they strive to achieve minimal defect items, they pride themselves on the post-construction support they can provide through Balmain & Care. As a result, their clients and purchasers have peace of mind knowing that if something does arise Balmain & Co will be there to address it in a professional and timely manner.
“We were looking into how we could improve the management of our projects through the defect liability period, and basically continuing our high level of service after we hand the building over,” said Mick O’Connell, Balmain & Co’s Construction Manager. “We saw an opportunity for improvement where GoFormz could support Balmain & Care, enabling a clear and simple process for purchasers to lodge customer care claims. From a productivity point of view, the integration of our online forms into Procore and the automated workflow increased productivity, streamlining the administrative side of our post construction service.”
Procore introduced Balmain & Co to the GoFormz platform and their Public Forms feature, which is used to share links to online forms with others for them to fill out and complete from any location. “They walked us through creating an online form that would automatically sync with Procore, so that information coming from an apartment owner could be reported via our website with a GoFormz form attached, and output into the Procore platform for that project,” explained Mick. “So that, without any phone calls or emails, we are able to investigate the issue – you’ve got the photos, information, and contact details, all right there at your fingertips.”
The seamless partnership of the GoFormz and Procore platforms has allowed Balmain & Co to offer an impactful resource to residents of their projects: Balmain & Care. “If you are an apartment owner and you want to raise a customer care claim, you would go to the Balmain & Care page and submit a Public Form,” Mick explained. “From there you would get an automatic receipt saying you have successfully raised the issue and that it is being handled by the Balmain & Co team.”
Upon purchasing their apartment, residents are instructed to report any noted defects via the Balmain & Care service. The innovative program leverages online forms equipped with logic to ensure critical information and photos are entered into reports before they can be submitted. Once submitted via a GoFormz Public Forms link posted to Balmain & Co’s website, this information is instantly synced to Procore and used to update a dashboard displaying open and closed cases, relevant information, and attached form PDFs. This allows Balmain & Co’s quality and handover personnel to access information regarding the defect remotely, and efficiently schedule the necessary repairs – significantly improving Balmain & Co’s response times.
“It’s definitely improved our workflow. More importantly, perception is key in our business. It’s something we’ve been able to sell to our clients, this Balmain & Care process,” Mick explained. “I don’t believe many of our competitors are doing what we’re doing in this space, as a kind of full-circle service. We’ve been able to sell ourselves as a builder who has integrity, to be able to service not just the developer, but also the developer’s clientele.”
“It’s definitely improved our workflow. More importantly, perception is key in our business. It’s something we’ve been able to sell to our clients, this Balmain & Care process.”
Balmain & Co’s GoFormz and Procore integration has also improved their internal efficiencies when handling defect resolution. “From an operational point of view, fewer phone calls and miscellaneous emails are coming through to the main office,” Mick explained. Before implementing GoFormz and Procore, calls and emails often lacked critical details regarding customer care claims and would require additional investigation to resolve. “We used to spend a lot of time getting back to residents to ask additional questions surrounding the issue or request a photo. Now we can control the information so that specific fields are required before a form can be submitted.”
With instant access to a library of data and information, Balmain & Co’s management team has greater visibility into their operation’s efficiency and further insight into areas for improvement. “The biggest benefit is real-time data and transparency from a management point of view,” Mick explained. “I can see on my phone or laptop where the issues are arising across the company. More importantly, we are able to provide a facility for people that have spent a lot of money on their apartments and made an emotional investment. If there is something concerning them, we want to be able to address it as soon as we can, as efficiently as we can.”