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Case Study  |  Engineering & Construction Management  |  Private Sector

How KPFF standardized civil construction management on
a 100-acre redevelopment

KPFF manages King County Housing Authority’s Greenbridge redevelopment in VPO, bringing owners, contractors, and partners into one project record with no per-seat license cost.

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The Background

An engineering firm that represents
owners on public infrastructure

KPFF is a multi-office, multi-discipline engineering, construction management, and construction support firm founded in Seattle in 1960. Its Special Projects group operates in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, and Long Beach, California, serving as owner’s representative on public and private work across the Puget Sound region.

KPFF partnered with the King County Housing Authority for two decades on the 100-acre redevelopment project, which was set to deliver more than 900 homes alongside parks, commercial space, a health clinic, a school, and a library.

Work at this scale brings owners, contractors, and public agencies into the same daily workflow, making the KPFF’s construction management platform cost and usability considerations paramount for everyone involved.

100
Acres in the Greenbridge redevelopment KPFF helps deliver

900+
Homes in the completed Greenbridge community

$0
Added license cost for owners, contractors, and partners

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The Challenge

Per-seat licensing made the platform
too expensive to share 

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KPFF’s previous construction management software no longer fit its cost or functionality needs. Licensing was sold by the user seat, so KPFF was buying individual licenses for clients and contractors as it moved from project to project. Then the vendor raised its fees.

The economics made the platform financially unfeasible to share with the people who needed it. Work that belonged in the system started moving back into email inboxes. Important messages and information were often missed or delayed, creating downstream impacts on project coordination, schedules, and costs.

KPFF asked Brianna Navarro, Associate in Construction & Project Management and Chair of the Washington Chapter of APWA’s Construction Management Committee, to find a better solution. The goal was a more affordable platform that could support collaboration without relying so heavily on email.

“We needed a platform to which users can come and go as projects end and start
without having to buy additional licenses.” 

Brianna Navarro
Associate, Construction & Project Management, KPFF
KPFF-Logo-transparent
The Solution

A configurable platform with unlimited users, built on Microsoft 365 

Navarro evaluated the available construction management solutions in detail. KPFF chose VPO for its cloud delivery, unlimited users, quality of support, and annual subscription price, and implemented it across Special Projects in mid-2020 with: 

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Unlimited users at no added cost

Owners, contractors, and partners join every project without license purchases, and users come and go as projects start and close.

Granular user rights

Contractors can only access the folders they need for uploading documents and retrieving information.

Eight modules covering
the full project record

Submittal, Request for Information, Punch List, Potential Change Order, Change Order, Drawings & Specifications, Contract Management, and Archiving.

A Microsoft 365 foundation

Many clients and contractors have limited experience with new technology and are already familiar with Microsoft applications, shortening the learning curve for every user.

Customized workflows and dashboards

VPO is configured to match the way KPFF already works, so the firm’s processes stay intact.

A full workflow history

Every action is tracked, documenting who did what and who changed which document.

“VPO is the most bang for your buck as far as construction management tools go. And the best part is it’s totally customizable, so it’s set up exactly like I want it for maximum ease of use and efficiency on my projects...
It’s set up to facilitate the way that we work instead of trying to force our processes into a different template.” 

Brianna Navarro
Associate, Construction & Project Management, KPFF
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The Result

From one pilot project to the firm’s construction management standard 

KPFF piloted VPO on a West Seattle roadway project, gaining a complete log of submittals and RFIs plus around-the-clock access to every project document.

KPFF then brought VPO to Greenbridge. When a water main conflict and bad weather put the schedule under pressure, designers, contractors, and agencies were already working in the same system. The team could quickly access the latest information, coordinate the response, and track the work needed to get the project back on schedule.

VPO is now the standard across KPFF Special Projects, with Submittals, RFIs, and Punch Lists in daily use to keep information accessible, workflows moving, and projects on track.

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The VPO Difference:

10+ hours of clerical work
eliminated each week

Reports generate automatically, so project managers spend that time managing projects.

Real-time transparency for clients

Clients can view current project data whenever they need it, without waiting for the next meeting report.

More work with fewer people

Accenture takes on more projects and generates more revenue without adding staff to match.

Less support staff on every project

Client self-service reduces the need for dedicated personnel supporting each project manager.

Faster response times

Ball-in-court and due date tracking keep submittals and reviews moving.

More confident status reporting

Client contacts have current information when they need to update their own leadership.

“Our experience with VPO has been incredibly positive. We no longer have to worry about someone missing, losing, or not receiving an email message about a project that results in delays or cost overruns. Everything is right there in VPO in the cloud, so we can access information more quickly and manage projects more effectively.” 

Brianna Navarro
Associate, Construction & Project Management, KPFF
KPFF-Logo-transparent
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Bring every project partner into one system 

Schedule a demo, and we’ll walk through your projects, partners, and workflow requirements, then show how VPO would be configured for your team. 

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