Case Study: PCL Construction achieves streamlined, secure mobile onboarding with Microsoft Azure

Canada’s largest construction contractor transforms onboarding with Azure AD and Xamarin forms

PCL Construction, Canada’s largest construction contractor, needed to modernize a slow, error-prone onboarding process for more than 10,000 hourly tradespeople working across 700+ projects. New hires previously completed a 60‑page paper form in triplicate that HR manually entered into a database, creating delays, resource strain, and security concerns while requiring integration with PCL’s existing authentication systems.

Microsoft and PCL built a cross‑platform Xamarin app connected via Azure Mobile App Service to PCL’s Azure SQL “Craft Services” database, with Azure Active Directory providing strong authentication. The digital form auto-populates the database, locks completed submissions, and uses two‑step admin verification, eliminating manual data entry, enabling secure anywhere/anydevice onboarding, and saving time while maintaining high data-security standards.

PCL Construction

Blaine Stearns

Head Solutions Architect