Case Study: McKinstry achieves 50% time-savings in Earned Value Tracking with PlanGrid Build

McKinstry Experiences 50% Time-Savings with Assemble for Earned Value Tracking

McKinstry, a national leader since 1960 in designing, constructing and operating high‑performing buildings, was struggling with a manual 2D Earned Value Tracking process on the 13‑story, 345,000+ sq. ft. Seattle Life Science Building. Complex systems—47 tons of ductwork, 5.5 miles of piping and 12 drawings per floor—made field takeoffs slow and inaccurate, and 2D linear‑foot measures couldn’t be compared directly to budgeted weights.

By implementing Assemble for Earned Value Tracking, McKinstry built a model‑based workflow that tied CAD pieces to weights, grouped and filtered objects by system and status, and put the same dataset in the hands of office and field teams via a customizable mobile app. The change cut Earned Value Tracking time by 50% (from eight to four hours weekly), improved accuracy (variance down from ~10% to ~3%), and has been rolled out on at least half of McKinstry’s large projects.

McKinstry

Spencer Hobson

Senior Project Engineer