Building Efficiencies While Saving Time

Imagine an industry that contributes billions of dollars to Canada’s economy yet costs taxpayers millions as a result of inefficiencies and delays. Now imagine that individual projects within this sector are managed primarily through old-fashioned paperwork – in triplicate. That’s the construction industry.

“The paper stack in construction is staggering,” says Arta Momtazi, enrolled in the MEIE program. “A lack of digitization is partly responsible for projects typically taking 30% longer to finish than scheduled and running up to 80% over budget. Most construction professionals manually prepare and process field documents like time cards and job changes. The industry has not kept pace with technological change.”

Having worked as a construction manager on major transit and infrastructure projects within the Greater Toronto Area, Momtazi speaks from experience. During this time, he conceived of and co-founded BenchMarx, a simple and easy-to-use mobile platform for managing workflows on site. Construction teams can share information in real time, ensure accuracy and transparency, and improve productivity. 

“BenchMarx goes much further than our competitors’ programs, which provide a singular value such as timekeeping,” says Momtazi. “They do not offer the appropriate business logic for commercial construction projects. Additionally, their programs are designed primarily for subcontractors looking to streamline their timekeeping process.”

BenchMarx distinguishes itself by providing a multi-faceted platform that significantly increases productivity and digitizes a vast array of data. The timecard feature streamlines the payroll process; time and material tracking reduce risk and improve cost recovery of changes on the job site; and construction analytics provide end-to-end visibility from the field to the office. 

As a result of its impressive array of features, BenchMarx has experienced explosive growth with thousands of users in Toronto alone, one of North America's busiest construction market.

The Stage 3 Esch Award makes it possible for BenchMarx to acquire an even greater competitive advantage against companies in its space. Momtazi and his team have their sights set on acquiring the biggest construction companies in the field as clients.

“We need to approach our market more effectively. To really scale up, our website has to do more of our selling. We want potential clients to sign up and test our product online. Over the past year, we have been building out those plans for conveying and connecting with our customers. Using the Esch funding, we will be able to build the additional functionality we need to reach a mass market and be the leader in our field.”