Real-time project tracking across 200+ active construction projects
EPC Group helped a major construction and professional services firm deploy Microsoft Power BI across 200+ active projects. The engagement delivered unified project dashboards, real-time actual-vs-estimated cost visibility, and a 30% reduction in project cost overruns. Client details are subject to MNDA — contact EPC Group for the full case study.
How EPC Group helped a leading construction and professional services firm gain real-time visibility into project costs, timelines, and resource allocation across 200+ active projects using Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL.
200+
Active Projects Tracked
30%
Fewer Project Overruns
material annual savings (MNDA)
Annual Cost Savings
500+
Active Dashboard Users
Haskell, a fully integrated design-build-operate firm with projects spanning commercial, industrial, and infrastructure sectors, faced mounting challenges in managing data across their rapidly growing portfolio. With over 200 active projects at any given time, the company struggled with fragmented data sources and manual reporting processes that consumed hundreds of hours each month.
Fragmented project data: Cost tracking, scheduling, and resource allocation lived in separate systems including Procore, Sage 300, Microsoft Project, and Excel spreadsheets, making consolidated views nearly impossible.
Delayed cost visibility: Project managers received financial data 2-3 weeks after period close, making it impossible to course-correct budget overruns in real time.
Resource allocation blind spots: With 1,200+ employees across multiple offices, leadership lacked a unified view of where skilled labor and equipment were deployed, leading to suboptimal utilization rates averaging just 68%.
Manual reporting overhead: The finance team spent approximately 160 hours per month compiling project status reports from disparate data sources, introducing errors and delays.
EPC Group designed and implemented a comprehensive Power BI analytics platform that unified Haskell's project data into a single source of truth, enabling real-time decision-making across every level of the organization.
Consolidated data from Procore, Sage 300, Microsoft Project, and 12 additional source systems into Azure SQL Database with automated ETL pipelines refreshing every 15 minutes.
Built 35+ Power BI dashboards covering project financials, schedule adherence, safety metrics, resource utilization, and change order tracking with drill-through capabilities.
Implemented row-level security (RLS) so project managers see only their projects, regional directors see their portfolio, and executives get the full enterprise view -- all from the same report.
Configured Power Automate flows triggered by Power BI data alerts when projects exceed budget thresholds (5%, 10%, 15%) or fall behind schedule milestones.
Real-time budget tracking with automated threshold alerts enabled project managers to identify and address cost overruns within 24 hours instead of waiting for monthly reports. The number of projects exceeding budget by more than 5% dropped from 38% to just 8%.
Optimized resource allocation increased labor utilization from 68% to 82%, while automated reporting eliminated 160+ hours per month of manual data compilation. Equipment idle time decreased by 22% through predictive scheduling dashboards.
From field superintendents on tablets to C-suite executives on desktop, Power BI adoption reached 500+ daily active users within 6 months of launch. EPC Group provided role-specific training sessions for project managers, finance, and executive leadership.
Consolidated safety incident data across all 200+ project sites into a single dashboard, enabling proactive safety interventions. Recordable incident rate decreased by 18% in the first year through data-driven safety briefings.
Change orders across all projects are now tracked in a centralized Power BI report with approval workflow integration. Average change order approval time dropped from 12 days to 3 days, improving cash flow and client satisfaction.
Historical project data feeds ML-powered schedule predictions, giving Haskell early warning on potential delays. Schedule adherence improved from 71% to 89% across the portfolio, strengthening client trust and repeat business.
Audited 14 data sources, mapped data models, defined KPIs with Haskell leadership. Identified critical gaps in schedule-to-cost correlation data.
Deployed Azure SQL data warehouse, built Azure Data Factory pipelines for all 14 sources, implemented incremental refresh, and established data quality validation rules.
Built 35+ dashboards iteratively with stakeholder feedback. Conducted 4 rounds of UAT with project managers, finance, and executive sponsors.
Phased rollout to 500+ users across 8 offices. Delivered role-specific training for executives, PMs, and field staff. Established a Power BI Center of Excellence.
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“Before Power BI, our project managers were flying blind for 2-3 weeks at a time waiting for financial reports. Now every PM sees their project's budget health in real time on their tablet at the job site. The automated alerts alone have prevented millions in potential overruns. EPC Group didn't just build dashboards -- they fundamentally changed how we manage 200+ projects. The $1.8 million in annual savings was just the beginning.”
Power BI provides real-time budget tracking with automated threshold alerts that notify project managers within 24 hours when projects exceed cost thresholds (typically set at 5%, 10%, and 15% over budget). By consolidating data from Procore, Sage 300, Microsoft Project, and other source systems into unified dashboards, PMs can see actual-vs-estimated costs, labor utilization, and change order impacts in real time instead of waiting for monthly financial close reports. Haskell reduced project overruns by 30% in the first year.
Power BI connects to all major construction management platforms including Procore (project management), Sage 300 CRE and Sage 100 Contractor (financials), Viewpoint Vista (ERP), Microsoft Project and Primavera P6 (scheduling), BIM 360 and PlanGrid (field management), and SharePoint (document management). EPC Group builds Azure Data Factory ETL pipelines that extract data from these systems on 15-minute incremental refresh cycles, consolidating everything into a unified analytics layer.
Power BI resource utilization dashboards provide a unified view of where skilled labor and equipment are deployed across all active projects, enabling dispatchers and project managers to identify underutilized resources and reassign them to projects with higher need. Predictive scheduling models built on historical project data forecast upcoming resource requirements 4-6 weeks in advance. Haskell improved labor utilization from 68% to 82% and reduced equipment idle time by 22% using these Power BI dashboards.
Yes, Power BI consolidates safety incident data across all project sites into a single dashboard showing recordable incident rates (TRIR), near-miss frequency, safety observation trends, and OSHA-reportable events. Data from safety management systems, field inspection apps, and incident report forms flows into Power BI automatically, enabling safety directors to conduct data-driven safety briefings, identify high-risk projects or trades, and measure the effectiveness of safety programs across the portfolio.
A typical construction firm Power BI implementation takes 14-18 weeks. The phased approach includes discovery and data assessment (weeks 1-3), data platform build with Azure SQL and Data Factory pipelines (weeks 4-8), dashboard development with iterative stakeholder feedback and UAT (weeks 9-14), and phased rollout with role-specific training for project managers, finance teams, executives, and field staff (weeks 15-18). Firms with simpler data environments or fewer source systems can often complete in 10-12 weeks.
EPC Group has 29 years of experience helping construction and engineering firms unlock the power of their project data. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your analytics goals.
EPC Group helped a major construction and professional services firm deploy Microsoft Power BI across 200+ active projects. The engagement delivered unified project dashboards, real-time actual-vs-estimated cost visibility, and a 30% reduction in project cost overruns. Client details are subject to MNDA — contact EPC Group for the full case study.
The firm managed 200+ concurrent projects across construction and professional services. Project managers relied on monthly financial close reports to track costs. By the time reports arrived, overruns had already occurred.
EPC Group built a Power BI analytics platform connecting all major construction systems to a unified Azure SQL and Azure Data Factory data platform.
EPC Group connected Power BI to the firm's full construction tech stack.
The engagement followed a phased approach over 18 weeks.
EPC Group builds project cost dashboards, safety reporting, resource utilization, executive portfolio views, and subcontractor performance tracking. Dashboards connect to Procore, Sage, Viewpoint, Microsoft Project, and BIM 360. Role-based access controls ensure each user sees their relevant data only.
Power BI connects to Procore via the Procore REST API or Procore's built-in Power BI connector. EPC Group builds Azure Data Factory pipelines to extract, transform, and load Procore data into Azure SQL, where Power BI models query it for near-real-time project analytics.
A project cost analytics implementation with Procore, Sage, and Microsoft Project integration typically takes 12–18 weeks. Discovery and data platform build run in parallel. Dashboard development begins in week 4. EPC Group provides a detailed project plan during the discovery call.
EPC Group delivers Power BI analytics for construction and professional services organizations. Call (888) 381-9725 or request a 30-minute discovery call.