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In a surprising shift for a traditional tool manufacturer, Stanley X, the innovation division of Stanley Black & Decker, has acquired Buildup, a project management platform used by general contractors and trade workers for punchlists, inspections and other tasks. The value of the acquisition was not disclosed.

The acquisition is the first for the tool maker’s new tech-focused unit. “We’re digitizing things on the construction site,” says Justin Saeheng, head of construction technology at Stanley X. “This acquisition allows us to better align to our current customers and provide more than another hammer, tape measure or drill.”

Founded in 2015, Buildup offers a field-focused project management app, which coordinates and tracks the thousands of small tasks to be done on a jobsite. It allows for quick communication between stakeholders and field personnel, and also has photo documentation and annotation functions. The app also features automatic English-Spanish translation, with other languages planned for future updates.

“We’re trying to save time out in the field—make sure the field and the office are on the same page,” explains Stephen Haskin, CEO of Buildup and the new general manager of Buildup at Stanley X. He says that while Buildup has an API link to Procore, many of its customers are coming from spreadsheet-based methods of tracking work-to-complete tasks and inspection punchlists. “There are people who swing hammers who also are having to go fill out reports and spreadsheets; it’s not a good use of their time.”

Buildup has seen use among general contractors that are looking for ways to get their field personnel the task lists they need on large, complex projects. Hensel Phelps, general contractor for the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 project at San Francisco International Airport, has been using Buildup to coordinate the thousands of work-to-complete tasks that need to be performed by building trades as the project nears completion.

“On a lot of projects you get to the end and you have this endless list of things to do,” explains Andrew Cameron, Hensel Phelps project manager and team member on Terminal 1. On complex projects, a spreadsheet can be hard to navigate for trade workers just coming on the job who don’t know the site layout. “We had our engineers go to the site, take the issues and create records in Buildup, then tag it to the model or drawing,” says Cameron. “They can then assign it to a specific person, so the electrician or painter knows exactly what they need to do.”

Cameron says Buildup has had a high adoption rate among field personnel at Terminal 1, which he attributes to the smartphone-based interface and the ability for field workers to document their work and get quick responses to their requests for information. “[As the GC] we are there to guide this project, but it can be so difficult to get the right information to the right people,” says Cameron. “With this app we were truly able to crowdsource what needed to be done. Rather than go to the next item on a spreadsheet, I can open this app to see what needs to be done in this area where I am standing.”

Haskin says Buildup has no immediate plans to change its pricing model. According to Saeheng, Stanley X plans to further expand into the construction technology space. “This is a new area for us, stepping into the construction software space. But it’s just heating up—there’s a lot of under-digitized opportunities in construction.”

Stanley Black & Decker, a world leader in the tools and storage business, today announces it has acquired Buildup, a task management, punch list and inspection software company. Buildup joins the STANLEY X Construction Technology portfolio. The mobile-first application approach of Buildup complements and extends the existing web-based offerings from STANLEY X Construction Tech such as OneConstruct, a first of its kind collaborative scheduling software for the construction industry. This acquisition expands the prowess of STANLEY X Construction Technology to jobsite collaboration for task management, inspection, documentation markup, and communication.

“We are excited to welcome Buildup to STANLEY X as we expand and grow our construction technology capabilities”, said Michael Keogh, VP & President of STANLEY X. “Collaboration is central to construction, and Buildup’s collaborative platform aligns well with our existing vision and strategy. We are certain that a partnership between our collective teams will create growth opportunities and deliver extraordinary experiences to our customers.”

“Buildup extends our current OneConstruct offering into a collaborative trade solution, and it will certainly accelerate our efforts in improving construction productivity on job sites”, adds Justin Saeheng, Head of Construction Technology at STANLEY X.

Stephen Haskin, CEO of Buildup expresses that, “The Buildup team is excited to join STANLEY X and the Stanley Black & Decker community. We firmly believe this strategically aligned business will help Buildup, OneConstruct, and STANLEY X grow our customer base and product offerings.”

Buildup was designed with construction, development, and real estate professionals in mind, providing an easy-to-use collaboration tool for task management, punch list, and inspections. The mobile-first application allows users to document conditions, request action, and communicate in the built environment. On a recently completed ~$70M+ multifamily project, Buildup helped users close out tasks 44% faster than in previous projects. Buildup also improved project schedule completion by 7% and helped achieve up to 80% less tasks and punch list items during the final closeout. Improved collaboration and communication save time, costs, and headaches for all parties in construction and renovation.

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About Stanley Black & Decker and STANLEY X Construction Technology

Stanley Black & Decker is a global diversified leader founded in 1843 with more than $14 billion in revenue. The company is powered by 53,000 employees in more than 60 countries. Stanley Black & Decker is a provider of engineered fasteners and equipment, infrastructure engineering equipment, hand tools, power tools and related accessories, electronic security solutions, and healthcare solutions.

They operate the world’s largest tools and storage business and the world’s second-largest commercial electronic security company. The company’s iconic brands include BLACK+DECKER, Bostitch, CRAFTSMAN, DEWALT, FACOM, Irwin, Lenox, Porter Cable and STANLEY. Stanley Black & Decker is a company for the makers and innovators, the craftsmen and the caregivers, and those doing the hard work to make the world a better place.

STANLEY X is the innovation business unit of Stanley Black & Decker. STANLEY X’s mission is to create new sources of growth for Stanley Black & Decker and to lead disruption in its core industries. At STANLEY X Construction Technology, we are building product ecosystems that solve critical pain points in the construction industry.

Please visit our official website for more information about us: www.stanleyblackanddecker.com. You can also visit www.stanleyx.com to learn more about our innovation and STANLEY X offerings.

About Buildup

Buildup is a task management, punch list and inspection software that helps improve product quality, reduces costs and shortens construction timelines. Used by owners, developers, GCs, subcontractors, architects, third-party consultants, and property managers, Buildup ensures that everyone is “on the same page” and projects are completed on time and on budget. To learn more about Buildup, please visit www.buildup.co.