1. Accelerating Adoption: From Skeptics to Champions
Switching scheduling platforms can be a daunting task, but Planera’s support team specializes in high-impact onboarding that bridges the gap between legacy systems and modern workflows. For AMLI Residential, opting for a premium support session was the key to a seamless transition. Michael Trenski, Director of Construction Technology, noted:
"A Planera representative came out and sat down with the team and kind of gave them, you know, soup to nuts on it. That was super valuable for us... I think every customer—I hope they do that because it really was an exponential kind of a path to adoption for us."
Trenski further emphasized the return on investment for this dedicated support, stating that for any company looking to expand, the personalized sessions are "totally worth that cost."
2. Solving Complex Operational Challenges
Planera’s support team doesn’t just answer technical questions; they act as consultants to help teams model complex construction logic. Castle Rock Construction utilized Planera’s support to solve one of their biggest pain points: managing crews across multiple concurrent projects.
"With support from Planera’s team, Castle Rock linked schedules across projects to track crew assignments and avoid conflicts—eliminating the limitations of spreadsheet-based planning."
3. A Direct Bridge to Product Innovation
When you work with Planera support, your voice directly influences the product roadmap. We view customer feedback as the blueprint for our next features. Jake Berg, Assistant Project Manager at AMLI Residential, highlighted how receptive the team is when receiving input on critical features like export options and schedule comparisons:
"I would say that the Planera support team's been pretty open and receptive to me sending my feedback and criticisms and potential room for improvement."
4. Expert Guidance for Future Planning
Our support provides access to consultants who understand how diverse firms across the country are solving unique industry challenges. John Plyer, Director of Operations for Newar, plans to utilize this expertise as they scale into larger projects:
"[I want to] consult with the Planera crew regarding the best approach for procurement within Planera, drawing on their experience across multiple clients."
5. Ongoing Coaching and Embedded Field Support
Our support doesn't end after the initial kickoff—it extends directly to where the work is actually happening. We provide ongoing, hands-on coaching to ensure teams maintain "schedule literacy" and take full ownership of their plans.
For example, when HITT Contracting deployed Planera across three mission-critical data center projects in Iowa, a Planera customer success representative embedded directly on-site with their teams for several weeks. During this engagement, Planera support went far beyond basic software training by acting as a true partner in the field. They actively elevated HITT's operations by:
- Leading in-person Planera onboarding and driving project implementation for each of the three teams
- Sitting down with teams to complete weekly schedule updates together
- Participating directly in coordination meetings with subcontractors
- Teaching CPM scheduling best practices and guiding the teams on how to build and incorporate "fragnets" to accurately represent and document delays
- Helping project leaders assign and delegate schedule responsibilities across the entire team
This level of embedded coaching ensures that teams don't just learn a new software platform; they learn how to build better, more reliable schedules. Harley Paugh, an independent consultant and Owner of LINC Professional, integrates Planera support into his own consultancy workflow, noting the long-term value of this approach:
"I integrate Planera into my workflow by coaching clients during rollout and continuing to check in as they build confidence with the platform. Over time, clients not only become proficient but take ownership of scheduling—a major shift from past dependencies."
Summary of the Planera Support Benefit
- White-Glove Implementation: On-site training sessions that turn technical skeptics into power users in hours.
- Embedded Field Support: Deep, multi-week on-site integration to help teams run subcontractor coordination, build fragnets, and implement CPM best practices.
- Strategic Problem Solving: Expert guidance on linking project schedules and optimizing resource distribution.
- Collaborative Roadmap: A support team that actively listens to feedback to drive meaningful software updates.
- Industry Depth: Guidance from experts who have all worked in the construction industry, as well as Planera. They have seen "what works" across hundreds of diverse construction projects and use this knowledge to help clients to overcome difficult problems.
What You Get with Planera vs. What You Get with P6 or MS Project
