Homegrown Tech

By Ted McIntyre

Locally developed new building software tools appear ripe for the picking

When Pat Keaney made her way to the podium for her construction innovation seminar at Toronto’s Buildings Show in December, she had a packed house before her. In a world of tightening budgets, depleting support staff and lengthening delays, every industry could use a little technological help, and the construction folks in attendance were all ears.  

The potential for improved efficiency is boundless, noted Keaney, who leads product management for the Autodesk Construction Solutions Intelligence division. The estimated cost of miscommunication and incorrect data in construction worldwide in 2020 was $88 billion, “and that number is probably conservative,” she said. “If I’m about to install something and an RFI came in two weeks ago and then a change in design, but the document didn’t get updated, it’s a tremendous waste in an industry that already produces a lot of waste. We’ve done surveys with our general contractors and third parties and consistently hear that they spend 35% of their time on unproductive activities. I’ve seen stats that people spend 20% of their time searching for project data. That data should be more accessible and smarter.”

Menatwork has long been ahead of the curve in terms of technological solutions that maximize the use of data and streamline procedures. A simple example for the design-build firm was the Grasshopper voicemail service it adopted almost 15 years ago and continues to use—translating voice to text before emailing a transcript to management. 

Tech-savvy owners Paul Gallop and son Max employ multiple software products simultaneously in the company’s work. Max, managing director of the award-winning Toronto-based company, highlights Zapier as an essential piece of software in that regard. It’s a backend automation utility that provides a foundation to build, manage and govern workflows, weaving various applications together to help automate tasks. “It’s very user-friendly,” Max says. “For example, we’re using a particular software to prepare estimates. It has a thousand rows of information. Zapier spins up a beautiful PDF of the estimate on another product like Docupilot. It then sends it to the client for a digital signature on another software, like SignNow. After the client signs, the system gets alerted and can automatically set up the customer in our accounting app, get an invoice queued, and notify the team. Automating repetitive administration like this keeps our team lean, and we aren’t restricted to any one system.”

Where much of current industry software still falls short, though, is client management. “The popular tools out there generally prioritize serving construction management interests—keeping your work, costs, timeline and scheduling organized,” Max notes. “Those are all important, but for the type of relationship we have with our clients we want something that truly elevates their experience.”

Menatwork has consequently developed its own solution. “We’re really excited about it and expect it will address a lot of the feedback from our clients and team,” Max says. “It’s currently proprietary, but could eventually help other businesses with this pain point in the future.” 

Offering such tech can be a big selling point, Max believes. “A significant renovation project is intimidating. A lot of decisions need to be made and tracked. Then there are project finances, file management and innumerable discussions. Tools that make the client’s life less stressful will make our lives less stressful. Admittedly, I don’t think many homeowners are saying, ‘I’m only picking a renovator who has a portal.’ But it should be a big differentiator. When you deal strictly with paper or texts, which is still common, the audit trail of decisions and holding everyone accountable becomes complicated. There are incredible builders out there who could manage a job with their eyes closed, but in today’s world we all expect some sort of convenient and elegant technological interface.”

Are Menatwork’s staff embracing technology? “Designers, accounting, management, sales—those more often behind a computer—are big advocates,” Max says. “The adoption curve can understandably be longer for field personnel, but we’re all ultimately benefiting from the organization and convenience. An example is another custom app accessible on the team’s phones for requesting purchase orders. Those requisitions get handled through automated workflows; then a PDF is generated and shared via email to forward to vendors. You don’t have to visit the office and print stuff and drop off or pick up cheques. Apart from the drawings you need onsite, we’ve been paperless for many years.”

What are most of their competitors missing? “Potentially basic things like the ability to accept or issue payments online, as opposed to cheques, or even digital time tracking,” suggests Max.

Not every software solution arrives with rave reviews, but here are four new technologies that are receiving a passionate thumbs-up from the local building community—all of which are Ontario-made!

LandLogic

WHAT IS IT?

LandLogic provides subscribers with instant access to smart-property and real estate tools that help you uncover ideal sites, evaluate property value and assess property risks and opportunities to streamline your real estate projects. The Canadian-based and developed software allows you to explore zoning trends, track development activities and uncover insights that align with your specific goals—all in one platform.

BACKGROUND: Having spent six years at the University of Toronto, including running a research centre on building innovation, Arash Shahi sought to bring technology to construction sites. The industry told him, “We know how to build buildings. If you really want to help us, we need our permits faster.” With a small team of U of T students, Shahi started looking at international best practices. COVID slowed progress, but then the phone started ringing. Under the banner of AECO Innovation Lab, Shahi launched One Ontario as a research project advocating for the Province to standardize land data and streamline development approvals. When the project couldn’t get funding from the Ontario government, CMHC ponied up the funds.

From there, LandLogic was born. “We bring together all the different datasets that affect land value and land development, from real estate and demographic data to environmental constraints, official plans and zoning,” says Shahi, the firm’s CEO. “Most of the data is updated automatically, but municipalities and agencies have varied open-data policies, and you have to deal with them differently. Our goal is always to update information as soon as it’s available from the source.

“Many municipalities have adopted e-permitting systems that require loads of information you must type in to submit an application,” Shahi explains. “We don’t compete with e-permit systems; we integrate with them. By connecting to these systems, a lot of your data can be pre-populated by LandLogic, streamlining the process. Imagine you want to develop a property within 75 metres of a railway. Instead of submitting all your applications and then learning in two months that you need a vibration study, LandLogic will tell you before you submit that this study is something you’ll need for this development. Or if you’re doing a laneway suite in your client’s backyard, it will inform you about things like how far you need to be from a fire hydrant.”

The software helps identify a piece of land’s potential, Shahi explains. “Many who own the land don’t have a clue what they can do on it. LandLogic has the data and can reveal what’s possible and what risks exist. We know if you’re in a floodplain or back onto a ravine. Beyond that, we can analyze every parcel in the jurisdictions we cover (42 municipalities and counting), whether it’s on the market or not. For example, we can identify which parts of Toronto qualify for a five-plex and highlight the best locations based on rental demand, estimated land value and zoning permissions. We can create a heat map of the best locations for a particular product.”

LandLogic is working on built-in pro formas so that builders can upload their own data and customize designs based on their numbers. 

While Teranet remains Ontario’s official source for property ownership records, that’s just one piece of the puzzle. LandLogic goes to the next level by integrating zoning, infrastructure, market trends and development potential, giving users a clearer picture of a property’s true value. “Our AVM (automated valuation model) is the most accurate on the market,” Shahi assures. 

“What’s exciting is how engaged the industry has been in shaping LandLogic,” he adds. “We’re not just building a product and telling people to use it—we listen to what developers, builders and realtors need, and then we build tools to solve those challenges.”

COST: $200/month, but an à la carte menu is also available. Companies can also finance tailored solutions to meet specific needs. 

USER FEEDBACK: “Navigating approvals, zoning and site feasibility used to mean digging through scattered data, making endless calls and waiting weeks for answers. LandLogic has changed that. It streamlines the process, bringing essential land and real estate data into one place so that developers, agents and investors can assess opportunities faster, identify risks earlier, and move projects forward with confidence. Data is king, and having instant access to the right insights isn’t just an advantage—it’s the difference between a great deal and a missed opportunity.” —Mike Hosseini, CEO of Bosseini Living & Canadian Investment Group

Trax Codes

WHAT IS IT: Trax is a Canadian cloud-based regulatory platform that uses AI to help professionals in the built environment achieve compliance faster and more accurately. It was founded in 2019 after 15 years of AEC-focused research, including leading architects, engineers and software developers in generative design, BIM and sustainability. Trax Codes was subsequently launched in 2022. It features the largest collection of always-up-to-date regulatory information in Canada for the construction industry, with 20,000 pages of enriched building codes and statutes, links, terms, comments, highlights and version comparisons. Currently, 250+ municipalities are using Trax Codes to review permit applications across Canada, 150 of which are in Ontario.

BACKGROUND: “Through our work, we recognized that simplifying mandatory regulatory compliance is foundational to achieving a sustainable built environment, but too intricate for humans to navigate alone, making it an ideal challenge for AI,” says Trax Director of Strategic Alliances Ellen Hlozan, whose company has been collaborating with CHBA’s Building Sciences team, as well as OHBA to develop solutions to support home builders. “We’re talking with building officials and hearing the same issues from both groups, which aligns with what we’re doing in streamlining the procedure for everyone.”

Trax offers builders real-time access to codes, with builders able to consult a consolidated regulatory ecosystem from the design phase to inspection, ensuring clarity and reducing delays. “Trax Codes not only resolves code disagreements on the job site; it prevents them,” Hlozan notes. “A minimum of 28 days are lost per round of permit revisions, resulting in costly fines, labour delays and project disruptions. With AI assistance, searchability and direct-reference links embedded in the codes, builders can vet permit submissions more easily and thoroughly, using the same tool building officials rely on for application reviews.”

Trax Codes features an AI chatbot that facilitates ongoing, plain-language building code discussions, enabling users to refine and expand their inquiries.

COST: There’s a free 30-day trial, with monthly ($14-$29) and annual ($168-$348) subscriptions. 

USER FEEDBACK: “I’ve been experimenting with Trax Codes for a couple of years now and have been fortunate to have met the Trax team. With the move to harmonized codes and the major changes coming when Ontario harmonizes with the 2025 National Code, I can’t think of a platform better suited to help code users manage and adapt to these changes. As society moves beyond search engines to AI platforms, so too will code users move beyond PDF searches to more advanced and comprehensive code analysis. Trax is leading the way and, from what I’ve seen, building code is just the beginning of what they’re working on to help navigate the regulatory landscape.” —Mike Memme, Operations Manager, Mountainview Building Group

My DS Pro

WHAT IS IT: From Woodbridge’s My Design Studio, this AI-enabled décor management software is designed to increase the sale of your optional selections, get instant detailed sales analytics and improve your documentation process. What separates My DS Pro from its competitors is the platform’s intuitive interface that simplifies traditionally complex tasks, such as managing subtrade costs and credits, or quickly identifying discontinued items—practical functions that other similar software overlooks. Its floor plan annotation capabilities enable real-time collaborative feedback directly onto design documents, eliminating confusion and accelerating the approval process. And by streamlining financials with integrated online payment processing and digital signature capabilities, it creates an all-in-one solution. The software’s overall holistic approach—integrating a comprehensive messaging portal directly within the platform—allows designers and clients to communicate without ever leaving the software. That means designers spend less time juggling multiple systems and more time creating exceptional spaces for their clients using the product’s impressive visualization tools.

BACKGROUND: My DS Pro was launched earlier this year across North America by My Design Studio founder Yasmine Goodwin. “As the desire for our services increased, we needed a solution that could nimbly manage several projects at a time—we typically run about 20 sites per year and close to 1,000 homes,” explains Goodwin. “We found ERP (enterprise resource planning) software to be clunky, and it required the entire database to be re-entered for every project—even within the same builder’s projects. We looked at partnering with other software companies but realized we’d have little control over what we needed, which included a visualizer, analytics and being able to have a central database that we could reuse. So we got our own software developers to create what we needed. After four years in the making, we launched My DS Pro. We currently have seven builders using our software, with over 800 homes completed.”

COST: Starting at $1,000/month.

USER FEEDBACK: “My DS Pro software is a very innovative tool that helps the builder, designer and homebuyer. The software is user-friendly, and visualizations make it easy to understand. What’s most impressive is the capability of providing up-to-date estimations as you navigate through your options. I’m looking forward to how the opportunities evolve.” —Aries Lobrin, Sunny Communities

Graditi

WHAT IS IT? Launched in March, Graditi is an Ontario-built construction management software created by Canadian builders and software experts for small to medium-sized builders, remodelers and contractors to improve efficiency and streamline their projects. 

The platform streamlines every stage of construction projects. From planning and client communication to final inspection and invoicing, users can quickly gain full visibility and control over projects, including timelines and budgets. With a clear view of every detail, they ensure that no issues go unnoticed, and no costs are overlooked. Real-time updates keep clients, teams and trades aligned, reducing delays and misunderstandings.  

“This is an intuitive experience that can be up and running in a day,” says founder and CEO Tony Boyle, a London, Ontario-based tech entrepreneur. “There’s no holistic (construction management) solution today that was built to help Canadian builders build faster than Graditi. All the current market offerings require weeks of training and a significantly higher investment. We made it as simple as ordering a pizza online. This was accomplished using a simple, modern interface that allows you to manage not just the build but your teams, tasks, invoices and the client journey from a single platform—all while seeing the financial impacts of changes along the way.”

BACKGROUND: Graditi was born from first-hand frustration with outdated construction management tools. After working on his dream home with Crown Homes’ owner Ken Bell, Boyle recognized the need for a more intuitive, all-in-one solution. Together with fellow Londoners Taras Zubyak, a seasoned software developer, and Neil Poutney, an experienced operations executive, they built Graditi.

Graditi is currently working with London HBA to explore the product’s potential. 

COST: From $99/month (single user) to $389/month (up to 10 users and unlimited file storage). Free 30-day trial. 

USER FEEDBACK: “Getting started with Graditi was surprisingly easy. We were initially concerned about the learning curve, but the platform was so intuitive, and our team picked it up quickly. Not only has it given us a quicker view of where each project stands and who is working on what, but it has also allowed us to elevate our personalized customer service in a whole new way.” — Trevor McKenzie, owner, McKenzie Homes. 

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