"I think it's just about building a community of people who have a common vision of wanting to make improvements, wanting to make things better..."

In this conversation, Devon Tilly chats with Wiley Jones, co-founder of Doss!

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Wiley Jones, Co-founder and CEO of Doss, ARP—a lightweight ERP system focused on building tools for teams that work in the real world. Wiley has worked in product design and hardware engineering at companies like Athelas and Verkada. From designing toys in factories in China to leading hardware projects for medical devices in Silicon Valley, Wiley has been in the trenches of creating physical products and moving them along the supply chain. Discover how Doss is tackling the ERP industry by reimagining operations data primitives to provide more composable and adaptive for any company that manages physical goods.

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"It's all about teaching it forward."

In this conversation, Devon Tilly and co-host Nathan Wood chat with Benny Baltrotsky in preparation for the  AEC Summit in Austin, Texas in April 2025!

This podcast is a part of a series of episodes that will be coming out from now until Spring 2025 covering the AEC Summit in Austin, Texas April 23rd - 25th 2025. We encourage our listeners and partners to share and engage with us during this conference coverage! Keep up with the Art of Construction (AOC) podcast on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube!

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Benny Baltrotsky is the Vice President of Partnerships and Go-To-Market at DEWALT Construction Technology, the innovation division of Stanley Black & Decker, where he is dedicated to advancing technology solutions tailored for the construction industry. With over 15 years of experience in building and scaling construction technology companies, Mr. Baltrotsky has a proven track record of enhancing the customer experience and driving industry innovation. In 2020, he joined MSUITE as Chief Operating Officer, where he played a pivotal role in developing the company's sales, marketing, customer success, and finance programs. Under his leadership, MSUITE experienced remarkable growth, culminating in its acquisition by Stanley Black & Decker. Prior to his tenure at MSUITE, Mr. Baltrotsky served as Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder at eSUB Construction Software, a leading provider of cloud-based project management solutions for trade contractors. As a founding member and Board Member of the Construction Progress Coalition, Benny has been a passionate advocate for enhancing integration among software platforms, driving collaboration and efficiency within the construction sector. His commitment to innovation and partnership continues to shape the future of construction technology.

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"Anytime I'm doing something else with the data, or measurements I'm capturing, outside of just looking at it and nodding my head with it - digitally {measuring is inarguably better." 

In this conversation, Devon Tilly and Christian Reed discuss the digitization of construction tools and the development of the REEKON platform. They explore the origin story of REEKON Tools, the integration of technology into construction tools, and the role of the Recon app in connecting the field to the office. They highlight the importance of meeting construction professionals where they are and providing innovative solutions to improve efficiency and accuracy on the job site. The conversation covers the innovative T1 Tomahawk digital tape measure and the M1 caliber, highlighting their features, benefits, and applications in the construction industry. It also delves into the importance of leveraging new technologies to build a strong brand and gain a competitive edge. 

Christian Reed is the founder and CEO of REEKON Tools, a global leader in digital construction tools. Prior to starting REEKON, Christian graduated MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and served in the US Army.  

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Brian Mackey, Owner of BD Mackey Consulting, joins us for episode 262 of Art of Construction and the second episode in our Digital Built Week 2022 pre-shows.

BD Mackey consulting was created to support BIM needs for AEC companies of all size through educational services, technical support, mentoring and custom training. Their goal is to make each company they work with more productive, more efficient and more successful in all areas of the Building Information Modeling process. Brian has been using Revit longer than most and knows the ins and outs of its many uses in the AEC industry. Rather than just a tool for large commercial architects and general contractors, he tells us just how there are potentially infinite uses for the data gathered from BIM for companies of all sizes. He himself began using BIM creating shop drawings as an architectural millworker.

While people think BIM has to be about a whole building, the "information" in Building Information Modeling could be anything. What kind of data do you need on a project, and how can you use that data to improve your process? These are the questions Brian asks his clients, and the question each of us should ask ourselves as we explore the best ways to integrate BIM into our company, workflow, or practice. Microsoft Excel, for example, is technically an "information modeling" tool, and the one the most people are familiar with! Many of us already use Excel in our daily work life to streamline our company's operations. BIM is simply bringing that process to the next level.

Join Devon and Brian as they discuss everyday and unexpected uses of BIM, Brian's journey as one of the earliest Revit users in the United States, the resources available for implementing Revit into your workflow, what he'll be speaking about at Digital Built Week, and much more!

Visit our podcast page to enter for a chance to win a pair of FREE PASSES to Digital Built Week Americas, June 14th - 16th in Anaheim, California: www.theartofconstruction.net/aoc-podcast

Carson Holmquist, Co-Founder and CEO of Stream Logistics, joins us for episode 261 of Art of Construction.

With the emergence of offsite construction (prefab, modular, and pods), the nature of construction logistics is evolving. This modern approach to construction is defined by high stakes. Timelines are tight, space is limited, and delays are wildly expensive. When stakes are high, the wins are lucrative and the losses can be catastrophic. This is the field that Stream Logistics has chosen to work in. 
Stream was founded in 2012 by Carson Holmquist and Chad Patton to provide quality and reliability never before seen in the industry. They envisioned meaningful collaborations with loyal clients, delivering incredible solutions, and eliminating uncertainty in transportation. Stream considers themselves an Offsite Construction company and does transportation for many modular and prefab projects across the country.

Join Devon and Carson as they discuss why logistics is the secret sauce for scaling offsite construction, how the Amazon effect and "just-in-time" delivery models helped create today's high stakes projects, the roadblocks to change our industry faces, and where the Stream team fits into the evolution of the System Build movement in construction. 

https://streamlogistics.com/

Wesley Benn, Executive Chairman at the Digital Built Environment Institute, joins us for episode 260 of Art of Construction and the first episode in our Digital Built Week 2022 pre-shows.

If you've listened to our show for many years you probably remember our partnership with Digital Built Week Americas in 2019. One of our highest rated episodes is the keynote of that conference which turned into AOC Episode 153 with Steve Burrows: Why This is the Greatest Time in History to be in Construction. This year, we are proud to announce we will once again be partnering with the Digital Built Environment Institute (DBEI) to serve as the official podcast of Digital Built Week Americas 2022! Today is the first in a series of episodes leading up to the conference, and we will also record a series of episodes live at the event.

The Digital Built Environment Institute is a not-for profit global organization dedicated to the advancement of people, processes and technology, and the improvement of productivity, efficiency, and sustainability for the built environment and the AECO industry. They do this by connecting industry participants to each other, and working collaboratively to identify the services, activities, and support structures that can be best employed to help all of us. DBEI believes that our planet has significant issues that need to be addressed and that in terms of the built environment, we have the people, the processes, the skills and the knowledge to effect change. The broad AECO industry has significant impact on the planet and together, through our individual and collective improvements, we can make that impact a positive one.

Join Devon and Wesley as they discuss DBEI's backstory, the evolution of BIM from something on the fringes to the core technology that defines the entire build process, why it's vital to break down the AECO silos, the return to the Master Builder, what people can expect from Digital Built Week this year and in the future, and so much more!

Visit our podcast page to enter for a chance to win a pair of FREE PASSES to Digital Built Week Americas, June 14th - 16th in Anaheim, California: www.theartofconstruction.net/aoc-podcast

Derrick Morse and Logan Farrell, CEO, CTO and Co-Founders of Rugged Robotics, join us for episode 259 of Art of Construction. 

Rugged Robotics is a Houston-based construction technology company. Their first product tackles the challenge of field layout, and replaces slow, error-prone, manual layout with an autonomous vehicle that marks fully-coordinated A/E designs directly onto unfinished floors. Like a Roomba for construction layout!

Derrick is a professional engineer turned management consultant and entrepreneur with over 12 years of experience in engineering, construction and B2B services. After conceptualizing the idea of Rugged Robotics, he knew he needed a technical partner to help launch the company. Then entered Logan, an engineer who'd spent 7 years in robotic design and development at NASA, to serve as co-founder and develop their first product as Chief Technology Officer. 

Join Devon, Derrick and Logan as they discuss the backstory of Rugged Robotics, why robots are best for tasks that are dull, dirty and dangerous, how their product could be an easier path forward to digitizing the jobsite than things like virtual and mixed reality, and the freedom construction workers will experience when truly blended with automation in the right way. 

www.rugged-robotics.com

Dr. Craig Ellis, Vice President of Services at HighMatch, joins us for episode 258 of Art of Construction. 
The construction industry is facing a perfect storm when it comes to employees, with an aging workforce nearing retirement, the great resignation pulling skilled and professional talent into other industries, and the new generation (Gen Z) ignoring careers in construction for other industries. Approaching this crisis using the same historical hiring approach is a recipe for disaster. Instead, contractors and affiliates need to take a different approach. 
HighMatch is a modern approach to employment assessments, delivering personalized candidate insights at every stage of the hiring cycle, leading to better matches and happier employees. As the Vice President of Services, Craig leads the consulting arm of the company. They've served many of the top builders in the country as well as small to medium sized construction businesses for the last 15 years. Craig holds a Ph.D. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology and has used his degree to help contractors and affiliates of all size grow their business. 
Join Devon and Craig as they discuss modern approaches to hiring, onboarding and workplace culture for construction, why it's vital for builders to rethink who they want to hire and the roles they are hiring for, and why great people will always be the best thing for a company; even better than a great process. 

Charlie Chupp, Founder and CEO of Fading West Development, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 257 of Art of Construction. 

As the former CEO of Load King Manufacturing in Florida, Charlie spent 20 years manufacturing and general contracting over 4,000 food service stores across the US and Canada. With clients such as Starbucks, Einstein Bros Bakery, Safeway, Kroger and others, Load King delivered and installed turnkey, off-site built stores using systems that reduced standard times to open by over half.

Through the application of Toyota’s Production System, commonly called “Lean” in the US, Fading West is focused on bringing the same speed and value to the national housing crisis with a particular focus on essential workforce buyers. They recently opened their brand new, 110,000 square foot state-of-the-art housing manufacturing facility in Buena Vista, Colorado. Recently named as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2022, Fading West is making waves in the industry. 

Join Devon, Matt and Charlie as they discuss the backstory behind Buena Vista's new System Built factory, the manufacturing philosophies of Fading West, and how System Built homes may be the key to solving Colorado's, and the country's, incredible housing shortage. 

David Broomhead, Co-Founder and CEO of Trade Hounds, and Jon Stambaugh, AOC Logistics Director, join us for episode 256 of Art of Construction. 

Trade Hounds is built for the hardworking skilled tradespeople building our country and is America's largest professional app for construction. Like a Blue Collar version of LinkedIn, it is a place where the trades can connect, share photos and videos, and have conversations on how to improve themselves and their craft. 

There is no question that social media platforms like LinkedIn are not very well liked by tradespeople, and for good reason. Much of the conversation revolves around fluff and corporate topics that are irrelevant to the life of a tradesperson. David grew up around the trades and saw firsthand how they were being underserved when he once heard his uncle, a painter, yell: "What the F!@# is LinkedIn?" 

Join Devon, Jon and David as they discuss the origin story of the Trade Hounds, why it is so important for tradespeople to have a digital home where they can come together, and what can be done to address the labor shortage and lack of skilled workers needed to keep society growing and thriving. 

Antony Kountouris, CEO of BMarko Structures, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 255 of Art of Construction. 
BMarko Structures is a modular construction company based in Atlanta, GA specializing in custom shipping container conversions, steel, and wood modular construction. From pop-up restaurants to COVID-19 modular hospitals and shipping container parks, their goal is to create unique, high-quality structures that leave a lasting impression on people. With over 100 projects under their belt, they've never missed a deadline.

While obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego, Antony met Boris Jerkunica, the Chairman of BMarko, and teamed up with him to start the company. Boris, being a successful software entrepreneur, saw a construction industry that trailed innovation and technology by a hundred years. He identified the General Contractor model as a risk mitigation approach as opposed to a value creation approach, common in the software industry. The two of them started the journey to bring true value to construction through highly innovative approaches.
  
Join Devon, Matt and Antony as they discuss how BMarko became some of the early adopters of the Offsite Construction world, the ins and outs of creating your own System Build facility, the best logistics and shipping practices for moving modules across the country and much more. 

Jim Baldwin, Founder and CEO of Domatic, joins us for episode 254 of Art of Construction. 

Domatic aims to reinvent the way buildings are powered. They are replacing 100-year-old, inefficient 120/240V AC wiring. Instead, they have an intelligent low-voltage DC solution that combines power and data on the same wires. By centralizing AC/DC conversion at the source, they're paving the way for widespread solar-powered future that relies on DC.

Jim Baldwin originally worked at Apple and took inspiration from Apple's design philosophies when creating Domatic. Like the ease of using an iPhone or plugging in a USB cable, he believes a building's collection of wired and wireless devices should work together as intuitively as possible. Often bad products make humans bend to technology and adjust their behavior, but the ultimate goal of the smart home is to make technology bend to humans.

Join Devon and Jim as they discuss Domatic's value offering, the evolution of wiring and power over the years, the evolving role of an electrician on a project, and what the construction industry can learn from a company like Apple as we continue to fully digitize and streamline the building process. 

Dwight Morgan and Dave Osher, CMO and CEO at OFFSITEK, join us for episode 253 of Art of Construction. 
OFFSITEK is an offsite technology company offering an end-to-end solution for industrialized construction that integrates land development, advanced digital design, supply chain optimization and construction. Their factory-controlled environment produces pre-engineered panelized systems and components allowing them to deliver commercialized and robust residential construction at a reduced cost and lead time. OFFSITEK’s integrated technology utilizes automation, robotic assembly, and cutting-edge software to transform traditional, fragmented construction into advanced manufacturing.

Join Devon, Dwight and Dave as they discuss the history of robotics and automation and why these industries now have their sights set on construction, the forward-thinking business model behind OFFSITEK's factory processes, and why blending skilled labor with robots is the secret recipe for bringing productivity in construction to new highs. 

"The biggest thing is time, right? Like time is probably the most valuable thing that we have." 

In this conversation, Devon Tilly interviews Tom Hughes, the Vice President of Construction Operations at Genesis AEC, to demystify the concept of Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM). They discuss the criticality of pre-construction and the benefits of taking a fully integrated EPCM approach. They also touch on the importance of collaboration and communication among the different disciplines involved in the construction process. Tom emphasizes the need for a cohesive team and the role of pre-construction in setting targets and controlling costs. They also discuss the scalability of EPCM for projects of different sizes. Looking to the future, he highlights the importance of embracing technology, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, to improve productivity in construction. The key takeaway is the search for continuous improvement and the willingness to embrace change.

Tom Hughes has more than 20 years of professional experience as a project manager, project engineer, and superintendent on construction projects, focusing on safety and quality objectives. As Vice President of Construction Operations, he spearheads the entire lifecycle of construction projects, from design to commissioning. His expertise extends to the development and upkeep of preconstruction, construction, and closeout execution plans, alongside detailed project scope documentation, including comprehensive schedules and seamless construction activity coordination. Not content with merely meeting standards, Tom is a fervent advocate for pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology within construction. Under his leadership, Genesis is at the forefront of EPCM, BIM, Design-Assist, Integrated Project Delivery, and prefabrication. He consistently harnesses new resources to propel Genesis's lean construction initiatives forward, all in an effort to minimize waste and maximizing client value. Tom grew up and resides in Bucks County, PA (Philadelphia suburbs) where he lives with his wife (Alison), 2 children (Thomas III and Lana Rose), and their dog (Benson).

Tradeline article

The Morning Huddle Construction Show: Episode 36 – Tom Hughes, Practical Lean Construction

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Amanda Alexander, Client Relations at Stream Logistics, joins us for episode 252 of Art of Construction. 

Stream Logistics specialize in construction logistics. Construction is in the midst of radical innovation and the old logistics solutions are not good enough. Offsite construction has changed the way product needs to be transported, stored, and received. They are solution geeks, so they love the challenge of solving these new difficulties. Rather than being a jack of all trades, they have committed to being the master of construction logistics.

Amanda went down several different career paths before landing a role in logistics and finding that she absolutely loved the construction industry. With the current labor shortage our industry is facing, we could use a lot more people like Amanda. What led to her finding her passion in an area like trucking, and how can we spread this passion to other future blue collar warriors?

Join Jon and Devon as they learn about Amanda's journey and how she came to work at Stream Logistics, how her team is pioneering the best logistics solutions for the offsite and modular construction industry, and some life strategies for finding the right career path as a blue collar warrior. 

Margarita Bravo, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Margarita Bravo, joins us for episode 251 of Art of Construction.
Margarita Bravo is a full-service interior design, build, and décor firm in Denver, Miami and Montecito. They have many combined years of experience renovating complex and large projects. Margarita and her design teams have engineering and project management degrees that helps create synergies with architects, GCs and other trades involved in a project.

Join Devon and Margarita as we dive into the mind of an interior designer whose firm also handles the entire breadth of the design-build process.

Audree Grubesic, Ken Semler and Gary Fleisher join us for a very special episode 250 of Art of Construction.

It’s been almost 4 years since Devon and Audree decided to launch their System Build Lifestyle Series on the Art of Construction. If you've been listening to our program for a while, then you'll remember those episodes! Since that series, both Audree and Devon have delved much deeper into the business of modular and Offsite Construction. Art of Construction has launched an architecture firm designing mostly custom modular homes, and Audree has been leading her team at Modular Sure Site consulting on projects across the country. Audree also launched her own media venture, www.OffsiteDirt.com, a central resource for news, updates and commentary on Offsite Construction.

Joining as guests on this special episode are two of the most important influencers in the space of modular and Offsite Construction, Ken Semler and Gary Fleisher. Ken has recently launched Impresa Building Systems, his first modular factory, and continues to grow Impresa Modular, a custom modular home building franchise, with plans to expand across the country. For many years, Gary has been writing articles on the Offsite Construction space as the Modcoach. Now, Ken and Gary have joined forces to launch a new media team, I-Media Group, whose flagship product will be the new Offsite Builder Magazine, a resource on Offsite Construction for builders, developers and manufacturers. You can find the online version at www.offsitebuilder.com.

Join Devon, Audree, Ken and Gary as this group of construction media superstars assesses the current state of Offsite Construction, how far we’ve come and all that’s been achieved in the last 4 years, and what lies ahead for the AEC industry as we continue to move towards Offsite Construction as the best solution to the problems we currently face. 

Brady Lewis, Founder at Allmoxy, joins us for episode 249 of Art of Construction.

Allmoxy is the online MRP software solution for the cabinet and woodworking industry. From taking orders to estimates to scheduling, Allmoxy does it for you. It can be customized to suit your business, services, and customers. Ordering a cabinet or furniture job can be a straightforward online shopping experience for the client, giving woodworkers time to focus on their craft while Allmoxy navigates the supply chain behind the scenes.

In 2008, Allmoxy founder Brady Lewis was running the family cabinet outsource shop and needed a software solution. Seeing an obvious lack of options for small business manufacturing software, they began building their own. He continued finding more areas where automation could be beneficial. Brady's objective eventually grew into something bigger: elevating the entire woodworking industry with the systems they had built in their shop. Allmoxy was not created only to save time; it is an opportunity for woodworkers to increase the value proposition of their businesses. Brady hopes that one day, ordering a cabinet job will be as simple as shopping on Amazon.

Join Brady and Devon this week as they talk about the flaws of traditional supply chains, why in the age of the Internet every company is a tech company, and how automation of supply chain processes can truly unlock the potential of craftsmen in the Art of Construction.  

Nathan Patton, Applications Engineer at Trimble, joins us for episode 248 of Art of Construction.

As we learned on AOC Show 241 with David Burczyk, Trimble is a company that's transforming the way the world works by delivering products and services that connect the physical and digital worlds. They have been developing mixed reality hardware since the late 90's. In 2014 they partnered with Microsoft to work on the HoloLens Project. Thinking of problems that this technology could solve on a construction site, Trimble and Microsoft created the Trimble XR10, the only HoloLens 2-compatible hardware with an industry-standard hardhat and safety certification. Workers can visualize a project's model on the field, and all recorded spatial data is accessible by any employee, providing a single source of truth in a digital frame.

Nathan Patton got his degree in geomatics engineering - recording and applying spatial data - and worked at Stantec in 2014 as a surveyor in construction. He joined Trimble through their rotational development program, where he gained experience working closely with the buildings and construction team in mixed reality. Now as a Product Manager, Nathan spearheaded the development of FieldLink, Trimble's latest construction layout and scanning software. Trimble FieldLink transitions across all Trimble layout and scanning instruments to help contractors translate the precision of 3D models directly into the field.

Join Nathan and Devon as they discuss the benefits of mixed reality in construction, how Trimble works closely with their customers to ensure real problems are being solved, and how this medium can facilitate the collaboration between a retiring workforce and a new, tech-embracing generation. And for those who are confused, Nathan clarifies the differences between virtual, augmented, and mixed reality.

Paul McKeon, Founder and CEO of B2W Software, joins us for episode 247 of Art of Construction.

Margin pressure, job complexity and competition are intensifying. This makes construction project management more challenging and utilizing construction software more critical. That’s why large and small companies, spanning all heavy civil specialties, have turned to B2W Software for construction estimating, field operations, fleet maintenance, data capture and analysis, and business intelligence.

Specialized capabilities and a unified platform deliver clear advantages to improve efficiency, project outcomes, cost management and safety. B2W Software elements connect people, workflows and data – empowering and inspiring employees in the office, the field and the shop to win more jobs and complete them on time and on budget.

Paul has been in heavy civil construction industry since he was in college. He would often experiment with managing software, primarily to deliver effective and accurate estimates. Eventually, his tool evolved to target the rest of the construction project lifecycle in areas such as budgets, schedules, equipment, and people. Initially called Bid2Win, the company was renamed to B2W in 2013. Its services and tools continue to evolve as the B2W team works in close contact with their customers to test the effectiveness of their platform and see how it can be improved.

Join Paul and Devon in their chat about common factors that can dramatically effect a project's profitability, why centralized information management software is critical for connecting the field to the office, and the importance of real-time project data in growing your business. 

Tyler Campbell, Co-host of the Construction Brothers Podcast and Chief Storyteller at Storybuilder, joins us for episode 246 of Art of Construction.

The Construction Brothers Podcast is dedicated to exploring all things construction. Tyler and his brother Eddie share ideas on how to approach the industry, and add a bit of flavor with their brotherly love. Their goal is to offer a solid marketing source for construction and educate people with accurate, story-driven information.

Tyler's family has been working in construction for 6 generations. His father Larry Campbell founded Accelerated Building Solutions Inc. (ABSI), a company that offers BIM modeling and construction services. Tyler had been a part of ABSI for a decade, but he also found an interest in media, design, and marketing. In his endeavor, Tyler saw a disconnect between marketing and reality; marketers were missing the mark and not authentically speaking to construction. Armed with firsthand experience and knowledge of the story of our industry, Tyler has most recently launched Storybuilder — a firm that is helping contractors tell their story clearly and build creative content around that story.

Join Tyler and Devon as they discuss the importance of communication and building relationships, the new tendency of over-reliance on technology, and how to take the tribal, generational construction knowledge of the past and apply it to the modern era. 

Zaid Rahman, Founder and CEO of Flexbase, joins us for episode 245 of Art of Construction.

Zaid Rahman comes from a family of contractors and architects and is more than aware of all aspects of the construction world, including the struggles of unusual cash flow unique to our industry. Most of the time, the people doing the work get the shortest end of the stick when it comes to paying or getting paid, applying for a loan, and all other things finance. Banks don't make it any easier with their restrictive loan and credit card terms, as well as their inability to truly understand how construction projects work. With that in mind, Zaid created Flexbase to attack this problem and help contractors improve their cash flow and payment processes.

Flexbase is a software company that has developed an application and a credit card designed to aid contractors in managing their transactions. The credit card offers 0% interest on purchases for 60 days, increased credit limits suited for construction companies, zero personal liabilities and much more. With all of these benefits, Flexbase aims to help small to medium sized construction companies achieve the same level of financial freedom and access to capital that much larger firms already possess. 

Join Devon and Zaid as they discuss all of the financial pitfalls faced by contractors, how Zaid aims to help the building industry fight these common burdens with Flexbase, and what the future of financing looks like as construction rethinks its relationship with the traditional banking world. 

Johnny Rezvani, Director of Communications at 475 High Performance Building Supply, joins us for episode 244 of Art of Construction.

475 High Performance Building Supply was founded by Ken Levenson and Floris Keverling Buisman in 2011. Their goal was to do passive house retrofits in New York, however, the U.S. didn't have the materials to execute their goal. Passive house is common practice in Europe, but not nearly as popular yet in the American market. Noticing this gap in the construction industry, Levenson and Keverling began experimenting with different high performance materials and building techniques to make the American passive house a reality. Fun fact: the number 475 originates from the standard’s benchmark of 4.75 kiloBTU per square foot per year.
Johnny explains that establishing an educational component to their business was crucial to bring a foreign building standard to American markets. The main challenge is to sell passive house without selling passive house. 475 understands that most people reject a sales proposition that includes a lot of words they don't know, and that trying to present data and numbers is not always an effective way to engage with a consumer who makes decisions based on emotion. 

The company instead boils down the passive house proposition and presents it in a way that people can relate to. Rather than delving too deep into complex science and terminology, they focus on the fact that building passive optimizes a home for comfort, energy efficiency, and resilience. In this way, 475 gives the contractors and affiliates who buy their products the tools to win over homeowners on passive house without getting bogged down in the details. 

Join Devon and Johnny as they discuss the science of passive house and the most modern methods of building high performance homes, how to translate building science jargon into a language any American consumer can understand, and the exciting way the construction industry is evolving and moving forward to provide us with buildings that are more comfortable and healthy than ever before.

Ryan Meeks, Architect at Shears Adkins Rockmore (SAR+), Aaron Laird, Project Executive at Turner Construction, and Scott Hicken, AOC Executive Producer, join us for episode 243 of Art of Construction. 
Meow Wolf is an arts production company that creates immersive, multimedia experiences that transport audiences of all ages into fantastic realms. Their latest permanent exhibit, titled Convergence Station, opened in Denver earlier this year. Ryan Meeks was the lead architect on the project representing SAR+, and Aaron led things as the general contractor representing Turner Construction.
Meow Wolf Denver is in a 90,000-square-foot building with 60,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as a theater, dining area, retail space, lobby, kitchen, loading dock and storage. Tucked between the viaducts of Interstate 25 and Colfax Avenue in Downtown Denver, the building is certainly one of the most high-profile to be built in Denver in recent years, and with its position right in the middle of two busy freeway overpasses, caught the attention of the town.
When a building like this is built in Art of Construction’s backyard, we had to hear the backstory. Join Devon, Scott, Ryan and Aaron as they discuss the journey of being on a once-in-a-life-time project, everything that went in to designing and building this complex and mysterious building, how they stayed true to the art collective’s grand visions while still meeting Denver’s safety requirements, the open-minded and collaborative attitude such a job requires, and the magic that can happen when artists and builders are brought together with one common vision to create something for the betterment of society.

“I focus on one thing that I believe is going to fundamentally change the industry, and that is empathy.”

This is episode 4 of 4 for a Deep Dive Series recorded at the AEC Summit in Austin, Texas in April 2024! If you hear any background noise, thad's because this episode was recorded LIVE at the AEC Summit!

Join us for this episode as Devon chats with Charlie Dunn about his role as a Project Storyteller, and maybe why legos should be taken seriously!

Charlie tells a good story. From lightning fast development on the industry in the Las Vegas strip, to oil fueled expansion in Edmonton, Alberta, to once in a generation energy plant upgrades throughout the Southeast, to global mission critical and life science construction for enterprise owners, he thrives in the challenging delivery gap between “as is” conditions and the “to be” designed state. His career highlights include the on-site project management of over 2.5 million square feet of new distribution space across North America with zero recordable injuries, and WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators) recognition for the use of 4D technology in project delivery. He knows that projects succeed because of people—what they believe, strategy—as it supports creativity and innovation, and tools—to deliver value, drive out waste, and improve safety. Charlie’s current working definition of a project storyteller is this: imagine that which is not, and take others there with you. He believes that construction may be the highest form of storytelling, for it transports humanity in a permanent way.

Watch Charlie's TedX talk!
Check out LCI (Lean Construction Institute) "Flow" Campaign. 

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Claire Lepoutre, Head of Planning at Skanska UK, and Phil Carpenter, CMO at ALICE Technologies, join us for episode 243 of Art of Construction and the third and final episode of our Deep Dive Series looking into how artificial intelligence can improve construction projects. 
Skanska is a world leading project development and construction group, building for a better society. As Head of Planning for Skanska UK, Claire first implemented ALICE to better help them submit bids (or tenders as they are called in the UK!) that they knew they could deliver on. Using ALICE helps Skanska have a much more accurate idea of the cost, time, safety, and environmental impact of projects before beginning; improving profitability and mitigating risk for them, their partners and stakeholders. 

Join Devon, Phil and Claire as they discuss how Skanska uses ALICE to improve efficiencies as they plan out highly complex infrastructural projects, how artificial intelligence can supply a common language for different teams to agree on a project sequence, and the power of planning your tenders using ALICE's AI simulator.

David Burczyk, Construction Robotics Lead at Trimble, joins us for episode 241 of Art of Construction.

Trimble is transforming the way the world works by delivering products and services that connect the physical and digital worlds. There are very few companies that have done more to digitize the construction industry than Trimble. Boston Dynamics builds advanced mobile manipulation robots with remarkable dexterity, perception and agility. Boston Dynamics' Spot is an agile mobile robot that navigates terrain with unprecedented mobility. 

Trimble and Boston Dynamics have formed a strategic alliance to co-develop an exclusive integration of the Trimble solutions with the Spot robot platform. The value of this integration is accurate and scalable data acquisition to provide a continuous flow of information between field and office teams. The first use of this integration is putting a Trimble laser scanner on Spot and deploying the robot dog to jobsites to do reality capture work. 

Join David and Devon as they discuss the nuts and bolts of Spot's capabilities with a laser scanner, all the ways Spot can improve workflows on the jobsite, and what it will take for construction projects to truly operate with a single model as one source of truth. 

Casey Grey, Founder of the award-winning sustainable building company The Conscious Builder and host of The Conscious Builder Podcast, and Jon Stambaugh, Logistics Director of AOC and Mountain View Window & Door, join us for episode 240 of Art of Construction and episode 5 of our Blue Collar Warrior Series.
When Casey first started his construction company, it was just like every other company. He just wanted to do good work and make a good living. It was not until he and his wife, Natasha, attended their first Tony Robbins event in 2012 that his mindset shifted and he started to ask himself "Why?" 
Then, when he and Natasha found out they were having a child, everything clicked. If he was going to tell this child that he could do anything he wanted and become whoever he wanted, he would have to lead by example. That's when The Conscious Builder was born.
The Conscious Builder is about making conscious decisions. Being aware of how every decision and every action will have an impact. This means that you may not be able to build or renovate your home 100% sustainably, but you can do it 100% consciously. If you’re aware of the implications of your decisions then you make conscious decisions.
Join Devon, Jon and Casey as they explore the mindset of The Conscious Builder and what the Blue Collar Warriors of the AOC Tribe can learn from it!

Chris Baze, Architect and BIM Manager at Hawaiian Dredging, and Phil Carpenter, CMO at ALICE Technologies, join us for episode 239 of Art of Construction and episode 2 of our Deep Dive Series looking into how artificial intelligence can improve construction projects. 

Hawaiian Dredging is Hawaii's largest and most diversified general contractor. They decided to implement ALICE on their projects to break down the silos within their company and bring every department together under one unified project plan. In a place like Hawaii, you're literally and figuratively on an island. If things go wrong on your project, there's no immediate solution or quick fix outside of what you already have. In a situation like this, using ALICE especially makes sense; planning and managing a project's schedule is extremely high pressure, with no room for miscalculations 

The triangle of construction is quality, time and cost. Traditionally we're told in our industry you can only focus on two of the three. But this changes with ALICE. As Chris describes, what ALICE does for Hawaiian Dredging that's so incredible is that it reduces the learning curve needed for projects dramatically. The intuitive knowledge gained after 20+ years of doing a certain type of project can be calculated and translated to a team in an instant through ALICE's algorithms and software. 

Join Chris, Devon and Phil as they discuss how ALICE is evolving the way Hawaiian Dredging does projects, the importance of getting jobsite superintendents on board with new technology as a key metric for adoption, the unique challenges and benefits of building complex buildings on an island, and why starting a project with a full data set of best practices is so much more powerful than starting from a blank sheet. 

James Casanova, Principal at Collaborate Builders, joins us for episode 238 of Art of Construction and episode 4 of our Blue Collar Warrior Series.

James is relentless in his pursuit of excellence. He was an aspiring Olympic athlete before an 80mph launch off of a three story building, while on skis, slowed him down. Growing up just outside of Aspen, he worked in the trades to support his ski habit. He can pour concrete, weld, frame, pull wire, run pipe, hang ducts, and execute finish carpentry with the best of them.

Think Rainman of the construction world. He trained in architecture and ran a Design/Build firm for 15 years. He did take a break from construction in the late 2000’s in order to become National Champion as a Three Gun (look it up – it is interesting!) target shooter. Despite the sponsorships and lots of free stuff, he came back to his roots and co-founded Collaborate Builders in 2016. 

Join Devon, Jon and James as they discuss what it means to balance the wisdom of the warriors with the stresses of leading a business and managing a project team, how to set proper expectations with your client, and how to truly understand and execute a vision in high-end, custom home construction. 

Tom Reber, HGTV Host, Construction Business Coach, Founder of We Live Unafraid Apparel and Host of The Contractor Fight Podcast, joins us for episode 237 of Art of Construction.

Tom Reber is the creator of The Contractor Fight, a movement of Home Improvement Contractors who are taking back control of their businesses & fattening their wallets. He is one of the most sought after contractor coaches & consultants in the United States. Tom is a longtime friend of Art of Construction and was previously featured on AOC Show 85: How to Make Your Contracting Business Successful.

Since his first AOC appearance in 2017, a lot has happened. Join Devon and Tom as they reflect on their journeys forming their respective tribes of warriors and fighters hungry to grow their business, the experiences and philosophies that laid the foundation for the The Contractor Fight, and the importance of owning your crap to truly grow in the Art of Construction. 

Claim your FREE copy of Tom's new book Winning the Contractor Fight by visiting thecontractorfight.com/book

Phil Carpenter, CMO at ALICE Technologies, and Michael MacBean, Project Director at Pacific Structures, join us for episode 236 of Art of Construction and episode 1 of our Deep Dive Series looking into how artificial intelligence can improve construction projects. 

Pacific Structures is one of the leading concrete contractors in California. Their team has three decades of experience designing and building some of California’s most complex concrete structures. Michael originally joined Pacific Structures as their Director of Preconstruction, and early in his time there he implemented the use of ALICE's AI Simulator on their projects. 

When doing the types of jobs Pacific Structures takes on, there is no room for error. When you're building giant concrete structures, your crew schedules, materials, equipment availability, productions rates and more can all make or break your success and profitability on a project. 

Mike began using ALICE at Pacific Structures to streamline his planning and management of all those variables. By using the power of artificial intelligence to find the optimal solutions for his projects, his time can be spent making valuable business decisions instead of having to consistently track and analyze all sorts of details about a project. 

Join Devon, Phil and Mike as they discuss the way ALICE's algorithms improve Pacific Structures' projects, utilizing ALICE's visually generated solutions for team and stakeholder presentations, and what preconstruction and project management will look like in a fully digitized AEC industry.

Daniel Blank, CEO and Co-Founder of Toggle Industries, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 235 of Art of Construction. 
Toggle Industries is a New York-based company that is focused on increasing safety and efficiency for reinforced concrete and rebar assembly processes, serving the urban high rise, renewable energy, precast concrete and civil construction sectors of the AEC industry. With rebar and reinforced concrete processes having always been a manual labor-dependent practice, Toggle has created a start-to-finish digital system that still fits people into the mix, pushing for productivity rather than total automation.  
Originally an outsider to construction, Daniel Blank came from a graphic design background. This helped him immensely, as he utilized his design thinking approach to immerse himself into the current rebar assembly process. He knew there was a better way: prefabricating a project's rebar shapes offsite and having robots take on the heavy lifting and positioning. With this solution, Toggle has seen an overall production rate that is five times higher than traditional assembly methods.  
Tune in as Daniel, Matt and Devon discuss the foundation of Toggle, creating a material-agnostic construction technology, the push for a manufacturing approach in our industry, and some tips for entrepreneurs to be seen by venture capitalists.  

Michael Heitsman, President of Development at Best Gen Companies, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 234 of Art of Construction.  

Best Gen is a South Dakota-based turnkey modular real estate company that delivers the complete process, from conception to completion. With specialties covering the entire scope of building (architectural design, development, commercial, single family custom homes, management and investments) they strive to create the next "Best GENeration" in turnkey projects throughout the Midwest and South regions of the U.S.  

In construction, the concept of modular is increasing in popularity, even becoming a mainstream building practice. This is crucial in building better buildings, but if there's limited connectivity and communication on all fronts, the process becomes just as inefficient and messy as what we know old construction practices to be.  

With a background in architecture and a desire to create the most utilizable buildings, it didn’t take long for Michael Heitsman to realize the immense, typical disconnect between architects, owners, general contractors and modular factories. He knew a beginning-to-end, innovative approach to modular projects was the best practice, which is what led to the becoming of Best Gen with a likeminded business partner, Branden Bestgen.  

Join Michael, Matt and Devon as they discuss Best Gen's holistic mindset and approach in modular construction, what being nimble means in our industry today, how building a space with input from the users of the space is crucial, and the benefits of leaving egos at the door.  

Ryan Lee, President and CEO of Information Technology Solutions, Corp joins us for episode 233 of Art of Construction, and episode four of our Deep Dive Series looking into how construction projects and IT platforms are built, and humanizing IT in construction. 
From laying the foundation, to examining the blueprints, to finding the right integrations and support for our project, our IT house is almost complete! Now, our last step is ensuring the data we need is easily accessible from wherever we're working – at a jobsite, the home office, or our favorite remote workplace. Construction and technology have many layers that can change at the drop of a hat, so it is crucial that a mutual, connected understanding of the project among all of those involved is put into place. 
Join Ryan and Devon as they discuss the best integrations for connecting the field to the office, the many uses of data in construction practices, what we can learn from video games, and how technology should always work to help your business, not hinder it.  

“One of the things I’ve really put more focus on is the people and the process. Right now I am so excited about sustainability, electrification…I’ve been spending a lot more of my time with the research being able to work and learn how the workforce is changing.”

This is episode 3 of 4 for a Deep Dive Series recorded at the AEC Summit in Austin, Texas in April 2024! If you hear any background noise, that's because this episode was recorded LIVE at the AEC Summit!

Join us for this episode as Devon chats with Josh Bone about RFIs and how to "teach forward"! #AECiSummit24

For more than two decades Josh Bone has been implementing, training, and presenting construction technology solutions to AEC&O (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Owners) professionals. Having worked with some of the top technology leaders in the industry, Josh specializes in identifying best practices and methodologies for integrating construction technology into everyday workflows. Today Josh works with ELECTRI International the non-profit foundation for the electrical construction industry as the Executive Director where he is helping to ensure electrical contractors and industry partners across North American and around the world have access to the best research, educational programming, student engagement, and international outreach. Josh has had the opportunity to share his knowledge with audiences and publications across North America as a frequent professional speaker and guest editorial contributor.

Follow ELECTRI International on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Vimeo!

Keep up with the Art of Construction (AOC) podcast on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube!

Tim Brown, Founder and CEO of Hook Agency, and Scott Hicken, AOC Executive Producer and Marketing Director of Mountain View Window & Door, join us on episode 232 of Art of Construction.  
Hook Agency is a Minneapolis-based, Google-specialized construction marketing company that specializes in high-end website building, search engine optimization and pay-per-click marketing. With a deep respect and passion for the skilled trades, growth-minded contractors and home service companies are their sole client focus. They believe websites shouldn't just be for show and fluff, but rather long-term assets that consistently bring traffic and quality leads to your business.  
It's no question that when a building is built lazily, or a project is carelessly thrown together, it usually sucks. Low-quality marketing projects and strategies are no exception! Tim Brown is very well aware of this, which is why he started Hook Agency. He's always appreciated the entrepreneurial spirit of contractors and their abilities to build something tangible – and wanted to help showcase their crafts and earn them more business. 
Join Tim, Scott and Devon as they discuss the founding of Hook Agency, the need for contractors in the digital age to own their marketing, agency types to steer clear from, the difference between leads and quality leads, marketing statistics you should actually care about, and how finding a few specific marketing solutions for your business is far more beneficial than trying a bunch at half capacity. 

Ryan Lee, President and CEO of Information Technology Solutions, Corp joins us for episode 231 of Art of Construction, and episode three of our Deep Dive Series looking into how construction projects and IT platforms are built, and humanizing IT in construction. 

We've laid the foundation. We've examined the blueprints and have a clear, cohesive plan. Now what? We start to see it come together, by carefully integrating the various systems and supporters that work best for our businesses and our buildings!  

Think of IT integrations and support as you'd think of subcontractors on a construction project. All of these intricacies working together toward one common goal – a well-built structure for people to not only survive in, but thrive in. Their unique skillsets are essential. If something is overlooked, miscommunicated or jumbled, the whole project can turn into a costly mess. Technology should work for YOU, not the other way around, which is more than possible with a keen understanding of your business objective and beginning with the end in mind.  

Tune in as Ryan and Devon discuss the deeper parallels of IT and construction projects, finding your business's "IT vitals" and key integrations to begin with, how the right support is necessary for success, and the strength of a truly connected team. 

Gregory Ingalls, Architect and Board Member for the Colorado Green Building Guild, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 230 of Art of Construction.  
The Colorado Green Building Guild is a Boulder-based nonprofit trade organization that represents a variety of green building leaders – from architects and general contractors, to realtors and homeowners. Through promoting the widespread adoption of sustainable building practices and resource efficiency, they strive to not only create healthier buildings, but also to make green building an easily-accessible common practice to communities in Colorado and beyond.   
At AOC, we're constantly asking ourselves and our industry leaders how we build better buildings. But to really understand, we need to dive deeper and ask, what actually makes a building better? It's one that is energy and resource-efficient, can be transformed over time without restructuring, and is built to last. Through his lifelong niche for building and architectural education, Gregory has realized that sustainability is synonymous with resiliency.  
Tune in as Gregory, Matt and Devon discuss the evolution of the Colorado Green Building Guild, how green building isn't necessarily constructing something completely new, how client education is crucial, and the need for dialogue with all involved on a project.  

Ryan Lee, President and CEO of Information Technology Solutions, Corp joins us for episode 229 of Art of Construction, and episode two of our Deep Dive Series looking into how construction projects and IT platforms are built, and humanizing IT in construction. 
In our first episode of this series, we learned about the parallels of construction projects and IT platforms, and how laying the foundation for each is a necessary step to achieve project success. Now that we've laid that foundation, we must ensure the blueprints are correct and planning is perfect before we build on top of it!  
The AEC and IT industries have both seen (and have been guilty of) just going to get it done, quickly and swiftly to move on to the next project. But without planning or blueprints, those little tedious tasks left undone can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Blueprints and plans give a project structure and flow, allowing processes and people to securely transition to the next stage.  
Join Ryan and Devon as they discuss how planning and examining blueprints before 'getting it done' will keep clients and employees safe and satisfied, the ever-changing security aspect of projects, the crucial role that leadership has in new processes, and the impact of connectivity.  

Edie Dillman and Jonah Stanford, CEO and CTO of B.PUBLIC Prefab, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 228 of Art of Construction.  
B.PUBLIC Prefab is a New Mexico-based building design company that's dedicated to housing sustainability and environmental responsibility, through designing high performance buildings built by people who can afford to live in them. As the housing and climate crises increase and intensify, they believe everyone deserves to live in a healthy, built-to-last home with a lower dependence on energy, carbon-heavy materials and cost.  
Every building has intention behind it, but is that intention to be a livable space for decades and generations to come? Sustainability is serious, especially when it comes to construction. All aspects of it – durability of products, carbon elimination, manufacturing processes, the work force, etc. Through their years of experience in art school, education-to-workforce systems, and housing development, Edie and Jonah have developed a unique perspective of these issues and joined forces to create inherently unique solutions, including panels prefabricated in workshops, to custom single and multi-family house plans that use 80% less energy.  
Join Edie, Jonah, Matt and Devon as they discuss the story of B.PUBLIC, the urgency for more sustainable building and valued skilled labor, the importance of building performance measurement, and how people are truly the only solution to the issue.  

Ryan Lee, President and CEO of Information Technology Solutions, Corp joins us for episode 227 of Art of Construction, and episode one of our Deep Dive Series looking into how construction projects and IT platforms are built, and humanizing IT in construction.  
Information Technology Solutions, Corp (ITS) is a Colorado-based company dedicated to providing complete IT and electrical solutions to businesses in various industries – from AEC, to medical, to legal. They offer a plethora of tech services including onsite and cloud-based communications, building automation, network infrastructure and more, but with a customer-centric and human approach. They know IT programming isn't sustainable in a one-and-done capacity, and that nurturing relationships with their clients will lead to true IT successes.    
From building pool tables with Devon in college, to working at a large IT company before starting his own, Ryan learned through experience that planning and foundation is everything. He saw the evolution of tech building and where it was going, and saw himself in a special position that allowed him to not only understand tech but to also explain it and implement solutions in small businesses. He uncovers that IT isn't a black box that our industry should fear, but a tool that requires the same processes as a build project – planning, budgeting and maintenance.  
Join Ryan and Devon as they explore the founding of ITS, the parallels of project building and IT platform building, effectively implementing IT solutions in construction, and laying the foundation for this intriguing series – with many laughs and some reminiscing along the way.  

Alex Silva, Logistics Technician at Mountain View Window & Door, Dr. Joe Burgett, professor in the Nieri Family Department of Construction Science and Management at Clemson University, and Jon Stambaugh, Logistics Director of AOC and Mountain View Window & Door, join us for episode 226 of Art of Construction and episode three of our Deep Dive Series looking into how contractors and affiliates can best leverage drone technology to help grow their business. 

It's no question that AOC is all about elevating our industry to new heights, but elevating our own warriors in the field to fly high (literally) is what we're absolutely dedicated to. We're wrapping up our Deep Dive Series on drones by bringing in one of our very own Blue Collar Warriors and an expert window and door installer, Captain Alex. From being intrigued by drones, to being intimidated by the drone pilot certification process, to graduating the course and taking the first steps into flight, Alex's journey with drones has come full circle.  
Join Alex, Joe, Jon and Devon as they discuss Alex's firsthand experience of attending and graduating from the drone course, the limitless use cases of drones in our industry, unassuming the assumed barriers, and how investing in employees will inherently benefit your company, and the future of construction.

Petr Mitev, VP of Visualization Product Unit at Enscape, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 225 of Art of Construction and our fifth episode with Enscape.  
Enscape is a real-time rendering and visualization software that plugs directly into modeling programs, providing the quickest and easiest way to turn building models into three-dimensional experiences. Unlike other software that takes rigorous training or a certain degree to understand, Enscape is easily useable, all beginning with the "Start" button.  
We've gotten to dive in with many of the brilliant brains behind Escape, as well as utilize its multi-functional capabilities in recent AOC architectural projects. But today, we're looking at things through Petr's visualization lens – and it goes far beyond buildings. Through his architectural education and experience, Petr saw inefficient workflows in design, the gap between architecture, engineering and construction, and the limited understanding of other software companies. By having a practice perspective, he realized the closer the connection to customers and their needs, the more effective the tools and solutions will be.  
Join Petr, Matt and Devon as they discuss the crucial architectural lessons Petr learned and brought to Enscape, maintaining a software to be used in daily practice, and how sharing knowledge among different segments of our industry will lead to breaking down silos.  

Josh Gubser and Justin Luna, Co-owners of Truth Design Build, and Jon Stambaugh, Logistics Director of AOC and Mountain View Window & Door, join us for episode 224 of Art of Construction and episode 3 of our Blue Collar Warrior series.  

Truth Design Build is a Denver-based firm that’s dedicated to working creatively, transparently and with unparalleled attention to detail, while also promoting justice and equity and minimizing their carbon footprint within their community. Their non-traditional route combined with years of trial-and-error experiences have given them wide ranges of project expertise – from remodels, to restaurants, to custom homes.  

Having collaborated, failed and succeeded together in the field, Josh and Justin had a keen sense of the company they wanted and didn’t want to be while founding Truth Design Build. With honesty and genuine care for their warriors and their clients, they’re able to provide better homes and lives for all involved, as opposed to putting profits before people. 

Tune in as Josh, Justin, Jon and Devon discuss the unique foundation and fundamentals of Truth Design Build, finding the intersection of construction, budget and design feasibility, stories of hardships and lessons learned in the field, and how sometimes the most unconventional ways of doing things are the best ways. 

Clifton Harness, Co-founder and CEO of TestFit, and Matt McMullen, AOC Executive Director, join us for episode 223 of Art of Construction.
   TestFit is a building configurator tool that speeds up and refines the decision-making process on site feasibility for multifamily, hotel, parking or garden apartment projects. By inputting certain factors such as the size of units, parking ratio and building height, TestFit’s algorithms generate an optimal solution for a site in seconds. With its generative design capabilities that reach far beyond one manually drawn iteration, the software assists architects, developers, brokers and more in fully understanding a site plan — reducing risk, time and potentially, cost.  
Being born into a real estate development family, housing is in Clifton’s DNA, and as a result he decided to pursue architecture. Throughout his architectural journey drawing plans, he realized that solving site plans is really about mathematics, yet that wasn't effectively included in spatial planning. He saw an opportunity to better these slow, manual processes of exploring site feasibility, and with a data-driven mindset, co-founded TestFit.  

Join Clifton, Matt and Devon as they discuss the origins and uses of TestFit, how their software helps evolve the construction project lifecycle to be more data-driven, and how spending less time manually configuring site plans, and more time focusing on innovation, will create more meaningful places for people to live.  

“Stop selling hopes and dreams, that’s a lot of the problems that we’re seeing…you can’t win them all. Win the ones you think you can execute properly.”

This is episode 2 of 4 for a Deep Dive Series recorded at the AEC Summit in Austin, Texas in April 2024! If you hear any background noise, that's because this episode was recorded LIVE at the AEC Summit!

Join Devon as he chats with Hamzah Shanbari of Haskell! Hamzah generously shares his pitching tips and wisdom from working in the industry.

Hamzah Shanbari is an accomplished professional in the construction industry. Hamzah holds a PhD from the University of Florida and has extensive experience in construction. Currently, he leads innovation efforts within Haskell. In his role at Haskell, Hamzah is responsible for driving innovation and leading the development and implementation of new technology and processes. His innovative mindset and technical expertise have made him a thought leader in the industry, and he regularly speaks at conferences and events on the topic of technology in construction.

Learn more about Hamzah's book here! 

Keep up with the Art of Construction (AOC) podcast on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube!

Jared McKinney, BIM Technician at Burleson Construction, and Dr. Joe Burgett, professor in the Nieri Family Department of Construction Science and Management at Clemson University, join us for episode 222 of Art of Construction and episode 2 of our Deep Dive Series looking into how contractors and affiliates can best leverage drone technology to help grow their business.

In our first episode of this series we learned the science and best practices of drone hardware from Stephen Baxley, Founder & CEO of Airworx. Now that we've learned what you need to know before purchasing a drone, we're exploring the nuts and bolts of using drone technology on construction projects; straight from a prior student of Joe's drone course at Clemson. 

The lowest hanging fruit of what a drone does is capture a pretty picture. On a construction project, there can be endless uses for having a clear, aerial view of the entire jobsite at your fingertips at any given time. In this way, we truly connect the field to the office. But capturing pretty pictures is just scratching the surface of the value drones can bring to construction companies. 

Join Devon and Joe as they learn how and why Jared uses a drone for his job at Burleson Construction, the endless possibilities and use cases for drones on construction projects, and how contractors and affiliates can integrate the efficiencies and improvements that construction technology brings into their workflow.

Jonas DiCaprio, Owner of BUILT X DESIGN, and Jon Stambaugh, Logistics Director of AOC and Mountain View Window and Door, join us for episode 221 of Art of Construction and the second episode of our Blue Collar Warrior Series. 

The name BUILT x DESIGN or ‘Built by Design’ came from the harsh reality that too many homes are constructed without enough thought given to their design. Indeed, that will be a major focus of our Blue Collar Warrior Series — that the wisdom and experience of the skilled trades is not utilized nearly enough by architects and designers. As a result, many designs end up simply not working when it comes time to build, and it is usually the Blue Collar Warriors who are charged with cleaning up the mess and finding a new solution for the building. 

Having been raised by parents who designed and built homes, Jonas grew up around the trades, and his passion for creativity and hands-on work started very early on. During a pursuit in architecture, he saw the vast, messy disconnect between how buildings are designed and how they are built. By living and learning from both areas of the industry, behind the desk and on the jobsite, Jonas saw ample opportunity to fix this mutual lack of understanding — by doing both himself. This is what brought his modern design build firm, BUILT X DESIGN, to fruition.
  Join Jonas, Jon and Devon as they discuss the past, present and future of design building, Jon and Jonas’s collaborative successes and setbacks on joint projects, bridging the gap between trade education and trade experience, and how proactive communication on projects can conserve time and talent.  

Colin Billings, Founder and CEO of Orro, joins us for episode 220 of Art of Construction. 

Orro is a human-centric, wellness-driven, automated intelligent living system that creates perfect lighting for your specific living habits. With simplicity and sustainability in mind, Orro detects your presence and builds on your preferences to where you can forget about turning off your lights, conserving the normally wasted energy.  

Having struggled with sleep and with limited information on how light impacts the body, Colin finally found rest with the help of a computer application that altered the screen’s brightness and color temperature depending on location and time of day. The desire for this type of technology throughout his entire home fueled the creation of Orro. 

With nearly 80 percent of first-time home buyers expecting some sort of automated system in their home, it can be headache-inducing for contractors and integrators who have tried previous smart home technologies. But unlike systems that just connect devices and focus on high-tech gadgets, Orro strives to actually make life easier, with comfort, peace of mind, energy efficiency, simple installation and direct manufacturer support at the forefront.  

Join Colin and Devon as they discuss the difference between a smart home and an intelligent home, the importance of recognizing how we feel in the places we live, the future of building design, and how contractors can easily anticipate the needs of their clients as the demand for smart homes continues to increase.