Can AI Be the Brain of Your Construction Project? | Dr. Sarah Buchner, CEO & Founder at Trunk Tools

Dec 26, 2024

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EPISODE 420: How do general contractors (GCs) spend most of their time?

A recent study conducted on job sites reveals that GCs spend only 8% of their time in the field. The rest is consumed by tasks such as documenting discrepancies (16%), searching for the right information (15%), and meeting preparation (13%).

Why are we wasting so much of these skilled professional’s time doing paperwork?

Enter Trunk Tools–a platform designed to optimize workflows, enhance collaboration, and achieve a high level of efficiency.

In this week’s episode of The ConTech Crew, my co-host, Rob McKinney, and I are thrilled to speak with the incredible Dr. Sarah Buchner, CEO and founder of Trunk Tools.

Sarah’s journey is truly inspiring, from her beginnings as a young carpenter in Austria to becoming a leading figure in construction technology.

With a PhD in AI from Stanford and over a decade of experience in AI, she brings deep expertise in AI and data management, demonstrating how AI (or, as she calls it, IA–Intelligence Augmentation) can transform the construction industry by structuring unstructured data.

Curious how AI can simplify your next project?

Tune in now!

Key Takeaways:

Introduction (00:00)

From carpentry to construction tech (01:32)

The real role of education (05:52)

PhD in AI and its impact (10:19)

The mindset shift needed in construction (14:36)

AI’s role in structuring data (18:52)

Biggest problems facing contractors (20:19)

Reducing rework with AI (22:35)

Trusting technology in construction (24:23)