Construction Brothers

(Today’s episode is a re-air from 2021, chosen in recognition of Fathers Day.)    It's time for some coffee with a splash of multi-generational wisdom.    Joining us today are our dad and our grandpa, aka “Pop.” These two bring a deep, wide reservoir of experience.    Pop started with Messer Construction all the way back in 1954, in part of a college co-op program. He moved on to the position of project manager and eventually senior project executive. As he tells us, though, he was just interested in building buildings.    Among the larger projects Pop worked on are Millett Hall at the University of Miami in Ohio and Sander Hall at the University of Cincinnati. (Here’s the video he mentions of the Sander Hall demolition.)   Dad started in construction the day after his last high school baseball game. In 1980, he moved his young family to Florida. A while later he Dad started ABSI and ran it until Eddie took over recently.    Pop talks us through the specs for the Millet Hall at the University of Miami in Ohio. The basketball arena was in this building, and also classrooms. This project took two and a half years.    Millett Hall was built on the site of an old golf course. Pop talks us through additional specs, including truss assemblies, 150-ton cranes, and a project-management staff much smaller than what we see these days.    RFIs? Well, there were none. If there was a question, the relevant parties talked on the phone. Monthly meetings also helped head off problems.   Distance between architects and engineers–there was almost none. They were partners.    Dad shares about how things had changed by the 70s and 80s. He witnessed the change from self-performing to bid-build. Subbing had begun on some of Pop’s jobs in the late 60s but hadn’t really taken hold until the late 70s.    As this change took place, the burden of liability began to blur. The change was propelled, however, by the need to keep specialty crews busy.    We discuss the training required for project management. Pop learned by doing, so he had a headstart on managers coming out of college with only classroom experience.    Pop shares about his bold prediction that he’d move from newbie to superintendent in five years, even though the company owner said it usually took 15. Pop proved him wrong, after establishing a reputation with other decision-makers.    We discuss mindset. Eddie recalls Pop’s adage “Make it a winner.” Pop recalls working on over 150 jobs, and he says, “If you can’t enjoy what you’re doing, do something else.”   Dad shares about Pop coming home from building at work just to build more at home (after a quick “brown pop,” aka beer).   Dad and Eddie discuss tensions between architects, engineers, and designers turning into trust built over time.    We discuss the fabric of expertise and insight that grows with generational experience.    Dad’s megaphone message: Most of the mess in the industry can be traced back to design. We’re so specialized that nobody knows anything about anything. We’re too fragmented.    Pop’s megaphone message: Family matters most. If you can take that family mindset into the workplace, it will make all the difference.   Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn   If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is a confession a confession if it brings you “a little sadistic joy”? We’ll let you make that judgment.    On the heels of last week’s episode about the importance of systems, today Eddie has a confession. A couple years ago he quietly dropped a subscription for Zapier, the management/automation software that Tyler loved when he was working at ABSI.     Eddie thought the software was really cool, but… not as cool as what Eddie could figure out himself.    It was part of a systems assessment that revealed him as an unnecessary pinch point.      We discuss Tyler’s oddly personal sense of attachment to particular software, and then we wrap up with a brief list of software packages that we’ve used and dropped. It’s pretty dang long.   Sometimes you have to drop a system when it’s not working.    Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're talking to Lee Causey, the East Coast Innovation Leader for DPR Construction. Lee’s job, as he explains it, is to remove roadblocks and connect dots. When someone hears about a technology they’d like to try, Lee kicks into action and makes it happen.    In this role, he noticed people often chased the shiniest things rather than the most useful things. In an effort to make a data-based approach Problem-based approach workflow  Collect problemsSort problemsPrioritize problemsSeek solutions for those problems   Lee shares about a pilot program they did at DPR’s Nashville unit. They sought input directly from the tradesmen about solutions they needed where the rubber meets the road.    The findings? The biggest problems on the ground were things that executives didn’t even realize were problems: water, PPE, breathable shirts. These were things simple enough that they should not be problems.    Other things that came to their attention were lighter concrete tools, anti-vibe tools.     “Little” things matter big time when it comes to team morale. Eddie reminisces about a new Carhartt shirt and feeling like he’d struck gold.     Simply letting people express their concerns and then acting in the simplest ways on those concerns.    Nobody can know everything about everything. That’s why it’s so beneficial to have a designated team like the one Lee operates to focus directly on identifying what dots are not being connected.    Lee’s team uses Bright Idea software to track and coordinate their research and planning. He said it’s a great, simple platform for this sort of work.    Tyler asks if the research turned up any employee mistreatment. Lee said that indeed there was at least one example of that. The innovation team was able to quickly escalate that concern to the point where it was addressed.    Eddie points out how clearly this kind of work fits with the common theme of so many of our podcast episodes. If we’re going to work as a team, we need to think about the psychological, human aspects of team dynamics.    Lee explains that the innovation teams are now capitalizing on the down time between projects to maximize quality improvement. It’s more than just sharpening the ax, it’s discussing the best way to sharpen the ax.    We discuss deployment of solutions. Lee explains that 100 problems can often be fixed with 5 solutions because those problems are the result of similar systemic shortfalls.   It’s all about identifying and addressing blind spots rather than telling people, as Eddie says, to “shut up and accept your fate.”   Lee’s Two-part Megaphone Message (for which Eddie gifts him an unprecedented 120 seconds):  Part 1: Look inside your head. Figure out how to do things in order to make it better for everyone. A rising tide raises all ships. Part 2: Go out in the world and tell the young people in your life to be unique. You can go and find the coolest job you’ve ever had in construction and change the world while simply being yourself.   Find Lee Online: LinkedIn - DPR Construction   Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Systems are so cool… At least that’s how Tyler feels.    There’s a four-letter reason he loves them: ADHD. He has learned that systems hold him accountable.    Eddie is the grunt-and-get-it-done guy. This is often good, of course, but it can sometimes result in a failure to create a system early enough.     Tyler shares about automated folder-creation software that avoided organizational chaos.    Here’s the Craig Groeschel video Tyler mentions.     Sometimes a “system” can be little more than a scheduled meeting–having a time when someone will be waiting there for you. It forces you to stop and address a task or a set of issues you might otherwise ignore.    Tell us about the systems that keep you moving in your business and life: 512-THE-BROS.   Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The ConExpo Highlight Reel, starring Eddie and the Two Tylers! Yes, two is probably too many. We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen too often. Tyler Williams joins us this week to share some of the. Tyler, who is Field Innovation Leader at DPR Construction, was on the podcast a few months ago to discuss new tech in construction, and that’s the focus again today. ConExpo happens only every three years. Tyler headed to the Vegas show this year to see equipment that can reduce ergonomic strain on construction workers. Here are the products and companies that caught Tyler’s attention at the convention: Sarcos Robotics: Sarcos develops and manufactures construction robots that can be controlled by workers in a manner that is very similar to the movie Real Steel. The controller can stand in a safe space and manipulate the robot, which can be mounted at the end of a boom arm in order to execute dangerous tasks. See it in action here. They also produce an exoskeleton. T1V Collaboration: This company helps teams share real-time planning and logistics. See it in action here. This platform helps contractors maximize visualization and share details. Loris: Picture R2D2 with a shop light on his head. It’s more than that, though. Loris beacons can assist with security and documentation on jobsites. See it in action here. Distributed throughout a large jobsite, these units can also help establish a WiFi mesh network to increase connectivity. Wingtra Drone: This vertical-take-off survey drone provides detailed, high-resolution imagery for large sites. Users can geo-tag elements in images and add annotations. Moxion: Moxion is a mobile energy-storage solution capable of providing 75kw and 600 run hours. The unit is the size of a small tow-behind Uhaul trailer. Units can be daisy-chained The Honda AWV: This autonomous work vehicle looks like the utility shuttles from Star Wars and other science fiction movies. It is capable of carrying heavy loads of bricks or tools to very specific spots using GPS coordinates. Develon an Doosan Transparent Bucket: This technology stitches together images to make it seem that the bucket of your wheel loader is transparent. Operators can use this visual input to avoid obstacles and to more precisely drop loads. See it in action here. Alaska Structures: These fabric structures are available in multiple sizes and can be easily assembled into strong structures that can withstand the elements. We discuss the various ways that these could be used on construction sites. Nox-Crete: A chemical solution for concrete problems. This company produces solutions that keep concrete from sticking to forms and other surfaces that it might come into contact with. We wrap up by asking Tyler to reflect on the ways that ConExpo leaves him feeling about the current state of industry. He explains that the biggest advancement that he sees is in the area of battery capabilities. Find Tyler Williams Online: LinkedIN - DPR Construction Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eddie shares today about all the shoulds that plague our days. You know you should eat your vegetables, maintain a balanced diet, drink water…   Making that actually happen is much tougher than just knowing that it should happen.   The same pattern is true within construction. It’s easy to know that you should show empathy, consider other people’s mental/emotional health.    The thing is that it’s really, really tough not to send that snarky email and yell at that employee.    Keep on trying.    Work on routines. Work on habits. Work on boundaries. Work on your social media diet.    Tyler shares how this plays out in his business. He has a clear map in his mind of what needs to happen. Making that happen each day? Well, that’s a whole different matter. Execution is tough. Follow-through is difficult.    We’d like to hear from you on this. We want to know about the things that you’re struggling to take from your mind to your reality.  Give us something to talk about at 512-THE-BROS.    Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you work with concrete, you’ve probably dreamed of having the machines made by today’s guest.    Danielle Proctor is President and CEO of Construction Robotics, which makes two large and impressive rebar-related machines: IronBOT, which places rebar, and TyBOT, which ties that rebar.     Countless construction workers have put in their time tying rebar before moving on to other less backbreaking  and repetitive work. Eddie opens with a bit of nostalgia for his rebar-tying days and mentions this Dirty Jobs episode on tying rebar.   We move on to a discussion about the main challenge that comes with huge new tools like these: pre-purchase logistics. It seems like it would be incredibly hard to do a trial run with one of these things.    Danielle explains that the objections from rebar-tying crews is not as great as you might think. It’s really tough work, and many of the people who are doing it are more than ready to move on to a different set of duties. Due to labor shortages, that would often be helpful to a crew and a project.    We discuss the pride issues associated with the generational legacy of the old-school rod-busters and how they adjusted when the tie gun came along.     IronBOT can handle 5,000 pounds of rebar while executing its work. Handled by hand, Danielle says that a bundle of five 60’ bars requires “One bar for each man and one for the company.”    Danielle makes the case that these machines don’t eliminate the need for a crew of humans. You still need… A robot supervisor (just to watch the robot and provide a couple instructions)A rodbuster feeding the bar into the robot4-6 people behind tying the few pieces that the robot can’t tie1 guy frame-tying    Once the crew sees the robot as part of the team, the mindset changes. Danielle says she enjoys seeing companies move through the adjustment process and adopt the machine as part of the culture of the company. Then company leaders really begin to see the benefits. They start estimating jobs with the machine’s efficiencies in mind.   Tyler mentions this video about the toll that physically demanding jobs have on the body.   At first we laugh about the tool envy factor, but then Eddie raises the fact that it really is a thing among contractors and that it’s part of what moves innovation along.    We discuss capabilities and setup time. Danielle explains that the TyBOT comes in on a 40’ trailer. The crew assembles it on its rails, choosing gantries that can handle widths from 9’ to 107’. This process takes about an hour. Then you simply turn it on and let it do its thing. It looks for intersections and ties them. There’s no programming, no BIM. It carries 15-pound spools.    IronBOT, on the other hand, takes 6-8 hours to get it in place. Then you load the specs (spacing, etc.) and it does its thing.   “Certified innovators” look at the project plans and try to configure optimized “bundle plans.”  These people are also the ones who work with contractors during the estimating process.     We discuss the comparisons between human team speeds and machine speeds. Danielle says that a project isn’t a good fit for these machines unless it would be a 1-week job manually for TyBOT or 2 weeks manually for an IronBOT/TyBOT project.     Danielle explains that her company’s focus is optimization for productivity to free up human crews to make better use of their time.    Danielle’s Megaphone Message: We are in the middle of a robotic renaissance. Take the blinders off and have some fun. Go see what’s out there. Ask yourself where automation can help. Support the companies that are innovating with technology that’s here to help.    Find Danielle Online: LinkedIn -  Advanced Construction Robotics Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ah yes, freshman year.    Today we’re talking about things we remember learning in our first year on the job.    Eddie starts us off:  His first lessons were about pacing. When you’re tying rebar, you don’t want to be starting at a sprint.    He discusses the home-life manifestation of this principle with the phenomenon of The Lowe’s Trip. When he enters a project slowly and deliberately, he avoids the four-trip day.   Measure twice, cut once. Think it through. Think about the long game.    (Here’s the Daniel Labelle video Eddie references.)    Then Tyler shares: His early discoveries had to do with complaining.    Pretty simply, he came around the understanding that he had to complain less.    Now you share:  We would love to hear about lessons you learned either in your first year or within the last year (even if it wasn’t your last-last year. Give us a call at 512-THE-BROS and let us know what wisdom you’ve gained.   Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody’s talking about it, so today we are too. In this episode, we’re exploring the implications of AI for construction. (And yes, we know it's not Friday.)   (We touched on this topic in our conversation with Norine Bagate a couple weeks ago. Check out that episode if you missed it.)   Tyler shares what he’s read and seen about AI virtual assistants that can identify potential candidate (for podcast guests, for instance) and then write emails customized to each of them. He goes on to discuss some interesting insights from the Marketing Against the Grain podcast.    Eddie shares about a dismal experience with Shopify’s AI DJ, which acted confusingly on his love of the Interstellar soundtrack and also gave him some wonderfully mellow Jon Foreman tunes right as he was ready to work out.    As we shift to construction, Tyler asks Eddie where he thinks the greatest amount of disruption will occur. He suspects that the first significant impact will be on research-based tasks, such as those involved in architecture and engineering.   Tyler predicts that the changes will be huge but that it may also be a bit slower than expected. He’s guessing that today’s kids will expect AI. They’ll integrate it intuitively into their daily activities.   With this in mind, we discuss the “generational” difference even between the two of us (who are only 13 years apart):  Eddie’s knee-jerk reaction is not to use technology. His first instinct is to figure it out with his own two hands and with books. If he has a question, he goes for the manual.Tyler is likely to just Google it. That will likely bring him back to digital versions of the same source, but the way a person engages with it is different.   We compare AI/ChatGPT with Google search as far as how they may affect our approach to questions, problems, and solutions.    We discuss exclamation points as a generational identifier.    Eddie discusses the hesitations he continues to feel in the shift toward paperless documentation. Tyler entered the industry when that shift had already taken place.    Is it all doom and gloom? Tyler hopes not. He’s hopeful that AI will speed up processes that are currently unnecessarily slow.   Eddie’s prediction is that the first big change will involve crawling models for codified deficiencies as well as code compliance. As municipalities come on board, the movement will grow.     Tyler speculates that insurance companies may soon require that plans go through an AI check.   Today’s 10-year-olds, such as Eddie’s daughter, can design entire homes on their tablets. They’re deeply immersed in technology that even some architects are still struggling to adopt.    Design, Tyler thinks, will become less intense. The collection of options and modules available to meet a specific use will be much greater.    We don’t want to quit having ideas. We want buildings to continue to have a personality. We want people to continue to have to solve problems.    This won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. There’s an intuition that comes with being human. We hope it will enhance and facilitate imagination rather than    You’ve likely heard about the AI-generated song that was originally claimed to be by Drake and The Weeknd.     We close by pondering: Is there any chance that this will all go the way of 80s synth? Ten years from now, might there be nostalgia for long-form blog posts?   Our request: If you have some thoughts or if you have seen anything in the field regarding AI, we’d love to hear from you on our phone line: 512-THE-BROS.    Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re different.  Okay, that’s not news. Today we explore the differences in our routines, but then we talk about the value of routine--and the ways in which routines can go too far. Eddie shares about his effort to stay in routine despite the craziness of life. He’ll just get a routine going, and then something throws it off.  We talk about emotional/relational withdrawals and deposits. Tyler’s weeks away on work are withdrawals from the family energy levels, so he makes an effort to be truly present when he is home. Eddie mentions that he’s oddly encouraged to hear that things don’t go perfectly smoothly when he’s not home. We discuss the value of trying and trying and trying some more even if the outcomes are not consistent.  Life happens.  Don’t beat yourself up. Listen to our Balance is a Myth episode from a couple years ago.  Sometimes it’s okay to sleep in. Sometimes it’s okay to get a big ol’ bowl of ice cream.  Be purposeful about adjusting to your current demands. Break routines that are keeping you from flourishing in your current situation.  It’s okay to let go of a routine that isn’t working.  At the same time, look out for routines that begin to work their way in without intention.  Routines are good. Routines can be good.  If you have some thoughts to share about routines, call us at 512-THE-BROS.    Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.