Construction Brothers

Today we’re re-sharing an episode we did earlier this year with Jordan McRae. Jordan is the CEO of Mobilus Labs and one of the inventors of MobiWAN, a communication device that enables users to hear and speak through skull vibrations. MobiWAN was one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Significant Inventions of 2021.   As construction people know, communication on the job site is immeasurably important. It’s also often a serious challenge. Simple, concise communication can be the difference between life and death.    Jordan talks us through the basic physics principles that enable bone-conducted vibrations to register in your inner ear. He explains that MobiWAN has found a place on drilling rigs, in refineries, and in manufacturing. He also discusses new applications they’re exploring within the medical industry, particularly in surgery, where monitors and masks create communication barriers.    We pose some questions about bone-conduction communication, and Jordan patiently answers, drawing a parallel between this technology and MR (mixed reality). These headphones don’t totally bypass the ear, they just deliver the vibrations to the eardrum via bone rather than air.    As you can imagine, noise-canceling capabilities are crucial to effective implementation of this technology in an environment filled with jack hammers, saws, and generators. Amazingly, the flesh and muscle that surround the human skull work as a surprisingly effective filter to exclude noise outside of the body.    Eddie discusses the fact that this technology offers benefits in office workspaces too, where individuals might otherwise wear in-ear audio equipment and therefore have a hard time engaging in conversation with others.   We hear the scary how and why of Jordan’s choice to explore this technology. After studying AI and ocean and space robotics at MIT and at Stanford, Jordan had a scuba-equipment failure that resulted in temporary lung damage. Reflecting on the situation, he found it unacceptable that he was unable to communicate with his fellow diver to ask for help.    This gave him an excuse to innovate. Although he and Mobilus didn’t invent bone conduction for audio, they took the basic concepts and began to explore a new range of applications. For the first few years of Mobilus, Jordan actually had the title of inventor. He would observe, experiment, interview, and explore.    Jordan walks us through the history of audio equipment and how little change there really has been. He also discusses the pride and satisfaction that comes with inventing something and seeing people embrace and build upon that.   Our discussion wraps up with the questions Mobilus had to answer and how they settled on having both flexible systems that simply use Bluetooth 5.0 and more robust systems with a greater number of proprietary solutions. They work with clients to integrate existing platforms and systems, always looking for ways to improve the user experience.   Megaphone Moment:  Jordan wants collaborators. Mobilus wants to hear from people with boots on the ground and discuss how this technology can help them be both safer and more effective in their work.    Here are a few resources in case you’re interested in learning more about MobiWAN’s bone-conduction communication: A video of Jordan discussing MobiWAN at the MIT Start-up ExchangeMobiWAN in TIME Magazine’s 100 Best Inventions ListA 2020 article about Jordan’s company Find Jordan Online:  LinkedIn - Twitter - Mobilus Labs 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.

It’s not what you’d expect. Despite all of his work in physics, Einstein is said to have said that the most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.  This certainly makes sense in the world of finance, but it goes far beyond that.  It’s about slow-burn, long-process growth on top of growth on top of growth. Its power reaches into personal lives, business lives, creative pursuits–it reaches everything.  We discuss how we’ve seen this with the podcast–and how satisfying it was to see audience growth that came as we plugged away week after week. If you get caught looking around rather than looking forward, you might feel like you’re missing out on something.  We all want to see results quickly. Once you’ve experienced the long-term return on investment, however, you realize the world-changing power of this universal principle. You, too, might begin to feel like you’re less of an idiot than you were five years ago.  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.

When it comes to adopting new helmet solutions, it turns out that construction workers are surprisingly fashion-conscious. Today we talk to Rob McKinney about innovations in head protection. Rob is full of insight about the current state of safety practices in the construction industry.   Before we get around to helmets and hard hats, we chat about the Ford Lightning. Tyler shares about his recent experience driving a rented Ford Lightning for a few hundred miles on a trip. We discuss self-driving mode, charging challenges, and a long walk to Five Guys.     Then we move on to hard hat talk. The last couple years have brought significant developments in hard hat technology. For many years, head-protection progress in the construction industry lagged behind other sectors that have high head-injury risk. Some of the innovations that originated in the worlds of biking, snow sports, and motorsports have recently found their way into construction PPE.    We explore the differences between the old-school type 1 helmets and a range of new designs. These new designs address a broader range of impact types rather than focusing almost exclusively on impacts from above.    Rob and Eddie tap into their experiences with head protection on the baseball diamond and the ski slopes. Rob shares about a snowboarding accident, and Eddie discusses those annoying left-handed batters who are always hitting catchers and umps on their follow-through.   Then there’s the issue of appearances. Frankly, nobody wants to look goofy. This concern comes into the picture in relation to colors, overall helmet shape, and chin straps. We’ll complain about chin straps even though we’ve all had a helmet fall into the mud while we’re working on rebar or just on a windy work site.   Here are several other topics that come up in today’s talk:  Issues specific to particular specialties–electricians, for instanceMilwaukee’s lamp clampGel liners to replace or complement foam linersIncreased attention to safety on the part of CEOsThe dilemma created by the increasing cost of helmets The difficulty of establishing standards for all circumstances, environments, and even a broad range of head sizes. The question of pickiness in enforcement. At what point toward the end of a project do we stop nagging?Bone conduction audio devicesAugmented-reality visors   Rob’s Megaphone Moment: Take an honest look at your company. See where you can improve the way you do things. Where is your sore spot? Where are you locked into old ways of doing things? Be willing to reflect, do some research, and then make some improvements.     Links related to this episode:  Procore article that gives a rundown of current helmet solutionsFastCompany article about hard hat innovationsWavecel helmetsMilwaukee’s lamp-clamp helmetThe Ford Lightning  Find Rob Online: LinkedIn - Twitter   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.

Discipline or regret. It’s one or the other.    Tyler shares his morning routine and the challenges of consistency, and we discuss how much harder it is to start a new routine than to maintain an existing one.   Life, especially family life, doesn’t lend itself to consistency.   Discipline is uncomfortable for a time, but regret can last a long, long time.   Discipline=freedom.    By the way, if you’re wondering who Blippi and Meekah are (from Tyler’s morning Dad routine), you can check them out here. 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.

Before we go any further, here are three movie scenes that we refer to in today’s discussion. If you haven’t seen these in a while, you might want to refresh your memory: Billy Madison milk sceneCousin Eddie and his RVMatt Foley, Motivational Speaker   Some hail Trevor Owen as the BIM Guru. Some call him BIM Boy. Whatever term you use, Trevor knows BIM. Specifically, he’s the BIM specialist for Hilti. Today we hear Trevor’s thoughts about the influence of building-information modeling on the construction industry.    We start out with some light Christmas-related banter and an introduction to our guest star, Ralph, Jr. Check out the Youtube version of this episode to see Ralph.   Trevor shares how Hilti aims to cut across business units in order to look at each business’s entire workflow. They want to be a productivity partner and solutions provider. We discuss the need for this increased form of efficiency and consolidation because “you can’t throw people at problems anymore. You can’t find the people.”   Hilti’s BIM efforts are focused on model maturity: “If we’re going to leave it in the building, it should be in the model because we have to buy it.” They want to envision and plan the entire process, from prefab all the way to delivery.   Trevor explains that the goal is not just to include more detail but to include more attributes and then process estimates from that.    As a construction guy, Eddie raises some concerns he has with certain aspects of BIM, and we explore those.    Trevor calls upon Billy Madison to explain that when it comes to means and methods, there’s sometimes a dynamic that asks “Who owns it?” He says we need to move from “What’s in it for me?” to “What’s in it for us?”    Eddie speaks up to express his desire for greater automation in the BIM process and points out that BIM is increasingly functioning as the database that we use with automated construction processes.    We discuss the challenges of finding the right people to fill design positions and then to train and retain them. Trevor says “constructability knowledge” is an important skill. Hilti offers a BIM Masterclass that involves 15 weeks of training, culminating in a closing week in The Netherlands.   Eddie and Tyler compare Hilti’s training timeline to Tyler’s as a detailer. Eddie says it was seven years before he was able to declare Tyler “mature” as a detailer (not necessarily mature as a person.)   Trevor’s Megaphone Message: The construction industry has never been as fun as it is now. Construction is fun and has a lasting effect on our children’s lives and their children’s lives.  Find TrevorOnline: LinkedIn - Twitter   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.

Man, it’s been a long few years. Let’s allow ourselves to step out of the weeds for a minute.   Today, Heady Eddie shares the concept of benevolent detachment and a few other insights from the book Resilient. The message from that book? Sometimes you need to let it go.   You can’t do it on your own.    Sometimes you need to hand your situation off to something greater than yourself. Give yourself the favor of giving up the problem–not surrendering to apathy but allowing yourself to rest.    Step away from the situation in order to rise above it. 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.

5,229 construction workers died by suicide in 2016 (the last year for which CDC numbers are available).    The industry category of “construction and extraction” has a higher rate of suicide than any other industry category.    That’s why suicide is a topic worthy of discussion on a construction-related podcast. That’s why we’re talking to Kevin Sells today.    People who aren’t involved in construction might wonder why in world those numbers are so high. If you are in the industry, however, you know that stress levels increase dramatically when supply chains experience hiccups that affect workflow. Also, many commercial construction jobs involve long stretches of time away from family. Unfortunately, many construction companies have almost no protocols or programs in place for addressing mental health concerns.    Creating a healthier overall bid-build process was the desire behind the new methodology proposed by Project Summit, an initiative that Kevin is involved in. Project Summit is total collaboration strategy intended to get back to a system based on producing predictable cost outcomes through true relationship and trust. The connection that this approach has to suicide is that it advocates a one-hard-hat philosophy that consciously places value on all workers and disciplines. It focuses on putting employees and the project first.   Kevin shares about the frustration–even the embarrassment–that he and others in the industry took so long to recognize this problem.    Kevin points out that we can’t realistically recruit young talent and muscle if we can’t show that we’re concerned about all-around employee wellness. This means considering several things: work site conditions,time away from family,length of the work day,consistency of jobs,availability of medical care for traveling workers,additional concerns that exist with military veterans, who might have lingering.   Kevin explains that it’s about actually listening to and hearing the responses when we ask a coworker, “How are you doing today?”    Kevin emphasizes that no program will work if the leaders within the organization are not genuinely invested in promoting mental health. Leaders must realize their obligation to advocate in this area.   Here are a few specific resources that Kevin recommends for owners and managers interested in addressing mental health concerns with their companies: American Foundation for Suicide PreventionThe Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide PreventionUnited Group Services Youtube Channel (search for suicide prevention)Cal BeyerThe Suicide Prevention Hotline: Phone #: 988Text line: 741741    Kevin’s megaphone message: Our industry has a problem in relation to mental illness. It’s killing more workers than anything else. We need to address it.   (By the way, here’s a link to the Jennifer Castenson Forbes article in which she quotes Eddie.) Find Kevin (and other organizations he mentioned) Online: Kevin on LinkedIn - Project Summit (2021 report) - The Simplar Research Foundation   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.

Frustration can eat you alive.  As Dad used to say, “Don’t let ‘em get your goat.”  Eddie shares that he has yet to be killed by any of the countless frustrations that have distracted him at various points over the years.  There’s always a way to figure something out. Very rarely will a single day’s frustration still be here in a couple weeks.  Allow your “That bothers me” threshold to grow as you gain experience.  This too shall pass. So let it pass. 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.

It’s been a month since we’ve been here with a new episode. We’re excited to be back!   Joining us today is Steven Biersteker (pronounced beer-staker), a Canadian architect from Thinkspace.    As a child, Steven wanted to be an inventor. When he discovered that you couldn’t major in “inventing,” his combined strengths of art and math sent him in the direction of architecture. He attended University in Toronto and then moved to Vancouver. He recaps the training required to become a certified architect in Canada.   Steven’s time in small firms gave him a broad range of experience. The company that he works with now, Thinkspace, focuses on larger, institutional projects, such as schools, civic centers, etc.   We confront the fact that many people in the construction industry demonize architects, passing blame back to them. Steven shares the architect’s perspective that involves being two or three years into a project by the time a shovel digs in. He discusses the challenges of walking through the design process with decision-makers who don’t necessarily know what they want and might need a bit more hand-holding than clients in the corporate world.   We discuss the effect that Value Engineering has on the flow and budget of projects. Steven shares how he and his team will guide clients through the process of scaling back when a project begins to go over budget.    Here are some other things that come up in our conversation: the fact that logistic-minded construction workers may whine about complicated design that ultimately makes a space not just functional but inspiring,the effect that various software packages have on the design,AI image-generation software and the role that it can play in the design process,the excitement that sometimes comes with the challenge of considering the whole range of considerations and thinking about the ripple effects of design changes,the fact that many of the design choices a construction team might blame on the architect were actually choices made by an insistent client,the need to “elevate the conversation” in order to get design feedback from the people who actually use the spaces that we design and build. In the case of Steven’s work, this would be the teachers and students.    Our discussion reveals the confounding disconnect between architects and the workers tying rebar or pouring footers. How ridiculous is it that the majority of people working on a building might not have a clue about the end function of the building that they’re building?    Steven’s Megaphone Message: As an industry, we need to be working together to produce better spaces. If we can see ourselves as common players.    Find Steven Online: LinkedIn, His Website, His Thinkspace Page 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 listeningSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've heard it a million times: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Today we discuss how to balance the classic moral principle of The Golden Rule with an age-old business maxim: The customer is always right. In the service industry, employees and managers often face challenges when attempting to implement the practice of treating others as you’d like to be treated.  Tyler reflects on a tough job from his younger years, and we discuss how his manager could have handled the process differently.  Any organization that conscientiously puts the golden rule at the center of their operation across the board will likely see great benefits. Not only will customers feel respected, but employee’s will be assured of their value in the eyes of the company’s leaders. 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.