The AEC Disruptors

The Evolution of Technology on a Jobsite

When you step back and think about it. Many technologies that have been here for years and even decades are still being used, but the way they are used have changed. In this episode, Steve Lindsey and Dave Studdert CTO and CRO of LiveView Technologies join us to talk about how safety and loss prevention on a jobsite have turned, like many other technologies, into a business intelligence tool.

Lindsey joined LVT in 2011 after leading technology, software, engineering, and development teams at multiple companies including i3 Technologies and Novell. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic and information technology from Brigham Young University.

Studdert officially joined the company as a consultant in order to expand the clientele to state governments, departments of transportations, and other government agencies. Soon, he was appointed LiveView Technologies’ Chief Sales and Marketing Officer with a particular emphasis on business development. He holds a degree in international law and diplomacy from Brigham Young University

How to Make Time to Improve Your Processes

How do you make time to innovate and improve your processes? A lot of the times this question circles around cost, both time and money. Can you afford to innovate or can you afford not to innovate? Suffolk Construction's Alexis McGuffin joined us on the show this week to show her process for bringing new thinking to traditional problems and then scaling that inside of an organization.

Alexis now leads Business Development in New York For Suffolk, one of the nation’s most cutting-edge Construction Management firms. In her current role, Alexis helps define strategy for the New York office while cultivating client relationships and increasing Suffolk’s visibility in the market. She focuses on bringing outside-the-box solutions to traditional problems and educating clients on how developments in technology can help better realize their project goals.  

 

What‘s Up With Vertical Farming?

Where does your food come from? Wouldn’t it be nice to build community and create functionality out of the space we have at the same time? Join hosts Christopher Riddell and Jackson Sensat and guest Jim McCutcheon as they discuss vertical farming in landscape architecture, biophilic design, what happened to the farms we used to see, and “bringing farms back into the city.”

Jim McCutcheon is the President of Copiana and CEO of HighGrove. With over 30 years of entrepreneurial success, he provide a wealth of knowledge in Business Management, Sales, Client Relationship Development, Team Development and Management, Operations and Creativity.

What Can AEC Learn From Manufacturing?

Another industry podcast joins the show today: Forging Manufacturing! Hosted by Dave Hampton and Jason Flores, we continue to bring different perspectives onto The AEC Disruptors. This dynamic duo shares a wealth of manufacturing industry knowledge and advice, as well as an in-depth look at how AEC and manufacturing are both converging and diverging.

Dave Hampton is the Director of Manufacturing at Applied Software and the host of the Forging Manufacturing Podcast. He focuses on trends, opportunities, and challenges that large AEC and manufacturing companies face in order to drive significant business value.

Jason Flores is a Strategic Industry Consultant for Applied Software. He focuses on manufacturing initiatives like facility layout, supply chain optimization, cost reduction, and more in order to bring value to large organizations.

Construction is the Antidote to Destruction

Rene Morkos, founder and CEO of ALICE Technologies joined us on this episodes and he has one of the most unique perspectives of any guest on the podcast. Earlier in his career, Rene was working for a company that did construction in Afghanistan. He said "construction is the antidote to destruction." When you build something in this part of the world, you can see a huge tangible impact. If you are building a factory, it might be the first of its kind in the entire country. If you lose a bag of nails, you might be delayed for weeks because there is no market in which to buy another. The stakes are totally different.

René Morkos is the founder and CEO of ALICE Technologies and teaches at Stanford University’s Ph.D program in Construction Management. The son of a civil engineer, René grew up in the construction industry. He has worked on construction projects worldwide. His professional experience ranges from working as a project manager in Afghanistan to building an underwater pipeline project in Beirut, from driving automation engineering on a $350 million gas refinery expansion project in Abu Dhabi to leading the development of a virtual design and construction model for Amsterdam’s cruise ship terminal.. René received his Ph.D in Construction Engineering and Management from Stanford University, his MSCE in Construction Management from USC, and his BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from American University of Beirut.

Is Hemp the Next Great Sustainable Building Material?

You heard that right, hemp is here and here to stay. Bob Escher, founder of Escher Design, Inc. and the United States Hemp Building Association gave us the rundown of hemp as a building material. He says that this carbon negative plant is the key to solving a lot of the problems around climate change and sustainable building.

You are guaranteed to come away from this episode enthusiastic about the future, having learned a bushel of new information.

Bob Escher is the owner of Escher Design and founding president of the United States Hemp Building Association. His son, Alex, introduced him to industrial hemp in 2017, and since then he has espoused the merits of this miraculous material.

The Leadership and Ingenuity of the Panama Canal

In her work with the Panama Canal Authority, Ilya Espino de Marotta has seen the importance of managing a lot of moving parts. In this episode Marotta explains what it’s like being a high-level manager sporting her pink hardhat and safety vest in the engineering field, which has traditionally been thought of as a production-centered man’s world.

Marotta also shares some wisdom on managing large operations with a varied set of stakeholders across many disciplines. In addition to large decision matrices, skilled operators, and the need for efficiency and safety, at the end of the day, clear communication keeps everyone on the same page.

Energy and Waste in AEC

Every heard of embodied carbon? It's all the energy and carbon emissions associated with making and placing a material. Skanska's Mark Chen sets the table in this episode for real goal-setting and goal achievement in sustainability. The secret is pretty simple: break down the larger sustainable goals into smaller pieces and start with what's important to your company.

Mark is a Senior Sustainability Engineer with the general contracting arm of Skanska in Seattle, WA. In his current role, Mark oversees Skanska’s project-specific construction site carbon, water and waste accounting and reduction measures, embodied carbon efforts, healthy materials research, and green building certification project delivery.

Data and Location Intelligence

What gives you a sense of place? Is it that intangible feeling of right-ness? This seemingly intangible feeling is becoming more quantifiable by the day with the advent of data intelligence and location intelligence. Sara Maffey describes her work at Local Logic as akin to creating a digital twin of cities. Thousands of factors like trees, walkability, parks, and more play a part in scoring different locations for real estate investment and consumers.

Sara Maffey is the Head of Industry Relations at Local Logic, a location intelligence company, where she combines her passions for real estate development and placemaking with data analytics and PropTech

Digital Twins: The Future of Construction

Are you familiar with digital twins? How about how they can improve your job? Not many people are aware of the benefits that come with adopting them. Join hosts Christopher Riddell and Jackson Sensat and guest Danielle O’Connell as they discuss the definition of digital twins, the overwhelming influx of unused data in the field, and making the leap to embrace innovation and disruption. 

Danielle O’Connell is the Director of Emerging Technology at Skanska USA Building. She has experience as an Account Services Manager, a Project Manager, and a Manager of Design Technologies Integration. She holds a BFA in Architecture and Design from UMass Amherst.