Construction Brothers

We start out today with a little Chicken N Pickle talk and some eye rolling about Tyler’s $150 pickleball paddle.   Then we move on to content most of you will find more substantial. Patrick Fernbach, our guest today, is Director of Mechanical Engineering at KLH Engineers in Kentucky.    Tyler asks Patrick what grinds his gears when it comes to the construction industry. Patrick discusses the fact that construction contract practices put the engineers and the trades at opposite ends of an unnecessarily complicated process. The long chain of contracts makes meaningful collaboration incredibly difficult.    Patrick acknowledges that he has not hung a single piece of ductwork, yet he’s designed miles of it. The closer he can get to the trades, however, the better he can do his job and the better those people can do their jobs.   He wants to hear from tradesmen who can provide some productive pushback on designs that cause complications where the screw meets the stud. He wants to know when his designs are a pain in someone’s neck.   Eddie asks Patrick to turn his thoughts in the opposite direction, toward the relationship between engineers on one end and architects and owners on the other end. He knows that the industry expects him to stay in his lane, but he doesn’t think that’s always the way it should be.    Eddie asks Patrick what kinds of things he struggles with in the process of doing his job. Patrick says that the most challenging thing is the ever-changing nature of the project. Architects and owners don’t always seem to understand just how many changes need to happen as a result of something that seems like a minor design adjustment.    The live nature of BIM360 makes this even more challenging. It’s difficult to track changes and determine which elements are locked and which ones aren’t.    Tyler discusses his experience with the ripple effect of small changes that seem to cause the unraveling of an entire project, and Eddie discusses how iterative design blurs the lines regarding completion of project elements.   Patrick raises the issue of meetings, and how the number of meetings seems to be continually increasing because of the dynamic nature of design. Although he doesn’t necessarily say that there have been too many meetings, he has definitely noticed that this aspect of the work is consuming more of the average engineer’s time.    Construction lacks some of the systems that manufacturing has, Patrick says. It feels like we’re in the process of putting those systems into place, which explains why things are kind of clunky at this point.   We ask Patrick to list some of the positives in construction-related engineering right now. Here are some of the things he lists:

• The increasingly smooth process of design-build
• The expectation for more detailed permit sets–detailed enough that the building could almost be built from them
• Increased proactive interest from a variety of vendors and subs who want to make sure that their contributions to a project will work smoothly
• VDC technology that increases efficiencies 

  Eddie asks about how fees have changed as approaches have changed. Patrick said that it varies from job to job because of varied expectations and services requested.   We explore how engineers like Patrick–those who seek to engage with the tradespeople–move the industry forward.   Patrick explains that siloed pricing structures that don’t involve upstream and downstream communication lead to some design elements being done multiple times.    Eddie piggybacks on this and contrasts the novice owner or general contractor from the experienced one. The experienced one knows that detailed design pays off in the long run. The bidding process is more effective. There are fewer RFIs. There are fewer complications. The guesswork is gone.    Patrick confirms what Eddie says with examples from a recent project.    Patrick’s Megaphone Message: Trust isn’t a soft skill; it’s a project multiplier. Build strong partnerships. Build strong teams. Show up with mutual respect for one another. Show up knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Don’t BIM for BIM’s sake. Be intentional when you model and design. It’s about creating value for the owner and the downstream consumer. 
Find Patrick Online: LinkedIn - KLH Engineers  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.

Sometimes things get away from you. Today we discuss the ways we reduce the number of things that get away from us.    Eddie introduces the idea of a barricade.   His primary barricade for excessive scrolling or social media usage? Use a browser-based version that is clunky enough that he doesn’t want to keep staring at it.    We discuss the relentless attention suck that social media is for us and the whole family. Sometimes you need to treat yourself like a kid. “Sorry, but you can’t have your laptop today.”   Having a hard time getting consistent with that daily workout? Maybe leave your only stick of deodorant at the gym–or in a shoe box a couple miles from home.   If you have any examples of ways you place barricades to redirect your behavior, give us a call 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.

(Note regarding intro: The film festival in France is actually pronounced “Can.” The “S” is silent, unlike Tyler.)    We start out today with Tyler’s church-league softball story and his related megaphone message: If you’re 6’2” and 260 pounds, don’t combine dehydration and intermittent fasting with an effort to prove yourself on the field.    Then, on to the substance of today’s episode. Fair warning: We’re getting into the weeds today. That’s because this stuff can profoundly affect your finances, timing, and relationships.    Delegated design is the approach to contracts in which the SEOR (structural engineer of record) limits himself or herself to elements that do not include connections and then expects those design services to be rendered by the fabricator or someone else.    Eddie explains that additional elements may also be delegated. Curtain walls, for instance, would be designed by someone with special expertise in curtain walls.    We’re talking about delegated design today so you can understand how it might impact the timeline and finances of your projects.    How do you look for delegation? Well, Eddie says that at the beginning of any project, he’ll look at the structural notes sheet and the specifications book. He’ll check for notes regarding delegation and make sure that these two documents agree.    We discuss the pros and cons of delegated design. Here are our thoughts:   Pros: -Fabricators are able to handle connections in a way that best fits their materials and design. -The need for back-and-forth communication is reduced. -Time can be saved because production teams can move according to their own well-oiled systems.   Cons:  -The SEOR’s knowledge and control is not as thorough as it is in other situations.   -There are more cooks in the kitchen, and that means more egos in the room (and we all know what that can mean). -There’s increased potential for the buck to be passed.   Eddie explains the 3 contract-structure options outlined in the AISC Code of Standard Practices:  1) The SEOR handles everything. 2) An engineer gives the basic criteria for the connections and then has a qualified engineer select from those connections. 3) The engineer fully delegates design of connections.   Over time, regional patterns have developed regarding the adoption of these three options: -Option 3 is prominent in the eastern part of the country. -Option 1 is most common on the West Coast (perhaps because of seismic concerns).  -Option 2 is generally fading from use.   It’s important that all parties be clear on which of these options is being used on a given project. The decision has additional ramifications as far as expectations about who will be doing the shop drawings and who will document various aspects of the official project record.    Eddie shares about a project his team worked on. Relatively late in the process, a concern was raised about the aesthetic effect of a large gusset. The architect wanted the gusset size reduced. The problem? The building was in a hurricane zone, where gusset size matters. He explains that tension resulted not from the need for change but from the fact that this concern hadn’t been explained in the plans from the outset.    Eddie discusses the idiosyncrasies of different parties–designers, fabricators, architects–with specific preferences. He also refers to this episode with Norine Bagate regarding risk and liability.    We ponder the impact of $50,000 paragraphs in contracts. If you’re buying design, know how much design you’re buying.     Our megaphone message: Anticipate the ripple effects of decisions you might want to change. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you place your loyalty with the wrong person. Good communication early can make a huge 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.

Nobody likes a parasite. (Well, maybe Kelly Kapoor) When was the last time you asked yourself about parasites in your life?  We’re not talking about people. We’re talking about habits.  Maybe alcohol? Maybe social media (for sure social media)?  Maybe there are some activities that simply trigger anxiety for you but somehow still suck you back in.  Identify those and be ready for us to talk next week about “barricading” them.  And no, a remora is not a parasite. Eddie is correct. That relationship is symbiotic.  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’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 problems
• Sort problems
• Prioritize problems
• Seek 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.