Construction Brothers

Dan Wies is the president of Wies Drywall and Construction, a St. Louis company that has been in his family for three generations. He also enjoys contributing to the community–by providing quality service customers as well as training and growth opportunities to employees.   Dan sees it as his job to make the general contractor the hero. “My name should never be in your mouth in a bad way,” he says to general contractors.    The key to staying effective, profitable, and safe, Dan says, is having a really solid team that can execute consistently. This is the key to owners and contractors who are not frustrated.   We ask Dan to discuss some of the pain points of drywall work. He touches on these things:

• Ensuring that you aren’t just treated like another bidder on bid day - This means being clear about the scope of bids.  
• Standing out in an increasingly complex construction landscape - This means being clear and consistent about their focus. It also means innovating–creating systems that are more efficient.
• Timing production runs to ensure that storage space doesn’t overflow before a site is ready for the parts. 

  We discuss panelization and modularization. Dan explains that these approaches help him help general contractors move projects along at a faster pace. Having a Revit specialist on the team enables him to respond quickly when a contractor needs to plan a change.   Dan explains his company’s use of FRAMECAD, a roll-forming machine (See a video here). Dan compares it to the equipment used to form eavestroughs–but with substantially greater capabilities. Their machine can form anything from a 2” stud to a 50-footer. And it can do this while operating at an almost zero-waste level.   Eddie points out that the average person–even someone who works in the construction industry–doesn’t have a clue how complex the work is that is done by larger drywall operators like Wies’s company. Our perceptions are seriously outdated and simplistic.   Dan shares a bit about how they’ve recruited and trained designers and computer operators. Then we move on to discuss the challenges of sourcing roll-forming equipment from New Zealand in the middle of the pandemic. Surprisingly, Dan said it didn’t take them as long as it’s taking some people now.    Fitting that cool new machine into the workspace, though… Well, Dan just decided to buy a whole new facility. That facility is now so busy that it’s just busting at the seams. That creates a storage issue, since this material can’t sit outdoors for long periods of time. This means their space is totally overloaded–and then it’s suddenly empty.   We discuss the advantages and challenges of new technologies such as laser scanning. It’s important to weigh the huge number of pros and cons before integrating a new system. It’s also important to keep quality and consistency at the forefront of the decision-making process.   Dan’s Megaphone Message: If we, as an industry, don’t start adopting digital processes, we’re doing ourselves an extreme disservice.   Find Dan Online: LinkedIn - Wies Drywall and 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.

Well. It’s debatable.  What is the best day for project deadlines? Eddie thinks it’s Tuesday. For a long time, he thought it should be Friday, which makes sense in your head. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t usually operate in accordance with the vision in your head. Monday (according to Eddie’s work rhythm) is a very productive day, but it’s also a day that is overweighted with managerial duties.  On Tuesdays, almost everyone is still around, in contrast to a Friday afternoon. Tuesday leaves time for contingency.  So, there you go. If you have the opportunity to pick a deadline for your project, make it a Tuesday. 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 feels like this episode should come with an image of Max Headroom in a hard hat. (If you’re younger than 40, we’ll let you research that reference.)    Our guest today is Marty Beard, founder of alwaysAI, a company that uses AI to expand the functionality of basic video cameras. To see a more detailed overview of alwaysAI technology, see this article, which includes a video with Marty. He and his founding team saw what was happening in AI in relation to voice and realized that vision was likely to have an even greater connection with AI.   Marty explains that an AI model can be built that is able to identify helmets, goggles, vests, and anything else visually identifiable. Rather than directly programming the computer through code, their approach uses machine learning. The operator presents the computers with as many varied images as possible of the objects to be identified, allowing the computer to recognize patterns after asking, “What’s this?” dozens, hundreds, or thousands of times.   Each safety-centered application of this technology has its own “safety index” connected to a metric. A construction company, for instance, might have a threshold of 75% compliance. If safety-gear compliance drops below that point, action must be taken.    Marty gives an example of a timber-processing facility that needed AI to distinguish between single boards and stacks of boards. It was also able to spot knots that might cause saws to bind and kick, giving operators a helpful heads-up.   Getting into the nuts and bolts of the process, Marty explains that most of the video footage they work with is gathered by inexpensive IP cameras. That visual data is then gathered on a computer for analysis. The algorithm that does the learning (technically called inference) exists either on this computer or in the cloud. The data is analyzed in accordance with customized programming, and then the software pumps usable output data to the user and issues notifications.    Eddie asks for some of the most interesting applications of this technology. Here are a couple that Marty mentions:

• Mining companies that analyze how long it takes to go through all of the phases in the entire mining cycle - Amazingly, this can be done with just a couple cameras watching … This data enables them to improve their efficiency by maybe 1% each day, which could translate to $100,000 a day. 
• Fast food companies that analyze their burger-assembly process in order to cut wasteful steps
• A defense contractor that does night-time object detection to assess threats
• Body-movement analysis in sports–comparing positions and movements to scoring outcomes

  Tyler raises a question that is an obvious one from the ground-level perspective: What do workers think about this? Marty explains that privacy concerns are most directly addressed by blurring faces and communicating actively with workers. He also shares thoughts about how automation in construction has been accelerated due to the labor shortage that started during the pandemic.    Not surprisingly, Eddie brings the discussion back to sports, and Marty explains the various ways that AI is being used to help high-end athletes avoid injuries. We then relate this to construction, speculating about how repetitive-motion injuries and long-term back injuries can be avoided.    We discuss what Silicon Valley calls “virtual perimeters,” boundaries that can be set on the software so that alerts can be triggered when workers or customers enter an area of danger.    Tyler asks Marty to make some predictions. He makes a couple speculations. Then Tyler shares about his wife signing him up for the vehicle-tracking program that allows them to save a few bucks on insurance if they manage to implement safe driving practices.    We get down to money. Here are some ballpark figures that Marty gives us: 

• 5-10 cameras would cost up to $1500.
• The analysis device for this would run $600-$1000. 
• The SAAS platform (which the customer can then program to their specifications) might be $50,000. 

   Marty’s Megaphone Message: The coolest thing about the construction industry is that it’s real stuff. It has this image of not being “techy.” People heading into a new career should consider exploring the interesting new tech aspects of construction.    In case you’re wondering, Tyler can’t remember if dog food ads showed up on his phone feed after this episode, but a sample package of dog food did show up on their doorstep randomly a week or so later…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve seen the title. What would you guess we’re going to say? The planning? The signing of the deal? The groundbreaking? Well, we believe that the most important part of most (if not all) projects is the finish line. At the beginning of a project, it’s usually relatively easy to be optimistic.  The during part certainly has its frustrations. Deadlines loom, though. And people–especially owners–care about them. That’s why the end, matters the most. The end is the part of the project that most customers will remember most clearly.  There’s no feeling like being handed the keys to a sparkling new, beautifully finished building. Giving that feeling to your customer will set you apart from the competition.  The End  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.

So… Sometimes we get going and we just can’t stop. This episode was supposed to be a Five-Minute Friday. Oh, well. It’s important stuff.    We recently posted on LinkedIn about how difficult detailing is. Clearly, we tapped into a deep reservoir of discontent. Dozens of people shared about the results of stress they experienced as a detailer.     Employees are human. Humans make mistakes. Even the best detailers will occasionally miss something.   If you get 100 things right and miss one thing, the one thing is what you’ll hear about.    Eddie discusses two movie scenes and a recent NFL incident that serve as analogies for effective and ineffective leadership in reaction to failures: 

• In the movie They Were Soldiers. One of the younger soldiers makes a mistake while calling in coordinates for a strike. This mistake results in the death of some of his fellow soldiers. Immediately, his superior officer comforts him and tells him to keep doing what he’s been trained to do. 
• In The Pacific, a similar situation occurs. As the soldiers are examining the results of this mistake, this supervising officer fails to lift up the soldier who had made the mistake. 
• In the Chiefs-Bengals AFC Championship game, Joseph Ossai pushed Patrick Mahomes just after Mahomes had run out of bounds. (Trigger warning - If you’re a Bengals fan, we don’t recommend watching this clip.) In the press conference, one of Ossai’s teammates serves as the watchdog, ensuring that reporters don’t hound him excessively about that mistake.

  In each of these situations, the leaders and the peers of the person who had made a mistake. The fellow player in the Bengals press conference and the superior officer in They Were Soldiers made the same crucial decision: They chose to recognize the vulnerability of the person who had made the mistake.    We all know this. We know that personal encouragement is important. But acting on that knowledge requires effort and resolve.    Change comes one person at a time. One mindset at a time.    It’s tricky because a competitive atmosphere can sometimes be helpful. If it’s only competition, though, that’s a recipe for trouble.    Eddie comments on the number of overseas detailers who chimed in on that LinkedIn post. We discuss how workplace conditions may be even less hospitable in some of the places that handle offshored work from US companies.    We discuss the shifts that have taken place over the last several decades–specifically as it relates to the amount of face-to-face human interaction within our physical spaces. And all of this is now accessible to us 24 hours a day. Many detailers have gotten up during the night to check something that’s keeping them from sleeping.   Today, the velocity of the industry and the amount of information we have to deal with daily have increased significantly. Our mental bandwidth, however, has remained the same. That increased volume in a pipe with limited capacity–that’s where the anxiety comes from.    So what can we do about it? We discuss a few simple steps that can help: 

• Be disciplined about your morning routine. Set a mindset that reduces the likelihood that you’ll turn to junk food, caffeine, drugs, or alcohol to cope with the inevitable stress. 
• Be that teammate that stands up for the guy next to you.
• When you see stress ramping up and can tell you’re about to lash out at someone, detach. For just a short time, step away physically from the workspace and cool down before you speak. 

  We mirror the behavior of the people around us. If the atmosphere of your workspace is miserable, make a difference. Treat people the way you want to be treated. If you want the benefit of the doubt, then give your coworkers the benefit of the doubt (as Wally says).    If you’ve really screwed up and mistreated a coworker, consider attempting to address that situation.    So, anyway… There’s today’s 40-minute Five-Minute Friday.   Have a good week, and treat somebody awesome!   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! 





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Yup, it’s another baseball analogy.  Catchers are seen as the capital–almost a quarterback–because they have the whole infield in front of them. They’ll tell the pitcher things he already knows.  More than anything, this extra communication is intended to train the players’ brains to be able to respond without thinking. It’s a group rehearsal of what needs to happen reflexively.   In business, deliberate communication is equally beneficial. If you’re the leader, it’s your job to keep the important stuff in the forefront of your team’s minds. Make sure they’re preloaded for the thing that you know is just around the corner.  You may feel like an old man repeating himself, but that’s a heck of a lot better than dropping the ball on an project.  This is not to say that you should ramble. Be deliberate. Be concise and repetitive about the essentials. A team that communicates in this way is much more prepared for success than a team that assumes everyone is clear on the expectations.  For those of you who are less baseball-literate, Tyler wraps us up with a parallel from The Office.  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.

(Scroll to see loads of links to videos of the tech mentioned in this episode.)   Tyler Williams is an innovation man. Within the first couple decades of his career, he worked as a union carpenter, estimator, project manager, and superintendent. Then he reached the point where he felt like he was losing passion for his work. He wanted to make an impact.   This drive to make a difference prompted him to set a goal of making it onto DPR’s innovation team. It took a couple years of proving himself and pitching the decision-makers, but he eventually got there.     You can imagine how satisfying it would be to test equipment in the field and then advise the maker on improvements. That’s one of the things Tyler gets to do.    But when Tyler shows up on the worksite, he’s not trying to keep his boots clean. He gets mucky. He’ll grab a rake and help a concrete crew. He knows that you have to show what you know in order to get the trust of your audience.    We ask Tyler to share about new tools in the field. He’s ready with a list. Here are a few we discuss:

• Smart Tag tracking
• The exoskeleton suit
• The Jaibot
• Dusty the layout robot
• Vita spin control, which has gone from… 
  • helicopter rescue applications 
  • to construction cranes
• Milwaukee’s battery-powered trowels, and concrete vibrators
• JLG’s self-leveling boom lift (not quite as new as some of these others but still interesting.)
• Hyperframe metal studs
• Live-Dig Radar (It’s as amazing as it sounds)

  Tyler shares about the importance of having street cred when introducing new technologies to the people who might be able to make use of them. Eddie recalls how the Dusty (layout robot) team needed to put eyes on the robot in order to keep workers from getting annoyed and angry and kicking the robot on the worksite.    We discuss the massive benefits of industry crossover, starting with a conversation about a helicopter-rescue technology that has now worked its way into construction cranes. (See link above)   He shares about a skeptical boom-lift foreman who reluctantly tried a VR training program and literally fell off of his chair before calling it the best thing he’s ever seen.    These technologies open a door for prospective employees who might not otherwise think about getting into construction. They both lower the barrier of entry in some respects and bring greater diversity to the forms of work to be done.    Tyler touches on some QR-code-based information/instruction that can dramatically increase the ease of information-sharing. We also discuss the possible intellectual-property tensions that arise with this sort of tech.   The last technology we discuss is live-dig radar. (See the link above.) Some municipalities are already requiring all excavators to use this technology.   Tyler’s Megaphone Message: Let’s partner as an industry–even with competitors–and work together to adjust the direction of construction. Let’s work together to help people see that construction is freaking cool.    Find Tyler Online: LinkedIn    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 could have called this episode “Leave me the heck alone!”    If you’ve ever… Well, if you’ve ever had a job, you’ve probably gotten tired of a manager breathing down your neck. Nobody wants to work for a helicopter manager.    Then again, if you’ve ever worked as a manager, you’ve probably dealt with employees who don’t know what they’re doing–at least at first.   The secret is to provide guidance thoughtfully and then check for understanding. Remind yourself what it was like to be in the newbie’s spot–both in the need for guidance and the need for autonomy.   Be deliberate in your leadership in order to build a solid, competent team.   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 one door closes, another one… Well, it doesn’t necessarily open unless you have it programmed that way.” This is the kind of portal-related wisdom that Benji Bolick and Mia Merrel bring to the table, and it’s why we asked them to join us today.   People don’t generally think about doors unless they fail to function properly. Doors are just 1-3% of the construction cost, but they cause a huge percentage of the construction headaches. There is so much involved in the way doors play into security, access, and design.   Benji shares the backstory to his door doorkdom. He discusses the school-guard glass demo video (similar to this one).   We discuss the peace of mind that doors give us (although, as Tyler points out, it might not be quite as much as a 20-gauge under your bed).     The door fails that stand out most to Benji are the ones that disregard or violate building codes. He shares about the events that led to the requirement for egress doors to be open outward.     Mia and Benji list some recent trends in doors: 

• Single-occupancy restrooms with vacancy indicators 
• Wireless doors on short-term rentals 
• Smart garage doors that enable owners to check door status from their phones
• Intumescent foam as a fire-prevention door filler 
• Blast-rating requirements on military bases

  We explore the central role doors play in the path of egress from any building–something which of course becomes incredibly important in the case of a fire or other emergency.    Benji explains the importance of doors in preventing building damage from tornadoes and hurricanes. Mia refers to tests like this one that simulate the forces of such storms.     Mia talks through the testing procedures, and Tyler tries to persuade her to take a demotion to return to her job in the testing lab.    ADA compliance is arguably the most significant factor in doors over the last few decades, so we discuss its effects on door design. Although these measures are required by code only on public buildings, Mia explains the benefits of considering ADA design features in homes.    We discuss the fact that architects are sometimes annoyed by doors but that door-design must be considered very early in the process in order to ensure full functionality and code compliance. Benji and Mia have whole teams who consult on these issues with architects, designers, and contractors. Benji mentions the Norman door. (See a journalist complain about it here and then track down the original Norman.)   Benji shares a nightmare story about the Luxor hotel that incurred a million dollars in extra last-minute door-related cost overruns due to a single error repeated a couple thousand times.    Megaphone Messages: 

• Benji: Contractors, if you value-engineer something, please don’t value-engineer the hardware. There are a lot of design and accessibility issues involved there. You want people to have a strong handshake with your building.
• Mia: If you have questions about how to install something, call somebody who knows what they’re doing.

  Find Benji and Mia online: The Door Hardware Nerds Youtube Channel - Benji on LinkedIn - Mia on LinkedIn    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! 


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JFK knew the importance of alignment and clarity. When he set a vision for how the US would beat the Soviet Union in the space race: put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Not all leaders are so clear. It’s easy to assume that your team has the same clarity you do about your goals. It’s essential to communicate clearly and often about your vision and the goal.  Tyler shares the Belgian draft horse analogy that you’ve probably heard but that is still a very powerful one. A team that is clearly focused on a shared goal can be substantially more powerful than a mere group of individuals. Eddie discusses macro-alignment and micro-alignment as it relates to picking and cultivating the right people for your team.  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.