Ken Gray is co-Founder and Chief Performance Officer at Dig Robotics. Ken started in the 80's with Caterpillar and worked his way up to becoming a Director of Innovation. After failing to retire (as he puts it) he has entered the start-up world to try and improve the lives of heavy equipment operators and improve efficiency of dirt moving operations.

Omar Zhan started a Monthly AEC Podcast Digest called, "Voice of Construction" to help AEC professionals find the best podcast episodes to help them learn about the topics they are interested in. I was able to sit down with Omar to talk about his time at Katerra, Rivian and his journey through the AEC industry. Omar is now working on a project called Surfaice which is an AI tool for repeatable project management. We also got to touch on marketing in the AEC industry, clean energy, and even how the pyramids were built. Thanks for checking it out and please let me know what you thought!

Elijah is co-founder of Roger an alternative Project Management software focused on offering custom solutions to capitalize on construction project data. Topics Covered: construction data, positives of contractor specialization, scope gap elimination, optimizing estimating efforts, current strengths of AI for AEC. Hope you enjoy!

Bisrat is the CEO & Co-Founder of TruBuild. Trubuild is an AI-powered construction software designed to simplify your construction projects. Check it out at trubuild.io

We discussed Bisrat's background and what lead to the creation of TruBuild. We also discussed lessons the TruBuild Team has learned in trying to create a simple solution to complex problems as well as how they utilize AI features.

Ofek is co-founder of Rethink. Rethink is a Task-Completion Terminal for your Construction Project that utilizes AI to make email less of a distraction from Designing/Engineering/Building Construction projects. We spoke about Ofek's background inside the construction industry and the problems he found that he is trying to address at Rethink.

Kyle Nitchen is a Senior Project Manager with Layton Construction. Utilizing lean thinking and principles, he has successfully executed over $450M+ in complex construction projects, unlocking additional benefits through Lean Construction, Last Planner System, Early Design Involvement, A3 Thinking, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Target Value Design, and Visual Management. Check him out on Linkedin and visit his website at: https://kylenitchen.com/

In this episode of Constructive, guest Todd Zabelle digs into the systemic challenges undermining the construction industry, as detailed in his book, Built to Fail: Why Construction Projects Take So Long, Cost Too Much, and How to Fix It. He examines how traditional project delivery methods contribute to inefficiencies and explores innovative solutions grounded in operations science and data analytics. Todd emphasizes the critical shift from focusing solely on personnel to optimizing processes, advocating for the integration of advanced technologies like AI and IoT to enhance project outcomes. He also discusses the drawbacks of conventional scheduling practices, critiques the prevalent lowest-bidder mentality, and addresses the pervasive resistance to change that hampers industry progress. This episode offers a comprehensive analysis of the factors leading to project delays and cost overruns, providing actionable insights for professionals seeking to drive meaningful reform in construction project management.

Ridhima is a studying for a Masters in Building Construction and Facilities Management at Georgia Institute of Technology. She is also a VDC intern.