Listen to this Digging Deeper podcast to hear Doug Friesen, CEO of Sany America, talk about where Sany America is heading in the North America and what plans the company has for the future.

Listen to this Digging Deeper podcast to hear about Liebherr USA's growth and success over the last 50 years and the company's new workshop, which includes not only services but also a training center for customers.

Griffin Reome, global services, Caterpillar discusses the shortage of service technicians, what needs to be done to attract the current generation and what Caterpillar is doing to help.

Fred Rio, Director Construction Digital Technologies at Caterpillar, talks about where the industry is on the pathway toward autonomous technology on the jobsite and what autonomy could mean for construction business owners and equipment operators.

"Autonomy is going to be delivered through increments of value through time," Rio says.

Caterpillar is bringing autonomy to the market with three fundamental blocks: making machines smarter, introducing remote control operation and a back office system that can monitor jobsite progress and dispatch to the machines.

Wally Stegall, Technical Fellow & Director with The Morey Corporation, explains the trend toward electrification of compact construction equipment and the impacts on future jobsites.

The construction industry may have been a bit slow to embrace emerging technology in the past, but things are changing quickly. Virtually every day, new innovations emerge that enable contractors to get more work done in a shorter amount of time while also improving quality. 

On this episode of the Digging Deeper Podcast, Trimble senior director – mixed reality and BCI (brain-computer interface) Aviad Almagor sits down with ForConstructionPros staff writer Sheena Ingle to discuss some of the latest advancements in construction technology: autonomous robotics. 

Almagor says, "Trimble's mission is to transform the way the world works, and a significant part of this mission is to actually connect or merge the physical and the digital environment. Many of the inefficiencies in the [construction] industry reside in this gap, and by merging the two, we can improve productivity and safety." 

Listen to the full podcast to learn how innovations such as autonomous robotics in construction, GPS technology and telematics can help contractors complete projects more efficiently, cost-effectively, accurately and safely. 

Listen to this Digging Deeper podcast as ConstructReach founder Paul Robinson discusses the "I Built This" program designed to combat construction’s image as "an industry that workers fail into" and solve workforce shortages by building industry diversity.

ConstructReach Founder and CEO Paul Robinson helped Target develop a unique program called “I Built This” to help the brand reach people in the communities where stores are being built or remodeled. The program brings high-school-aged kids onto the construction sites for a couple of days, introduces them to all of the trades at work on the project, and puts tools in their hands.

Profiles of the students and their work are posted in the new stores to engage and inspire customers.

Paul describes how this program is working to build the diversity necessary to solve the construction workforce shortage, and offers advice on how contractors can tap this vast talent pool.

Becky Schultz talked with John Somers, senior director - utility for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and Tom Austin, OEM business development manager for Trimble, about trends in technology adoption in construction and the opportunities for the industry going forward. There is a lot of technology available to contractors, but the adoption rate is much lower than it should be.

Listen to this Digging Deeper podcast as Frank Nerenhausen, president of JLG Industries, talks about trends in the rental industry as well as trends in the aerial market.

"I think rental is a healthy industry. I think it is going to continue to have organic growth," Nerenhausen says.

Construction contractors are renting more equipment than they have in the past, and that trend is helping to lead the organic growth, and Nerenhausen expects this trend to continue.

In 2020, Nerenhausen expects a slight pause in the aerial lift market; 2020 may see a little softening globally, but the North American market seems to be more resilient. Even so, he anticipates a modest downturn this year.

In this edition of the Digging Deeper podcast – brought to you by MSA – The Safety Company – John Meola, safety manager for the Timmons Group, and a regular contributor to ForConstructionPros.com, discusses OSHA requirements and best practices as they relate to PPE, including hazard recognition, hazard assessment, PPE selection and employee training. He gives particular focus to head, ear and eye protection for both workers on the ground and operators in machines.

John Meola, CSP, ARM is the safety manager for Timmons Group in Richmond, VA. Recognized for nearly 25 years as one of Engineering News Record’s top 500 design firms, Timmons Group provides civil engineering, structural, environmental, electrical, geotechnical, GIS/ geospatial technology, landscape architecture and surveying services to a diverse client base.