Construction Brothers

Big Problems (Small Solutions) | 5 Minute Friday

We all spend a good deal of time discussing how to improve the construction industry. Large problems don’t start out large. They’re usually a result of a long series of small problems. How do you reverse a large problem made of small problems? Yup, you seek a series of small solutions. Instead of getting discouraged, let’s start digging.An army of normal people can present a solution that is better than one high-level influencer. Take a look at what’s in front of you today. See what you ...

Defensive and Timid: Construction's Culture Problem (ft. Fouad Khalil)

Fouad Khalil is back! About three years ago, Fouad founded Modly, a modular construction consultancy that provides the building and real estate sector with market research, feasibility analysis and advisory services. Today he’s here to share some leadership insights. We jump right into the conversation today with some talk about liability. Tyler asks Fouad to repeat what he had explained in an earlier conversation.Fouad says that your insurance carrier will tell you… -Don’t say, “It will b...

The Ozzie Effect | 5 Minute Friday

Finally! Tyler is finally getting on board with the baseball analogies. (Well… This one is borrowed from his pastor, but it’s a start.) You might know that the Atlanta Braves are having a pretty impressive season. Tyler points out that statisticians have done the math: When Ozzie Albies is on the field, Ronald Acuña plays 30% better than when Ozzie is not on the field. It’s not because of anything technical. It appears to be just the presence of a friend on the field. We’ve all worked on te...

Mulberry Harbor

00:00 - Introduction Tyler is excited about his visit to a Glossier shop. While his wife was exploring ways to look even prettier, Tyler’s makeup-free mug was recognized by another patient husband. He didn’t ask for an autograph, but it’s a start. 6:44 - Mulberry Harbor Eddie leads us into today’s topic: the two large harbors that were constructed in preparations for the D-Day Invasion of Normandy in 1944. We won’t go deep into the historical details of the D-Day, but the invasion of Norm...

5 Tips for Young Detailers | 5 Minute Friday

Today Eddie doles out some wisdom for beginners. 1) Don’t turn off the study habits that helped you in school (if you had such habits). Get to know the software, the terminology, and anything else that is a part of your job. 2) Don’t succumb to a whiner culture. Just learn. Just grow. (Tyler fesses up to having violated this tip.) 3) Stay humble, and learn from your checker. They’re not trying to insult you (at least we hope they’re not). 4) Shoot for excellence. Don’t aim for “good en...

DPR (feat. Chris Bell & Will Sheane)

00:00 - Introduction Today we welcome two members of the team at DPR Construction. We dive in today with some multi-generational hard hat chat. If you’re interested, check out the helmet conversation we mention with Dr. Bottlang. 7:25 - DPR and Recruiting We ask Chris and Will to talk about how DPR is recruiting and training young workers. They talk us through the variations between states in regard to union training resources and the amount of on-the-job training that needs to be coordin...

Bluebeam Tool Chest Tips & Tricks | 5 Minute Friday

We use Bluebeam all day every day at ABSI. Today, We talk about some of our favorite features. Favorite #1 - Tool Chest: On the left side of your screen, you look at the tool chest. Click on that icon and open it up. Inside, you’ll find tool sets. Favorite #2 - My Tools: If there’s a command you use frequently, you can put that command in my tools. It will be assigned a number and become readily available. Favorite #3 - Custom-built tool set: You can compile your own collection of tools ...

Bluebeam - 5 Minute Friday

We use Bluebeam all day every day at ABSI. Today, We talk about some of our favorite features. Favorite #1 - Tool Chest: On the left side of your screen, you look at the tool chest. Click on that icon and open it up. Inside, you’ll find tool sets. Favorite #2 - My Tools: If there’s a command you use frequently, you can put that command in my tools. It will be assigned a number and become readily available. Favorite #3 - Custom-built tool set: You can compile your own collection of tools ...

Bluebeam Tool Chest Tips & Tricks - 5 Minute Friday

We use Bluebeam all day every day at ABSI. Today, We talk about some of our favorite features. Favorite #1 - Tool Chest: On the left side of your screen, you look at the tool chest. Click on that icon and open it up. Inside, you’ll find tool sets. Favorite #2 - My Tools: If there’s a command you use frequently, you can put that command in my tools. It will be assigned a number and become readily available. Favorite #3 - Custom-built tool set: You can compile your own collection of tools ...

Building the Crystal Palace in 152 Days

00:00 - Introduction That’s a frickin’ cookie. We could do an entire episode on the beautiful construction of the cookie we’re eating. Shoutout to The Cookie Company in Milledgeville, Georgia. (Also, sorry, Mom, for talking with our mouths full). 4:00 - The Crystal Palace - Background We review the steps that lead to the construction of the Crystal Palace. In 1840, a guy named Henry Cole suggested that England should host a huge event to encourage industrial innovation. He was able to get Pr...

Do the Next Mile - 5 Minute Friday

Tyler’s been doing some training lately. Eddie has been both working out and listening to ultra-runner Nick Bare’s podcast. Nick talks about running a 230-mile ultra-marathon. Tyler and Eddie are not doing that. During COVID, Eddie was set to run a marathon that ended up being canceled. The Campbell family stepped up and set up a one-man race. When he hit 16 miles, he hit a wall. He was determined not to quit in front of his kids, so he focused on just finishing the next mile. Then the ne...

Do the Next Mile | 5 Minute Friday

Tyler’s been doing some training lately. Eddie has been both working out and listening to ultra-runner Nick Bare’s podcast. Nick talks about running a 230-mile ultra-marathon. Tyler and Eddie are not doing that. During COVID, Eddie was set to run a marathon that ended up being canceled. The Campbell family stepped up and set up a one-man race. When he hit 16 miles, he hit a wall. He was determined not to quit in front of his kids, so he focused on just finishing the next mile. Then the ne...

An Owner Speaks (ft. Nick Berndt)

You listen to us, and we listen to you. Today we welcome a guest who engaged honestly and thoughtfully with one of our LinkedIn posts. 00:00 - Introduction A while back, when Eddie posted on LinkedIn to say that he wanted designers to have more money and more time in order to produce a better product, Nick stepped up to say that he didn’t think that was always the answer. Nick said that collaboration is also key. Nick is an owner’s rep for an automotive group, and every day he observes the...

One Trait That Every Elite Leader Has | 5 Minute Friday

We promise no original thoughts today. We do, however, hope you’ll find our borrowed insights to be useful. Eddie shares today about something he read about traits common to students in Ivy League colleges. It’s one that we’ve probably all seen in elite performers in other arenas as well. Don’t mistake it for apathy. It’s not a “Whatever” attitude. It’s just about unflappability. It’s just about not getting caught up in the stress in a way that you can’t make good decisions when the pressur...

Dad

We thought about calling this first episode in our redesigned studio “Between Two Fools,” because that’s where Dad is sitting today. 00:00 - Introduction Dad’s been in construction so long that he worked on moats. Well, okay, it was a moat in a zoo, but still… Today we ask dad to impart the wisdom and experience he’s gained over the last several decades in construction. We’ve had Dad on the podcast before, but we explore some new areas today. The day after the last baseball game during th...

How to Deal with Conflict | 5 Minute Friday

FMF: 4 Tips for Project Managers(While we remodel our recording studio for some exciting changes, we’re sharing this Five-Minute Friday episode that was originally aired in September of 2021.)You may or may not know that Eddie is not only a master of steel detailing. He’s also a seminary dropout (as Tyler is quick to remind him… frequently.) Today Eddie’s sharing some scriptural insights that could be useful for anyone, regardless of their theological perspective. We have conflict daily on j...

4 Tips for Project Managers | 5 Minute Friday

Today we share some multi-generational wisdom. These are useful tips and principles passed down to us from our dad and grandfather. Our dad and grandfather both reminded us not to be a project pilot… Actually, what they meant was not to be a project “pile-it.” Don’t just pass paperwork on to others. Don’t be the “please advise” monster. Just don’t. PLEASE. DON’T! Stay in front of the airplane. Think ahead. Know what’s coming so you can ask the questions today that will give you the answers...

One Source of MASSIVE Inefficiency: Parkinson's Law

We start out with a brief discussion about the mystery of lost files (due to some tech challenges we encountered today).Today we’re discussing inefficiency–specifically as it relates to the amount of time allocated to a task. We discuss the art (or the science?) of scheduling in a way that provides just the right amount of time–not too little, not too much. OVERVIEW OF PARKINSON’S LAW: Tyler shares about the book in which he discovered a name for one particular source of inefficiency. It’s...

The Ultimate ChatGPT Prompt | 5 Minute Friday

Stunned. Tyler is stunned that he is praising Bing. While scrolling through LinkedIn, Tyler encountered a mention of punching shear. His understanding of that phrase was reasonably solid, but he thought it might be interesting to see if AI could help him understand it just a bit better. Then he challenged Bing to explain it to him in an even simpler manner–at the level that a child could understand. Moments later, Tyler had been educated on multiple levels about this engineering concept....

A Day in the Life of an Owner (ft. Nate Patrick)

Today we’re flashing back to an episode from May of 2022. We start out with some banter about Eddie’s kids giving Tyler a hard time. Then Tyler signs up for a marathon… Oh, wait, no he doesn’t. What a slacker. Nate Patrick is facilities project manager for the Pennsylvania State University Office of Physical Plant. Before taking that position, he worked several years as a mechanical design engineer. Nate joins us today in the studio to share some practical tips for contractors, designers, ...

6 ChatGPT Prompts for Project Managers | 5 Minute Friday

Have you experimented with it yet? Well, we’re ready to nudge you into the future. Tyler shares some insights that he thinks will increase your efficiency. Here they are: “Rewrite this.” This can work if you struggle with clarity or style with your writing. “Summarize this.” This one can work when you receive a binder full of information. “Create an agenda.” Give ChatGPT a raw collection of info and have it organize it for you. “Create a daily report.” Copy and paste relevant notes and h...

An Architect Speaks (feat. Dan Stine)

Dan Stine is Director of Design Technology at Lake|Flato Architects. You could also say he wrote the book on architecture–or at least the top-selling textbook on Revit. As if that weren’t enough, he teaches graduate architecture classes and is active with Committee on the Environment (COTE). We start out with a brief overview of Dan’s work with COTE. Then we ask Dan to share about some of the technology he has had the opportunity to explore in his various roles. Dan discusses Tonic DM, a t...

Coping with Burnout | 5 Minute Friday

The Planning Fallacy (ft. Micah Piippo)

Micah Piippo has worked at Google, at a shipyard, and at a plutonium-processing facility. Now he’s a schedule and integration manager with Intel. He helps deliver projects on time. Micah describes the plutonium facility: “It felt like a James Bond lair.” (By the way, Dr. Brown does, indeed, pronounce gigawats as “jigawatts.” That movie was filmed before we all became familiar with the prefix giga in relation to bits and bytes.) You can’t get a college degree in construction-project schedu...

Burnout | 5 Minute Friday

It’s a problem–a very common one. When you’re trying to be consistent with just about anything, burnout on some level is likely to occur sooner or later. It takes a toll. Tyler acknowledges that he’s experiencing a good deal of creative burnout at the moment. Eddie has felt it in the past too. So, we discuss ways to fight it. Talk through it with someone. There’s a good chance that the people closest to you see the symptoms before you do. Get active. Do the things that bring you joy...

5 Questions to Ask Before you Prefab (feat. Fouad Khalil)

Today we welcome Fouad Khalil to the show. Fouad calls himself a reformed architect. About three years ago he eased into offsite construction and founded Modly, a modular construction consultancy that provides the building and real estate sector with market research, feasibility analysis and advisory services. His focus is on helping owners and construction companies integrate manufacturing processes in the construction process. Tyler asks Fouad to unpack the category of industrialized cons...

Indispensable | 5 Minute Friday

A question: Do you see yourself as the only competent one in your world? Are you able to hand things off to team members? It can be a hard mindset to release because it can feel so risky. Taking ownership is a good thing, but check yourself. Is there some arrogance there? Eddie says that “Gram” used to say, “If you want to know what kind of difference you’re going to leave when you’re gone, stick your finger in a cup of water and pull it out.” That feels pretty cold (the statement, not the...

A Safety Guy Speaks (feat. Terry Dussault)

Terry Dussault is President of Yellowknife Consulting Services in Huntington Beach, California. His focus is conducting incident investigations and promoting safety programs. Many of the projects that require Terry’s attention involve waste-cleanup and pollution abatement. These sites often contain lots of piping and pumps, which means lots of ways workers can get hurt. (Tyler asks if scuba gear is ever involved. The answer is no, but here’s the kind of diving Tyler was referring to.) Tyler...

The Arc of Innovation (feat. Tom Yeshurun)

Tom Yeshurun joins us today from San Francisco. Tom is Founder and CEO of Civ Robotics, a company that automates construction layout. Their robots drive themselves around a site and locate points by paint or laser so they can be marked by their human operators. Tom shares the names of a few of the robots they currently have operating: Betty, Ugly, and Joey… No #5 yet. Regardless of the name, each robot is a four-wheel drive unit customized for specific terrain. Several years ago, Tom wa...

Know Your Project's Cadence | 5 Minute Friday

Even if you’ve never been in the military or marched with a band, you’ve heard the pace-setting rhythm of a drum beat or the chanting troops.  Projects have a rhythm too. Each project has a unique feel. If you want to be a productive contributor to a project, you need to sense that cadence.  Know when to enter with your information–when to bring your concern to the table. You can’t just throw it out there when it comes to your mind.  Tyler shares a softball analogy: You’re at third base when ...

A Digital Owner's Rep Speaks (feat. Jacob D'Albora)

Elon and an increasingly-ripped Zuckerberg in a cage match. And Threads. That’s where we start today’s conversation. But then we move on.    Today we're talking to Jacob D'Albora. Jacob is Director of Digital Building Operations at VIATechnik, LLC. His job is to serve as an owner’s representative in regard to digital plans and related VDC data.   Jacob says that he has seen owners who had to recreate the entire digital presence of their projects and repopulate databases because they don’t rec...

Mitigate Risk by Reducing Change | 5 Minute Friday

Eddie’s been thinking about our episode with Patrick Fernbach. Specifically, he’s thinking about the discussion we had about small changes.  Sometimes you get several steps into a project and discover that things just aren’t looking right.  Tyler recalls an experience that he encountered pretty regularly when he was still doing steel detailing. Someone would call to explain that one tiny thing needed to change. Maybe it was the size of a bolt or a plate.  The problem? That change meant that s...

Become an Asset for Your Team (feat. Henry Nutt III)

We love interviewing authors, and today we have a great one. Henry Nutt III started in the industry when he was 19 years old. He worked as general superintendent for 34 years. Henry has been with Southland Industry for 15 years, where he currently works as Pre-construction Executive.  All of this experience makes him eminently qualified to share some advice about building strong teams.  Henry spends a lot of time talking to students about preparing for careers. As he shared his experience, he...

No. | 5 Minute Friday - The most powerful word in construction… (no)

You know what we have to say about your positivity?  NO! Actually, today we’re talking about how this word can be a way to be positive.  Eddie explains that your nos are more positive than your yeses.  Both yeses and nos come in seasons. Tyler explains that he and the family are headed into a season of nos.  We discuss the feelings that come along with a good, solid no. Although there might be some intimidation and unease, Tyler said the dominant feeling for him is usually relief.  The unwill...

The Architect's Race to the Bottom

We open today with a discussion about the latest epidemic in the US. Yes, we’re talking about the epidemic of pickleball-related injuries. Here’s the story in Bloomberg.   Then we move on to a topic that John Roach brought to Eddie’s attention recently. It’s all about architects and the pricing of their services.    It all goes back to the Sherman Anti-trust Act, which was enacted in 1890 to address the problem of monopolies.    In the 1860s, Richard Morris Hunt sued a client who failed to pa...

A Mechanical Engineer Speaks (feat. Patrick Fernbach)

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 unn...

Barricading | 5 Minute Friday

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 y...

Delegated Design Deep Dive

(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 fi...

Parasites | 5 Minute Friday

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 relatio...

What was it like building in the 1950s? (feat. Pop & Dad)

(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 inter...

Eddie Fesses Up... | 5 Minute Friday

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 ...

Eye-Opening Trade Research (feat. Lee Causey)

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...

Build Systems and Take Action | 5 Minute Friday

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 tha...

Cool Stuff From CONEXPO (feat. Tyler Williams)

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 s...

Intellect Into Action | 5 Minute Friday

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....

A Path to a Modern Workforce (feat. Danielle Proctor)

If you work with concrete, you’ve probably dreamed of having the machines made by today’s guest.    Danielle Proctor is President and CEO of Construction Robotics, which makes two large and impressive rebar-related machines: IronBOT, which places rebar, and TyBOT, which ties that rebar.     Countless construction workers have put in their time tying rebar before moving on to other less backbreaking  and repetitive work. Eddie opens with a bit of nostalgia for his rebar-tying days and mentions...

Lessons We Learned In Our First Year | 5 Minute Friday

  Ah yes, freshman year.    Today we’re talking about things we remember learning in our first year on the job.    Eddie starts us off:  His first lessons were about pacing. When you’re tying rebar, you don’t want to be starting at a sprint.    He discusses the home-life manifestation of this principle with the phenomenon of The Lowe’s Trip. When he enters a project slowly and deliberately, he avoids the four-trip day.   Measure twice, cut once. Think it through. Think about the long game.   ...

Implications of AI on Construction

Everybody’s talking about it, so today we are too. In this episode, we’re exploring the implications of AI for construction. (And yes, we know it's not Friday.)   (We touched on this topic in our conversation with Norine Bagate a couple weeks ago. Check out that episode if you missed it.)   Tyler shares what he’s read and seen about AI virtual assistants that can identify potential candidate (for podcast guests, for instance) and then write emails customized to each of them. He goes on to dis...

Differences In Our Routines | 5 Minute Friday

We’re different.  Okay, that’s not news. Today we explore the differences in our routines, but then we talk about the value of routine--and the ways in which routines can go too far. Eddie shares about his effort to stay in routine despite the craziness of life. He’ll just get a routine going, and then something throws it off.  We talk about emotional/relational withdrawals and deposits. Tyler’s weeks away on work are withdrawals from the family energy levels, so he makes an effort to be trul...

Heavy Metal Summer Camp (feat. Angie Simon)

It's not quite what it sounds like, but it's just as cool.   Angie Simon, former CEO of Western Allied Mechanical, joined us last year to talk about baseball analogies that can strengthen your construction game. Today she’s here to talk about an exciting youth-oriented construction-recruiting program that came up in that conversation: the Heavy Metal Summer Experience.    (Before we get to the substance of Angie’s visit, we discuss one of the best recent construction-related movies, Lego Movi...