Breaking Ground - A CheckProof Podcast

NSSGA's Michele Stanley on infrastructure policy, permitting reform, workforce development, and why aggregates deserve a seat at every table. Chapters: 0:00 2 billion tons a year 0:43 Welcome & guest intro 2:32 What NSSGA does 5:39 Hill Day and why it matters 10:34 The Surface Transportation Bill 13:42 The Highway Trust Fund 17:23 Permitting reform 21:32 Workforce crisis 33:26 Sustainability a...

Paul Nicholls, CEO and co-founder of Recycle It Global joins Breaking Ground to speak about what circularity actually looks like on the ground - from processing complex waste streams into certified aggregate, to building a UK consolidation platform one acquisition at a time. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4lELHDWupmmPCUDhRBuUpT?si=ZcFCiFvbQm6wau8xabyqhA&nd=1&dlsi=76a3723e36a148ad A...

Step inside on of the world's biggest construction materials shows. CheckProof's team reports from the ground and covers the coolest machines, noteworthy stage speakers and the favorite moment of the week. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4lELHDWupmmPCUDhRBuUpT?si=ZcFCiFvbQm6wau8xabyqhA&nd=1&dlsi=76a3723e36a148ad Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-ground-a...

In this episode, Guy Woodford shares an editor’s view of what’s changing across aggregates and construction materials - from electrification and automation to AI and circularity. Chapters: 1️⃣ 0:00 — Electric Fleets & The Road Ahead 2️⃣ 2:30 — A $400 Billion Industry 3️⃣ 3:02 — Digitalisation, Mining & Tech Transfer 4️⃣ 4:06 — Inside China’s “Green Quarry” 5️⃣ 9:31 — Green Products as a Co...

INFORM's Justin Newell speaks of the importance of Hybrid AI - Ethical AI complemented by human expertise which will ensure safer, more resilient critical operations. ⏱ CHAPTERS: 0:00 - AI That Actually Moves the Needle 2:04 - The Truth About “New” AI 8:09 - “The Robots Are Coming”… Are They? 10:23 - AI in Aggregates: 300 Trucks/Day?! 17:04 - Hybrid AI: Humans + Machines 23:12 - Process...

Tom O'Boyle, Project and Engineering Manager at Heidelberg Materials, shares insights on using data to find hidden downtime, fostering team collaboration, and the importance of design in reliability. ⏱ CHAPTERS: 01:49 - Reliable Plant Is Safe 04:18 - Reliability Starts at Design 08:28 - Balancing Production and Maintenance 20:42 - Fundamentals of Maintenance Engineering 32:05 - Avoid Project Scope...

Futurist Ant Morse discusses the fundamental change driven by Generative AI. The major near-term prediction is AI assistants. These systems, using glass technology, will boost safety, accessibility, and predictive maintenance in heavy industry. ⏱ CHAPTERS: 01:00 - Intro: From Art History to Mining 02:52 - People Over Compliance 04:05 - OSHA/MSHA: The Training Scope 05:43 - The Danger of Complacenc...

In this episode of Breaking Ground, Katie Woodhall, Safety Director at The Beaver Companies, shares how real-world experience and leadership on the ground shape stronger safety cultures. She reflects on how an older company incident redefined the organization’s approach to safety and offers practical insights on keeping teams accountable, aware, and engaged every day. She also shares one of her mo...

Tim Copping, Head of Operational Technology at Breeden Group, joins us to discuss how technology is reshaping operations in the construction materials industry. We cover the role of AI in delivering staff safety gains, why digital projects must be sustained and evolve with the business, and why retiring outdated solutions should be seen as progress rather than failure. Tim also shares the one task...

Mårten Sohlman, Managing Director of SBMI, joins us for a conversation about the role of Sweden’s Aggregates Producers Association for the aggregates industry. We discuss SBMI’s work in policy and advocacy, the push for circular materials, the updated Climate Roadmap, and why it’s crucial to raise public and political awareness of the industry’s value. Chapters: 00:20 – Intro 01:13 – SBMI's core m...