Bridging the Gap: Insights & Innovations in Construction

What do we do as an industry facing a 600,000 worker deficit? At some point we will need to rely on prefab and modular just to get projects done. We might just be slipping out of the early adopter era to the mass adoption era of prefab. It's moving from a 'nice to have' to a 'must have'. Matt Hardy, a 25-year construction veteran with expertise in prefabrication, preconstruction and healthcare con...

We interviewed a dozen industry leaders Advancing Prefab 2023 about the most important and pressing themes in the industry today. You'll hear about productization, data, communication and much more. We're starting off this special series of interviews with the Queen of Prefab herself, Amy Marks. Amy Marks is the head of industrialized construction strategy and evangelism at Autodesk; she is known...

What’s the best way to transition from a 2D workflow to a digital one? How do you gain a holistic and competitive advantage with your BIM workflows? Join host Todd and guest Eric Bernier as they discuss “leveling up” with BIM, what it really means to “model the future” with Graitec, and the next steps we’ll witness in the industry as it relates to construction and sustainability trends. Eric Berni...

What does good and effective leadership look like? How do we know when we’re being an effective leader? Join host Todd and guest Major General Karl Horst as they discuss the ways leadership adapts to different generations and personality types, some timeless examples of excellent leaders, and more. General Horst retired from the United States Army in 2013 after more than 37 years of enlisted and c...

How is sustainability changing the way we approach data, reporting, and design? What changes are we seeing already? Join host Todd and guest Anthony Zuefeldt as they discuss his class at the recent Advancing Computational Building Design Show, the current and potential industry impact of embodied carbon,  finding connections in seemingly disconnected data sources and databases, and what the future...

A great friend of the show Nathan Wood joined us for a special episode to recap the Construction Progress Coalition's 2023 AEC Integration Summit. The summit serves to connect like-minded AEC Technology professionals from different industry perspectives to solve our biggest interoperability challenges. Todd and Nathan cover hiring, interoperability, brainstorming, future trends and more. Nathan Wo...

What does the art of negotiation have to do with construction, and what are some tactics to avoid? Additionally, what should we do about AI? Join host Todd and guest Cian Brennan as they discuss the ins and outs of construction subcontracting, how “squeaky bum time” ties in to the end of an arduous project, how to be proactive in the discussion surrounding industry misconceptions, and much more. ...

How do we accomplish interoperability in our industry, and what does that look like on a practical level? Join host Todd and guest Tom Reno as they discuss the biggest trends and opportunities coming up this year, the impact of shifting bottom lines, the future of industrialization, and more. Tom Reno is the co-founder of Agave. Prior to Agave, Tom worked at Amazon Alexa as a Technical Product Man...

The need for more skilled tradesmen is one of the biggest issues facing construction. How do we attract—and retain—new talent? Join host Todd and guest Rob Bonifacio as they discuss the significance of social media in the industry’s future, connecting with likeminded people in the trades, what it truly means to “be an influencer,” and what the younger generation should know about construction befo...

Where is the construction industry right now on the road to tech adoption? What steps do we need to take to guarantee successful technology implementation? Join host Todd and guest Russell Haworth as they discuss the mindset that’s needed to move forward with technology, the arc of the industry’s digital transformation journey, how tech can assist us in tackling bigger issues like sustainability a...

Join host Todd and guest Britta Teller as they discuss the intersection of ecology, statistics, and construction, how we can contextualize sustainability on an individual level, some “green” products that we should start integrating into our workflows, and some hurdles that we’ll face moving into 2023. Britta Teller is Chief Sustainability Officer and a Co-Founder at Steller Floors. Five years ago...

When it comes to the many different facets of our industry, what are some ways we could collaborate more effectively? What are some misconceptions that people have about the industry as a whole? Join host Todd and guest Marc Goldman as they take a deep dive into GIS, the biggest hurdles facing data interoperability, how geographical knowledge benefits the construction worker, and more. Marc Goldma...

Join host Todd and guest Aviv Leibovici as they discuss an outside perspective on the issues faced by the industry, how technology can fundamentally change construction, an expert’s opinion on AI involvement on projects, and the next steps we should take to make our workflows more modern. Aviv Leibovici is a co-founders and Chief of Product of Buildots, a company that solves one of the biggest cha...

Top-level marketers specializing in construction weigh in on the best way to market your construction business. This special episode is in an audiobook format that is a companion to an eBook by the same name.  Experts in this episode cover: branding, website, blogs, social media, videos, emails, digital advertising, press releases, brochures, creative bids and more.

Every week on Bridging the Gap, I end the show by asking my guest “what does innovation mean to you?”. I have been fascinated with the wide-ranging and thought-provoking responses. This eBook contains an ode to some of those themes. So, what does innovation mean to you? --Todd

What’s the biggest hurdle stopping the industry from adopting tech as a whole? How do we address that hurdle and jump over it? Join host Todd and guest Matt Kleiman as they discuss the similarities between construction and aerospace, what we stand to learn from different industries, how to know you can rely on your systems under pressure, and more. Matt Kleiman is the cofounder and CEO of Cumulus...

How can you know that you’re growing in the right direction? What’s your company’s next big step? Join host Todd and guest Matt DiBara as they discuss the state of industrialization, the hurdles facing the industry in 2023, the best ways for us to approach the current labor shortage, and more. Matt DiBara is the Co-Founder of The Contractor Consultants, Owner of DiBara Masonry, and Founder of The...

This is a special episode of Bridging the Gap. This is our final live recording from the 5th annual MEP Force. During the Day 1 General Session, we sat down with the Queen of Prefab herself, Amy Marks. A key theme she touched on was 'expected experience' in your job and in a product. How you anticipate a situation can drastically affect your satisfaction with it. She also touched on the importance...

The hottest topic in construction right now is Change Management. We set up a live podcasting booth at MEP Force 2022 and asked your peers and industry experts what they thought about the topic. Here are the guests who joined us: Steve Smith - Steve is the product portfolio director (build and construct division) at Nemetscheck. You may recognize them as the parent company o Bluebeam. Steve is a p...

We're coming at you LIVE from MEP Force 2022 in San Antonio, TX. Our great friends of the show, Nathan Wood and Travis Voss joined us for this exclusive look at the conference and the theme: Stronger Together. In this episode, the trio puts their finger to the pulse of the MEP industry as a whole looking at leadership, workflows, and what happens after you throw a bunch of tech at something and no...

What is a circular economy? What does it have to do with Contech, green construction, and “Big Data”? Join host Todd and guest Alfredo Carrato as they discuss true sustainability in construction, the technology behind carbon capture, and the “industrialization of sustainability.” Alfredo Carrato is the Venture Capital Advisor at CEMEX Ventures. He is a trained architect, BIM enthusiast and college...

There are many different cultures within the construction industry. How do we navigate them—and communicate with each other—successfully? Join host Todd and guest Angelo Suntres as they discuss the “human side of construction,” ways in which we’re warming up to technology, and what the “next steps” look like for the industry as a whole.   Angelo Suntres is an MEP Manager at EllisDon. He is a passi...

What can you learn from building an awareness of failure? How do you encourage people to input good data to leverage across the project lifecycle? Join host Todd and guest Blake Douglas as they discuss the exponential growth that occurs when everyone in the company looks out for one another, the future of construction, and much more. Blake Douglas is Director of Construction Services at Applied So...

Are we beginning to make the move to sustainable construction overall? Join host Todd and guest Andrew Staniforth as they discuss the benefits of distributive design models, the biggest differences between traditional and modern modular processes, and how the industry will advance in the future. Andrew Staniforth is the CEO of Assembly OSM, working to make urban growth more sustainable, scalable,...

As someone in the AEC industry, what does your job look like on the daily? Does it involve many repetitive, time-consuming tasks on top of your important projects? If so, you’re not alone. Join host Todd and guest Simon Dickinson as they discuss ways to eliminate repetitiveness, how to prioritize interoperability, and what the industry may look like in the next five years. Simon Dickinson is Produ...