Building PA Podcast

If you asked 100 construction professionals to define business development you would get 100 similar answers that sound something like this—When it comes to organizational growth, business development acts as the thread that ties together all of a company's functions or departments, helping a business expand and improve its sales, revenues, product offerings, talent, customer service, and bra...

While the hazards faced in construction are in some ways similar to those in other industries, there are some unique issues that safety professionals and contractors must consider. In our ongoing pursuit to educate and inform professionals in the construction industry about safety on the job site and in the office we are hosting Risk Manager and Certified Safety Professional, Brent Gates with Stri...

If you are a professional working in a job that requires you to stay up to date on all things related to safety, then you need to listen to this podcast. Chris and Jon invited Paula Loht, corporate director of safety for Gannett Fleming and PA Governor’s Occupational Safety & Health Conference, GOSH, committee member to talk about this year's upcoming GOSH conference, October 31-November...

This episode of the Building PA Podcast continues our commitment to talking about mental health and wellness and suicide prevention. September 4-11 marked the one week set aside to highlight suicide prevention on a national level however, it's a topic that needs to continue to be at the forefront of conversation among all professions, especially in the construction industry.  This month we&ap...

Today's podcast continues the conversation about suicide prevention and mental health and wellness in the construction workplace.  Our guest, Mark St. Cyr, carpenter, union member, and construction superintendent openly shares his story of abuse and mental health issues that led him down a path of addiction at a very early age.  St. Cyr is 15 years sober and has dedicated his life to helping...

According to the CDC, men working in construction have one of the highest rates of suicide compared to all other industries. A shocking statistic, but one that can not be ignored. Today's podcast is all about shining a light on mental health and wellness in construction. We're kicking off this month with a candid conversation with the Director of Safety for the Associated General Contrac...

Workforce development is a topic that we've talked about a lot on the podcast and written about repeatedly in The Keystone Contractor.  When we open up the topic for discussion, we're often left with more questions than answers. There's no doubt that the construction industry is facing significant worker shortages. So rather than talking about the same grim statistics, we want to sh...

For 27 years, Pennsylvania has had the highest non-graduated tax in the United States. This tax rate of 9.9% has limited Pennsylvania's ability to be competitive in bringing new businesses to the Keystone state. With the corporate net income tax reduction, that's about to change. To talk more about the tax reduction bill we invited the President of The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Comme...

On the Building PA Podcast, we've talked a lot about workforce development and realize there's more to add to this conversation. Many businesses, not just in construction, are faced with workforce issues daily.  So we've asked the question, where are all of the workers? We decided to bring an expert to the show with knowledge about workforce issues and solutions for businesses that...

On today's show, we invited the Co-Founder and CSO of Vertical, Aaron Priest to talk more about how technology can affect the bottom line for construction companies. Vertical is a software platform that solves problems around construction compliance and documentation. In other words, Vertical has found a way to get contractors paid FASTER. We started the conversation off by asking how Vertica...

We've all been there, you're in your car on your way to your annual family vacation destination or just making your daily trip to work, and you're stopped or slowed down because of traffic due to road construction. It seems like road construction and repair are everywhere, and you're right, it is! And whether you believe it or not, it's a good thing.  With the recent Infra...

Today's guest returns to the podcast to talk about the popularity and growing demand in the multi-family housing and student housing industries for sustainable design. CEO and founder of ROCKiT Architects, Brian DiPietro shares his career experience and some favorite projects that emulate his expertise in sustainable design. Over the past decade, sustainable design has gained in popularity be...

Now more than ever companies realize the importance of providing a healthy workspace environment for their employees. This concept has been heightened post-COVID and will continue to be a priority for owners and their employees.  With the growing interest in this topic, we decided to talk with an expert on healthy workspaces and learn how people and their environment interface and how the health o...

COVID, workforce development, supply chain issues, this list goes on and on for the daily challenges faced by small businesses. It's probably safe to say that it has been a rough two years for business in general. So what does the future hold? Recognizing that 48% of people work for small businesses, we decided to check in with Pennsylvania State Director, Greg Moreland of the National Federa...

In business, leadership is one of the most talked about topics among business professionals, owners, and executives.  In this episode, we decided to take the discussion beyond the boardroom and into the world of nonprofits and associations. Our guest Elisa Brewer Pratt is the CEO of Brewer Pratt Solutions. Pratt is a chief strategist who specializes in organizational effectiveness. She consults wi...

"Construction workers are statistically at higher risk for mental health issues than virtually any other profession." This is according to the Center for Disease Control.  This statistic was true prior to COVID and even more so now. Growing mental health concerns exist in the construction industry because it ranks second highest in suicide rates among major industries. This topic ranks h...

Sometimes you record a podcast that leaves you feeling uplifted, inspired, and motivated.  It's filled with practical advice that can be applied to your professional career and your personal life. That's what you will hear in this episode of the Building PA podcast. Our special guest, Ret. Major General John Gronski is a  world-renowned author and motivational speaker.  Gronski speaks ab...

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with the Director of Safety, Bob McCall of the Master Builders' Association. McCall is a seasoned professional in safety-related matters and candidly spoke about COVID, mental health, and the need for more programs that help construction workers. McCall shared that COVID placed a greater reliance on safety and the need for companies to plan the...

No one likes a field trip more than our co-hosts, Chris and Jon. In this episode, the guys share their unique on-site visit to the Barry Isett and Associates Mechanicsburg field testing facility.  They were joined by Isett team members  Nick Bauer, project manager, and Erin Burke, marketing director who showed them about construction materials testing, the importance of testing, why it's nece...

We wanted to know more about what a B Corp is and what is fueling the desire to become B Corp certified.  Our guest on this episode is passionate about their B Corp certification and took the time to share with us a broad overview of what it takes to achieve this status. Beth Peiffer, owner and president of Ralph E. Jones, a painting, wallcovering, and special coatings contractor in Harrisburg, sh...

WELL Building. What is it? How does it differ from Lead building and is this the wave of the construction future? These questions and many more are answered by "Charles" Chip Desmone, CEO of Desmone Architects . Desmone and his team of architects designed the first WELL Gold Certified Building in Pittsburgh, PA. They are one of just six WELL certified spaces in Pennsylvania. Listen and l...

The topic of captive insurance has gained in popularity. We want to know, why? So we invited Tim Ziegler, vice president, principal, and head of the construction division at McConkey Insurance to join us on the podcast to talk about captive programs and answer some questions, we’re hearing in the industry.  Ziegler brings clarity to what captive programs are and shares the three biggest advantages...

In today's podcast, co-hosts, Jon and Chris are joined by a special guest, senior project manager for Quandel Construction Group, Sarah Knehr—KCA’s 2021 Top Young Leader Award winner.  Knehr was chosen as the winner because of her outstanding performance on the job and in the community.  You'll hear Knehr's insight on the importance of embracing young students, both high school and...

Michael Metz-Topodas, partner with Cohen Seglias Greenhall & Furman PC returns to the Building PA Podcast to talk about contract management. In this episode, Topodas shares insight about contract management and how it relates to change management. Topodas sees the contract as an equation; the contractor will do work and in exchange, they will receive money or payment.  This is balance. The imb...

Marc Mondor, principal, architect, and co-founder of evolveEA is our latest guest to talk about sustainable design.  Mondor shares how their company approaches a project to ensure the structure has a "lesser, lighter environmental impact." Mondor commented that the word "sustainability" is used a lot more in recent years and is sometimes overused.  He puts this thought into con...