Get the kNACk : A National Academy of Construction Podcast

Eric Dean , IMPACT ironworker co-chair, joins our host Sue Steele in the second of this two-part safety series on the health and safety of today’s labor force. Eric provides insight into the safety challenges currently affecting the ironworker labor force, and how IMPACT is working closely with the industry to create a ‘Culture of Caring’.

Bill Brown , IMPACT contractor co-chair, joins our host Sue Steele in the first of this two-part safety series to provide insights into the health and safety of today’s labor force. Bill discusses the evolution of worker safety in construction over the years, outlining the change in management efforts toward improving the physical and mental health, of the ironworker labor force.

Jill Tietjen , President, and CEO of Technically Speaking, Inc., joins our host Jerry Eyink to share her insights on career planning and advancement strategies in the construction industry. Jill provides valuable life lessons to young professionals based on her own experiences and interactions during her 40-year career in the construction industry.

Bob Prieto , Chairman & CEO at Strategic Program Management LLC, returns with our host Jerry Eyink in the final episode of this two-part series on Enterprise Risk Management. Bob dives deeper into project risks, discussing approaches to identify and track risks, and strategies to mitigate them utilizing the latest in technology.

Bob Prieto , Chairman & CEO at Strategic Program Management LLC, joins our host Jerry Eyink in the first episode of a two-part series on Enterprise Risk Management. As risk management in construction is crucial to the success of any project, Bob outlines the importance of ERM and discusses the different categories of risks and how they impact the strategy & operation of an organization. 

Sandy Hamby , CEO & president of MOCA Systems, Inc., joins Jerry Eyink in this episode to share her journey as a woman in the construction industry and the challenges she has faced along the way. The share of construction workers who are women, and the total number of women in the construction industry is at an all-time high. Sandy discusses what the industry can do to support and empower wome...

Ron May , retired executive at DTE Energy, joins our host Bill O’Brien to discuss his Executive Insight, “ Developing the Project Charter .” Ron discusses the formation process of a charter, the key components it needs to cover, and how it can be used as a tool for project alignment, control, and to ensure project success.

Wayne Crew , President & CEO of the National Academy of Construction, joins our host Sue Steele as the NAC prepares for its third Safety Symposium . Wayne discusses the importance of incorporating safety early on in engineering education and how the Safety Symposium series aims to bring together leading educators and the industry to address this knowledge gap. The episode outlines details for...

Bill Beck , retired vice president of quality assurance/quality control at WorleyParsons, joins our host Bill O’Brien to discuss his Executive Insight , “Supplier Quality.” Bill recalls experiences from his career to highlight the importance of supplier quality in a construction project and the key elements involved in ensuring supplier quality.

Ross Myers , Chairman and CEO of Allan Myers, and Scott Cassels , Executive Vice President of Kiewit Corporation, join our host Jerry Eyink to discuss the growing concerns for mental wellness in the construction industry. They discuss how mental health was a previously ignored facet of worker safety but is now a key focus for most organizations. Ross and Scott talk about the problems their compani...

Dave Nash , senior vice-president of MELE Associates, Inc. and a retired admiral of the U.S. Navy, joins our host Anna Franz to discuss leadership and some of the blind spots in leadership. Dave shares his characteristics of a good leader and how to overcome these potential blind spots.

Carl Haas , University Research Chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo, returns with our host Bill O’Brien for the second episode of this series on circular engineering in the built environment. Carl describes the current state of practice regarding circular engineering and the research being done and outlines the key steps necessary for establ...

Carl Haas , University Research Chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo, joins our host Bill O’Brien in this two-part series to discuss the concept of circular engineering in the built environment. Carl introduces the idea of circular economy in construction and how crucial it is for the industry going forward, highlighting some emerging concept...

Doug Gransberg , president of Gransberg & Associates. Inc and recently retired Professor who held an endowed chair at Iowa State University, joins our host Bill O’Brien for a two-part series on innovations in project delivery. Doug talks about the changes that have occurred in project delivery and shares his experiences from over 40 years, detailing the pros and cons of some of the more common...

Doug Gransberg , president of Gransberg & Associates. Inc and recently retired Professor who held an endowed chair at Iowa State University, returns with our host Bill O’Brien in the second episode of this series on innovative project delivery methods. In this episode, Doug discusses some of the more recent advances in construction project delivery and how it benefits from the early involvemen...

Bob Prieto , Chairman and CEO of Strategic Program Management LLC, joins our host Jerry Eyink in this episode to talk about corruption, one of the most corrosive factors impacting the construction industry. Bob details the ways in which corruption occurs in construction and how the industry has been trying to prevent such instances.

Barbara Jackson , director of the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver, joins our host Jerry Eyink in this episode to discuss the triple bottom line as a metric for measuring project performance. Barbara shares her experiences on how project evaluation has evolved over time to include non-traditional indicators impacting the people, planet, and profit...

Mike Goddu , co-founder, partner, and managing director of JMJ Associates returns with our host Sue Steele for the second episode on safety culture. Continuing from the previous episode, Mike and Sue discuss how a company can implement a strong safety culture and recall examples from their real-life experiences showing how some leaders and executives made safety personal.

Mike Goddu , co-founder, partner and managing director of JMJ Associates, joins our host Sue Steele in the first of this two-part episode on safety culture. In this episode, Mike introduces us to the concept of a safety culture and how it should be a personal priority for all personnel involved in construction projects.  

Edd Gibson , professor and Sunstate Chair of Construction Management and Engineering in the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University, joins our host Jerry Eyink for this episode to talk about front-end planning. As construction projects get more complex, Edd discusses the benefits of adopting FEP for better planning and project performance. For more Front End Planning wisdom,...

Maggi Walker , retired Vice President of Engineering and Technology at Dow Chemicals, joins our host Jerry Eyink for this episode. Maggi shares experiences from her distinguished career leading various groups and explains how good leadership dictates the success of a construction project. 

Jim Porter , Founder and President of Sustainable Operations Solutions, joins our host Jerry Eyink to discuss how collaborative efforts from the owner and contractor are key in ensuring and uplifting safety standards practiced in construction. 

Robert Prieto , Chairman and CEO of Strategic Program Management LLC, returns with our host Jerry Eyink to talk about his Executive Insight, “Trust.”   Bob discusses the importance of trust and details the challenges and strategies to gain trust in a construction project while sharing his experiences. 

Bill Badger , Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, joins our co-hosts Anna Franz and Jerry Eyink to provide us insights on building a leadership culture. Bill has written several books on leadership and provides us with tangible takeaways from a career that spans over 50 years in the construction industry, explaining his Executive Insight, “Organizational Leadership― It’s About People,...

Jamey Barbas , project director at the New York State Thruway Authority, joins our host Bill O’Brien to discuss an interesting Executive Insight, “The Design and Construction of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.” Jamey is known as one of the first in developing and advancing a methodology in suspension bridge cable condition assessment and she joins us to share her wisdom.