Precon Geeks

Do you have an estimating cost history database? Or any type of estimating database? In this week’s episode of Precon Geeks, the preconstruction podcast for all things precon, John has a challenge for you… What is that challenge? Well, you’re just going to have to listen to find out. And you’ll want to listen until the very end because Jared has HUGE news he has to share.

Bad data costs businesses $12.9 trillion every year. As an estimator, getting accurate data and mitigating risk is the majority of what you do. Using accurate data to make the best project decisions is key to winning jobs. There are two types of data—historical and cost data. John and Jared talk about the importance of keeping you estimating data clean and offer advice on how and when to clean you...

BIM. Who is using it? How are they using? What are the roadblocks to using it? What does the future of BIM look like? At last year's Precon World, Brent Pilgrim, National Director of Preconstruction at the Beck Group, asked who was using model-based estimating regularly— 83% replied, ‘no.' In this episode, John and Jared talk about how preconstruction departments have become experts as usi...

Piggybacking on the episode You're Good Enough, You're Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like You when John and Jared talk about imposter syndrome, today the Precon Geeks talk about how you can learn how to estimate and how to learn to estimate better. In our country, there aren’t many official avenues to learn how to create construction estimates, so how can you get into preconstructio...

We’ve come a long way, baby. On this week’s episode of Precon Geeks, the preconstruction podcast made for estimators so we can geek out on all things precon, John and Jared discuss the evolution of how we’ve done preconstruction and how technology has impacted construction and particularly preconstruction. John talks about his experience with the digital revolution and the evolution of takeoff and...

Is your daily mantra “You're Good Enough, You're Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like You?” Even though Stuart Smalley was a comedic sketch, he was actually on to something. The feeling like you don’t know enough to do your job well is a common feeling among estimators. Drawing from a popular Redditt post about imposter syndrome at work, John and Jared talk about how to handle feeling...

You don’t want to miss this exciting episode! Togal. AI CEO and founder, and Executive Vice President of Coastal Construction, Patrick E. Murphy, is John and Jared’s special guest this week.   With 80% faster takeoffs, Togal. AI is takeoff software and integrates with DESTINI Estimator. In this week’s electrifying episode, Patrick and the Geeks discuss the latest in A.I. and how’s it is being used...

How heated is it going to get? It's a show down between U of L and U of K. JUST KIDDING. John and Jared host our own Allison Lewis, Beck Technology Learning and Development lead. Allison heads up all our training efforts for end users of the DESTINI suite of preconstruction software. With a construction background, Allison is an expert in data management, process improvement, and standardizing...

While Jared is still riding solo for one more week, he hosts Beck Technology Implementation Specialist, Ted Solomon. Ted is our resident born and raised New Yorker. He came to Beck Tech with a civil engineering degree and a background in preconstruction, estimating, and field work. He’s deeply passionate about construction technology and sees how embracing emerging tech will help make the built en...

While John is out being lazy…J/K! He’s out doing cool stuff with his kid’s Boy Scout troop…Jared hosts our own Jan Baren, precon and precon tech expert extraordinaire. On this episode, Jan gives excellent insight into how to evaluate your preconstruction efforts now and provides advice on how to prep your team for the future.

John and Jared sit down with Grant Stucker, Beck Technology Strategic Account Executive, to discuss the path to precon, the path out of precon, and how cost estimators are more storytellers than they are number crunchers. If you're a true precon geek, you don't want to miss this episode!

John represented Beck Technology (and the Precon Geeks) at the 2023 Advancing Preconstruction Conference and him and Jared discuss John's biggest takeaways and what trends he sees emerging in precon after attending.

Burnout is a big deal. And precon is feeling it. In this episode, John and Jared address the question, "As an estimator, how do I care about everything?" John spent nearly 15 years in estimating and construction and knows well the pressures you can face. He gives advice on how to stay focused on your current job while also keeping your eyes on the future, and how to take care of yourself...

Are y'all going to Advancing Preconstruction this year? If so, we can't wait to see you. Stop by booth 130 and meet Precon Geeks co-host John Reich! He'll be on hand to talk precon with you. We’re also really excited to have our own Grant Stucker, Strategic Account Executive, present with Jason Fuhrmann, a senior estimator at Miron Construction on Thursday, May 25th at 2:25 p.m. They’l...

On this week’s episode of Precon Geeks, Jared talks to special guest Matt Dowling, Executive Vice President of The Pinyan Company. Matt and Jared discuss the importance of sub-contractor management in preconstruction. We rely so heavily on our sub-construction that maintaining a trusted relationship is critical. If we lose relationships with our subs, we lose the edge over our competition. So, how...

This week, John and Jared host Gareth McGlynn, CEO of Niche SSP and host of the Preconstruction Podcast. They talk about the changing shift of focusing more value on preconstruction teams, how to recruit people into precon, and most importantly, they discuss football—soccer to Americans. If you are looking for a position in preconstruction, reach out to Gareth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com...

Is AI taking over your job? In this episode, John and Jared ask CHATGPT for questions regarding AI and the construction industry. They also discuss how AI can help an estimator do their job…not how AI is taking over their job. If you are interested in 80% faster takeoffs, check out Togal. AI here: DESTINI Estimator Integration with Togal | Beck Technology (beck-technology.com)

What are owners looking for in a general contractor? This week, John reveals what he’s learned about what owners are looking for and what you can do in precon to make owners trust you and win more projects. Hint: it involves transparency, differentiation, and sexy technology. If we have any owners listening, send us an email and let us know what you look for in a contractor: General Business Inqui...

When was the last time you heard “good job?” Most feedback estimators receive is when you’ve gotten a number wrong. There is rarely any positive feedback in our profession. Also, preconstruction is unique in the construction industry because you need to be available to PMs in the field and to owners, which can require 12-hour + days. There is the perception from the younger generations entering co...

Are you doing value engineering right? Are you just reducing costs by cutting scope out of the project? If so, that is not value engineering done right. When owners work for months or years with an architect to design the dream, are you the guy who has to tell them they can’t afford their building? There is a better way. Value engineering brings back the art in estimating. John and Jared discuss h...

Target Value Design is disrupting the traditional preconstruction process. Deriving from the design-build method and lean estimating construction practices, Target Value Design is a way for precon teams to get ahead of the work preventing change orders and budget overruns. It is putting the precon process before the design process. It may make some estimators uncomfortable; however, working togeth...

John and Jared talk with Beck Technology's President, Stewart Carroll. Stewart talks about how he got into construction and technology, both passions of his at a young age. In this episode, you will learn how Stewart met Peter Beck, one of the founding members of Beck Technology, and how Beck Technology was started. Peter believed that if the construction industry could utilize technology in the p...

John and Jared sit down to discuss the trends in precon in 2023. What are we hearing from clients? What are we experiencing in precon now post-COVID? You'll hear John's take on the cost of material escalation currently and how hybrid work environments are going to grow in the future.  But what they really focus on in this episode is artificial intelligence (A.I.) and augmenting an estimators...

Howdy, we're Beck Technology and we make game-changing preconstruction software. Why are we launching a podcast now? Well, because there are so many neglected aspects of precon. We want to talk about what estimators AREN'T talking about. We'll interview industry insiders, techy folk, estimators, and precon professionals for their take on what's happening in the world of precon now and trends for t...

Precon Geeks, the podcast for precon freaks. Why should you listen to our new preconstruction podcast? Because we get real. We're going to discuss all the things estimators are posting anonymously about on Redditt. We'll discuss the challenges you face and how to overcome them. Listen in to gain insight into what industry insiders and top GCs are doing to set their companies up for success. ...