Business Innovators Radio - Episode 40 : Construction Crossroads: Innovation, Legacy, and the Future Workforce with David Hernandez

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

Part of the Construction Executives Live ProgramThe construction industry has critical challenges facing us today, a confluence of three industry trends that can seriously disrupt the industry:The clash between traditional processes (both in actual construction and project management)The rapid rise of technology to stream those processes.A growing generational gap.With seasoned professionals nearing retirement and a wave of young talent entering the field, the construction workforce is caught in a transition unlike any other. How can we leverage technology to honor the legacy of experienced workers while equipping the next generation to lead the future of construction? Is technology eroding the craftsmanship and processes that have stood the test of time—or can it be the key to bridging this gap?It’s time to meet at the crossroads and build a stronger, more connected construction workforce.In The Zonehttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/in-the-zone/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/episode-40-construction-crossroads-innovation-legacy-and-the-future-workforce-with-david-hernandez

Welcome to In the Zone and Construction Executives Live, brought to you by U.S. Construction Zone, bringing you strategies for success with construction innovators and change makers, including In The Zone peer-nominated national award winners. Here's your host, Jeremy Owens. Welcome back to Construction Executives Live. I am your host, Jeremy Owens, owner and founder of U.S. Construction Zone and three generations improvements out in Sunny, Fulsom, California. Welcome. Thanks for being. here. We have another great show for you today. And thinking about it, I was thinking about such this a stark difference that we have in our generations, especially when you think about the baby boomers. My dad's a baby boomer. He still works for our business. His adoption of technology is completely different than than millennials and Gen Z. And the way they communicate is typically pretty awful. there's not a lot of understanding that goes on between those two generations. And now is the time that we really do have to come together as an industry and understand

that we're not going to fully understand each other necessarily and have a hard time maybe putting each other in each other's shoes per se. But we need to. We need to come together and understand that, hey, there are pros and cons to technology. But also, we have got to figure out a way to all. honor those that are exiting our industry. I think about my dad retiring soon and going, he has so much knowledge in his head. We got to make sure we get that out of his head and into those young professionals.

And the only way to do that is through good communication. So really looking forward to today's content as we dive into that. So we are sponsored by the great team at build12.com. Automate your construction business into a revenue generating machine. check out build12.com. Ask for less over there. Tell them I sent you there. He'll give you a free demo and kind of take a peek behind the curtains.

I've been using it for a couple years now and really enjoyed how it's creating efficiencies and automations in my business and helping me with my time. I really struggle with finding extra cracks of time and Build 12 has really helped me with that. Okay, we have a great show for you today titled Construction Cross-Success. roads, innovation, legacy, and the future workforce. The construction industry has critical challenges facing us today, a confluence of three industry trends that can seriously disrupt the industry. One, the clash between traditional processes, two, the rapid rise of technology to stream those processes, and three, like I mentioned, a growing generational gap. With these seasoned professionals nearing retirement and a wave of young talent entering the field, the construction workforce is caught

in a transition unlike any other. How can we leverage technology to honor the legacy of experienced workers while equipping the next generation to lead the future of construction? We are fortunate enough to be led today by industry professional David Hernandez. He is a head of U.S. for Electosoft LLC, provider of innovative planning and scheduling solutions for the construction industry. And he has 15 years of experience and all different aspects of, commercial construction from business development to running his own business.

He brings a diversified experience to his role at Alecosoft. And David understands the pain created by tremendous company growth without proper processes and poor technology in place. I think that's probably everyone. Removing the pain is what drives him today. Thank you for being here, David Hernandez. And welcome to the show. Yeah, thanks, Jeremy.

Thanks for having me. Yeah, you're so welcome. Tell us a little bit about your. kind of start in the industry? Well, so I actually started pretty young. I would be considered cheap labor. A lot of my family members were in construction in some form of fashion. So weekends, summers, I spent my time, you know, I get, like I said, being cheap labor.

Sure. But learn really early that I loved seeing things built and being a part of that process. And so like most of my generation, probably you're doing. generation as well. We were told, go to college, you know, we want you to do white collar work. We don't want you to do this, but that just, that was my calling. I love to see things built. So with the white collar right a little bit, sales, business development, some management, but had the opportunity to partner with a construction company here in Houston and grew the commercial sector. But it was, you think you know a lot about construction.

until you're really in construction. Like you said, your third generation. You think you know it. And then you're in the driver's seat. You learn some valuable lessons with zeros at the end of them. Yeah, totally. And like if you're not continually learning, just how quickly you're left behind.

Absolutely. Yeah. So, I mean, you've had lots of roles in management. You know, how did you learn the management skills you needed to kind of manage your team? Yeah, that trial and error. So, you know, I used the word manager and leader.

They're two completely different things. So I, early in my career, I was a manager and learned, you know, I thought it was all about telling people what to do and, you know, holding them accountable. And I was promoted pretty quickly in my early, my early life, moved up into retail. And then I realized pretty quickly that that's not what it's about, you know. And leadership doesn't always mean boss, but typically if you're in that role, it's more about kind of empowering people learning from your team, you know, just because you're in a position of leadership doesn't mean that you know everything.

So I learned quickly. I had some really talented people around me and then guiding them, right, helping them take their expertise and kind of putting it in the right, in the right path. So it took a little bit, but there was some trial in there for a while. Yeah. I mean, isn't that also so true of our. industry. I mean, it's, we typically don't go to, even if we go to business school, which I went to business school, none of that freaking relates to, you know, putting that hat on and being a

manager and owner and being a leader. None of that really freaking applied. And that's what really pisses me off about my college experience is that you're supposed, I mean, I had business marketing degree. You think I would be able to be drawn on that. And so I just have a huge, that's a whole another podcast. I just have a huge issue with our college system right now, especially preparing for construction. It's just you really got to get into the nitty gritty. And whether that's an internship or a trade school, you got to be immersed in it. And otherwise, you're just going to be like, oh, great, it's trial and error. That's awesome. Yeah, you almost need a construction academy, right? Kind of get the real world experience. Well, I'm sure we'll get into a little bit more that I think is missing

big time for sure yeah totally and did you have a mentor that helped you through this journey so i i look back actually quite quite a few actually um so early in the early in the journey um the gentleman who actually helped me get promoted was one that actually pulled me aside and said david you're about to get fired like nobody wants to work for you you know and i was young so i felt like i had to prove something that people who were working for me that were much much older. And he was like, no. So it kind of helped me.

You know, he tried to explain to me the difference of the manager and a leader then, and I was in my early 20s. But as I progressed through my career, you know, I can think of a couple people. I don't want to leave everybody's name out,

but I had, you know, worked for a lady named Lisa Ireland who taught me more of like kind of coaching and personal development piece and the kind of servant leader mindset. Another servant leader,

Matt Wendling, which he probably imparted more like, intentionality and patience and kind of handle how to act that way in the high pressure. And then I can't, you know, give my current boss a little bit of kudos as well because he, you know,

Jonathan Hunter, he, he challenges me in a way that is more like kind of that next level, that strategic thinking ahead from an executive perspective. So each of those has kind of help propel, you know, each step in my career. So there's a lot that have probably imparted stuff in me that they didn't even realize it that,

you know, I'm not trying to leave their names out. but yeah i mean it's such a such a key ingredient to our success is that mentorship role and i think many of us um you know i did it as well as a young person and it is you kind of have your ego that that kind of takes over and you think you can do it all yourself when in reality if you really seek out more assistance and help from from your peers you know it just would propel you to to greater heights. But, you know, I think everyone needs it, honestly. No one knows at all. And someone knows something that you don't or a trick of the trade. And we need more of those,

especially, as I said about, you know, our aging, you know, workforce. Like, we, we need those folks to impart wisdom on us real quick. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I think there was somebody, one of them, somebody told me a long time ago, if you're the smartest person in the room, find another room, right? Always, always learn and absorb. doesn't matter who you're with. Like you should be able to learn something from those that are around you. Yeah. Was there any other advice that you were given in your early career that you're still

leaning on today? Yeah. So if any of my team members are watching this, they're probably going to spit it out, it's control what you can control. It's probably my number one thing that I have to tell myself on a date. It sounds so simple, right? But it is probably the toughest thing to do,

especially, you know, when you, when you're working collaboratively with people, if you're in a leadership role because you don't have control over everything. So learning to let go of some external things that you can't really control and also how you respond to some of those external challenges that you can control, right? Your attitude towards people, your behaviors and how you manage and respond. So it's probably the one thing that I try to do daily. And I have to remind myself every day.

It's not a, yeah, it's a problem. Totally. All these things are so, such learned things. Yeah, also, if you guys have a question for David, you can try to put it in the chat. I'll try to take a look at those as we go through. But before we get into the technology side, I wanted to kind of touch on what I kind of open with with this generational divide that we have. You know, how did we get here? What are you seeing in the field? You're in a different kind of aspect of construction than I am, especially being on the commercial side. I'm more on the remodeling side. So we are, probably see some different things, but what are you seeing there? So even since we've last talked, I've had some other conversations around this, you know, and like construction has always been very hands-on. And so when I was kind of stepping back and looking at construction that, you know, our parents were probably a part of, they started very early, very young, right? They were the wet behind the ears, you know, greening on a project that are now the legacy

and the expertise that they bring is immeasurable. but I think some of it is the fear I've talked to some of the retired the fear of I should have given more but they were afraid that if they they passed information down that they're not as valuable to a company so I think they feel that maybe their experience is undervalued so again that comes back to people and we'll talk you know and then young people can bring like new people and young people either ran out of college or a new to a project they can bring fresh ideas without the hands on experience and so it's something. Sometimes it's like you haven't paid your due, so how are you going to tell me what to do? Right. I spoke to a, I was at a conference in Austin two weeks ago, and it was funny because a couple college professors were there, or they did a conversation at a college, and they asked a room full of construction management track, and they said, you know, how many in here want to be a superintendent?

And nobody, you know, 90 students in the room, nobody raised their hand. And who wants to be a project manager and all 90 hands go up, right? And it's understanding that value of what a superintendent brings to a project is, I think that's undervalued and understated in some aspects. That they are the, like, they're generally the general on the project, right? They're the ones that are driving and everything. Yes, PMs are important. I'm not trying to discount PMs, but somewhere along the way there's been this disconnection

of what that is. So I think it's important that some of the old school construction guys can kind of help push some of that education around the importance of what we need superintendents we need we need up and coming right superintendents are also those guys that are guys and women so that are built through the kind of the rough within a project so um so i'm seeing i'm seeing that shift where everybody's like more let me want to kind of run as a p.m or i want to be an executive in the office versus kind of being that general on on the on the on the ground project so yeah are you kind are you like me in that you're a little fearful of, you know, this mass exodus that we're, you know, we're obviously seeing it already,

but I feel like it's, it's really coming, it's going to come fast and furious, whether, whether people retired or age out completely, that that, that knowledge is not being shared. And I think a lot of that has to do with pride, right? That they're like, you know, they don't want to, they don't want to hear what I have to say. They're doing the technology thing. They got it all figured out. like so yeah there is a little bit of issues there it's like if you don't have that leader at that at that office to to bring people together it's just it's going to die with them yeah i think that yeah and it's that's part of this bridging the gap right and i think actually i think what brought

this conversation up with you and i was yeah i think technology could be a kind of a kind of a fix to that a little bit but i i do see you know a little bit of pride um But some of that could be mitigated through, like, through company initiatives where the construction company could offer, you know, so I know these guys have to build the project. So it's very difficult to say, okay, why don't you all put on a clinic for, you know, for a day or two because that disrupts production. So it's, so it's this fine line. How do you, how do you put them in a position to teach, you know, almost in a classroom setting? Because they're really just learning day to day, but they're so bogged down with just stuff they have to do all day long. And, you know, 60 to 70% of their stuff isn't building, right?

It's admin and paperwork and reports and communication. And so I think that's, you know, that's got to be mitigated and corrected in the industry. Yeah. Are you seeing some adoption from some of those baby boomer folks in the field? I mean, I know that obviously we're painting with very broad brushes when we talk about technology. But, you know, obviously most struggle with it a little bit in that it's not second nature to them, you know, learning a new technology. takes a lot more time. And that's where that implementation thing really comes into play.

Because you see that. I'm sure you see it where a company forces a technology down the throat of everybody. And the folks in the field are like, I don't, they're not even seeing like what it does to help them. And I think that you need to communicate. All right, this is what, this is what it's going to do. It's going to do this for our time. It's going to do this. But instead it's just like, all right, here's the new tool.

Get after it. And like, you know, these older folks are. are like, what? So yes and no. So there is some hesitation, but I don't necessarily think it's the hesitation to the, to the technology so much as it's the

fear of, is this replacing my expertise? And, you know, and so that's the whole AI conversation and some other stuff. But I think it's around kind of, I think there's a responsibility from the technology providers. I think there's some responsibility from kind of leadership.

Like, it's an enhancement, right? not a substitute. And so we, it's probably very cliche. Most software companies probably talk people process technology. Yeah. But it is important. I think if you can take that legacy expertise from your people,

you can refine a really good process. The technology piece is, is an added value. Right. But if you just think technology without addressing the people in the process, then again, right, you have resistance to adoption. I think I saw a statistic that 70% of all data transfer,

and digital projects fail because of employees. And some of its implementation, some of its disruption, some of it's just disconnection. So you almost need that more bottom-up adoption versus top-down. So that's where I think, you know, I've seen some companies that are very innovative and they'll build like a kind of a citizen environment within their organization that kind of helps adopt technology. So they'll pick somebody from each team within the organization. that is that technology driver that helps kind of push it out.

So you have more bottom up versus top down. Yeah, that seems like a great strategy. Do a lot of companies sell from the bottom to the top? So that's, so yeah, so the executives write the check. So right? Yeah. Software companies are trying to get in front of the guys writing the check. Yeah.

But you need that evangelist or that champion. Sure. And it's typically the user. So part of that comes. with an education on how do you sell this innovation to your, to your, to your organization. Right.

Especially, you know, when it's, they're kind of fatigued a little bit around the technology piece. Yeah. So, yeah, so I think you,

you need that bottom up push an evangelist, somebody that you can have champion, but you're going to need the top, the top to buy into it. Sure. But when you talk about implementation, again, I think it needs to be bottom up implementation.

Yeah. I mean, I know you probably get this, this a lot, but how with the technology coming out, it's fast and furious, right? You know, I struggle with it too. Understanding what

will work, you know, everything looks great. You know, the presentations look great. You think like, okay, I can see this. So I think, you know, how do you assist a company in making sure the technology is right for them? Because I imagine for a lot

of folks you talk to, you're like, no, you know, you guys aren't ready for this. You know, so that's a difficult conversation because we all want all this new stuff, but I think we're at the point now where we're like, crap, I just bought three of these. I'm using one. You know, I mean, so we're kind of like, it's a lot right now. Yeah. So, you know, you've seen a lot of companies that brought in, you know, a director of innovation

or director of technology or their job is to come in and fix some of the disconnection, but also to protect the companies from buying unnecessary tech. Right. And so I use an example. I was at DCW, which is a big electronic, big contact event in London. I mean,

you can even just think of any of the ones that are here. If you go to any technology conference, especially in contact, there's 100 booths, there's 1,000 people, and everybody is stopping and looking at the new technology. And I was with our head of innovation and our CEO, and I said,

I want you to stop for a second, just look around the room. This is what our customers are faced with every day. Like this noise and chaos and which technology do we buy? How do we buy it? How's it going to fit? And so they tend to just go back to what they do well, which is build stuff. Like, we'll deal with that later. Let's get these projects done.

So I think it's our responsibility is software providers. And that's not just technology, construction tech, all technology. we have to help them silence the noise. We have to make it easy to be the right choice. And sometimes we are, sometimes we're not. Right. But ultimately, we should impart some education and gain some education in every conversation we have.

So I tell my team all the time, like, we want them to buy our software. I'm wrong. That's how we're here. But at the end of the day, if we can provide some additional insights on helping them, maybe it's a process, maybe it's aligning people. that's a win for us. And so I think that piece is the hardest piece. We have to quiet down all of this noise and give confidence.

Yeah. It's pretty well said. I mean, I think that's a good visual when you're at that conference. You're like, oh, crap. There's a lot of folks here. Yeah, so do you feel, I mean, I can probably guess your answer. Do you feel that technology is the bridge to, you know, this gap and then if you if so um how yeah um so um so i know that a lot of times i think

people are concerned when we were concerned about technologies replacing me is it doing this and so i i came across the analogy a while back and it's a perfect analogy um it's the um the autopilot for airlines right so implemented in around 1930s 30s, autopilot is designed to just manage routine tasks, right? And why the flight's in, why the plane's in flight. But the pilot is still invaluable. They've got to handle all the critical checks. They've got to handle all the critical needs. If there's a, if they mitigate an issue or address an issue during the flight and it disengages autopilot. So technology should be that. Technology should be your autopilot. It should take care of the routine,

mundane tasks. It should be there to help make sure that you're on the right path and let you know that, hey, you're starting to veer off path a little bit. So that, you know, so that could be your business intelligence piece, machine learning and AI that's coming. Here's where you're headed. And if you don't, of course, correct, you're going into a mountain. Right. But as soon as things start to kind of go sideways, that now we re-engage into the expertise of our teams. And that's where I think all this ad, the admin stuff, right? I said 60 to 70 to 70. percent of time for project manager or superintendent is administrative. So how do we get that stuff off of their plate so that they can handle the critical day-to-day building? They can mitigate

risks. They can address people, right? That's the other thing, like the ability to free up time to be intentional with the crews that are on staff. I think that helps with some of the mental health as well, because you can address an issue of crisis earlier. But if you're just constantly in this like kind of mode of chaos, right? It's like constantly just in crisis, crisis prevention. That's a lot of stress to carry all the time. Right. So we want to take some of that off of them.

And, you know, I said, it's always easier to say it than to do it. Right. But that's, I think, where technology should be that gap. And that's old and young. And I think that the younger generation is probably used to technology doing that for them. Right. So you don't want them to be so dependent on the technology that they're just like, okay, this should build this for me.

Like, no, you still have to have some critical thinking. So that's where learning the expertise, legacy critical thinking, applying the new technology, I think that could be where you can really see some closure with the gap in age. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I mean, you could see, you know, what role that leadership needs to play with us, right? So talk about maybe some of your experiences with, you know, some good leadership that you've seen like crap, that does really working well for them. And then others that aren't.

So I think, so first and foremost, I think we have to get away from this mindset of you have to use a certain thing. And so, I mean, even software is now respect into projects. And some of that is some of that just whether lack of knowledge. knowledge or whatever, but, you know, I've shared this analogy with a couple, a couple conversations I've had with owners. Like, you're not going out to the job siting telling somebody that's using a DeWalt that they have to use Milwaukee or vice versa. Like, you're, you're allowing them to use the tools or they're using a skill saw and you don't say they have to use a hand saw. Right. Right. So technology should be the same way. Like, don't dictate what

softwares need to be done, right? It goes back to that people process technology. I'm going to repeat that to death. But if you have the right process and in place. The technology piece, if it's following that process, should be agnostic, right? It's all about the data and the reporting. So if I'm using tools that are communicating each other, that matters. So leadership, though, needs to be able to be open-minded to when their teams come and bring ideas to them. But they also have to mitigate just buying softwares to buy softwares, right? And so, I do think that that happened early in the, early in the journey for construction. But they also need to they're not dictated, they need to facilitate it.

So if I have a team member who comes to me and says, hey, I've used a software at another company, it's really great, allow them to try it, right? And maybe try it alongside of a legacy program and have a true comparison. Don't just shut it down. And most software companies will embrace that.

You know, hey, yeah, absolutely. I'm confident enough to put my software up against your, my competitor. So I think the balance, balance needs to be between kind of this kind of trusting the experience of your team, but kind of what you're trying to, what you're trying to do as a company, kind of evolving as a company. And, you know, that adoption scale, right?

You always have your early adopters, you know, you always have that laggard. It's kind of the, don't be the laggard. Yeah. Be open-minded to say, hey, like, let's try this. Because I think right now a lot of people are behind the eight ball. A lot of people are behind because they've, like, waited to see what was going to go on. And I know, like, oh, we're probably need to catch up. Right.

Construction moves pretty quick. So, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think you're so right. And then with the people shortage that we have, it's like if you're not adopting that technology and you're throwing bodies at things instead of technology, you're way behind. And your costs are out of control too. So now you're not as competitive.

You have, you know, five extra bodies than that other company does. And so, yeah, I mean, it's such a critical time. You know, I guess looking back, you know, your career, you know, what were some of the biggest challenges that you faced when trying to introduce, you know, new innovation to your organization? So, so I live this, right? So I'm sitting there saying, executive should do this. I was that executive that was like, no, no, no, we're stalling on a project. We need to get back to work because we're trying to adopt this technology. So we, you know, we were, we tried to be, and we knew that we didn't have the right.

So we grew really quickly. And so it got to the point where it was build the project or stop and let's do an implementation. And ultimately, money flows from project delivery. So we just would stop the project. Or we'd say, okay, we'll let the office handle it. We need the field to keep doing what you're doing. Well, the field is what's driving the technology, right? 80% you know, it was 92% of your workforce is in the field, 8% is in the office.

So that was fine and well that the office learned it, but the field still wasn't. So our efficiencies and communication were still a problem. So my biggest failure was that we didn't, we were so worried about this disruption, which I get it. You do not want to disrupt project delivery. But had we stopped and just said, okay, we're going to, we're going to accept that we're going to take a day or two or three, whatever it is to get this right, that short-term, disruption would have created a long-term gain.

Right. Efficiencies. But what happened was we didn't disrupt that we kept moving forward. So our efficiencies weren't there because we were missing things like something simple as an owner shows up on a job site, says, hey, I thought we're going to do this, this and this. There's no communication. The superintendent's not available.

And one of the foremen say, okay, yeah, we'll do it. And that's a $50,000 change order. You know what I mean? Like that's a problem. And it happens. And so technology prevents that. Okay, that's great. We got to put that into our process into technology.

Then it flags that that's open. No, that's a change request. It's not part of the original scope. So those things that I look back on now from this position, I'm like, I would have saved us so much money, so much time, so much heartache. And then I wasn't as open-minded. So that's why I speak about that for more of a kind of that perspective. I know we're driving the business.

We know what we know what we need. do y'all just go build and i'm and i'm like nope that goes against what i just said about being being being able to learn from the people so that and it was it was some of our old school guys who were just like hey we could do this this and this and this so we were saying no no no we're just going to keep pushing the way we're pushing and um you know there was technologies out there that just saw that problem for us yeah yeah totally i mean we like we said before what you know i don't know why necessarily the construction has as always lagged in tech adoption. I always kind of scratched my head about that because we built shit, you know,

and it's like it doesn't really make sense. And maybe because we're used to building shit with our hands that, or manually or visually seeing a job board or all those things that we had in our mind. But, you know, what strategies have you seen work best with companies that that aren't embracing technology? How do you kind of make sure that you're not disrupting? Because I I imagine that's probably your biggest thing you've got to overcome, right? Yeah. So I think this kind of, this one's almost kind of a circle back to what we were talking about a second ago, where you have, you have companies who have brought in, you know, a manager-level person to only,

their only job is to protect them from buying technology. I say buying technology. That's more adversarial. Their job is to help kind of fix their tech stack, right? Sure. And so they are going to be very protective if a software company is trying to sell them. I'm like, no, I've got enough problems I've got to sort through first. Right.

So that, so that's a challenge. And that goes back to, you know, with the comment, like, you know, technology was kind of late, construction was late to technology. I remember 15 and 16, we were buying a bunch of technology. Yeah. But it didn't, there were little point solutions, right? They weren't really an enterprise level product. They kind of talked across multiple people.

It was just like, oh, that's a really cool thing. Let's do that. we're struggling with it on a project. And they didn't talk to each other. And so we just bought and bought and bought. So that's where that tech fatigue comes from. We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in software. None of them works.

I don't want any more software. It's kind of like you're rewinding. Yeah. So I think that it's good to be early to the table, but you have to be careful that you're not just buying something to buy something. So I think that's where that illustration of like, we've got to help quiet down the noise a little bit. And there's so much information out there now, right?

I mean, by the time they get to a buying decision, they've made, they pretty much made a decision. Right. Right. It's our job to help quiet the noise. And why are we better than somebody else? Yeah. The other thing is, is I think technology companies need to play nice together. And, you know, not necessarily maybe a competitors.

I get it, right? We're competitors. But within a project delivery, you know, that life cycle, there's so many things and so many steps and other softwarees that kind of fit in different holes. Right. I think there's really a need for some integrations and, you know, the ability to kind of pull data into the same data source. So as an executive, that makes sense, yeah. What they care about is the data and the information, right? They want to see the information.

We actually just had a call that so long ago when we talked about this, where ultimately the software for them isn't as important as the information that's being received. The end user, they care about what software is using based on music use or whatever. but if it's all delivering data to the same data lake, that is important. And I think you're seeing more and more than that. I mean, think about construction as a whole, very competitive.

Yeah. But you have joint venture projects all the time with companies. So why would we not embrace that same mindset with the technology? So. Yeah. And there's so much more ways for that implementation to work now. The technology around the implementation is so much better now. So, you know, it's like creating that win-win, right?

Like, hey, it's not. just about selling the software, it's about making sure they get what they want. Right. Because then you've got maybe a potential lifelong customer. You know, what other tech are you using? Let's see how we can make this work together. And maybe that's some custom work, but that that is work that's going to really go a long ways with that company. And I think that'll help open up more opportunities because like you said, right? I mean, it is a competitive market. And it's hard to get somebody to come to the table. But now if you're having a conversation with a CIO about, hey, we're willing to talk to your drone company

or we're willing to talk to your ERP company. And let's see if there's a collaboration there. That's like, oh, okay, that is more, I think, you know, get you to the table a little quicker. Yeah, as opposed to just looking like more work. I go, crap, you know. How we're going to make this work? I've got to do it internally. And that's cost. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, beyond the technology, what other factors do you see playing a critical role in evolution of construction industry, you know, such as the workforce development, regulation changes, or sustainability. So, I mean, workforce development, that's new,

right? That's never been a problem in construction ever, right? So that's a new one, right? No, so workforce development is always, I think probably the most important. I think that you have to, you have to care about people, right? And you have to be intentional. I know that we've kind of touched on kind of the mental health thing. A lot of people are kind of talking more and more about it. When you look at the industry, you know, most of your workforce to be one injury away from, you know, losing their home or, you know, they're the breadwinners and now they can't work. Right. But I do think there's some, there's some opportunities to improve some skills as well so that you

can move along a career path a little easier. Yeah. You know, there's always going to be regulations and sustainability, things that you're going to have to deal with. And, you know, that's going to ebb and flow with whoever's, you know, whichever government's in the White House at the time. So I think that's the one thing I love about construction is it does have the ability to kind of pivot, right? So, okay, so this administration, they care more about this. Okay, so let's kind of shift a little bit. But ultimately, it will always come down to collaboration within your organization

because you're also collaborating with other business owners, right? So, you know, weird thing about construction is companies, hiring companies, all trying to work together for one common goal. So everybody has kind of different ways that they do things. So companies that are really good about adopting kind of cultural differences and providing some things that are, you know, that allow that uniformity happen quicker, I think those are the things that will drive, will help improve companies. But, yeah, I think you have to focus, first and foremost, people for sure.

Yeah. Have you seen any changes in the workforce development side? I mean, it's exhausting how much we've talked about it. But, you know, obviously, you know, it starts with a young age. It starts with, like, you know, wood shop. And, you know, we had that when I was in high school, but, you know, not. soon thereafter it was gone. And I haven't seen it come back

in our area. I know around the nation there seems to be some of those things cropping back up. But if you don't start at the young age and you're not swinging a hammer with your pops or you're not in wood shop, how do we get those guys and gals

to even consider this industry? Yeah. So they are bringing that back here in my part of Texas, which is fantastic. and not just not just wood shop but automotive

they're bringing back coming back in the schools because I think it goes back to that illustration where you know you ask 90 students they want to be a

superintendent and they're like no I don't be a superintendent I want to be a project manager because their mindset is a project manager is you know more computer more white collar

and you know no offense my PMs out there but then the superintendent and so I do think that that, yeah, that's got to be, it's got to be addressed early to from high school. And then I think more and more colleges are offering some, some certifications that they didn't offer before around construction management.

It used to have to be a four-year degree to now you can go, you know, do associates level training. So. Yeah. And then apprenticeships. I think you mentioned it early on. I think that is missing from the industry. Right. And I think that that should be something that, you know, construction companies.

get on right away. Like how can we get more apprenticeships in? Yeah, no, definitely. You know, now, I mean, with technology, you know, in front of us, we have this new beast, artificial intelligence, machine learning. We have all these digital tools. You know, where do you see this all going? And obviously, you know, AI, all this stuff is considered technology, but this is its own beast. And it could be, it could be very, very good. It could be very good. It could be very, very bad. It depends on who you ask. But, I mean, the bottom line is, is AI is here to stay.

And how can we use that to our advantage? So the event I talked to you about, the, that I was at two weeks ago, was an AI and data transformation event. And so it was very interesting, room full of construction companies and executives and some data, data managers. Mm-hmm. It was very clear that nobody's an expert right now, AI, especially within the construction industry. And so, you know, AI is such a big animal. But what was, what was telling

is when we start to kind of peel this onion back a little bit, we have a lot of companies that haven't even identified KPIs. Like, they don't even know really some of the minimum measurements that they're measuring on projects outside of cost and time. Right. And so, and so, like, we talked about, let's, let's, let's kind of step back a little bit. Right. So, AI's here to stay. Yeah. But how do you position yourself to get on that journey? First, let's know what we're measuring, right? And then you already have a lot of things that are in place from a machine learning perspective, the ML of that journey. Because you already have the data trends in the data.

And so how do you take that information? What's important and what's not? Is that you can see your trend data. AI is going to allow kind of that next step, right? like the autopilot, right, where you're headed for a mountain and it's going to give you, it's going to give you some ideas on how to mitigate that problem, but it's not going to do it for you. You still need that critical thinking from the human perspective. And I joke and I say, hey, I might take it over the world, but let's make some money off of it while we can.

As long as they don't call it Skynet, right? So. But it is, it is important. But what I was sharing with the group that, you know, while I was there in Austin, and others where they're speaking, we already have a lot in place that we can be taken advantage of from a machine learning perspective, the data. And that's why everybody's freaking out about the data transformation

and our style or we're disconnected. And it goes back to the more technologies play together, the easier that is. Yeah. And it was just very interesting to see kind of how people are addressing that journey. And I think people were afraid that AI is going to take their job,

but I think construction just requires too much human interaction. Right. Things will be replaced. There will be some admin or holes, like I said, some of this admin stuff that we can get off of people. Sure. All that does is elevate, right? I mean, we don't have operators anymore that used to telephone operators, you know, but it doesn't mean that those people just vanished off the earth.

They just elevate it probably and moved to a new career path. Right. So, yeah. So for me, I think AI in construction is still, It's still kind of shaky on what it can do and what it will do. There's a lot of companies out there that say they're using AI when really it's probably more machine learning. So, again, it's understanding from an educational perspective, the difference between the two. Right.

And then what do I really want from AI? Right. And if I'm already getting that from a high performing employee, I just need them to have the data. And then they can continue, they can make those decisions on the road. So, yeah, but yeah, we're, we're on the AI train to. It's part of our roadmap. Sure. But for now, it's more about just good data, good, clean data.

Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, I'm with you. I don't think it's going to replace jobs. It's just going to change jobs, right? Instead of it being like, you know, like you said, some of those admin tasks, I mean, social media, blog writing, all these things that make things a lot easier now. Now that person is freed up. up to do something else a little more high level. And we already do have a shortage of people.

So, things, these are not bad things. And I think that that's where I'm at is that people need to understand that this could be really helpful, especially if we look at these trends that we have. And it's like, we're going to have to replace hundreds of thousands of people somehow. And it may not be bodies. So we might want to consider adopting this a little bit more. Yeah. And that was a key point that actually, I missed.

the people shortage, right? That does allow you to operate a little leaner, you know, and so you don't want to always operate lean if you don't have to, but if you are operating lean, it does give you that opportunity to close some those gaps. Yeah, yeah, it definitely does. You know, what does the future hold for construction professionals as they look to streamline operations,

improve collaboration and enhance those project outcomes? So, man, I wish I had a crystal ball. Yeah, so everything changes so quickly, right? And so I think for the future construction, it's going to come down to data, right? I mean, that's the bottom line is we build things. We should always evaluate how we built it, and so the next one is better.

You know, we talk about the regulations. There's always going to be some type of external thing putting pressure, whether it's costs, or whatever it is something. So the data will allow us to be better planning, better planners, you know, build things a little more efficiently, you know, not just disruption within the construction industry,

but disruption of the community, right? Because nobody likes projects. So I think you've got, you know, companies that will be adaptable, collaborative, and data-driven are probably the ones that you will continue to see Excel. The ones that are resistant to those things, we'll have a hard time. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, that seems like the writing's on the wall without one, right? I mean, yeah, just how everything communicates together. And like you said earlier, the leadership to bring all this together. I mean, it's going to be critical. Honestly, we don't have a lot of great leaders in construction.

I mean, no offense. I mean, I've struggled with it myself, but it's like it's not always a natural thing. Like you said, you know, if you're a manager, you know, doesn't always mean you're a leader and vice versa. and, you know, how do we, how do we kind of level up our skills in terms of leadership and communication and, you know, mental health we talked about, like, all these things play together.

And if we don't have good leaders in position in our jobs, dang, I don't like the results that could happen. Yeah. You know. Yeah, that's, I think it goes back to just, you know, most leaders, you know, if they didn't get, you know, masters in business and were hired by, you know, Fortune 500 type company, they've grown, right? Probably your dad is probably the example of that. They've grown into that role because they've built a business and now they need to manage people.

That's that you learn some very hard lessons. It's almost like being a parent, right? There's not a manual to it. You just kind of like, oh, that's a mistake. I don't want to do that one again. You just kind of check these mistakes along the way. If you're not passing that down to the next generation, they're going to repeat the same mistakes.

So I think that they get back to, you know, having those mentorships and apprenticeships and the kind of stuff is important. Yeah. What other advice would you give those young industry professionals, those people that are just getting in, you know, obviously they already have that technology background that's part of their life. So how would you, what advice would you give them to really help their, you know, propel their career? So I would say surround yourself with people that are smarter than you, right? I mean, it's probably early in your career that probably seems silly because there's probably. a lot of people out there that have been doing this long time. But sometimes when you get out of school, you think you know everything. And so I would say be humble and open and listen, right?

Surround yourself. Back to that comment, right? If you're the smartest person in the room, find a different room. Like, learn something and be a sponge, but also don't be afraid to challenge and ask why. I'm a why person. I always want to know why. And it does drive people crazy. I don't drive my dad crazy growing up.

But I wouldn't know why. Why are we do that way? Why is it done this way? Is that the best way to do it? And maybe I have a better idea. Don't bring a problem without a solution. That's another one. Because you can say, well, that's not the right way to do it.

Maybe you should offer an alternative. So I think that, yeah, just learn. And if somebody's pushing you away, just try to lean on them as much as you can. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. especially try to be a sponge on that older generation to get what you can from them. Also, like if you, another crystal ball thing, what would you predict would be a defining characteristic of a successful business in the construction industry?

Let's just say 10 years from now. So that one, I'm sounding repetitive here. Data is going to have to drive decisions. And what data looks like today versus 10 years is going to be completely different, but it's still going to matter, right? You still need to know what's going on and how that's going to play out. I think the one you hit on earlier, the workforce development, the companies that put time and invest time into that. And I don't know we get close to time, but real quick example. So I spoke with the gentleman from Hoffman Construction, and Hoffman has put a lot of time.

and energy into kind of this kind of this like development and so they'll bring a trailer on one of their long-term projects where people can collaborate and meet and he kind of explained it like a man cave with you know kind of a bar without alcohol like a man cake or a woman cake so that'll be exclusive here but that allows peer-to-peer conversations right so I think workforce development and encouraging peer-to-peer, doing, you know, doing things that are maybe outside of the norm being a little different, but also have the ability to be agile and resilient. Because when you're outside the norm, people are going to give you a hard time and they're going to say that you're wrong.

Like, if you have a clear vision and a clear path, like, stay on that and be that early adopter of things. So I think that those would be the things I would say. Yeah, and that workforce development piece, I mean, I think everyone's waiting for the industry to solve these problems. Yeah, I mean, like we have, you know, hundreds of trade organizations. We have, you know, people that are, you're going to the government for needs. But at the same time, there's not enough action taken from companies, especially those in the medium to larger size where they do have an R&D department. and they do have these other things at their disposal.

And like there's not enough community outreach. Like let's get not only peer to peer, but let's get the young people to understand what their jobs look like. If they can't visualize that for themselves, then they're not going to do it. And I think that everyone's just kind of waiting like, all right, well, what are we supposed to do? And it's like, crap, just do something, please.

Yeah. There was one other piece of that that I've had a conversation around. This is not my ideas. I actually, most of my best ideas are stolen anyway. So is, you know, outside of the industry, when people get injured, you know, a lot of times they're kind of stuck like, you know, that was their livelihood. Like, what do we do? So I worked for a founder of a technology prior to this role. And her vision was that, you know, how can you provide a path for injured construction workers to work within technology?

because their knowledge is valuable. I love that idea. Now that I'm kind of in this role, I have the ability to kind of to pursue that. But not only that, talk to other CEOs and executives of technology. I'm like, that knowledge that they bring,

and that also gives them another path, right? So, yes, you can't really work on the job site, but you could still provide extreme value to the industry through whether it's trainings or just helping implement technology because of what you've known in the field. So that's something that I think technology, companies can own some of that development as well.

But it's almost like a wounded warrior type program. But the value is immense. Yeah, we can't afford to lose people. And yeah, that injury thing is a huge component to our problems. I mean, that's what it leads to a lot of, you know, the drug addiction and alcohol abuse is like, crap, I need to, I'm in pain and I need to work. And then before you know it, you got oxy and you're in trouble. Like so it's it's a big component and like yeah,

there's no pathways to anything it doesn't seem like. And I know that every industry has as challenges. So, you know, we're no different. But it just feels like we're just, you know, spinning our wheels a lot when it comes to this stuff. It's just, yeah, it's about building the next project. I don't want to sound very like Kurt like that, but it does come down to, all right,

we've got to continue to move on. So it's just this constant grind. Yeah, it is. What's next? What's next? Yeah, no doubt. Sometimes people get caught up in that, they get lost in the shuffle of all that. Yeah, it can be a rat race for sure.

I mean, it does feel that way a lot of times. It's chaotic, but you're just kind of controlled chaos. And on to the next project. Let's go. So tell us a little bit more about, is it Alecosoft? Am I saying that correct? Elicosoft, yeah. Okay.

And then what kind of problems is it, you know, trying to solve for our industry? So as a whole, we go soft is that, you know, we provide softers for built environment and we have some prop tech as well. Here in the U.S., we focus more on the building lifecycle side. So our core product is Ask the Power Project. So it's planning and scheduling platform. So we, yeah, our goal is to provide, you know, easy to use powerful software that it provides, you know, whether you're building something simple as just a standalone home. or a complex project.

But ultimately, we want to make sure that we're bringing kind of some industry expertise as well. So we've got, you know, team members have been in the industry that have either been schedulers or they're familiar with the industry. So, yeah, so our goal is to just continue to help the built environment. Construction is probably our biggest core core of that. Okay. Where does it, where is the corporate office? Because you, I know the part here.

So, so, so I, so the LLC, the, the, like, stuff LLC is a U.S.-based business. So my headquarters is in Houston, it's where I'm at. We are, our parent company is Aliko, which is a UK-based, so they're out of London. So they have, with seven regions across the globe. Got it. And what size of companies, and are you more on the commercial side or like where you find, like, the size and type? Yeah, so primarily, primarily commercial, vertical construction, civil.

we have government as well we've got a pretty pretty good contingent of the ENR 400 but we also we love the small to medium size enterprises as well you know these these companies are growing and trying to do a little more complex

projects and maybe don't have the right software in place that's that's I think a really good sweet spot for us yeah awesome so how do people learn a little bit more connect with you yeah so you can look at book me up on LinkedIn David Hernandez. We also have a Alicosoft North America page on LinkedIn,

and then our website is elicosoft.com. You can put backslash US. It should geographically redirect you. Okay. Yeah. Awesome. Well, I appreciate you being here. I love your expertise.

And I, you know, I'm looking forward to kind of what you guys are doing in the future. I'm a big fan. Yeah, I appreciate you having me, Jeremy. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah, totally. Thanks again for being here. This has been Construction Executives Live.

We'll see you next month. for another great topic. We're going to get into a financing side of our industry. Again, reach out to build12.com. They're our sponsor today. If you have any questions about their app, build12.com, and they'll give you a free demo. We'll see you guys next time.

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