The Construction Revolution Podcast

In this episode of the Construction Revolution podcast, we sit down with Brandon Carbol, President and CEO of Weatherskin Corporation. Brandon founded Weatherskin alongside his friend and business partner, Marwan Hilal. Join us to learn why Brandon started Weatherskin and to hear the fascinating stories that led to the development of their products and the various challenges that they have encountered. Brandon shares how a construction coating manufacturing company balances its core values of being eco-friendly, developing the highest quality products, and protecting its customers and their projects. He explains how their products are producing nearly zero emissions by replacing materials that are low-VOC, and low-HAP along with their wide library of coatings. Brandon also describes how Weatherskin is not only a company that just believes in producing in an eco-friendly manner, but one that is committed to sustainability throughout their organization; from R&D, to manufacturing, to packaging, and beyond.

In this episode of the Construction Revolution podcast, Daniel Pifko, VP North America at WakeCap details how the company offers an industrial IoT solution designed to improve safety, efficiency and productivity for construction companies. By using a network of integrated sensors to connect the job site with a proprietary patented wireless mesh network technology, WakeCap can help manage the construction site workforce and reduce the scheduled risk while also offering huge leaps and safety for the workers.

In this episode of Construction Revolution, Dr. Aali Alizadeh speaks with Phil Cotter, the Head of Deployment Operations at Built Robotics. Phil is helping Built Robotics achieve their mission of “building the robots that build the world”. By upgrading off-the-shelf heavy equipment with AI guidance systems, Built's technology enables machines to operate fully autonomously. Phil brings a unique set of skills and experiences to Built's team that he has gained through his studies of biomedical engineering at Duke University and an MBA at MIT. Phil dives deep into Built Robotics and the technology and products that they are bringing to the market as part of revolutionizing the construction industry.  

In this episode of Construction Revolution, Andrew Fahim speaks with René Morkos, the Founder and CEO of Alice Technologies as well as an adjunct professor Stanford University where he teaches in the PhD Construction Management program. After spending years working on major construction projects all over the world, René developed ALICE, an AI-powered construction simulation and optimization platform. In this conversation, René provides a breakdown of the fascinating technologies developed at ALICE, including the world’s first “generative construction simulator”, and explains “parametric design” in under 30 seconds. He also maps out the roots of his fascination with this field both geographically and temporally, delving into the moments and places that led to defining the founding and future of ALICE. 

In this episode of Construction Revolution, we spoke with Sarah McGuire, the Senior Director of Sales at Giatec Scientific Inc., where she leads the company’s sales and business development to drive its mission to revolutionize the concrete industry. The company's revolutionary concrete testing technology is now being used in thousands of projects across 85 countries and has been on Canada's fastest growing companies list for three years running. Sarah built Giatec's channel partner network to drive demand for “internet of things” sensors within emerging markets and has developed programs to help clients succeed with using advanced concrete testing technologies. She is now leading the sales efforts and members within the North American market. Giatec is well-known for its SmartRock wireless concrete sensor, and in this episode, Sarah provides a detailed look into the mechanisms of the SmartRock product, an explanation of the maturity method in relation to the function of the sensors, as well as tips and tricks to obtain concrete strength estimation in the most efficient way possible.  

In this episode of Construction Revolution, we spoke with Kristina Mahler, the multi-hyphenate founder of CREW Collaborative and Steel Toe Consulting, LLC. CREW Collaborative aims to change the way the construction industry recruits the incoming workforce, cultivates the existing community, and reduces the stigma associated with careers in construction. With her aim to question the status quo by finding innovative ways to grow the construction industry and a passion for small business strategy, Kristina leads CREW Collaborative to address key concerns in the industry surrounding recruitment, spreading word of the merits of the skilled trades space, and why women are integral to this workforce. She breaks down the mechanisms of marketing that small businesses should strive to master, what it takes to build a nonprofit organization from the ground up, and her vision for CREW Collaborative.  

In this episode of Construction Revolution, we are joined by Christie Gamble, the Senior Director of Sustainability at CarbonCure Technologies, where she drives the company's mission to reduce 500 megatons of annual carbon emissions from the cement and concrete industry. As one of the two recipients of the $20 million global five-year NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, CarbonCure manufactures technologies that enable concrete manufacturers to utilize post-industrial carbon dioxide and reduce the carbon impact of their infrastructural projects without compromising concrete quality. Christie provides a detailed breakdown of the scientific process involved in repurposing carbon in concrete production as well as the logistics of providing these services to manufacturers through their market development team. She also emphasizes the importance of creating ambitious but viable goals towards carbon neutrality.

In this episode of Construction Revolution, we are joined by Jay Mulakala from DroneDeploy, where he leads the Global Solutions Engineering team in guiding enterprise sales strategies within North America and the APAC. Jay shares his insights on the potential of drone technology to enhance data visualization and analysis strategies, evolving from basic mapping techniques to a 360-degree experience as provided by their 360 Walkthrough feature, as well as optimizing the project management process in the construction industry. Jay also addresses safety concerns and regulations, relevant authorizations and clearance requirements, as well as emergency and evacuation plans pertaining to their drone operation.

On this episode of the show Boston Dynamic’s Brain Ringley and Trimble’s David Burczyk come on to discuss the technological collaboration between their companies. Trimble and Boston Dynamics collaborate to deliver a seamlessly integrated solution between Spot the robot and premier data collection systems including GNSS, RTS, and 3D laser scanning.

Learn more about their collaboration here: https://construction.trimble.com/en/spot

Giatec's mission is the revolutionize the construction industry through smart technology. The Construction Revolution Podcast is just one way in which we are pushing this mission forward.  Giatec has created the world’s leading wireless sensor for concrete temperature and strength monitoring - the SmartRock. 

In this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast, learn from MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub Executive Director, Dr. Jeremy Gregory, about the carbon uptake of concrete in the US pavement network. Discover the impact of cool pavement on the environment and how and why we need to rethink our urban pavement strategy to reduce carbon output.  

In this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast, we are joined by Stacy Smedley, Director of Sustainability at Skanska USA, and Executive Director at Building Transparency. She talks about environmental product declaration (EPD) in the construction industry and the development of the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool. Stacy also touches on the future of sustainability in construction as well as the current path to eliminating embodied carbon from buildings!

In this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast, hear from sustainability expert Dr. Phil De Luna, Director of Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge Program at the National Research Council Canada about the technologies and practices that are being implemented today to get to net zero and reduce CO2 emissions. Find out what capturing carbon is, the role that diversity plays in leadership, the impact of effective communication, and more.  

In this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast hear from Andrew Fahim, Giatec’s Senior Manager of Research and Development about his personal story of how he joined Giatec and his passion for finding smart solutions. Learn about the latest technologies Giatec is developing and the company’s sustainability initiative through their artificial intelligence tool, SmartMix. 

In this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast, we are joined by Nathan Medcalf, Public Relations and Editorial Manager at The Canadian Concrete Expo as we discuss the latest trends and technologies entering the construction industry. We touch upon how the industry has adjusted to a digital format, upcoming technology such as virtual reality, and the influence of construction media. 

In this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Giatec, Dr. Aali Alizadeh,learn what motivated him and his business partner,Dr. Pouria Ghods, to start one of Ottawa’s Fastest-Growing Companies. Also hear about the latest technologies Giatec is developing and the company’s sustainability initiative through their artificial intelligence tool, SmartMix.  

In this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast, you’ll hear from world renowned experts and leading tech innovators from around the world on the actionable steps we can take to create a sustainable construction industry. This panel discussion was originally recorded in January 2021, at the Net Zero Construction Conference. 

Featuring:

Dr. Aali Alizadeh, Co-Founder & CTO, Giatec Scientific Inc. 

Dr. Gaurav Sant, Civil, Environmental and Materials Science Professor at UCLA and Founder of CO2Concrete 

Andrew Fahim, Senior Manager of Research and Development, Giatec Scientific Inc. 

Stacy Smedley, Director of Sustainability at Skanska USA, and Executive Director at Building 

Dr. Phil De Luna, Director, Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge Program, National Research Council Canada 

Christie Gamble, Senior Director of Sustainability at CarbonCure Technologies 

On this episode of The Construction Revolution Podcast, the CEO and Co-Founder of Giatec, Dr. Pouria Ghods shares his insights on creating and scaling up a start up in the construction industry and how the company uses its academic background to help bring new technology and practices to business around the world.