To stay competitive in today’s construction market, contractors are always looking to improve their performance and workflows, often times by acquiring new technology. But just as important as a new tool or software, is the ability to make sure you’re using all the features and functions correctly. In this week’s episode of Foundations, the team is joined by Basia Bullard, Trimble Learning Solutions Manager, to discuss the importance of making sure you’re unlocking the full potential of your construction technology.

With the increasing complexity of today’s construction projects, contractors often find themselves purchasing tools to address challenges on the job. For both budget and productivity reasons, it’s important to distinguish the difference between necessary tools that you can use over and over, and niche toys will become dust magnets once you’re done with a particular task. On this episode of Foundations, the BuildingPoint team sits down to discuss this issue, and how to avoid ending up with a closet full of unused toys.

One of the most important parts of the layout process is ensuring that you do everything possible to minimize the chance of error.  And while using the latest and most accurate technology situations is important, it’s also necessary to use proper procedures. In this episode, the Foundations team is joined by Alex Reitsema of BuildingPoint West, to discuss the importance of these procedures and techniques.

BIM as a stand-alone concept is an interesting concept. But BIM as a business tool is where the game-changing step-wise improvements happen. In this episode, the Foundations team sits down with Chris Shephard. As Vice President of Trimble’s Construction Solutions, Chris has a unique vantage point to observe and discuss the benefits of BIM, and the importance of taking the amazing capabilities that are afforded through VDC, and those capabilities to discovering real-world answers to construction and design issues.

In Episode 12 of Foundations, we sit down with Trimble to talk about… well… Trimble! We’re joined by Trimble’s Angela Giavroutas, to talk about Trimble’s strategies for helping contractors though cutting edge solutions. We also discuss the importance of data, and the convergence of the office and field workflows.

Historical costs represents an underutilized and often overlooked asset in the contractor’s toolkit. All too often this valuable data is locked away in file cabinets or buried on hard drives. In this podcast, the Foundations team sits down with Steve Watt, Trimble’s Market Segment Manager for Cost Estimation, to discuss the importance of unlocking and leveraging this data set, as well as some creative ways that we can use this data to estimate and benchmark future work.

Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) is widely viewed as a fantastic tool for GC/CM roles where overall project coordination is paramount to success. But can VDC be a net positive specifically for the GC’s self-performing trades? In this episode the Foundations team tackles this question with Matt Hedke, VDC Self-Perform Manager for Barton Malow. Matt also discusses lessons learned and best practices as it pertains to his own experience in implementing VDC at the self-perform level.

Being in control is a hallmark of a successful design or construction firm. The idea that more data is better permeates the entire construction process. And to be sure, robust data leads to better decisions. But what about model detail? In this episode the Foundations studio team discusses this important question, and looks at some particular points in the construction process where less can actually be more. Whether it’s balancing tight delivery schedules against model detail, or simplifying models for in-field clarity, in some cases,  more isn’t always more.

Dashboards, metrics, KPIs, there’s no shortage of buzzwords that surround the idea of leveraging the power of actionable data in making better construction decisions. In this podcast, the Foundations team sits down with Kris Lengieza, Director Of Virtual Design & Construction for Stiles Construction. Relating and discussing Stiles’ efforts and initiatives with data analytics, Kris unpacks this current and timely topic while also brining a real-world, on-the ground perspective to the conversation.