Construction executives pinpointed a shift from lagging to leading safety indicators enabled by technology during a 2023 New York Build Conference panel session.

“When it comes to safety, we only think of it when something happens. Those indicators are lagging safety indicators in the accident,” said Mark Drozdov, an environmental health and safety industry expert and university professor at The Cooper Union, a New York City-based private college. “The fact is, it’s the leading indicators that we need to focus on. I was very impressed by some of the technology that’s available out there on those specifically.”

The construction industry traditionally analyzes labor safety in terms of total recordable incident or experience modifier rates. That’s an issue, because both of those ratings look backward at accidents, and are not the best way to prevent future accidents, said Drozdov.

“Our industry is used to evaluating numbers that really represent events that already took place,” said Dana Kfir, director of customer success at Otoos, a New York-based artificial intelligence firm. “Safety, unfortunately, is looked at as a checkbox, you have to just do compliance and that’s it.”

Leading safety indicators

That could soon change as contractors increasingly explore technology that identifies leading safety indicators — ones that look into the future with an eye toward prevention — at jobsites.

For example, Otoos uses algorithms to identify high risk behavior patterns beforehand and automates proactive safety decisions in real time, according to Kfir. The product collects data from on site via mobile apps, sensors and smart cameras. The technology helps teams foster a culture of safety, quality control and data driven decision-making, said Kfir.

Data collection via apps, cameras and sensors marks the initial step in understanding why accidents happen, said Kyle Becker, director of construction at Carmel Partners, a San Francisco-based real estate investment management company.

Yet combining meaningful data from a wide range of sources into actionable takeaways, and then sending those results to a construction team open to adapt its methodology, remains the most challenging aspect of using labor safety-focused technology, said Becker.

“You’re not going to get where you need to be unless people are committed to the process and feeding in good data,” said Becker. “Then you can really learn and understand what you’re doing well on that project and evaluate your jobsites and your subcontractors, not just based on ratings or some other criteria, but on live data that you’re feeding into a system.”

A sea of data

Nevertheless, those leading accident indicators are moving targets, said Linda Martin, principal at Boston-based construction safety consultancy KLME Martin Associates.

She added while the technology continues to improve, the challenge remains to accurately identify valuable leading indicators. That’s because these behavioral patterns frequently change.

“What usually happens is there’s so many leading indicators you’re looking at, that it’s hard to pick one, or pick two or pick three,” said Martin. “That’s something that technology is doing now, is that they’re bringing all of these leading indicators and they’re making it easier so you can actually gather that data.”

Tracking subs and safety

Getting that piece right is critical, since future use cases of this tech could include leveraging those leading indicators to assess subcontractors’ performance as well, said Becker.

“The next step we see is rolling out safety first and then evaluating the quality of subcontractors,” said Becker. “Let’s evaluate the efficiency of our subcontractors, the speed in which they’re moving at, put metrics to that and allow ourselves to evaluate our decision making that speaks more than just to an EMR. That quantification is that next data point that we’re searching for. That will come naturally as we all buy into it.”

Lastly, data collection also benefits firms during litigation in case an accident does occur, said Michael Rubin, OSHA defense attorney at Greenville, South Carolina-based Ogletree Deakins, a labor and employment law firm.

“Talking to our clients, they’re giving you reasons as to why something happened. They’re saying they’ve done periodic meetings, trainings, things like that. Then you say, ‘okay, where is the paperwork?’ and there is none,” said Rubin. “That’s just not very persuasive. That’s really the dual purpose of technology.”

Recent advances in AI and BIM could make the Internet of Things (IoT) a game changer for contractors. 

For example, jobsite cameras, wearables and drones are just a few pieces of newly accessible technology that’s improving safety, production and engineering, according to Thai Nguyen, Hensel Phelps director of innovation. Indeed, the plummeting cost of IoT technology is rapidly changing the tech landscape on jobsites. 

“It’s affordable enough where it’s literally spreading out and really starting to disrupt the industry in many ways,” Nguyen said.  

But integrating all the different devices now being used to monitor and collect data on jobsites, from smartphones to drones, is the next big hurdle.

“Really, the story is one of data,” said Jim Zeitunian, chief technology officer for PowerFleet, a software-as-a-service company optimizing mobile asset performance that got its start as an RFID provider in 1993. “We’re building a big data brain. If a construction company is getting over 100 integrations at different levels or specific-use cases with 100-plus different vendors, we’d like to be the data that enhances that data.”

That’s where the potential — and challenges — of today’s jobsite IoT start. IoT devices collect massive amounts of data that then needs to be integrated onto dashboards so contractors can easily visualize and forecast construction progress, productivity and costs in one place. 

Meanwhile, AI-powered software can analyze those IoT inputs to provide real-time understanding on those dashboards of everything that’s happening on a project — materials used, scheduling issues and what’s causing delays, cost overruns, site conditions — and take steps to resolve issues without human help. 

Yet, like a construction site itself, it’s getting all those different elements to work together that is the real key to success. 

“You have so many different technologies and devices collecting data, but it’s all in different formats,” said Mihir Somalwar, corporate innovation lead for Hensel Phelps’ venture capital arm Diverge, which is actively seeking startups that can aggregate and analyze IoT data from multiple projects and sites. “How do you combine them in a central place where you can leverage the power of AI to make sense of it all?”

Integrated delivery evolving

Companies like Zeitunian’s PowerFleet and Exton, Pennsylvania-based infrastructure engineering software company Bentley Systems are trying. 

Last year, Bentley acquired IoT software providers Sensemetrics and Vista Data Vision, expanding the scope of its Bentley iTwin platform to automate acquisition and analysis of IoT data, align sensor measurements from physical infrastructure and train algorithms to identify deterioration progression and prioritize repairs.

“Collaboration is really what we’re focused on,” said Rich Humphrey, Bentley’s vice president of construction product management. “We’re not necessarily invested in all the devices, but we’re trying to become the hub that makes sense of all the data in a digital twin environment.”

The opportunity lies in connecting live data feeds from those IoT devices to BIM and digital twins, then leveraging that information with AI to create forecasting, schedules and cost models. IoT-enabled devices can report on changes in materials and environment conditions and update models in real time. 

“Integrated digital delivery will continue to evolve where we’re likely to see more interoperability between different IoT ecosystems and technologies like BIM, digital twins and cloud computing,” said Misha Nikulin, managing director at Deloitte’s Engineering and Construction Practice. 

Already, Humphrey said, the technology that connects everything is cheaper and less complicated. “Every person who walks around a jobsite with a mobile app is connected to near-real-time data feeds—and almost every contractor has a mobile device in some way, shape or form,” he said.  

Data safety = jobsite safety

Another big obstacle, as Nguyen and Somalwar see it, is figuring out how to secure data being collected from multiple devices and systems—all connected to the Internet and easy targets for intrusion. 

Contractors will need to thoroughly vet IoT devices before they’re connected to networks and install security tools to constantly monitor the environment

“You’ve got to go back and understand where equipment is being made, where data is being stored, who you’re sharing it with,” Nguyen says. “All these things will be heavy criteria to allow you to grow the use of IoT on jobsites.”

Sponsored content

By Hexagon / Leica Geoystems

• Concrete contractors face increasing pressure to perform layout work more efficiently to stay competitive in the industry. 
• Traditional methods of using total stations and prism poles can be time-consuming. 
• Even highly automated robotic total stations require manual tasks related to the pole that can cause delays and impact the profitability of a business. 
• New technology offers a solution, promising significant time savings and precision measurements. 

The importance of speed and accuracy in concrete layout work cannot be overstated in any construction project. 

The other trades are waiting on you to finish so they can start forming and laying rebar. You must quickly get the slab prepped to pour so the project can stay on schedule, but you can’t sacrifice quality. The smallest mistakes in measurements and positioning can lead to costly rework, schedule delays, and even legal disputes. 

With the construction industry becoming increasingly competitive, the success of your business widely depends on your ability to complete projects on time and within budget.

Technology can be a lifeline

Studies continue to prove that using advanced layout technology can save contractors time and reduce the risk of errors that lead to rework and schedule delays.

While advancements in concrete layout have been slow, the construction industry is increasingly relying on automation technology to improve efficiency and productivity. 

The latest innovation in this field is the Leica AP20 AutoPole system, a groundbreaking smart solution that’s helping contractors achieve better results in less time. 

Smart pole system offers advanced layout capabilities

Designed for use with the iCON robotic total stations, the AP20 goes beyond a standard prism pole, incorporating advanced inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology and the latest automation features to streamline the layout process.

The game-changing tilt compensation feature enabled by the IMU eliminates the need to stop and level the pole, saving valuable time and reducing the likelihood of measurement errors. You can even tilt the pole upside down and get an accurate measurement. 

When you need to change the rod height to capture layout points around obstacles, the AP20 automatically records the rod height adjustments in the iCON field software, reducing the need for manual data entry and the risk of mistakes. 

And the automated target recognition functionality ensures your total station locks onto your target and remains locked until your job is done.

Immediate efficiency and productivity gains achieved

The benefits of using the AP20 AutoPole system are clear when you see the reviews from contractors who have used it. 

• “Used the Leica AP20 pole to layout 24 concrete columns and 2 elevator cores on top of a concrete slab we poured yesterday. We then followed that up with a complete as-built and topo of the same slab. What usually takes 2 guys over 2 hours to do, took us about an hour to complete. The tilt option, target ID, and automatic height adjustment is a must-have if you like efficiency and accuracy.” – Line and Grade Area Manager
• “Using the AP20 pole comes in handy when you’re trying to get your pole into tight spots. Not having to level the rod, you can get your layout done without the hassle of objects being too close.” – Regional Line and Grade Manager
• “I love it when a product surprises you. Today was the first time I played with the AP20 in person. We’re getting within .01 at the tip of the rod” – Layout Manager
• “Leica AP20 with iCON is incredible!!! A field engineer's dream. The time savings is incredible. This setup would pay for itself FAST. Way FAST.” – Field Engineer
• “Safety is a big advantage. If you need to collect a slab edge on a steel deck that has a handrail around it, you don’t have to cross the handrail to collect a point; you can just tilt the pole to get it. If you’re collecting a point on a wall for an embed or sleeve, you can use the AutoPole to get the point instead of a ladder.” – Line and Grade Manager

Efficiency, accuracy, and safety are crucial in today’s fast-paced construction industry. The latest innovation in layout with the AP20 AutoPole is proving to be a game-changer in delivering all three.

Dive Brief:

• The construction technology industry showed resilience in the face of adverse economic conditions across the world as investment during 2022 held steady at around $5.38 billion, just under the $5.4 billion from 2021, according to a report by Monterrey, Mexico-based contech venture capital firm Cemex Ventures. 
• Over 80% of investment in the market was in North America and Europe in 2022. Within those regions, the most active country was the United States, where 97 startups have their headquarters and 42.5% of all contech investment dollars flowed. This is more than four times the amount of investment in the next most active country,  the United Kingdom, which had 20 startups and 8.8% of funding dollars.
• Despite financial issues plaguing economies around the world, Cemex Ventures predicts that in 2023, contech investment will continue to hold steady, with an expectation that economic issues will begin to abate and provide a path forward at the end of the year.

Dive Insight:

The report highlighted four key areas of investment in the contech field that will continue to be important to the industry. The four fields are:

• Enhanced Productivity: Digital solutions aimed at increased efficiency in construction by improving stakeholder collaboration, communication, and coordination. Examples include subsurface mapping and data-driven construction improvements for time and speed. This area represented 53% of contech’s total investment in 2022, more than any other category. Example companies include Exodigo and Constru.
• Future of Construction: Programs such as AI, advanced building materials, industrialized construction methodologies, robotics and machine-assisted applications such as 3D printing robots, BIM, and autonomous equipment. This area received 20.6% of funding in 2022, according to the report. Advanced Construction Robotics and Waste Robotics are two representative firms.
• Green Construction: Processes, products and services that Cemex Ventures predicts will be in demand to offset the negative environmental impacts that construction has on the environment. Firms in this category received 14.9% of 2022 contech funding. Companies Carbon Limit and 2050 Materials are two examples.
• Construction Supply Chain: The least bullish segment listed in the report, construction supply chain solutions, will also see growth, but it will be slowed because this is one of the most difficult operational areas to solve, according to the report. Nonetheless, the segment received 11.4% of funding dollars in 2022. Companies like Materially and Constal are among the providers in the space. 

The report also noted that modular, industrial and panelized construction will experience growth in 2023 from its 2022 figure of $361 million, or 8.3% of total investment. While interest in modular remains high, it has historically struggled to enter the mainstream of construction in recent years.

The report also noted the types of funding vehicles that are most popular with investors: seed (39.9%) and Series A (23.2%) funding rounds represented the largest shares of the investment pool.

The report projected that North America and Europe will continue to dominate shares of the contech market. However, it also noted that there is concentrated contech innovation in Latin America and the Asia Pacific area, though many of these companies move to larger markets like North America once they get off the ground to tap into broader demand.

Cemex Ventures recommends that collaboration is important for startups, particularly as economic headwinds continue to push back on growth, and urges caution for business owners.

“We are not out of the current macroeconomic environment yet, so stay ambitious while preparing for the worst,” the report reads.

UPDATE: March 20, 2023: Samsung increased the cost of its Taylor, Texas, factory to over $25 billion last week from its originally planned $17 billion. The South Korea-based electronics company attributes the $8 billion hike to high inflation, according to Reuters.

That continues to contribute to both lingering overall materials price inflation and supply chain challenges across the construction industry.

Sources said Samsung has already spent about half of the $17 billion originally planned for the Taylor plant, according to the Reuters report.

The original story follows below.

Dive Brief:

• Samsung Electronics has tapped Mississippi-based Yates Construction as general contractor to build its $17 billion chip plant in Taylor, Texas, located about 30 miles northeast of Austin, the Austin Business Journal reported. It’s the South Korean company’s largest-ever investment made in the U.S.
• The 1,200-acre project is expected to cover 6 million square feet when completed. The company wants to break ground in 2022 in order to begin operations in the second half of 2024, according to a Samsung press release.
• Samsung said that the new factory will manufacture advanced computer chips, or advanced logic semiconductors, which are used in phones, computers, cars and other electronics. 

Dive Insight:

Yates Construction has worked on massive manufacturing plant projects in the U.S. and Mexico for Volvo, Toyota and Nissan. The Samsung project will include buildings, property improvements, machinery and equipment, according to the release.

Semiconductor shortages have roiled many industries in the past year, arising from supply chain disruptions driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, and are likely to be extended by the war in Ukraine which is choking availability of key materials. Samsung is one of many companies attempting to geographically diversify its semiconductor manufacturing operations.

"With greater manufacturing capacity, we will be able to better serve the needs of our customers and contribute to the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain," said Kinam Kim, vice chairman and CEO of Samsung’s Electronics Device Solutions Division, in the press release.

President Joe Biden said in February that domestic semiconductor manufacturing is a priority for his administration, and put forward a series of federal funding and tax incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, including the $52 billion CHIPS Act, in order to spur more production in the U.S. While the CHIPS Act passed in January 2021, congress has yet to pass a bill funding its provisions. However, top Democrats said Tuesday they’re hopeful a deal could come next week.

In the meantime, other American semiconductor factory projects are moving ahead, including Texas Instruments’ build in Sherman, Texas, and Intel’s two plants in Chandler, Arizona

Dive Brief:

• Bankrupt construction startup Katerra Inc. is taking legal action against its former CFO, Matthew Marsh, “to recover avoidable transfers and damages for breach of contract,” according to a Mar. 6 complaint filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Texas on behalf of the failed construction startup.
• Once valued at $4 billion, the company — which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2021 — is alleging that Marsh is required to pay back his $1 million signing bonus and has not done so. The company is also arguing that his relocation bonus, paid out for Marsh and his family to make the move to its California headquarters, was a “constructive fraudulent transfer” because of the company’s financial condition at the time.
• “Debtor Katerra Inc. was insolvent at the time of, or was rendered insolvent as a result of, its payment of the Relocation Bonus to Defendant Marsh,” the company said it its filing, adding that payment of the bonus “is avoidable by Plaintiffs under the Texas Fraudulent Transfer Act.”

Dive Insight:

A GE veteran, Marsh served as Katerra’s CFO for just under a year, according to court filings. According to his employment agreement, Marsh received a $1 million signing bonus, a $250,000 relocation bonus including reimbursement for his moving expenses, “mortgage assistance” which consisted of a $2.75 million loan, as well as an annual starting salary of $700,000.

A startup which branded itself as a one-stop shop for construction needs — working as everything from the architect to the design and management of its building projects — the company quickly achieved unicorn status after its founding in 2015, with Softbank’s Vision Fund leading a $865 million funding round for the company in 2018.

Katerra, which reached a peak valuation of $4 billion in 2019, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2021, with its financial grievances due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, construction costs and failing to lure away developers and contractors from their traditional subcontractors, according to a 2021 writeup from Construction Dive. The company sold off its assets soon after filing for bankruptcy, including a manufacturing facility — among other assets — in Tracy, California for $21.25 million and its factory in Spokane, Washington for $50 million.

The complaint, citing Marsh’s employment agreement, notes Marsh was required to pay back his $1 million signing bonus if he either voluntarily terminated his employment within the first 12 months of his start date, or if his employment was terminated for cause by Katerra within that same 12 month window.

Marsh began his employment with Katerra on Sept. 23, 2019 and was terminated “effective immediately” on Sept. 20, 2020 — three days shy of the 12-month period cited in the employment agreement — by Katerra’s commission committee for cause, with the committee requiring repayment of his signing bonus in full, according to the Mar. 6 court filing.

“Despite the terms of the Employment Agreement, his termination for Cause, and the Demand Letter, Marsh has failed and refused to repay the Signing Bonus to Katerra Inc. or any of the Debtors,” the Mar. 6 complaint alleges.

Marsh now serves as CFO for venture capital company Celesta Capital, having taken on the seat in May 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.  

Other companies have also recently shelled out lucrative cash bonuses to engage top talent. PayPal, for example, granted its previous CFO, Blake Jorgensen, a $6 million signing bonus upon his appointment in August. Jorgensen departed from his position as part of an “involuntary termination by the company for a reason other than cause or disability” in early March, having been on medical leave since September, just a few weeks into his time at the CFO chair.

Executive compensation has also recently come under the spotlight at the Department of Justice: firms which tie executive compensation to compliance as well as try to implement claw backs for those exhibiting bad behavior could get penalties reduced if they enter into agreements with the DOJ, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said earlier in the month.

“Nothing grabs attention or demands personal investment like having skin in the game, through direct and tangible financial incentives,” she said, according to a report by Industry Dive sister publication Legal Dive.

Dive Brief:

• Microsoft plans to build a $1 billion, 315-acre data center campus south of Milwaukee in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, according to the Racine County Economic Development Corp. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed with Construction Dive its investment plans for the data center campus.
• The Mount Pleasant Village Board will vote on the proposed development on March 30, and the Racine County Board will vote at its April 11 and April 18 meetings. Pending these approvals, site construction work could start later this year, according to the release.
• The project sits on a wider 2,500-acre plot originally set aside for a Foxconn manufacturing hub, a project once touted by former President Donald Trump and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as an example of how to bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S.

Dive Insight:

Pandemic impacts and withdrawals of promised state subsidies caused Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics company, to scale back plans in October 2020 on its proposed $10 billion plant for the site. 

Now, though the project proposal remains subject to vote, a number of officials have already voiced their support for the Microsoft investment. 

Racine County executive Jonathan Delagrave said the county and state have been planning for a long-term future to accommodate development and investment by a variety of companies, like Microsoft. Meanwhile, Village of Mount Pleasant President David DeGroot said the city is already equipped with the infrastructure necessary to support a major investment by Microsoft. 

“Our first commitment is always to local taxpayers,” said Claude Lois, project director for the Village of Mount Pleasant. “That will be the case as we move forward with Microsoft.”

The area is shovel ready for high level development appropriate for an Electronics and Information Technology Manufacturing Zone designation, a Wisconsin program that provides sales and use tax exemption for construction work located within such a zone, according to the release.

As federal authorities review bids for Silicon Valley Bank and a temporary bridge bank tends to daily operations, the tech startup ecosystem remains in limbo.

The venture capital pipeline, which flowed through SVB to fuel the growth of young companies, was already under stress from inflation and rising interest rates. While downstream impacts on funding and innovation aren’t yet clear, the potential implications are serious enough for companies to reexamine vendor portfolios.

Short-term disruption introduced wariness into the tech startup ecosphere that will last until there is more confidence in cash flows, Brad Haller, senior partner in the mergers and acquisitions practice at technology consulting firm West Monroe, said in an email.

“That delays innovation in the tech economy overall,” Haller said.

Tech leaders with suppliers who banked with SVB could set aside immediate concerns about the viability of those vendors when federal authorities stepped in to shore up existing deposits shortly after a run forced the bank’s seizure. But uncertainty about the stability of tech startups, which are volatile by nature, persists.

SVB’s support role went beyond banking, according to Ronak Doshi, technology practice partner at IT consulting and research firm Everest Group. It extended to “networking events and summits and to product, risk and financial advisors,” he said.

The institution also added to the pool of available capital. Venture debt, a special type of loan designed for early-stage, high-growth startups that have funding but lack positive cash flow, was central to SVB’s business.

“They were a key venture debt funder,” Scott Bickley, practice lead and principal research director focused on vendor management and contract review at Info-Tech Research Group, said. “It provided tech startups with loans based on the size of their VC funding, which gave them access to funding above and beyond their core equity.”

SVB’s failure also interrupted lines of credit vital to business operations. This may create short-term problems for some startups, Thomas Phelps, CIO and SVP of corporate strategy at Long Beach, California enterprise software company Laserfiche, said in an interview with CIO Dive.

Laserfiche contracts with over 100 vendors for software and IT services, although only about a dozen banked with SVB, according to Phelps.

While those vendors remain secure, there’s still some risk in the larger ecosphere, Phelps said.

“IT leaders should be aware that they’ve got some runway now,” said Phelps. “But what’s going to happen to these tech startups if they lose access to those credit lines down the road?”

Long-term concern

Disruption in Silicon Valley could reach into the middle of enterprise IT portfolios via third-party providers dependent on the supply chain, Wendy Pfeiffer, CIO at San Jose-based cloud software company Nutanix, said during a Wall Street Journal CIO Network panel in March.

“I’m worried about three months from now as some of their key components are potentially compromised,” Pfeiffer said.

Startups that weathered the initial crisis may have additional exposure as the cost of capital rises and lenders exercise caution.

“Higher quality companies will come through this, but a lot of innovation could be impacted,” Vineet Jain, CEO and co-founder of Silicon Valley software company Egnyte, told the panel.

Vendor exposure is always a concern for the enterprise, but third-party risk should now be a more salient issue, according to Forrester. While onboarding innovations from startups will continue, a rigorous vetting process should be the norm, the analyst firm said in a recent blog post.

IT leaders should continue to test promising products with an eye toward mitigating risk by scrutinizing vendor financials and identifying backup suppliers with comparable offerings, Forrester said.

“Supply chains and hidden dependencies are something I’m always paying attention to,” Jason Conyard, CIO and SVP at Palo Alto, California cloud computing company VMware, told CIO Dive. “Business continuity planning isn’t just about earthquakes and hurricanes. It includes supply chain challenges, geopolitical situations and economic uncertainty.”

Better vetting

Vendor vetting is integral to building stability, resilience and security into enterprise IT.

“When you bring new vendors into your technology ecosystem, you have to assess the security data privacy implications, as well as the risk of third-party vendors providing services and technologies,” Laserfiche’s Phelps said.

If a vendor is a public company, Phelps reviews earnings reports. For those that are privately owned, the process is more complex.

“I want to know how long they've been in business, who their founders are, what funding series they are in and how much cash they have,” Phelps said.

It’s also important to know who your vendors do business with, not just for banking but for technology and services that can disrupt the supply chain.

“A lot of vendors, even tech startups, rely on the services of other companies to provide services to you, so it can get very hairy very quickly,” Phelps said.

As the dust settles on SVB, M&A activity may pick up in Silicon Valley, as companies prepare for opportunistic buyouts of ailing startups, according to Forrester. This too can pose a risk, changing the relationship between a vendor and its clients.

“Vendors can close up shop very quickly,” Phelps said. “As part of our process, we look at the terms of our contracts with these vendors, what happens if the vendor is acquired by a competitor and how we get access to our data upon exiting that agreement.”

For the startups, self-vetting may be in order, particularly on the banking side.

“The big thing on everyone’s mind is treasury and diversification,” AJ Bruno, co-founder and CEO of software startup QuotaPath and a former SVB client, told CIO Dive. “Now it's our fiduciary responsibility to ensure that we have a multithreaded approach, which was never really the case in the past.”

Asking where a startup banks and whether M&A or IPO activity is on the horizon is now a priority.

“We’ve always asked similar questions, but now we’re asking more of those questions and going more in depth,” said Phelps. “And it's coming up in the first part of our conversation rather than at the tail end.”

ConTech Conversations presents a discussion with a leader in the construction technology field each month. Click here for past discussions.

Kelly Benedict wants to help people in construction help themselves.

The newly appointed head of innovation and transformation at Providence, Rhode Island-based Gilbane Building Co., Benedict has two decades of experience leading business development at Lendlease, Pepper Construction and other contractors. 

Here, Construction Dive talks with Benedict about Gilbane’s innovation priorities such as carbon reduction, how to address evolving cybersecurity threats and the opportunities women have in construction.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

CONSTRUCTION DIVE: What do you do in your innovation role at Gilbane?

KELLY BENEDICT: Every day is different, and every hour is different, as you can imagine.

I'm chairing our Innovation Council, which is comprised of 17 people across the organization of various different disciplines and different levels.

We've landed on five areas of focus for our digital transformation: a shared roadmap and innovation for the business, process simplification and collaboration, data analytics, intelligent building technologies and cybersecurity. 

What we're trying to do is be very intentional, and look through and engage with the business and identify the true pain points. Are there processes that we can streamline before we actually bring in and talk about the technology piece? That helps avoid just automating complexity.

I'm also running a lot of virtual forums with the teams where we're having facilitated conversations and we're asking open-ended questions and really understanding and learning from the business what the pain points are.

Cybersecurity is rising to the top of mainstream threats to contractors and critical infrastructure. How is Gilbane preparing its cyber defenses?

We're working with the board and the executive leadership team and going through and evaluating our cyber risks, because it's going to be baked into our whole digital transformation. 

We've got a lot of objectives and we’re putting key measurements and result trackers in place to make sure that we're prepared for the future. 

What will the biggest game-changer, long-term, in the industry?

One of the things I'm most excited about is the opportunity in the industry to reduce the carbon footprint. 

You're having policy change, but you're also having the trades jump in and want to work on this effort together. I think there's a lot of white space for innovation and reduction of embodied carbon in particular for our industry.

We're experimenting with embodied carbon with a company called CarbonCure, which adds recycled carbon dioxide to concrete to reduce the carbon footprint. We’re running a pretty big experiment with a very large healthcare client out in Indiana.

What advice do you have for women looking to get involved in the construction industry?

I didn't really think this was a thing until Gilbane announced my position. I heard back from so many people, people I didn't even know, writing and saying it's so great that they put a woman in this position.

I think it's less about the woman thing. I think it's more about a mindset.

I remember when I was first put into the innovation roll over at my former company. The CEO came to me and he said he wanted me to do this role, this new thing called innovation. I asked why me? He said, “You don't walk into a room acting like you know all the answers, and I need somebody who understands the business — understands what people do, how we make money, how we lose money — and work with the teams to develop the best ideas.”

I think there's a lot of opportunity for women in the industry, especially now. It's about the mindset of coming in and really rolling up your sleeves, understanding what people are going through and trying to bring real solutions to the table.