April 8, 2020 • 20 mins
Jennifer Landau, Landau Building talks with Chris Martin and Jon O'Brien on the Building PA Podcast about the value of continuing education among the Pennsylvania construction industry.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Building PA podcast.
This is Chris Martin with Atlasmarketing
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And John O'Brien from the Keystone contractors
association.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And we are here today with Jennifer Landau, with
Landauer construction and we aretalking, continuing education.
Welcome Jennifer.
Thanks for having me.
Well, we're glad you're here.
Um, we're talking, continuingeducation.
So Jennifer, can you, can youkind of introduce yourself and,
and let our listeners know whyyou're here?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Um, well, uh, my name is Jennifer Landau and I'm a
vice president at AtlantaAppleton company, or mid-sized
general contracting firm in thePittsburgh area.
And, uh, John invited me onbecause I'm always pushing
continuing education throughoutthe community.
Yeah, let's see.
I have a bachelor's degree incivil engineering and a master's
(01:00):
degree in civil engineering aswell.
And, uh, I work with all thelocal groups and try to keep
continuing education ineverybody's mind.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Well, that's, that's a, that's a wise thing.
Um, especially coming fromsomebody with, uh, with the
degrees in the background thatyou have.
So that's great.
Um, John, do you want to jump inand ask some questions, firearm?
Sure, absolutely.
Get this.
And we'll keep this moving.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I'm glad you accepted the invite, Jen, and it's
awesome to have you on here.
Um, why don't we just start withthe degrees, the bachelor's and
the master's.
Um, you want to touch on them?
Where'd you go?
And, um, are you still involvedwith any colleges at all?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Ah, yes.
I, uh, I actually got bothdegrees at the university of
Pittsburgh, so go Pitt and I'mstill very active in their
construction management program.
So both my degrees are in civilengineering, but I concentrated
in construction management.
Um, so throughout the years I'vebeen on an advisory board once I
(01:58):
started working, um, is just tokeep the university in touch
with what's going on.
Industry-wise um, I know there'sbeen some questions about, you
know, what kind of employees areneeded out in the real world.
So they want to make sure thatthey are not just teaching
things that, you know, will notbe useful in the long run.
(02:19):
So they like to stay in touchwith a whole advisory board.
That's made up of a bunch oflocal general contractors and,
uh, we just, we give input and,uh, kind of help look at the
different classes that they'reteaching, make suggestions on,
you know, new things that arecoming up because, you know, in
our industry, I mean, it's anever evolving industry.
Technology keeps changing thingsand everything's faster paced
(02:43):
and no more, um, paperworkeverywhere.
It's all online and cloud-basedso just keeping everybody
updated and make sure we're onthe same page.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Awesome.
And, and also at Pitt, I believeit might be the fifth
anniversary or so, but aboutfive years ago, Pitt joined and
became an AGC student chapter.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yes, they did.
Yes, they did.
Um, so the, um, master buildersassociation of Pittsburgh does
help support them.
Uh, we help with their kickoffmeetings and try to get more
young kids involved.
It seems to kind of go up anddown throughout the years, uh,
depending on who's spearheadingit.
Um, but John Sebastian isrunning the construction
(03:31):
management program there and hasreally done a, an amazing job of
keeping all the kids, um,interested and involved and
doing building tours and makingsure they see real life
experiences outside theclassroom.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Awesome.
And through the master builders,I believe they still offer a
yearly scholarship, which you'reinvolved with.
You're kind of, kind of helpPitt all around there.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yeah.
Yeah.
We just picked the winners, uh,last week.
I think it was so, yeah, that'llbe announced here.
I think fairly soon, if notalready, which is fine to be
able to give, uh, I think it's$15,000 total.
We give out a year to Pittstudents that are, um, working
in the construction industry orlook forward to working in the
(04:15):
construction industry.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Jennifer, what does that, what does that money go
toward?
Just just general scholarship oropportunity.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
It's a general one.
So technically can, uh, gotowards anything, know the cost
of college is high, so it doesnot go directly to the school.
It goes to the student so theycan use it for books.
They can use it for rent.
They can use it for pretty muchwhatever, Technically a party on
(04:48):
Friday night if they reallywanted to.
But I can't say no at thatpoint,
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Just invite us.
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Well, that's kind of a Britain in small letters at
the bottom of it.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Well it have, have you seen the, you know, the, the
changes that you have sharedwith the, the advisory board
through the advisory board, Ishould say, have you seen those
changes over time, been adoptedand impacted or not impacted,
but benefiting the, the industryas a whole?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Oh, definitely.
Definitely.
Yeah.
I don't want to admit my agehere, but I've been in the
industry now when I wasfinishing up college is when I
started working here at Landau,uh, as an internship.
So I've been here for over 20years now.
And, um, just watching again,technology is probably the
easiest to say, because, youknow, it's, it's exploded over
(05:43):
the past 20 years.
So just watching those changesand keeping up with them and
seeing how the industry haschanged, uh, for the better, I
believe, um, makes things a lotmore efficient, uh, keeps the
lines of communication openbetter, um, and just, you know,
everything's organized in aclean way.
Um, just the speed, you know,that you're getting the
(06:04):
information and the guys in thefield and what they can do on an
iPad now is absolutely amazing.
So it's keeping all theprocesses, the submittals, the
[inaudible], you know, our guysin the field can snap a picture
and write the RFI and send itout.
And we can FaceTime if anarchitect's not in town and, you
know, look at the issues thatwe're having face-to-face
(06:25):
versus, you know, waiting acouple of weeks till the next
time someone's has a scheduledmeeting.
So yes, it's, it's been reallyinteresting to watch kind of the
whole industry of it.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
That's great.
That helps.
That helps.
I see it in our industry too, in, in the advertising and
marketing industry, how thingshave changed so drastically and
quickly, and it, and it's a bighelp, like you said, FaceTiming,
and even doing this.
I mean, we're all in differentlocations and having the
opportunity to talk and havingit literally sound like we're in
the same office.
So it's, it's fantastic.
That's great.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
How's the, uh, how's the feedback from, uh, you
mentioned the field, how was thefeedback from the field?
Um, do you see a moreproductive, better, better
workforce out there and any sortof negatives at all when it
comes to continuing education?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Actually, you know, at the very beginning, I mean, I
don't know.
You can remember us, you know,when things kind of started
turning to smartphones, I canremember all of my, uh, kind of
the, the older generationsuperintendents saying, no, I'm
not going to use one of those.
I do, you know, I don't wantthat.
And then now days they're, youknow, clicking on things and
Googling stuff on their phoneand sending me pictures.
(07:37):
And so you've got the obvious,you know, we've always done it
this way.
I don't want to change, but onceeverybody gets over that, I've
seen everybody kind of, uh,really evolve themselves and,
and do things a lot faster, alot more efficient, again, even
communication lines ofcommunication, there's so much
(07:57):
better.
And, uh, between the generationsin the field, you know, we've
got easily three generationsright now working in the field
together.
So it's kind of fun watchingthem do things like, look at
drawings on an iPad and, um,having the younger guys, maybe
show some of the older guys howto get things quicker or to send
stuff to me quicker and, uh,different ways to do the same
(08:22):
thing that they had been doing,but, uh, in a new way.
So it's, it's, it's beeninteresting to watch the field,
um, kind of evolve witheverything else and the
carpenters.
We do a lot of stuff with thecarpenters training center.
They have continuing educationclasses that, um, leased all of
our field guys.
Who've been jumping all over andtaking when they can, um, just
(08:44):
to learn, keep up witheverything.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Awesome.
Chris, did you have a question,I mean, to cut you off earlier?
No, no.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I was just gonna, you know, I think, and I think you
just asked it or answered it, Ishould say is, you know, what's
the impact of technology on theindustry.
Um, and again, I think you just,you just answered it.
So that's, that's great.
It's a huge, huge, hugeprojection for the industry
moving forward.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Well, and not even just technology, we do a lot in
the healthcare field.
So the Iqra the containments,the particle readings, the, um,
filtration systems, the HEPAfilters, the, the carpenters
have kind of been on the leadingedge on keeping everybody
updated and making sure everyoneknows how to not only keep
(09:37):
patients safe when you'reworking in a hospital
environment, but to keep ourworkers safe as well.
You know, the new OSHA laws withsilica and, you know, we're just
learning more and more aboutwhat's out there and how to do
things a lot safer and, uh,hoping in the long run where
we're all better for it.
So those are other classes thatI always push to make sure we
(09:59):
all understand what's going onand moving forward.
Well, why new laws or newregulations are put into play
and what they mean and how theywill help us.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Cool.
Very, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Um, also I, with continuing education, I think
you can see kind of a directpositive results, but there's
also maybe an indirect, youknow, you mentioned how better
communications, you know, betterteam, more productivity, all
that good stuff that's internal,but then external outside of
your company.
Um, you know, you and I got toknow each other through your,
(10:42):
uh, involvement in the NBA, uh,young, young, uh, constructors.
And we did a lot with variouscompanies and architectural
firms.
So, you know, I saw it firsthandthat it builds the bonds and
builds the relationships beyondyour company.
And maybe it opens doors foryour company.
Have you seen that?
And have you seen, uh, you know,uh, the benefit to your company
(11:03):
due to all your involvement?
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Oh, definitely.
I mean, we, as an industry,we're a fairly contained
industry and I always commentthat the people that you meet
now might not necessarily be insync company, but you're going
to know this person, thesepeople throughout your careers.
So staying involved, um,learning more about all
different aspects of theindustry has helped everybody
(11:26):
kind of in the long run.
And yes, our company and we'vemeet met people.
That's, you know, maybe wewouldn't have met before, but
now we ended up working withclosely, um, working with the
other kind of groups of ourindustry helps to, you know,
working with a young architects,um, working with the young
(11:49):
marketing group, the greenbuilding Alliance as a young
emerging professionals, I thinkis theirs.
So staying involved, um, withall the different aspects of our
industry and learning as much asyou can, again, working with the
apprentices, um, and all thedifferent trades as well, cause
you know, construction, we needall of us to get projects done.
(12:11):
So the more we understandeverybody else's positions and
things that they are doing, itkind of helps.
And communication, understandingempathy, even our industry has
already kind of made that termfrom a adversarial relationship
that you'd see, you know,everybody pictures,
(12:32):
construction, and the screamingold man and yelling and fighting
and, you know, kind of this allfor one, all for yourself type
of mentality.
Whereas now everything's kind ofa team, you know, everybody
works and collaborates together.
You know, architects work withthe guys in the field and the
project managers and, you know,we all come together, um, with
(12:56):
the carpenters, with the, youknow, bricklayers and try to
come up with a right solution tomake everybody happy at the end.
So I think those, you know,continuing this education of not
only what you need to know foryour own project or your own
position, um, but to learn moreabout what everybody else is
doing and how that affects you,I think helps everybody in the
long run and definitely benefitsthe company as a whole.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You know, it's funny Jen, that you you've said that
the, you know, the, the oldwhite guys yelling and, and, um,
I remember my, my first job, Iworked at a, at a general
contractor, um, you know,handling marketing and PR for
them.
And you're, you're absolutelyright that, you know, that was
admittedly over 25 years ago andthat's literally all, it was
(13:42):
just yelling.
And now it's, you know, let's,let's sit down and have a
discussion.
Let's talk about where we'regoing.
And, and I think the, thebiggest thing, especially for
younger younger people cominginto the industry is the
opportunity where they're,they're working together.
Like you said, with the buildingtrades, the architects, the
(14:03):
engineers, the contractors,everybody wants to do a really
good job.
Um, so, so with that, you know,from your perspective, what are
you looking for when you aretalking to a young, you know, a
young professional or consideredcan con considering hiring
somebody at Atlanta?
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Um, you know, I'm looking for a lot of different
things that maybe traditionallyas much as, you know, I push
continuing education, but youroriginal education, um, is
important, but maybe not thenumber one thing I'm going to
look for.
I'm going to look for awillingness to learn a
willingness to be involved, awillingness to, um, again,
(14:47):
understand everybody'sperspective.
I don't want somebody who wantsto come in and say, you know,
everybody has to listen to me,my way is correct.
I want somebody who will come inand understand that, you know,
we all have a say in this and,uh, our way is not always the
best, the way that we learned.
And maybe in college, maybe thefield guy has a really good idea
and that's going to help all ofus achieve the goal in a
(15:13):
different manner than what youoriginally expected.
So I think that, you know,personality is, uh, you know,
we're extremely fast pacedindustry, um, continues to get
faster and faster.
Every time I blink, I swear, uh,timelines get shorter and
shorter, but so I'm looking forsomebody who is, you know, ready
for that fast paced, uh, verywell organized, willingness to
(15:35):
learn, um, and really is just ateam player.
And then I think that with thosekind of traits, if you start
with, and if you continue youreducation in different ways, um,
you can succeed for sure.
It doesn't always necessarilyhave to be one class or another.
(15:56):
It's kind of a combination ofeverything going to building,
you know, trade events andchecking out the trade schools
and going to young professionals, um, seminars and hearing
people talk and just discussingthings within the industry.
You learn a ton from that.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Hmm.
So, okay.
I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
Yeah, I was going to say, uh,okay, so you found the young PE
the young project engineer.
He has the willingness to learn.
You could see he sh he, or, and,or she is a go getter.
So they're hired now.
They turn to you and they say,what are some good groups out
there that I should look into?
(16:39):
What advice are you giving them?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Oh, I definitely have them start with the, um, master
builders association, youngcontractors.
Um, they always have, I don'tknow, five or six events a year,
so I always send them to that.
Um, at the beginning before theyknow the, um, really a lot of
people in the industry, I makesure we take them to, um,
building a vaccine excellenceawards for sure.
(17:05):
Uh, try to get them involvedwith the ASA, the subcontractors
association, uh, reach out tothe AIA young architect group.
I think that's the YAF.
And, uh, and then I try tofigure out what's going on with
Pitt, if Pitt's having, um, oneof their AGC student chapter
(17:25):
events, they always open that upto our young professionals as
well.
So it's nice for the collegestudents to be able to talk to
some young professionals.
Um, and then from there, it'skind of see what their interest
lies in.
And, you know, if they're intogreen building, let's, you know,
get them involved with greenbuilding Alliance or, you know,
I really will support anythingthat, you know, they seem
(17:48):
passionate about.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Hmm.
Yeah.
You seem to support variousgroups and you're active amongst
various groups.
So I wanted to make sure we gaveyou an opportunity to plug some
of them.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Yeah, thanks.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Um, Chris, you got anything else?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Sorry.
I was muted there.
I think this is great.
I think everything we've gottenis, is in a, we're in a good
spot here.
Um, I would say, and, andobviously we're going to edit
this part out, but you know, ifthere's anything else that you'd
like to add, I have no questionsat this point.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I don't know if you want to touch on lane.
You want me to ask a lanequestion or no?
No.
Okay, good.
Okay.
Wait, just had Penn state downhere two weeks ago, John back
there was always pushing lanes.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I know, I know.
I mean the concepts I like, butI mean the whole class I wanted
is just it's gets a littleridiculous if you asked me.
But
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, there was a marketing person from a, I
forget what firm there was aPittsburgh firm.
They drove four hours just tohear Bechtle talk and they sat
at our table and, and, and thelady was like, Oh, make sure,
make sure to ask him a reallygood lean question.
He loves to talk about lean and,
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, no, I can't think ofanything else.
I don't know.
Pushed peds, you know, you're inthe Penn state group, so yeah.
It's all good.
All right.
Put a little editing on it.
What's that
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Fighting?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Yeah.
Oh, what kind of energy do youwant,
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Chris?
Do you want it?
You started it.
You want to shut it down?
Sure.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Well, as you heard today, we're talking about
continuing education and thevalue that it has, that it
brings to our industry, um, wantto thank, uh, my partner, John
and also Jennifer for taking thetime here today to talk about
this.
Um, more exciting topics arecoming from the building PA
(19:59):
podcast.
So stay tuned and in themeantime, feel free to download
the podcast and share it withall your colleagues.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Thanks, Jen.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Thank you guys so much for having me take care.
You too.
Bye.
Okay.
That's a wrap.
Building PA podcast.
This is Chris Martin with Atlasmarketing
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And John O'Brien from the Keystone contractors
association.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And we are here today with Jennifer Landau, with
Landauer construction and we aretalking, continuing education.
Welcome Jennifer.
Thanks for having me.
Well, we're glad you're here.
Um, we're talking, continuingeducation.
So Jennifer, can you, can youkind of introduce yourself and,
and let our listeners know whyyou're here?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Um, well, uh, my name is Jennifer Landau and I'm a
vice president at AtlantaAppleton company, or mid-sized
general contracting firm in thePittsburgh area.
And, uh, John invited me onbecause I'm always pushing
continuing education throughoutthe community.
Yeah, let's see.
I have a bachelor's degree incivil engineering and a master's
(01:00):
degree in civil engineering aswell.
And, uh, I work with all thelocal groups and try to keep
continuing education ineverybody's mind.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Well, that's, that's a, that's a wise thing.
Um, especially coming fromsomebody with, uh, with the
degrees in the background thatyou have.
So that's great.
Um, John, do you want to jump inand ask some questions, firearm?
Sure, absolutely.
Get this.
And we'll keep this moving.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I'm glad you accepted the invite, Jen, and it's
awesome to have you on here.
Um, why don't we just start withthe degrees, the bachelor's and
the master's.
Um, you want to touch on them?
Where'd you go?
And, um, are you still involvedwith any colleges at all?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Ah, yes.
I, uh, I actually got bothdegrees at the university of
Pittsburgh, so go Pitt and I'mstill very active in their
construction management program.
So both my degrees are in civilengineering, but I concentrated
in construction management.
Um, so throughout the years I'vebeen on an advisory board once I
(01:58):
started working, um, is just tokeep the university in touch
with what's going on.
Industry-wise um, I know there'sbeen some questions about, you
know, what kind of employees areneeded out in the real world.
So they want to make sure thatthey are not just teaching
things that, you know, will notbe useful in the long run.
(02:19):
So they like to stay in touchwith a whole advisory board.
That's made up of a bunch oflocal general contractors and,
uh, we just, we give input and,uh, kind of help look at the
different classes that they'reteaching, make suggestions on,
you know, new things that arecoming up because, you know, in
our industry, I mean, it's anever evolving industry.
Technology keeps changing thingsand everything's faster paced
(02:43):
and no more, um, paperworkeverywhere.
It's all online and cloud-basedso just keeping everybody
updated and make sure we're onthe same page.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Awesome.
And, and also at Pitt, I believeit might be the fifth
anniversary or so, but aboutfive years ago, Pitt joined and
became an AGC student chapter.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yes, they did.
Yes, they did.
Um, so the, um, master buildersassociation of Pittsburgh does
help support them.
Uh, we help with their kickoffmeetings and try to get more
young kids involved.
It seems to kind of go up anddown throughout the years, uh,
depending on who's spearheadingit.
Um, but John Sebastian isrunning the construction
(03:31):
management program there and hasreally done a, an amazing job of
keeping all the kids, um,interested and involved and
doing building tours and makingsure they see real life
experiences outside theclassroom.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Awesome.
And through the master builders,I believe they still offer a
yearly scholarship, which you'reinvolved with.
You're kind of, kind of helpPitt all around there.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yeah.
Yeah.
We just picked the winners, uh,last week.
I think it was so, yeah, that'llbe announced here.
I think fairly soon, if notalready, which is fine to be
able to give, uh, I think it's$15,000 total.
We give out a year to Pittstudents that are, um, working
in the construction industry orlook forward to working in the
(04:15):
construction industry.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Jennifer, what does that, what does that money go
toward?
Just just general scholarship oropportunity.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
It's a general one.
So technically can, uh, gotowards anything, know the cost
of college is high, so it doesnot go directly to the school.
It goes to the student so theycan use it for books.
They can use it for rent.
They can use it for pretty muchwhatever, Technically a party on
(04:48):
Friday night if they reallywanted to.
But I can't say no at thatpoint,
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Just invite us.
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Well, that's kind of a Britain in small letters at
the bottom of it.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Well it have, have you seen the, you know, the, the
changes that you have sharedwith the, the advisory board
through the advisory board, Ishould say, have you seen those
changes over time, been adoptedand impacted or not impacted,
but benefiting the, the industryas a whole?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Oh, definitely.
Definitely.
Yeah.
I don't want to admit my agehere, but I've been in the
industry now when I wasfinishing up college is when I
started working here at Landau,uh, as an internship.
So I've been here for over 20years now.
And, um, just watching again,technology is probably the
easiest to say, because, youknow, it's, it's exploded over
(05:43):
the past 20 years.
So just watching those changesand keeping up with them and
seeing how the industry haschanged, uh, for the better, I
believe, um, makes things a lotmore efficient, uh, keeps the
lines of communication openbetter, um, and just, you know,
everything's organized in aclean way.
Um, just the speed, you know,that you're getting the
(06:04):
information and the guys in thefield and what they can do on an
iPad now is absolutely amazing.
So it's keeping all theprocesses, the submittals, the
[inaudible], you know, our guysin the field can snap a picture
and write the RFI and send itout.
And we can FaceTime if anarchitect's not in town and, you
know, look at the issues thatwe're having face-to-face
(06:25):
versus, you know, waiting acouple of weeks till the next
time someone's has a scheduledmeeting.
So yes, it's, it's been reallyinteresting to watch kind of the
whole industry of it.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
That's great.
That helps.
That helps.
I see it in our industry too, in, in the advertising and
marketing industry, how thingshave changed so drastically and
quickly, and it, and it's a bighelp, like you said, FaceTiming,
and even doing this.
I mean, we're all in differentlocations and having the
opportunity to talk and havingit literally sound like we're in
the same office.
So it's, it's fantastic.
That's great.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
How's the, uh, how's the feedback from, uh, you
mentioned the field, how was thefeedback from the field?
Um, do you see a moreproductive, better, better
workforce out there and any sortof negatives at all when it
comes to continuing education?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Actually, you know, at the very beginning, I mean, I
don't know.
You can remember us, you know,when things kind of started
turning to smartphones, I canremember all of my, uh, kind of
the, the older generationsuperintendents saying, no, I'm
not going to use one of those.
I do, you know, I don't wantthat.
And then now days they're, youknow, clicking on things and
Googling stuff on their phoneand sending me pictures.
(07:37):
And so you've got the obvious,you know, we've always done it
this way.
I don't want to change, but onceeverybody gets over that, I've
seen everybody kind of, uh,really evolve themselves and,
and do things a lot faster, alot more efficient, again, even
communication lines ofcommunication, there's so much
(07:57):
better.
And, uh, between the generationsin the field, you know, we've
got easily three generationsright now working in the field
together.
So it's kind of fun watchingthem do things like, look at
drawings on an iPad and, um,having the younger guys, maybe
show some of the older guys howto get things quicker or to send
stuff to me quicker and, uh,different ways to do the same
(08:22):
thing that they had been doing,but, uh, in a new way.
So it's, it's, it's beeninteresting to watch the field,
um, kind of evolve witheverything else and the
carpenters.
We do a lot of stuff with thecarpenters training center.
They have continuing educationclasses that, um, leased all of
our field guys.
Who've been jumping all over andtaking when they can, um, just
(08:44):
to learn, keep up witheverything.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Awesome.
Chris, did you have a question,I mean, to cut you off earlier?
No, no.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I was just gonna, you know, I think, and I think you
just asked it or answered it, Ishould say is, you know, what's
the impact of technology on theindustry.
Um, and again, I think you just,you just answered it.
So that's, that's great.
It's a huge, huge, hugeprojection for the industry
moving forward.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Well, and not even just technology, we do a lot in
the healthcare field.
So the Iqra the containments,the particle readings, the, um,
filtration systems, the HEPAfilters, the, the carpenters
have kind of been on the leadingedge on keeping everybody
updated and making sure everyoneknows how to not only keep
(09:37):
patients safe when you'reworking in a hospital
environment, but to keep ourworkers safe as well.
You know, the new OSHA laws withsilica and, you know, we're just
learning more and more aboutwhat's out there and how to do
things a lot safer and, uh,hoping in the long run where
we're all better for it.
So those are other classes thatI always push to make sure we
(09:59):
all understand what's going onand moving forward.
Well, why new laws or newregulations are put into play
and what they mean and how theywill help us.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Cool.
Very, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Um, also I, with continuing education, I think
you can see kind of a directpositive results, but there's
also maybe an indirect, youknow, you mentioned how better
communications, you know, betterteam, more productivity, all
that good stuff that's internal,but then external outside of
your company.
Um, you know, you and I got toknow each other through your,
(10:42):
uh, involvement in the NBA, uh,young, young, uh, constructors.
And we did a lot with variouscompanies and architectural
firms.
So, you know, I saw it firsthandthat it builds the bonds and
builds the relationships beyondyour company.
And maybe it opens doors foryour company.
Have you seen that?
And have you seen, uh, you know,uh, the benefit to your company
(11:03):
due to all your involvement?
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Oh, definitely.
I mean, we, as an industry,we're a fairly contained
industry and I always commentthat the people that you meet
now might not necessarily be insync company, but you're going
to know this person, thesepeople throughout your careers.
So staying involved, um,learning more about all
different aspects of theindustry has helped everybody
(11:26):
kind of in the long run.
And yes, our company and we'vemeet met people.
That's, you know, maybe wewouldn't have met before, but
now we ended up working withclosely, um, working with the
other kind of groups of ourindustry helps to, you know,
working with a young architects,um, working with the young
(11:49):
marketing group, the greenbuilding Alliance as a young
emerging professionals, I thinkis theirs.
So staying involved, um, withall the different aspects of our
industry and learning as much asyou can, again, working with the
apprentices, um, and all thedifferent trades as well, cause
you know, construction, we needall of us to get projects done.
(12:11):
So the more we understandeverybody else's positions and
things that they are doing, itkind of helps.
And communication, understandingempathy, even our industry has
already kind of made that termfrom a adversarial relationship
that you'd see, you know,everybody pictures,
(12:32):
construction, and the screamingold man and yelling and fighting
and, you know, kind of this allfor one, all for yourself type
of mentality.
Whereas now everything's kind ofa team, you know, everybody
works and collaborates together.
You know, architects work withthe guys in the field and the
project managers and, you know,we all come together, um, with
(12:56):
the carpenters, with the, youknow, bricklayers and try to
come up with a right solution tomake everybody happy at the end.
So I think those, you know,continuing this education of not
only what you need to know foryour own project or your own
position, um, but to learn moreabout what everybody else is
doing and how that affects you,I think helps everybody in the
long run and definitely benefitsthe company as a whole.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You know, it's funny Jen, that you you've said that
the, you know, the, the oldwhite guys yelling and, and, um,
I remember my, my first job, Iworked at a, at a general
contractor, um, you know,handling marketing and PR for
them.
And you're, you're absolutelyright that, you know, that was
admittedly over 25 years ago andthat's literally all, it was
(13:42):
just yelling.
And now it's, you know, let's,let's sit down and have a
discussion.
Let's talk about where we'regoing.
And, and I think the, thebiggest thing, especially for
younger younger people cominginto the industry is the
opportunity where they're,they're working together.
Like you said, with the buildingtrades, the architects, the
(14:03):
engineers, the contractors,everybody wants to do a really
good job.
Um, so, so with that, you know,from your perspective, what are
you looking for when you aretalking to a young, you know, a
young professional or consideredcan con considering hiring
somebody at Atlanta?
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Um, you know, I'm looking for a lot of different
things that maybe traditionallyas much as, you know, I push
continuing education, but youroriginal education, um, is
important, but maybe not thenumber one thing I'm going to
look for.
I'm going to look for awillingness to learn a
willingness to be involved, awillingness to, um, again,
(14:47):
understand everybody'sperspective.
I don't want somebody who wantsto come in and say, you know,
everybody has to listen to me,my way is correct.
I want somebody who will come inand understand that, you know,
we all have a say in this and,uh, our way is not always the
best, the way that we learned.
And maybe in college, maybe thefield guy has a really good idea
and that's going to help all ofus achieve the goal in a
(15:13):
different manner than what youoriginally expected.
So I think that, you know,personality is, uh, you know,
we're extremely fast pacedindustry, um, continues to get
faster and faster.
Every time I blink, I swear, uh,timelines get shorter and
shorter, but so I'm looking forsomebody who is, you know, ready
for that fast paced, uh, verywell organized, willingness to
(15:35):
learn, um, and really is just ateam player.
And then I think that with thosekind of traits, if you start
with, and if you continue youreducation in different ways, um,
you can succeed for sure.
It doesn't always necessarilyhave to be one class or another.
(15:56):
It's kind of a combination ofeverything going to building,
you know, trade events andchecking out the trade schools
and going to young professionals, um, seminars and hearing
people talk and just discussingthings within the industry.
You learn a ton from that.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Hmm.
So, okay.
I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
Yeah, I was going to say, uh,okay, so you found the young PE
the young project engineer.
He has the willingness to learn.
You could see he sh he, or, and,or she is a go getter.
So they're hired now.
They turn to you and they say,what are some good groups out
there that I should look into?
(16:39):
What advice are you giving them?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Oh, I definitely have them start with the, um, master
builders association, youngcontractors.
Um, they always have, I don'tknow, five or six events a year,
so I always send them to that.
Um, at the beginning before theyknow the, um, really a lot of
people in the industry, I makesure we take them to, um,
building a vaccine excellenceawards for sure.
(17:05):
Uh, try to get them involvedwith the ASA, the subcontractors
association, uh, reach out tothe AIA young architect group.
I think that's the YAF.
And, uh, and then I try tofigure out what's going on with
Pitt, if Pitt's having, um, oneof their AGC student chapter
(17:25):
events, they always open that upto our young professionals as
well.
So it's nice for the collegestudents to be able to talk to
some young professionals.
Um, and then from there, it'skind of see what their interest
lies in.
And, you know, if they're intogreen building, let's, you know,
get them involved with greenbuilding Alliance or, you know,
I really will support anythingthat, you know, they seem
(17:48):
passionate about.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Hmm.
Yeah.
You seem to support variousgroups and you're active amongst
various groups.
So I wanted to make sure we gaveyou an opportunity to plug some
of them.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Yeah, thanks.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Um, Chris, you got anything else?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Sorry.
I was muted there.
I think this is great.
I think everything we've gottenis, is in a, we're in a good
spot here.
Um, I would say, and, andobviously we're going to edit
this part out, but you know, ifthere's anything else that you'd
like to add, I have no questionsat this point.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I don't know if you want to touch on lane.
You want me to ask a lanequestion or no?
No.
Okay, good.
Okay.
Wait, just had Penn state downhere two weeks ago, John back
there was always pushing lanes.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I know, I know.
I mean the concepts I like, butI mean the whole class I wanted
is just it's gets a littleridiculous if you asked me.
But
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, there was a marketing person from a, I
forget what firm there was aPittsburgh firm.
They drove four hours just tohear Bechtle talk and they sat
at our table and, and, and thelady was like, Oh, make sure,
make sure to ask him a reallygood lean question.
He loves to talk about lean and,
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, no, I can't think ofanything else.
I don't know.
Pushed peds, you know, you're inthe Penn state group, so yeah.
It's all good.
All right.
Put a little editing on it.
What's that
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Fighting?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Yeah.
Oh, what kind of energy do youwant,
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Chris?
Do you want it?
You started it.
You want to shut it down?
Sure.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Well, as you heard today, we're talking about
continuing education and thevalue that it has, that it
brings to our industry, um, wantto thank, uh, my partner, John
and also Jennifer for taking thetime here today to talk about
this.
Um, more exciting topics arecoming from the building PA
(19:59):
podcast.
So stay tuned and in themeantime, feel free to download
the podcast and share it withall your colleagues.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Thanks, Jen.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Thank you guys so much for having me take care.
You too.
Bye.
Okay.
That's a wrap.
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