Imagine breaking new ground in a field that's ripe for innovation and brimming with opportunities. Sara Hedge, CDI Contractors' BIM VDC Coordinator and a trailblazer for women in construction, joins us to share her transformative journey from architecture and interior design to spearheading digital construction. Her story is not just about personal triumph but also about how she's leveraging her expertise to foster diversity and inspire a new generation through technology and engagement in organizations like NAWIC and WLI.
This episode isn't just about shattering glass ceilings; it's also about shattering old norms of construction practices. Sara takes us through the initial resistance her team faced while shifting to 3D modeling and how they overcame operational challenges, leading to project successes that set a new benchmark for innovation at CDI. We peer into the intricate process of reimagining an underground utility tunnel with cutting-edge scanning technology and discuss the necessity of internal buy-in for adopting such transformative tech. It's a candid look at the trials and triumphs of embracing change.
As we wrap up our conversation, Sara, who has managed projects worth over $1.5 billion, forecasts the exciting role of AI, AR, and VR in the construction industry's future. While acknowledging the hurdles of technology adoption, she highlights the importance of empathy and education in smoothing the transition. Join us as we explore the not-so-distant dream of teleportation devices and reflect on the significant time-saving and connectivity potential such innovations could offer. It's an episode packed with vision, expertise, and a glimpse into the future of construction technology.
Contact the Future Construct Podcast Produced by BIM Designs, Inc!
- BIM Designs, Inc.: minority-owned, US-based, union-signatory preconstruction technology firm, offering turnkey BIM modeling, laser scanning, coordination management, and other VDC solutions to the AEC industry.
- Schedule a free consultation: sales@bimdesigns.net.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Welcome to Future Construct.
I'm Mark Odin, the CEO of BIMDesigns Inc.
And guest host of FutureConstruct.
Today I'm hosting Sarah Hedge,bim VDC Coordinator at CDI
Contractors.
Welcome, sarah.
Thank you for making the timeto join me.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hey, thanks for having me.
I'm glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
So, as we get started , I want to provide our audience
with some of your background.
As a native of Arkansas, knownby many as the natural state for
its natural scenic beauty,clear lake streams and abundant
wildlife, you graduated from theUniversity of Arkansas with a
Bachelor in Science inArchitecture Studies.
During your decade of BIM VDCexperience, you've completed
over $1.5 billion in design andconstruction projects.
(00:51):
Upon joining CDI in May of 2021, you received your
Certification of Management BIMAccreditation one of only 11 in
the state and most recentlyacquired your Certification of
Management LEAN Accreditation.
On a typical day, you can befound leading a wide range of
efforts, from technology testingto hands-on job site training
(01:11):
to subcontractor tradecoordination.
You're also an active member ofthe National Association of
Women in Construction andCommittee Member of the Women's
Leadership Initiative of NWA.
With so much experience, sarah,you've had a profound and
positive impact on the digitalconstruction market and continue
to do so.
Thank you for all of your manycontributions in the AAC space.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Thank you so much, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
So, to begin, I'd love to dive into more of your
story.
Can you share with our audienceyour journey from graduating
with a BS in ArchitectureStudies at the University of
Arkansas to becoming the BIM VDCcoordinator at CDI Contractors?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Absolutely I.
Actually, when I graduated Iwas working with a furniture
company doing interior design,just trying to get as much work
experience as I can anythingrelated to my architecture
background.
After a couple of years doingthat, I was lucky enough to land
just a beginner drafter roledoing ammonia, refrigeration, of
(02:07):
all things for a foodprocessing company and spent
about seven years there justdoing drafting and eventually
working my way up to be theirtechnical discipline drafting
leader.
So I was managing severaldifferent groups within that
processing company.
After that I felt like I had hada good sense of time with the
design side of things.
(02:28):
You know, I wanted to see whatelse was out there, and so
construction just felt like areally good next step for me.
It was the side that I didn'tget as much of whenever I was
with my previous role, and asmuch as it helped me having the
design background.
I came into the constructionworld really not knowing much of
what was going on, and the CDIhas really taken me under their
(02:48):
wing and grown me these lastthree years.
So that's how I ended up whereI'm at today.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
That's beautiful and what inspired your pursue into
the architecture sciences career, architecture studies.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, as cliche as it sounds, I was a kid that got
like markers and crayons forChristmas.
I've always loved to draw, I'vealways loved making things and
I've always thought it wasreally important to have
beautiful spaces.
But that really drew me intoarchitecture and that's why made
me choose it.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
That's awesome.
Thank you so much, sarah.
So, as an active member of theNational Association of Women in
Construction, or the NAWIC, andalso a committee member of the
Women's Leadership Initiative ofNWA, also WLI, how do you see
your role in fostering diversityand inclusion within the
construction industry and whatinitiatives have you been
involved in to promote women inconstruction?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Great question.
So I've been a member of NAWICand WLI for almost my entirety
of being at CDI now, so almostthree years.
When I started with CDI I wasone of three females in the
office only one of two that wereactually in the field
occasionally.
And now CDI today has eightfemales on our team, which I
(04:03):
just think is amazing, andthey've been really persistent
about getting me involved inrecruiting.
So I get to go to career fairsand explain to people that
there's a lot more toconstruction than someone
standing out there with a set ofdrawings or holding a shovel
having to fill a trench withgravel.
You know there's a lot moregoing on in the background,
(04:24):
whether it be project management, estimation, and then to
explain also to our NAWIC andWLI chapters again that
construction is more than justhard hats.
A lot of people, when Imentioned BIMBVDC, they have no
idea what that means.
(04:44):
So it's fun to be able to teachthem a little bit about what I
do and how it can makeeveryone's jobs a lot easier.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
That's great.
I'm curious when you arestepping out into the recruiting
sphere, what are your primaryobservations?
What are you seeing as theinterests of potential new hires
, or even the next generation?
How do you find that you canrelate to them and speak to them
, and when and how do youexplain BIMBVDC to them?
(05:16):
And when do you see that lightbulb click in their mind?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Sure.
So one of the things I alwaystry to do when I recruit is
bring the VR goggles.
It's something that we use as acompany and it's something that
this generation that we'rerecruiting especially in new
recruits really seem drawn to.
When they see the goggles orthey see the scanner, they see a
laptop up with a lot ofdifferent lines drawn in
different colors.
That's something that reallyresonates with them, since they
(05:42):
are so technology focused ortechnology driven.
So a lot of times, if I can lurethem into the table with that
hardware, it's a pretty easysell to say this is something
that we can teach you to do ifyou already don't know how to do
or if you are doing itcurrently.
That applies to what we'redoing in our everyday world, not
just within BDC.
A lot of people think thatthey've got to have a
(06:02):
construction managementbackground and, quite frankly,
it's just not the truth.
We've got architects,mechanical engineers, civil
engineers, finance backgroundswith CDI.
So it's more aboutunderstanding how the pieces fit
together, how the team works toget the project built, and
really, if you just have a good,a good problem to solve,
(06:24):
construction is a place for you.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And so, speaking of aspiring individuals that are
pursuing a career in BDC andcoordination, what advice would
you give them, based on your ownexperiences and the evolving
landscape of the constructionindustry?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I think my biggest piece of advice would be just to
be a sponge.
Don't get too tied to just thedesign world or just the
construction world.
Learn about everything that youcan.
Go on job visits, go shadowsomeone that doesn't have the
same role as you.
Learn from those people andunderstand what their struggles
are, what their hardships are.
You know, one of the thingsthat I think most BIM and BDC
(07:04):
managers deal with on a dailybasis is getting the team in the
field to actually use themodels, to actually use the
coordinated files that we'respending so much time on, and so
spending that time, making thateffort to get to know what the
troubles and the strugglesactually are, makes it much
easier to relate what I do tothe people who aren't as
(07:25):
familiar with the technology Ilove that yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
How have you seen success in helping the field use
the model?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
I will say I'm very, very lucky that the teams that I
work with in our NorthwestArkansas office have truly
embraced my role.
You know our Litterock branch aswell.
We've had a BIM BDC team in ourLitterock office for well over
10 years at this point, and soCDI is very cognizant, very
(07:54):
aware of all of the changes intechnology and they really try
to push the limits with how theyuse that in the field.
And, like I said, the teamsthat I get to deal with day in,
day out in Northwest Arkansas,they're always willing to let me
come in and show them somethingnew, to ask me how to make
something work.
You know they can.
A lot of them can use the 3Dscanner themselves and
(08:15):
understand not only how to useit but what the output is and
what they're trying to gain withthat information.
So I think I've just kind ofstepped into a good position
where there is eager to learn,as I am to teach.
So it's been a really goodrelationship between myself and
the field teams because we'reall trying to help each other
out and be successful.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And you're saying, in terms of teaching and learning,
that brought to my mind.
What do you employ and whatresources do you go to to keep
top of mind and top of market interms of what's coming out?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, so our BIM department meets weekly and
we're constantly talking abouttesting new software, new
hardware.
You know I follow a lot ofthings on LinkedIn that try and
keep me up to date, make surethat we're trying the latest and
greatest, or at least lookingat it to see what benefit it
brings to CDI.
I'm also looking enough toattend AU, so we get to go to
(09:10):
Autodesk University and see whatthey've got coming out.
But we deal with a lot ofdifferent hardware and software
and not just Autodesk related,and we keep in close touch with
their reps so that we're alwaysat the forefront of technology.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Beautiful.
So what are you seeing in themarket today?
And then the next question willbe about what are you most
excited about seeing in thefuture.
But what are you seeing aboutthe market today in terms of
software and hardware in the BIMVDC space?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I would say the thing that'sreally evolved over the last few
years and just seems to begetting more and more amazing is
the rendering technology.
I mean, you can just do so muchnow with materials, lighting,
placement in the models itselfand then tying that into
technology that's coming downthe line.
(09:54):
You know all of the AI that'sout and about in the world right
now with things like chat andGPT.
I just see that really startingto bleed over into the BIMVDC
world.
It's crazy how much it'schanged even in the last decade
that I've been doing this job.
The scanning time has decreasedfrom minutes to seconds.
You can take 360 photos withthe camera on your hard hat.
(10:16):
The possibilities are trulyendless.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I love that.
What you've been able to doover your decade of experience
in BIMVDC is very impressive,especially with completing over
$1.5 billion in design andconstruction projects.
Could you highlight one projectthat stands out to you and
share the challenges andsuccesses you encountered during
this execution?
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Sure, I'm actually going to share two, if that's
okay.
I'm a little bit partial to twoof them.
The first one I want to mentionis the very first project that
I modeled entirely in 3D.
It was, at my previous job, aread processing facility, about
a $300 million project, and itwas the first ground up facility
(10:57):
that this company had chosen todo in well over 50 years.
Not only did they decide to doa brand new facility, they
decided that they were going togo all in and do it 100% in 3D.
Our drafting team at the timehad very little to none
experience no experience doing3D drafting, 3d modeling.
(11:17):
It was a huge challenge for ourdrafting team and for the
company as well to reallyunderstand what they were
fighting off.
Anyone who's done 3D modelingknows it's not something you
just wake up and decide to doone day and then throw on a very
expensive project.
We had a lot of challengesreally starting to get things
going building up our libraries,building up our family and
(11:38):
truly building up some buy-infrom the end users and from our
higher ups.
At that time there just weren'ta lot of other people in the
industry that were using 3Dmodeling and making them
understand the benefits that itwas going to bring in the long
run, while we were fighting somany uphill battles initially,
was very challenging.
With that being said, theproject did end very
(12:00):
successfully.
Not only was I able to completemy task, as I believe I was a
refrigeration drafter at thetime, but because of the quick
amount of time that we had toget this project done, I had
picked up on a lot of things.
We were all, as a team, able tohelp each other out to finish
(12:21):
on time, to finish under budget,which you know is very
important.
I really hold that project nearand dear to my heart because I
think it was a good push for thecompany to say that 3D is here,
it's not going anywhere.
I think that project is whatmade them really embrace the
technology.
That's my first favorite.
My second favorite is one ofthe very first projects that I
(12:44):
did with my time at CDI.
It was an underground utilitytunnel that was being laid out
first so that we could build aresearch facility on top of it.
This was, like I said, my veryfirst project with CDI, my very
first time to really show theteam what I could do.
So because of that, there is alot of me getting to use
(13:06):
technology that they hadn't seenbefore or at least maybe didn't
even know about prior to mebeing there.
We were getting to use scanners.
We were getting to push in fullpoints back and forth between
Revit, with our field engineers,and the superintendent and I
worked very closely together toactually redesign the tunnel
itself so that it would lay outthe way that it was supposed to,
(13:29):
based on the Asphalt conditions, and while it might not have
been a very big project,monetarily, it was huge and it
was very critical in making surethat we got that done so that
the rest of the project would besuccessful, because it was
going to be done in three phases.
So it was just really anawesome moment to see that come
to fruition, to know that weworked together as a team like
(13:52):
my second week on the job tomake sure that it could get done
so that we could carry on andkeep going.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Well, I can just see that collaborative spirit in you
, sarah, so I'm glad that othersare able to see that as well.
I'm curious on the firstproject where you said, hey, the
company had decided to go allin, it was their first ground up
in 50 years and yet you stillfaced buy-in challenges.
So, and I imagine you alsofaced not having that company,
(14:22):
not having any prior experience,maybe some process challenges
and standard operatingprocedures challenges.
So speak a little bit, if youcould, about some of those
challenges and what you did toovercome them.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Absolutely.
At the time, the team that Iwas with.
They were really hands-on Allof us were, the Jocke team was,
and so I feel like everyonereally put in the extra effort
and the extra time to not onlylearn the software but write the
procedures as we went.
I mean, it was very crucialthat we all understood.
None of us were professionals,so we were learning and building
(14:55):
on the fly and we were under avery serious time and budget
crunch.
And not only that, but itrequired that everyone in the
department get new technology sothat we could actually handle
the size of the models that wewere building.
So it was really nice to seethe group come together to start
to see the buy-in from theexecutive team.
I think for them, what was mosteye-opening using that
(15:18):
technology was understandingthat it's not just about having
a cool model to look at.
At the end of the day, it's notabout being able to throw it
into rendering software or putit in the VR goggles.
What was most appealing to themas the owner and as the end
user was that they could finallyin depth explore the safety
aspect of what they were doing,because they were able to eat a
(15:41):
lot of those 3D models and forme I think that's what really
was a tipping point for them,that got us that buy-in to keep
going.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
I love that.
Yeah, and with new tech and newprocesses and to finish under
budget.
That's a major accomplishment,Sarah.
Incredible, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yeah, it's also noteworthy that you received
your certification andmanagement BIM accreditation
upon joining CDI in 2021, beingone of the 11 to do so in
Arkansas and then, more recently, adding that and acquiring your
certification management leanaccreditation further to your
experience.
How have these certificationsenhanced your role, what did you
learn from them and whatmotivated you to pursue them?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yeah, I think that one of the things I love so much
about CDI is not only are theyconstantly looking at the
technology that's coming, butthey're very heavily invested in
growing the people that theyhave.
They really believed in me whenI went to them and said, hey, I
need to take this test thathave this accreditation.
Not only does it show that Iactually know what I'm doing,
(16:47):
but it helps me to stay freshand to keep a new perspective on
different ways that we can dothings.
There's so many ways toimplement BIM and VDC technology
.
I think that going throughthose courses and taking those
exams really gave me theconfidence that I do know what
I'm doing after the song.
I just think it's nice that I'vegot that in my back pocket.
(17:09):
That way, when people arelearning new things that we're
doing for the company, theyunderstand that I'm not doing
this selfishly.
I'm doing it truly to betterthe project and to better the
teams that we have out in thefield.
As far as the leanaccreditation, we have some
leadership in the company thatreally started honing in on
(17:30):
different lean methods with thislast project that we've been
working on.
I felt that it was reallyimportant for me as part of the
project team to be able to bringthat to the table so that I
could bring value, not onlythrough BIM and VDC, but so that
I can understand theirprocesses and think of ways to
make them more clean and concise, so that when it was time to
train or it was time to knocksomething out for them from a
(17:52):
BIM or VDC standpoint, I wasbeing effective for them and
timely for them so that theycould stay on the schedule as
well.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
So do you feel these certifications enabled you to
bring that knowledge and valueback into CDI and that you're in
a position at CDI to be able toinfluence those processes?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Absolutely.
They are very, very persistentabout having training so that
everyone is cross-train in someway.
We do that monthly throughoutthe company in northwest
Arkansas and then we do it oncea month as well on different job
sites.
So they're always looking forsomeone to step up and say this
is what we should be workingtowards or maybe this is what we
(18:35):
could be doing better.
They're constantly pushing theenvelope, and so having those
accreditation really gives methat like to stand on when I say
maybe we should think aboutdoing things this way.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
I love that, Sarah.
On a typical day for you, itmay involve a wide range of
activities like technologytesting, hands-on job site
training and trade partnercoordination.
Can you walk us through a dayin your life as a BIM VDC
coordinator and how you balanceyour diverse responsibilities?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Sure, to be quite honest, I don't know that I have
a true day in the life it is sodifferent every day.
But typically I like to come inand check out what's on my
schedule, just make sure thatI've got an understanding of the
flow of things.
If we're in the middle of aproject that's got coordination
going on, I'll spend a lot oftime actually reviewing the 3D
model, making sure that thereare no issues, or, if there is
(19:26):
an issue, I've got no to it toactually bring it up with the
group later.
And then, when we do have thatcoordination call, it's really
important to me that everythingstarts and ends on time.
I want to be really respectfulof the fact that other people
have different meetings andplans throughout their day.
So if we're going to start atthree o'clock, we're starting
right at three o'clock and we'regoing to end right whenever the
meeting says it's going to end,and I think that some of the
(19:48):
lean coming back to me here.
But I really want to spend thetime to make sure that the
people that are going to beusing the models in the field
are getting the most value forwhat we're doing.
So it's important to me when Ihave those calls, that not only
are we including the people thatare doing the modeling, but we
want the project managers on thecall, we want the
superintendents on the call, wewant the trade foreman on the
(20:09):
call, we want all involvedparties, the design team, all of
the CDI internal team, fromfield engineer to superintendent
, and I've been really supportedin that fact.
You know, before I was in thisrole at Northwest Arkansas there
was no BDEC manager and theywere able to rely on our
Litterock team.
So being able to bring that tothem and then not have to wait
(20:32):
for things to get done and me beable to give them a quick
turnaround is really important,because the faster we can move
behind the scenes, the more theycan stay on schedule in the
field.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Well, I appreciate that so much and that's really
great meeting excellence thatperhaps came out of that lean
certification, for example,identifying the stakeholders and
ending and starting on time andenforcing those criteria as
part of great meeting excellenceSuch an important foundation
that all of us can learn from.
When you're coordinating withtrade partners, how do you
(21:04):
ensure that effectivecollaboration and communication
among different stakeholders andwhat strategies have you found
most successful in streamliningcoordination efforts?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
I would say that earlier the better.
Always, as soon as you canstart coordination, you should
do it.
Don't wait until the very lastminute to decide to get everyone
involved.
I'm also a really big fan ofcommunicating.
I'm the type of person thatwill send you email after email
after email and then call aftercall after call.
It's really important to me thatI follow up on things that are
(21:35):
loose ends and thankfully I'vegot amazing teammates that help
me do that.
I mean, we've got minutes afterminutes after minutes that we
take after each meeting.
So you know, just being able togo back and keep record of
anything that we've done ordecided as a group and then to
share that information withwhoever was on the call, I think
he's key.
But I cannot stress the overcommunication enough, and I
(21:58):
think having an agenda is reallyimportant.
I mean you can go in andcommunicate all you want, but if
you're all over the place,nobody's going to be able to
focus, no one's going to knowwhat's going on.
So being able to keep a verystrictly loose is that a term An
agenda that you can follow buthave some room to wiggle a
little bit I think that's reallykey and just making sure that
(22:19):
people know that they're beingheard.
I don't think there's anythingworse than going into a meeting
and voicing your opinion about aconcern and nothing being done
about it, so that's where thatfollow up really is key when it
comes to our coordinationmeetings.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I just love the advice and theexecution of that as well, sarah
.
So great, especially all ofthat.
And then to add to that, youknow helping make sure that
others feel heard, which is soimportant.
Appreciate that so much.
Yeah.
Given your involvement intechnology testing, how do you
see emerging technologies suchas AI and machine learning
(22:57):
impacting the future of BIM andBDC?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I think, if anything, it's going to make things
better.
I know a lot of people are kindof hesitant with AI, and I get
it.
It's kind of scary, it can bemisused, but I really do think
it's going to make a hugedifference in the way that we do
our work, whether that meansexpediting it or making smarter
decisions.
It's so amazing what all it cando, and it's just going to be
(23:23):
endless amounts of informationat our fingertips.
So I really hope that everyoneis able to lean into it and
embrace it, because I don't seeit going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Yeah, thanks so much.
I'd like to point to thewebinar that I recently hosted
with Applied Software, graytek,just a couple months ago, on how
AI is going to impact BIM andBDC.
I was pretty excited about theinteraction and activity and the
(23:55):
Q&A that came out of that.
Definitely, you know, encouragethe leaning in, so I'm glad
that you appreciate that as welland the massive change that you
see.
Are there specific technologiesthat you find particularly
promising or transformative?
Speaker 2 (24:10):
I think AI I mean honestly it's just exploded.
I think AR is still reallypowerful as well.
You know VR gets talked aboutthe most, I think.
But AR, I think, is not goinganywhere either.
It's going to be around for awhile.
It's going to continue to makevery successful projects even
more successful just because somany people are not as visual as
(24:32):
those that are building it.
So I'm excited to see whathappens.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, I was actually just thinking about this.
Actually, the AI, ar and VRwhere AR and VR, augmented
reality and virtual reality bothhave a hardware component to
the system, whereas AI can be itcan be hardware, yes, but it
also can be entirely softwarebased and so I've been intrigued
(24:59):
in seeing the proliferation ofAI move so much faster than AR
or VR other hardware basedtechnologies, and it's been, you
know, in my thought process ofthat I was really, you know, I
came to the conclusion of youknow, the software can just move
faster, right, it can justspread faster, it can get around
faster than the physicalequipment that hardware requires
(25:21):
.
And yet you look at, you knowwhat's coming out, like the
rabbit V1, for example, which isa combination of hardware and
software, a combination of youknow, holding a device while you
, you know, talking to it andusing it through through AI.
You know LLMs and LAMs, sopretty neat, pretty neat stuff
coming out, and how quickly it'sproliferating is amazing.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Yeah, and I think something else that will
probably start to see more ofare the smart lenses, like the
visors on your hard hat or thehollow lens Goggles.
You know it's always beenaround, it hasn't been super
prominent, but with the way thatthe hardware list software is
evolving you know, ray-bans,putting AI or not AI, ar into
(26:08):
glasses now and so I just thinkwe're going to continue to see
more of that evolution thesoftware being put into everyday
things that we're already using.
So that's going to be reallycool.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
And Sarah.
Having completed over $1.5billion in design and
construction projects, you'velikely overcome your fair to
serve challenges.
I know we've talked some ofthose challenges that you've
encountered, and what challengesdo you foresee for the future
of the MVDC coordination and howdo you think professionals in
the field can proactivelyaddress and overcome these
challenges?
Speaker 2 (26:38):
I think it goes back to the fact that change is hard.
People get comfortable usingwhat they know and what they
like, and so when a newtechnology comes around, you
know six months after you'velearned the first one.
That's kind of deflating.
I mean, it's really frustratingto have to learn what you think
is something brand new all overagain.
But I really do think that theway that things are evolving I
(27:01):
mean, four year olds can useiPhones, so it's just more and
more intuitive every day I thinkthat it's only going to
continue to improve as far as auser experience, and that's why
I think it's so important in arole as a VVDC coordinator to
understand that you're not justthere to do the dog and pony
show.
So much of what I do isteaching people and having that
(27:24):
empathy to sit beside them andwalk them through step by step
and make them understand.
It's OK if you don't understandthis right now or if you don't
know how to use this right now,but this is what it's going to
do for you long term, and Ifound that by doing that, I'm
much better received by thosethat I'm working with and
they're more apt to use it andapply it in their day to day job
(27:45):
.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Yeah, and in the execution of the BIM process and
the technologies that createthe BIM process are so
fundamental, so important to ourindustry.
And what I've really enjoyedabout speaking with you about is
all of the soft skills that youbring to it, for example, the
empathy, the meeting excellence,you know, really understanding
the importance of everythingaround the process.
(28:09):
So it's been, it's been reallyenjoyable and learning that from
you today, sarah.
And as a final question of theshow and a tradition of future
construct, if you could projectyourself out 25 years and wanted
to have any device technologythat would benefit you
personally, what would it be andwhat would it do?
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Oh gosh, I would love to have some sort of button,
like on my car keys or on myphone, probably an app that
would teleport me.
I feel like I spend so muchtime getting back and forth
between places.
It would just be so convenientto be able to whip out my phone,
open an app and be on vacationor be back, you know, with some
(28:51):
family members somewhere.
That would be my ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Very cool, yeah, some type of you know teleportation
device that saves you from somuch time spent traveling,
especially getting through TSAand the airport and all that fun
stuff.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Getting in line at Chick-fil-A at the drive-thru.
I mean there's a lot of optionsthat would be very useful.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
For sure.
Okay, very cool.
Well, I hope hope you see thatvery soon.
Sarah and I really appreciateyour time today and thank you
for audience at Future Construct.
Appreciate everybody so much.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Thank you so much for having me Absolutely.
Welcome to Future Construct.
I'm Mark Odin, the CEO of BIMDesigns Inc.
And guest host of FutureConstruct.
Today I'm hosting Sarah Hedge,bim VDC Coordinator at CDI
Contractors.
Welcome, sarah.
Thank you for making the timeto join me.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hey, thanks for having me.
I'm glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
So, as we get started , I want to provide our audience
with some of your background.
As a native of Arkansas, knownby many as the natural state for
its natural scenic beauty,clear lake streams and abundant
wildlife, you graduated from theUniversity of Arkansas with a
Bachelor in Science inArchitecture Studies.
During your decade of BIM VDCexperience, you've completed
over $1.5 billion in design andconstruction projects.
(00:51):
Upon joining CDI in May of 2021, you received your
Certification of Management BIMAccreditation one of only 11 in
the state and most recentlyacquired your Certification of
Management LEAN Accreditation.
On a typical day, you can befound leading a wide range of
efforts, from technology testingto hands-on job site training
(01:11):
to subcontractor tradecoordination.
You're also an active member ofthe National Association of
Women in Construction andCommittee Member of the Women's
Leadership Initiative of NWA.
With so much experience, sarah,you've had a profound and
positive impact on the digitalconstruction market and continue
to do so.
Thank you for all of your manycontributions in the AAC space.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Thank you so much, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
So, to begin, I'd love to dive into more of your
story.
Can you share with our audienceyour journey from graduating
with a BS in ArchitectureStudies at the University of
Arkansas to becoming the BIM VDCcoordinator at CDI Contractors?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Absolutely I.
Actually, when I graduated Iwas working with a furniture
company doing interior design,just trying to get as much work
experience as I can anythingrelated to my architecture
background.
After a couple of years doingthat, I was lucky enough to land
just a beginner drafter roledoing ammonia, refrigeration, of
(02:07):
all things for a foodprocessing company and spent
about seven years there justdoing drafting and eventually
working my way up to be theirtechnical discipline drafting
leader.
So I was managing severaldifferent groups within that
processing company.
After that I felt like I had hada good sense of time with the
design side of things.
(02:28):
You know, I wanted to see whatelse was out there, and so
construction just felt like areally good next step for me.
It was the side that I didn'tget as much of whenever I was
with my previous role, and asmuch as it helped me having the
design background.
I came into the constructionworld really not knowing much of
what was going on, and the CDIhas really taken me under their
(02:48):
wing and grown me these lastthree years.
So that's how I ended up whereI'm at today.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
That's beautiful and what inspired your pursue into
the architecture sciences career, architecture studies.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, as cliche as it sounds, I was a kid that got
like markers and crayons forChristmas.
I've always loved to draw, I'vealways loved making things and
I've always thought it wasreally important to have
beautiful spaces.
But that really drew me intoarchitecture and that's why made
me choose it.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
That's awesome.
Thank you so much, sarah.
So, as an active member of theNational Association of Women in
Construction, or the NAWIC, andalso a committee member of the
Women's Leadership Initiative ofNWA, also WLI, how do you see
your role in fostering diversityand inclusion within the
construction industry and whatinitiatives have you been
involved in to promote women inconstruction?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Great question.
So I've been a member of NAWICand WLI for almost my entirety
of being at CDI now, so almostthree years.
When I started with CDI I wasone of three females in the
office only one of two that wereactually in the field
occasionally.
And now CDI today has eightfemales on our team, which I
(04:03):
just think is amazing, andthey've been really persistent
about getting me involved inrecruiting.
So I get to go to career fairsand explain to people that
there's a lot more toconstruction than someone
standing out there with a set ofdrawings or holding a shovel
having to fill a trench withgravel.
You know there's a lot moregoing on in the background,
(04:24):
whether it be project management, estimation, and then to
explain also to our NAWIC andWLI chapters again that
construction is more than justhard hats.
A lot of people, when Imentioned BIMBVDC, they have no
idea what that means.
(04:44):
So it's fun to be able to teachthem a little bit about what I
do and how it can makeeveryone's jobs a lot easier.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
That's great.
I'm curious when you arestepping out into the recruiting
sphere, what are your primaryobservations?
What are you seeing as theinterests of potential new hires
, or even the next generation?
How do you find that you canrelate to them and speak to them
, and when and how do youexplain BIMBVDC to them?
(05:16):
And when do you see that lightbulb click in their mind?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Sure.
So one of the things I alwaystry to do when I recruit is
bring the VR goggles.
It's something that we use as acompany and it's something that
this generation that we'rerecruiting especially in new
recruits really seem drawn to.
When they see the goggles orthey see the scanner, they see a
laptop up with a lot ofdifferent lines drawn in
different colors.
That's something that reallyresonates with them, since they
(05:42):
are so technology focused ortechnology driven.
So a lot of times, if I can lurethem into the table with that
hardware, it's a pretty easysell to say this is something
that we can teach you to do ifyou already don't know how to do
or if you are doing itcurrently.
That applies to what we'redoing in our everyday world, not
just within BDC.
A lot of people think thatthey've got to have a
(06:02):
construction managementbackground and, quite frankly,
it's just not the truth.
We've got architects,mechanical engineers, civil
engineers, finance backgroundswith CDI.
So it's more aboutunderstanding how the pieces fit
together, how the team works toget the project built, and
really, if you just have a good,a good problem to solve,
(06:24):
construction is a place for you.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And so, speaking of aspiring individuals that are
pursuing a career in BDC andcoordination, what advice would
you give them, based on your ownexperiences and the evolving
landscape of the constructionindustry?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I think my biggest piece of advice would be just to
be a sponge.
Don't get too tied to just thedesign world or just the
construction world.
Learn about everything that youcan.
Go on job visits, go shadowsomeone that doesn't have the
same role as you.
Learn from those people andunderstand what their struggles
are, what their hardships are.
You know, one of the thingsthat I think most BIM and BDC
(07:04):
managers deal with on a dailybasis is getting the team in the
field to actually use themodels, to actually use the
coordinated files that we'respending so much time on, and so
spending that time, making thateffort to get to know what the
troubles and the strugglesactually are, makes it much
easier to relate what I do tothe people who aren't as
(07:25):
familiar with the technology Ilove that yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
How have you seen success in helping the field use
the model?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
I will say I'm very, very lucky that the teams that I
work with in our NorthwestArkansas office have truly
embraced my role.
You know our Litterock branch aswell.
We've had a BIM BDC team in ourLitterock office for well over
10 years at this point, and soCDI is very cognizant, very
(07:54):
aware of all of the changes intechnology and they really try
to push the limits with how theyuse that in the field.
And, like I said, the teamsthat I get to deal with day in,
day out in Northwest Arkansas,they're always willing to let me
come in and show them somethingnew, to ask me how to make
something work.
You know they can.
A lot of them can use the 3Dscanner themselves and
(08:15):
understand not only how to useit but what the output is and
what they're trying to gain withthat information.
So I think I've just kind ofstepped into a good position
where there is eager to learn,as I am to teach.
So it's been a really goodrelationship between myself and
the field teams because we'reall trying to help each other
out and be successful.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And you're saying, in terms of teaching and learning,
that brought to my mind.
What do you employ and whatresources do you go to to keep
top of mind and top of market interms of what's coming out?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, so our BIM department meets weekly and
we're constantly talking abouttesting new software, new
hardware.
You know I follow a lot ofthings on LinkedIn that try and
keep me up to date, make surethat we're trying the latest and
greatest, or at least lookingat it to see what benefit it
brings to CDI.
I'm also looking enough toattend AU, so we get to go to
(09:10):
Autodesk University and see whatthey've got coming out.
But we deal with a lot ofdifferent hardware and software
and not just Autodesk related,and we keep in close touch with
their reps so that we're alwaysat the forefront of technology.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Beautiful.
So what are you seeing in themarket today?
And then the next question willbe about what are you most
excited about seeing in thefuture.
But what are you seeing aboutthe market today in terms of
software and hardware in the BIMVDC space?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I would say the thing that'sreally evolved over the last few
years and just seems to begetting more and more amazing is
the rendering technology.
I mean, you can just do so muchnow with materials, lighting,
placement in the models itselfand then tying that into
technology that's coming downthe line.
(09:54):
You know all of the AI that'sout and about in the world right
now with things like chat andGPT.
I just see that really startingto bleed over into the BIMVDC
world.
It's crazy how much it'schanged even in the last decade
that I've been doing this job.
The scanning time has decreasedfrom minutes to seconds.
You can take 360 photos withthe camera on your hard hat.
(10:16):
The possibilities are trulyendless.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I love that.
What you've been able to doover your decade of experience
in BIMVDC is very impressive,especially with completing over
$1.5 billion in design andconstruction projects.
Could you highlight one projectthat stands out to you and
share the challenges andsuccesses you encountered during
this execution?
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Sure, I'm actually going to share two, if that's
okay.
I'm a little bit partial to twoof them.
The first one I want to mentionis the very first project that
I modeled entirely in 3D.
It was, at my previous job, aread processing facility, about
a $300 million project, and itwas the first ground up facility
(10:57):
that this company had chosen todo in well over 50 years.
Not only did they decide to doa brand new facility, they
decided that they were going togo all in and do it 100% in 3D.
Our drafting team at the timehad very little to none
experience no experience doing3D drafting, 3d modeling.
(11:17):
It was a huge challenge for ourdrafting team and for the
company as well to reallyunderstand what they were
fighting off.
Anyone who's done 3D modelingknows it's not something you
just wake up and decide to doone day and then throw on a very
expensive project.
We had a lot of challengesreally starting to get things
going building up our libraries,building up our family and
(11:38):
truly building up some buy-infrom the end users and from our
higher ups.
At that time there just weren'ta lot of other people in the
industry that were using 3Dmodeling and making them
understand the benefits that itwas going to bring in the long
run, while we were fighting somany uphill battles initially,
was very challenging.
With that being said, theproject did end very
(12:00):
successfully.
Not only was I able to completemy task, as I believe I was a
refrigeration drafter at thetime, but because of the quick
amount of time that we had toget this project done, I had
picked up on a lot of things.
We were all, as a team, able tohelp each other out to finish
(12:21):
on time, to finish under budget,which you know is very
important.
I really hold that project nearand dear to my heart because I
think it was a good push for thecompany to say that 3D is here,
it's not going anywhere.
I think that project is whatmade them really embrace the
technology.
That's my first favorite.
My second favorite is one ofthe very first projects that I
(12:44):
did with my time at CDI.
It was an underground utilitytunnel that was being laid out
first so that we could build aresearch facility on top of it.
This was, like I said, my veryfirst project with CDI, my very
first time to really show theteam what I could do.
So because of that, there is alot of me getting to use
(13:06):
technology that they hadn't seenbefore or at least maybe didn't
even know about prior to mebeing there.
We were getting to use scanners.
We were getting to push in fullpoints back and forth between
Revit, with our field engineers,and the superintendent and I
worked very closely together toactually redesign the tunnel
itself so that it would lay outthe way that it was supposed to,
(13:29):
based on the Asphalt conditions, and while it might not have
been a very big project,monetarily, it was huge and it
was very critical in making surethat we got that done so that
the rest of the project would besuccessful, because it was
going to be done in three phases.
So it was just really anawesome moment to see that come
to fruition, to know that weworked together as a team like
(13:52):
my second week on the job tomake sure that it could get done
so that we could carry on andkeep going.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Well, I can just see that collaborative spirit in you
, sarah, so I'm glad that othersare able to see that as well.
I'm curious on the firstproject where you said, hey, the
company had decided to go allin, it was their first ground up
in 50 years and yet you stillfaced buy-in challenges.
So, and I imagine you alsofaced not having that company,
(14:22):
not having any prior experience,maybe some process challenges
and standard operatingprocedures challenges.
So speak a little bit, if youcould, about some of those
challenges and what you did toovercome them.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Absolutely.
At the time, the team that Iwas with.
They were really hands-on Allof us were, the Jocke team was,
and so I feel like everyonereally put in the extra effort
and the extra time to not onlylearn the software but write the
procedures as we went.
I mean, it was very crucialthat we all understood.
None of us were professionals,so we were learning and building
(14:55):
on the fly and we were under avery serious time and budget
crunch.
And not only that, but itrequired that everyone in the
department get new technology sothat we could actually handle
the size of the models that wewere building.
So it was really nice to seethe group come together to start
to see the buy-in from theexecutive team.
I think for them, what was mosteye-opening using that
(15:18):
technology was understandingthat it's not just about having
a cool model to look at.
At the end of the day, it's notabout being able to throw it
into rendering software or putit in the VR goggles.
What was most appealing to themas the owner and as the end
user was that they could finallyin depth explore the safety
aspect of what they were doing,because they were able to eat a
(15:41):
lot of those 3D models and forme I think that's what really
was a tipping point for them,that got us that buy-in to keep
going.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
I love that.
Yeah, and with new tech and newprocesses and to finish under
budget.
That's a major accomplishment,Sarah.
Incredible, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yeah, it's also noteworthy that you received
your certification andmanagement BIM accreditation
upon joining CDI in 2021, beingone of the 11 to do so in
Arkansas and then, more recently, adding that and acquiring your
certification management leanaccreditation further to your
experience.
How have these certificationsenhanced your role, what did you
learn from them and whatmotivated you to pursue them?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yeah, I think that one of the things I love so much
about CDI is not only are theyconstantly looking at the
technology that's coming, butthey're very heavily invested in
growing the people that theyhave.
They really believed in me whenI went to them and said, hey, I
need to take this test thathave this accreditation.
Not only does it show that Iactually know what I'm doing,
(16:47):
but it helps me to stay freshand to keep a new perspective on
different ways that we can dothings.
There's so many ways toimplement BIM and VDC technology
.
I think that going throughthose courses and taking those
exams really gave me theconfidence that I do know what
I'm doing after the song.
I just think it's nice that I'vegot that in my back pocket.
(17:09):
That way, when people arelearning new things that we're
doing for the company, theyunderstand that I'm not doing
this selfishly.
I'm doing it truly to betterthe project and to better the
teams that we have out in thefield.
As far as the leanaccreditation, we have some
leadership in the company thatreally started honing in on
(17:30):
different lean methods with thislast project that we've been
working on.
I felt that it was reallyimportant for me as part of the
project team to be able to bringthat to the table so that I
could bring value, not onlythrough BIM and VDC, but so that
I can understand theirprocesses and think of ways to
make them more clean and concise, so that when it was time to
train or it was time to knocksomething out for them from a
(17:52):
BIM or VDC standpoint, I wasbeing effective for them and
timely for them so that theycould stay on the schedule as
well.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
So do you feel these certifications enabled you to
bring that knowledge and valueback into CDI and that you're in
a position at CDI to be able toinfluence those processes?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Absolutely.
They are very, very persistentabout having training so that
everyone is cross-train in someway.
We do that monthly throughoutthe company in northwest
Arkansas and then we do it oncea month as well on different job
sites.
So they're always looking forsomeone to step up and say this
is what we should be workingtowards or maybe this is what we
(18:35):
could be doing better.
They're constantly pushing theenvelope, and so having those
accreditation really gives methat like to stand on when I say
maybe we should think aboutdoing things this way.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
I love that, Sarah.
On a typical day for you, itmay involve a wide range of
activities like technologytesting, hands-on job site
training and trade partnercoordination.
Can you walk us through a dayin your life as a BIM VDC
coordinator and how you balanceyour diverse responsibilities?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Sure, to be quite honest, I don't know that I have
a true day in the life it is sodifferent every day.
But typically I like to come inand check out what's on my
schedule, just make sure thatI've got an understanding of the
flow of things.
If we're in the middle of aproject that's got coordination
going on, I'll spend a lot oftime actually reviewing the 3D
model, making sure that thereare no issues, or, if there is
(19:26):
an issue, I've got no to it toactually bring it up with the
group later.
And then, when we do have thatcoordination call, it's really
important to me that everythingstarts and ends on time.
I want to be really respectfulof the fact that other people
have different meetings andplans throughout their day.
So if we're going to start atthree o'clock, we're starting
right at three o'clock and we'regoing to end right whenever the
meeting says it's going to end,and I think that some of the
(19:48):
lean coming back to me here.
But I really want to spend thetime to make sure that the
people that are going to beusing the models in the field
are getting the most value forwhat we're doing.
So it's important to me when Ihave those calls, that not only
are we including the people thatare doing the modeling, but we
want the project managers on thecall, we want the
superintendents on the call, wewant the trade foreman on the
(20:09):
call, we want all involvedparties, the design team, all of
the CDI internal team, fromfield engineer to superintendent
, and I've been really supportedin that fact.
You know, before I was in thisrole at Northwest Arkansas there
was no BDEC manager and theywere able to rely on our
Litterock team.
So being able to bring that tothem and then not have to wait
(20:32):
for things to get done and me beable to give them a quick
turnaround is really important,because the faster we can move
behind the scenes, the more theycan stay on schedule in the
field.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Well, I appreciate that so much and that's really
great meeting excellence thatperhaps came out of that lean
certification, for example,identifying the stakeholders and
ending and starting on time andenforcing those criteria as
part of great meeting excellenceSuch an important foundation
that all of us can learn from.
When you're coordinating withtrade partners, how do you
(21:04):
ensure that effectivecollaboration and communication
among different stakeholders andwhat strategies have you found
most successful in streamliningcoordination efforts?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
I would say that earlier the better.
Always, as soon as you canstart coordination, you should
do it.
Don't wait until the very lastminute to decide to get everyone
involved.
I'm also a really big fan ofcommunicating.
I'm the type of person thatwill send you email after email
after email and then call aftercall after call.
It's really important to me thatI follow up on things that are
(21:35):
loose ends and thankfully I'vegot amazing teammates that help
me do that.
I mean, we've got minutes afterminutes after minutes that we
take after each meeting.
So you know, just being able togo back and keep record of
anything that we've done ordecided as a group and then to
share that information withwhoever was on the call, I think
he's key.
But I cannot stress the overcommunication enough, and I
(21:58):
think having an agenda is reallyimportant.
I mean you can go in andcommunicate all you want, but if
you're all over the place,nobody's going to be able to
focus, no one's going to knowwhat's going on.
So being able to keep a verystrictly loose is that a term An
agenda that you can follow buthave some room to wiggle a
little bit I think that's reallykey and just making sure that
(22:19):
people know that they're beingheard.
I don't think there's anythingworse than going into a meeting
and voicing your opinion about aconcern and nothing being done
about it, so that's where thatfollow up really is key when it
comes to our coordinationmeetings.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I just love the advice and theexecution of that as well, sarah
.
So great, especially all ofthat.
And then to add to that, youknow helping make sure that
others feel heard, which is soimportant.
Appreciate that so much.
Yeah.
Given your involvement intechnology testing, how do you
see emerging technologies suchas AI and machine learning
(22:57):
impacting the future of BIM andBDC?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I think, if anything, it's going to make things
better.
I know a lot of people are kindof hesitant with AI, and I get
it.
It's kind of scary, it can bemisused, but I really do think
it's going to make a hugedifference in the way that we do
our work, whether that meansexpediting it or making smarter
decisions.
It's so amazing what all it cando, and it's just going to be
(23:23):
endless amounts of informationat our fingertips.
So I really hope that everyoneis able to lean into it and
embrace it, because I don't seeit going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Yeah, thanks so much.
I'd like to point to thewebinar that I recently hosted
with Applied Software, graytek,just a couple months ago, on how
AI is going to impact BIM andBDC.
I was pretty excited about theinteraction and activity and the
(23:55):
Q&A that came out of that.
Definitely, you know, encouragethe leaning in, so I'm glad
that you appreciate that as welland the massive change that you
see.
Are there specific technologiesthat you find particularly
promising or transformative?
Speaker 2 (24:10):
I think AI I mean honestly it's just exploded.
I think AR is still reallypowerful as well.
You know VR gets talked aboutthe most, I think.
But AR, I think, is not goinganywhere either.
It's going to be around for awhile.
It's going to continue to makevery successful projects even
more successful just because somany people are not as visual as
(24:32):
those that are building it.
So I'm excited to see whathappens.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, I was actually just thinking about this.
Actually, the AI, ar and VRwhere AR and VR, augmented
reality and virtual reality bothhave a hardware component to
the system, whereas AI can be itcan be hardware, yes, but it
also can be entirely softwarebased and so I've been intrigued
(24:59):
in seeing the proliferation ofAI move so much faster than AR
or VR other hardware basedtechnologies, and it's been, you
know, in my thought process ofthat I was really, you know, I
came to the conclusion of youknow, the software can just move
faster, right, it can justspread faster, it can get around
faster than the physicalequipment that hardware requires
(25:21):
.
And yet you look at, you knowwhat's coming out, like the
rabbit V1, for example, which isa combination of hardware and
software, a combination of youknow, holding a device while you
, you know, talking to it andusing it through through AI.
You know LLMs and LAMs, sopretty neat, pretty neat stuff
coming out, and how quickly it'sproliferating is amazing.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Yeah, and I think something else that will
probably start to see more ofare the smart lenses, like the
visors on your hard hat or thehollow lens Goggles.
You know it's always beenaround, it hasn't been super
prominent, but with the way thatthe hardware list software is
evolving you know, ray-bans,putting AI or not AI, ar into
(26:08):
glasses now and so I just thinkwe're going to continue to see
more of that evolution thesoftware being put into everyday
things that we're already using.
So that's going to be reallycool.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
And Sarah.
Having completed over $1.5billion in design and
construction projects, you'velikely overcome your fair to
serve challenges.
I know we've talked some ofthose challenges that you've
encountered, and what challengesdo you foresee for the future
of the MVDC coordination and howdo you think professionals in
the field can proactivelyaddress and overcome these
challenges?
Speaker 2 (26:38):
I think it goes back to the fact that change is hard.
People get comfortable usingwhat they know and what they
like, and so when a newtechnology comes around, you
know six months after you'velearned the first one.
That's kind of deflating.
I mean, it's really frustratingto have to learn what you think
is something brand new all overagain.
But I really do think that theway that things are evolving I
(27:01):
mean, four year olds can useiPhones, so it's just more and
more intuitive every day I thinkthat it's only going to
continue to improve as far as auser experience, and that's why
I think it's so important in arole as a VVDC coordinator to
understand that you're not justthere to do the dog and pony
show.
So much of what I do isteaching people and having that
(27:24):
empathy to sit beside them andwalk them through step by step
and make them understand.
It's OK if you don't understandthis right now or if you don't
know how to use this right now,but this is what it's going to
do for you long term, and Ifound that by doing that, I'm
much better received by thosethat I'm working with and
they're more apt to use it andapply it in their day to day job
(27:45):
.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Yeah, and in the execution of the BIM process and
the technologies that createthe BIM process are so
fundamental, so important to ourindustry.
And what I've really enjoyedabout speaking with you about is
all of the soft skills that youbring to it, for example, the
empathy, the meeting excellence,you know, really understanding
the importance of everythingaround the process.
(28:09):
So it's been, it's been reallyenjoyable and learning that from
you today, sarah.
And as a final question of theshow and a tradition of future
construct, if you could projectyourself out 25 years and wanted
to have any device technologythat would benefit you
personally, what would it be andwhat would it do?
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Oh gosh, I would love to have some sort of button,
like on my car keys or on myphone, probably an app that
would teleport me.
I feel like I spend so muchtime getting back and forth
between places.
It would just be so convenientto be able to whip out my phone,
open an app and be on vacationor be back, you know, with some
(28:51):
family members somewhere.
That would be my ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Very cool, yeah, some type of you know teleportation
device that saves you from somuch time spent traveling,
especially getting through TSAand the airport and all that fun
stuff.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Getting in line at Chick-fil-A at the drive-thru.
I mean there's a lot of optionsthat would be very useful.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
For sure.
Okay, very cool.
Well, I hope hope you see thatvery soon.
Sarah and I really appreciateyour time today and thank you
for audience at Future Construct.
Appreciate everybody so much.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Thank you so much for having me Absolutely.
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