April 23, 2025 • 31 mins
What if your childhood passion could shape your career? Kevin Kendellen, Construction Technology Manager at Riley Construction Company Inc., joins us to share his fascinating journey from building intricate Lego models as a child to managing complex construction projects as an adult. Kevin's story is a testament to how early hobbies can influence professional pathways. He shares anecdotes of creating detailed Lego cities and stadiums, revealing an innate understanding of lean construction principles long before entering the industry.
Discover how architectural wonders and family traditions have played pivotal roles in Kevin's growth, both personally and professionally. Kevin recounts his awe-striking encounter with the Calatrava expansion wing of the Quadracci Pavilion at the Milwaukee Art Museum, emphasizing the sophisticated problem-solving it involved. Additionally, Kevin sheds light on his family's deep-rooted involvement with the Milwaukee Irish Fest. These experiences have fostered a sense of community, adaptability, and leadership that Kevin applies to overcoming challenges in his career and life.
Stay tuned as we delve into the future of construction technology and the importance of engaging youth in the industry. Kevin underscores the value of STEM education and the myriad of career paths available within the construction sector. Learn about Riley Construction's approach to incorporating cutting-edge technologies that boost efficiency and scalability. Kevin also shares his visionary concept of modular, sustainable housing that adapts to the occupants’ needs, much like a Lego set. It’s an inspiring conversation that looks ahead to the innovations shaping the future of living spaces.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Future Construct podcast, where we
delve into the innovations andinsights shaping the future of
the construction industry.
Today, we have a remarkableguest with us, kevin Kandelin,
construction Technology Managerat Riley Construction Company
Inc.
With over two decades ofexperience in the field and a
passion for advancingconstruction technology, kevin
has spearheaded transformativeinitiatives at Riley, elevating
(00:29):
their construction processes tonew heights.
From his childhood love forbuilding with Legos to his
dedication to STEM, to education, kevin embodies the spirit of
innovation and growth thatdefines the future of
construction.
With all of your experience,you're continually and
positively influencing thedigital construction market.
Thank you for all of your manycontributions in the AEC space,
(00:49):
kevin.
Well, let's get started.
So, kevin, I mentioned in yourintroduction your childhood
fascination with Legos, whichsparked your interest in
construction.
Could you help elaborate on howplaying with Legos influenced
your career path?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Yeah, it's kind of fun lookingback at that a little bit.
So I was definitely not yournormal Lego kid in that regard,
so I was always trying torecreate real buildings or real
looking buildings with Legos.
I wasn't interested as much inbuilding spaceships or cars or
anything like that.
I was trying, you know, tryingto build um, actual, you know
(01:28):
realistic, you know city typebuilding.
So I think I built a baseballstadium ones, uh built a full
city kind of mock-up, kind ofthings like that.
Um, so that was that was kindof more the uh going after at
that point.
So, um, you know, it was uh, itwas definitely uh took a lot of
inspiration from, from thebuilt world.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Uh, in my lego building days so, uh, what age
range were you?
And, and I'm also curious, howlong did it take to build a full
city or a baseball stadium?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
um, I think I got my first lego set when I was like
four, you know, I think it was acastle set.
So I still remember that, um,the um you know these projects.
I would probably ask my, myparents I would have been like
locked in my room building forhours and days, um, at this
point, like they'd like theywouldn't be able to open the
door.
There was just Lego in the way.
Um, you know these things, andI wouldn't stop till I was done
(02:23):
either.
So I had a schedule in mind, um, as I'm building through this.
So it was definitely um again,not just uh, not just building
the sets.
It was uh, taking, making thecreations kind of take on a life
of their own.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Now did you find yourself?
For example, was the baseballstadium, was that preset or um,
or you know?
Did you sort of innovate aroundthat and the creation of that?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh, that was fully my own doing.
So I think, recalling myself,my dad from his childhood had
this painted baseball fieldboard that his dad had made.
So my grandfather made it.
It was really cool and paintedplayboard, um playboard and it
was.
So I actually ended up usingthat as the baseline and built
the stadium and kind of aroundit, um, at that point, and and
(03:07):
made modifications and kind oftook inspiration from other
ballparks out there and went, uh, probably went, went above and
beyond what, uh, what would have?
You know, put people in theseats, you know, make sure they
had good sight lines.
They had good sight lines,things like that.
You know the important thingsyou think of when you're 10.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So, if I'm picturing this correctly, it sounds like
you took a 2D model and you madeit a 3D model out of Legos.
Yeah, I mean, it was literallyjust the playing field, right.
It was the only thing that wasnot Lego in that regard, and you
know, of course it was.
You know, it was probably athree foot by three foot piece
of wood that was painted on too,so it was no small scale either
by that point.
So it took up a good chunk ofmy room.
Um, you know we had to.
You know couldn't take it aparteither for probably about a
(03:53):
year and a half that youwouldn't allow it to be taken
apart.
We're not.
No, we're not allowed.
Siblings weren't allowed totouch it.
You know it was one of thosecreations very cool.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Um so, with being an avid lego fan, um, uh, what are
the parallels that you findbetween building legos and
managing construction projectsin the real world?
And and I loved how youmentioned earlier that you had
the schedule in mind.
So that's one of them yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So it's kind of funny along those lines too, where it
was um, again, not normal 10year old building of lego, um
buddy stretch.
So I was, I was the one whosorted out all the bricks prior
to um building any set and then,after they were, after I took
those heads apart, they werethen sorted by color and type
and you know, early, earlylevels of ocd are kicking in at
(04:36):
this point and um, but really soI was.
I was really implementing alean before it was cool, um is
the way I'm gonna preface thatone.
And it was um, you know, reallyunderstanding just how things
were assembled, how buildingswent together, understand, you
know, built, you know and triedto tie more realistic
appearances into these.
You know you kind of have tothink through um, a lot of those
(04:59):
different aspects as long as wego with it.
So you know, even now, my, mykids probably hate building with
me because of that stuff.
So they're much more likenormal kids.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Well, in fairness, you know, I think there is no
normal anymore, but I love thatyour kids are exploring.
You know other alternative.
You know tools and hobbies, um,but, uh, I also love that.
You.
You also think that lean iscool, um, so let's, let's talk a
little bit about lean and yourexperience and implementing lean
.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Um, yeah, so Riley's reallybeen lean focused um for for
before my time even at Riley.
So they were kind of startedoff that lean journey um early
on.
So, um, we have, uh, we have aprocess in house called in step,
which is uh, basically our, our, our lean planning process
(05:53):
procedures that are that arebuilt into our everyday project
lives.
Um, so there's a lot of, youknow, planning tools involved
with that.
There's a there's the culturalaspect that's involved in that
too, because it it's it is acultural shift in a lot of
regards, um, but really kind offocusing on making sure we got
the right right people, theright material, the right right
(06:14):
items at the right time, um,throughout the job and in the
communication aspect.
It's it is a huge part of that.
Um, whenever, whenever we talkproject schedules, our most
current up-to-date projectschedule is always the pull plan
that's in the job trailer.
That is, first and foremost,you know, that's your, that's
your pulse on the job, Um, andthat's meant to be both a
(06:37):
collaborative method as well as,um, you know, just kind of
making sure that you knoweverybody's on the same page
throughout the team, no matter,you know, subcontractor, general
contractor, owner, anybodywho's involved in that process.
So it really drives a lot of ourplanning and a lot of our, you
(06:58):
know, implementation on jobsites.
As far as that goes andunderstanding you know what's
coming next, next, what has tohappen before the next item and
items like that um, and alsofrom a pers, from a personnel
standpoint, we we tend to runlean um in that regard too.
So we do a, we do a lot of workwith probably the least amount
of people um possible, andthat's by design.
(07:19):
That's not intentional um, or Ishould say it is intentional
intentional um, or I should sayit is intentional um, it is um.
So our project sites, you knowwe're we're really trying to
emphasize that efficiency sideof it too and make sure that you
know, hey, we will, we'll bringin resources when needed, when
they're needed um.
We're not going to overloadprojects with with um
(07:41):
unnecessary resources.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
So do you apply the practices of lean to have a lean
resourcing schedule or staffingschedule?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
We, we do um to, we're getting.
We're getting that.
One's kind of starting to get alittle bit better um, as you go
through, and again it's it's ajourney, it's it wasn't, uh, you
know, a flip of a switch oranything like that, so, um, but
that continuous improvementprocess is always part of what
we do and I think that's that'sa huge part where we're really
starting to understand.
You know, understand.
(08:12):
You know it's like okay, well,this, you know from a personnel
standpoint, yeah, let's planthat out a little bit.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
We're not going to go in with.
We're going to make sure thatwe have the right people in the
right spot.
Great, and before we jump backinto your childhood, just a
question about theimplementation of lean, and you
mentioned continuous improvement.
So you said that lean wasalready being implemented before
you had joined Riley.
So do you know how long thatlean has been a critical
strategic component at Riley?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'd have to verify that one back in my history
lessons here, but I believe itwas probably around the
2014-2015 year.
Great.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Yeah, so almost going on nine, 10 years of
implementing a core strategy.
So I just love to emphasizethat because it's know, it's a
reminder that we're all notalone and that it takes time to
take a great idea and put thatinto.
You know execution and see thatthrough and still there's
learning and continuousimprovement on it.
So, jumping back into yourchildhood, I'm just wondering if
(09:20):
you could pick a few differentspecific architectural
influences or favorite buildings.
Maybe the baseball stadium orthe city that you built, but you
know that inspired your passionfor construction.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah, absolutely.
So probably the first one thatcomes to mind right around that
that I think probably my middleschool years was Miller park, so
now American family field homeof the Brewers in Milwaukee.
That was, you know, for me thefirst time that we saw a mega
project kind of in the area andthat was that was really
exciting to see.
I was lucky enough because my,my cousin was actually an
(09:54):
interior designer for one of thefirms involved at that time and
she was able to actually get mea job site tour during the
construction and so great, itwas really cool.
So, actually being able to seethat kind of scale you know we
had just seen renderings from,you know, in the newspaper at
that point of what the stadiumwas going to be.
I think they actually built,like you know, the actual 3D
(10:15):
model with the moving roof on itfor the design competition, so
you saw all that kind of stuff.
But actually seeing how thatcomes together and the different
components in the in theballpark I was, was fantastic,
um, so that was number one.
Um, just just really, reallyreally started appreciating
commercial construction a lotwith with those types of
projects, the.
(10:36):
The second one probably wouldhave been the, the uh quadraki
pavilion, uh, so walk, your artmuseum was the.
That was the calatravaexpansion wing, uh, that they
put on, probably around the sametime, a little bit before that,
but it was the first time wehad a international renowned
architect.
You know, come to milwaukee anddesign something, um, in years,
and it was, um, you know, justunderstand, you know, seeing the
(10:58):
building and seeing how, youknow how you would actually
build something that moves, um,that flexes the way that that
structure does, um, I still walkinto that building now and I
still still, you know, just getgoosebumps walking into that to
that main pavilion and seeingjust the white lines and the
repetition within that building.
So, um, but for me it wasreally the, you know, the
(11:18):
problem solving aspect that cameto light, which was okay, well,
how do you actually buildsomething like this, like, yeah,
it's a cool design?
How do?
How do you actually buildsomething like this, like, yeah,
it's a cool design?
How do you, how do you get allthese pieces, components, to
work together and and andunderstand that?
So it was, uh, those were.
Those two were definitely um,inspirational in my career.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Beautiful.
Thank you for sharing, kevin.
So, kevin, I also understandthat you have a strong family
history and and working at theuh.
Our involvement in theMilwaukee Irish Fest.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Our involvement with Irish Feststarted off my parents.
When the kids were younger,they signed us up to volunteer
with them on a morefamily-friendly atmosphere.
They had been, I think,bartenders down there for a
(12:12):
couple and eventually we endedup the family was.
My parents were asked to kindof become coordinators of an
area during the festival.
And for those of you who don'tknow, irish Fest, it's a
four-day long festival inMilwaukee every year.
It's the world's largest Irishmusic cultural heritage festival
, so built, and it takes placeon the Summerfest grounds right
(12:35):
on the Milwaukee lake front.
So it's, it's a really, reallycool um infrastructure, as far
as that's, as far as thefestival goes.
It's not tense in a in a field,it's, it's permanent structures
and real stages and stuff likethat.
Um, it is, uh.
So family's been involved in, inrunning you, in running a
couple of different areasthroughout the years with that.
The Tipperary Tea Room is one,and then we were actually
(12:58):
coordinating a similar venue,patty's Cafe, for a couple of
years as well, and those youknow, serving Irish coffee,
serving scones, things like thatduring the festival.
The festival, uh, but becamemore of a, of a of a family
activity more than anything else.
So that was that was really thestart of it and, um, you know,
(13:18):
obviously that kind of grew toum.
You know, I was on the, I wasended up on the board of
directors for for three yearsand and with the festival and
and siblings have taken onleadership roles within the
festival as well and things likethat.
So now we're now we're thirdgeneration and into it and our
kids are volunteering as well.
They kind of grew up and wejoke around that my brother
(13:39):
learned, you know, my youngerbrother learned how to walk down
that irish fest um during setup, um more evidence imagine a lot
of people we learn how to walkthere too.
Right, right, right stumblefirst, then walk um, yeah, the
um, yeah, it's, uh, so it's,it's.
It's kind of just been a real,a real fun, you know,
(14:01):
volunteering aspect that we,that we've been involved with,
and it's a great community aswell.
The irish community, you know,you don't really normally don't
think irish when you thinkmilwaukee, um, but it, it
there's.
There's a pretty big, uh, irishpopulation here as well and and
pulling in from from nearbyareas as well, from from Chicago
and things like that to our our, you know, really drive up
attendance and all that.
(14:22):
So, um, plus, we have bettermusic.
So there's, I can't, uh, can'tdeny that.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Well, thanks so much for sharing that.
I mean, it's absolutelyincredible Three generations.
Our work is often with unionmembers and it really touches my
heart to see themulti-generational approach to
the union and the constructionindustry.
I'd really love to hear fromyou how the Milwaukee Irish Fest
that has impacted andcontributed to your personal and
(14:52):
professional growth and andmaybe even encourage some
thoughts in the in theconstruction space yeah, um.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So think about that question a little bit too kind
of.
Before this was, it was um.
I think it's learning how toadapt to change.
Uh was probably the biggest,biggest parallel uh between
working with irish fest and inconstruction and things like
that and not letting the littlethings you know get you know,
bother you as much um it.
(15:19):
You know the festival groundschange every year.
There's always improvementsbeing made, things that we have
to adapt to um as well.
And and understanding howdifferent setups work, how
logistics work, how you knowdifferent aspects of of uh, of
the festival management kind ofwork.
I think that really, you know,helped me at least you know,
(15:39):
understand that.
You know we're not, we're notgoing to sweat the little things
.
I'm not going to sweat that.
You know this one little, thisone thing, doesn't working right
now.
We're going to focus on otherthings, um and prior to
prioritize those areas, um, youknow.
But also being able to adapt onthe fly.
You know we can.
We got to make the best of whatwe got at the time.
We got people lined up.
We got, you know, customers outthere.
(16:00):
We got to make sure that we'regiving them the best quality you
know, experience that they have.
As well as you know, as far asas well as keep you know, keep
our festival area runningsmoothly.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Very cool.
I also understand that you're ahuge proponent of STEM and and
I am as well, and and so Ipersonally love your dedication
to STEM education groups.
Can you tell me about howyou're, how you're involved in
STEM and how you show your timethere, and then to expand on
that, how do you believe earlyexposure into construction and
technology at a young ageinfluences the next generation?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, absolutely so.
The my start with my, you know,my involvement with STEM has
really been based off of myearly involvement in the
industry itself as well.
So when I was a senior in highschool, I started my first
internship.
Well, so when I was a senior inhigh school, I started my first
internship, um, so it was.
I had the opportunity to, youknow, get high school credit for
(16:59):
working with a architecturalfirm, um, in the area, and that
was, you know, that opportunity.
I will swear by um for the forthe rest of my days.
And it's, it's, it's just thataspect of of being involved in
something that's real, that'syou're part of the industry,
part of the project team You'repart of.
You're actually, you know,helping build up your local
(17:21):
environment and it's, you know,allowing those opportunities to
you know.
Return those opportunities backto high school, I think, is a
huge aspect, for that back tohigh school, I think is a huge
aspect for that and reallypushing.
You know why we need more andmore, you know, smart people and
really doers within theindustry itself.
The STEM involvement too, andit's been great to see that kind
(17:47):
of grow in the last 10 years,where, you know, I think we're
still living under the mantra ofyou know you have to go for
your college, you have to dothat, you know you have to.
There's a certain way you haveto do things in order to succeed
in life, and now that we'reseeing more of the emphasis on
the trades themselves and beingable to have those aspects into
(18:11):
their education, I think is huge.
I think, also, changing themindset as far as that goes is a
huge aspect as well, and it's,but being able to actually to
help from the industry side ofthings now and, you know, being
able to be involved and showingwhat else is out there for these
kids is great, and helping themkind of think through more
(18:34):
real-world problems and thingslike that that they're going to
be finding on job sites anddesign phase, any aspect of the
construction industry itself.
I think the biggest goal that wehave right now is to show them
that, yeah, trades are important.
No one's denying that one.
We need to keep, you know,trying to get more young people
(18:57):
into the trades.
I think the other part, though,too, is that there's so many
different opportunities inconstruction that are out there
that are overlooked, you know,within the company you have,
obviously, we have marketing, wehave construction technology.
You have, obviously, we havemarketing, we have construction
technology.
We have, you know, so manydifferent levels of that are
abound within the company.
That it's you know.
We don't want to have the mantrabe, you know, it's not just
(19:19):
swinging a hammer.
Yes, that's important, but ifthat's not of interest to you,
there are other things in theindustry that you can excel in
your professional life.
You know things that you know.
I'm doing things today withconstruction technology I never
would have thought would havebeen anywhere in my on my radar,
you know, 25 years ago.
So this is the industry isconstantly changing and it's not
(19:42):
going to stop changing, and soit's our job as, as
professionals in the industry toshow the next generation this
is where we're heading, this iswhat we're doing, this is what
you know.
If these are of interest to you, there's a spot for you here,
um, and we want to keepimproving.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I love that.
Thank you for your dedicationto STEM, um.
I know that I also was verypersonally um impacted by uh on
the job training in my highschool and college days, um, and
I'm so grateful for thoseopportunities and I think it's
great that you know you'refocused on providing that the
(20:20):
lessons learned and the spiritthat you have you know, to the
next generation and you holdthat responsibility dear.
It's incredible.
You had mentioned a couple ofthings that take us to today
which you know.
Earlier in the call we hadtalked about continuous learning
.
Just now you had talked aboutthe importance of educating
ourselves and others onconstruction technology.
So I'm really curious you knowwhat do you do at Riley to stay
(20:44):
so up to date and up to speedand expand on?
You know latest breakingtechnology that you're
considering and how that'sbrought an impact to Riley?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah.
So we have a saying here thatwe're not interested in it,
we're not really interested inbeing on the cutting edge, but
we want to be right behind itand so what that the meaning
behind that is.
You know, we're we're aregional general contractor,
construction manager.
Right, we have, we have ourhome area that we operate in.
We'll travel for clientsoutside of the area, but you
(21:19):
know, we're really interested inmaking sure that we are looking
at value-added tools that areout there.
So these are tools that, again,you know we want to make sure
that they're adding the value tothe project, adding value to
the team, the process, whateverthe case might be, but also that
they can scale when needed.
So we're not looking for theshiny object, the one-hit-wonder
kind of tools that are outthere.
(21:41):
We're looking for somethingthat's going to have tangible
value over the course ofmultiple projects from that
perspective, and it also has tobe a solution If it's a software
tool that adds a step in theprocess, that's not again go
back to Lean.
That's not exactly a solution inour book.
We want that, you know.
Ideally we want a newtechnology tool to eliminate two
(22:04):
steps instead of, you know,adding more.
So being really selective inhow we look at technology and
how we look at those solutionsthat are out there.
We really kind of put it undera microscope and try to put it
through the ringer a little bitin the planning.
You know, before we hit, youknow before we, you know,
(22:25):
purchase the equipment orpurchase the technology solution
.
So there's definitely a processinvolved with it.
It's not just, you know, on awhim kind of thing.
I mean, those do come up.
I won't lie.
You know, sometimes we do see ashiny object, we get really
excited about it, and that'sjust our job as technology
professionals.
But we do really try to have aplan for that tool, have a plan
(22:50):
for its use and make sure that.
You know, at the end of the day, technology is a tool in
construction.
If it doesn't work for you,it's not working, and I think
that's a mindset that we'vereally tried to stick with
looking through those.
So you know, if we do find newtechnology at conferences, if
you know vendors come to us withnew stuff, we'll try it out,
(23:12):
we'll be honest with them andmove on.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, thanks for sharing that Very, very
practical vision that you knowreally shows that you're going
to bring the most most pragmatic, most valuable approach to your
clients.
You know, ensuring thateverybody's resources are used
the most efficiently, you know,while also staying ahead of the
curve.
So, yeah, really I love thatbusiness minded set applied to
applied to technology Brilliant.
(23:39):
So what are some of theadvancements that you've
implemented over the past sixyears at Riley?
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Yes, we've probably are one of our larger ones.
We've switched our modelviewers, so getting a bit into
the field has been a solutionthat we've worked on for a
couple years.
We've settled on products thatreally help push out the use of
a model to anyone, so that'sregardless of hardware setup
(24:08):
that they have.
We want to try to make this asuser-friendly as possible, so
we're trying to keep users onthe forefront of this.
We don't want to make it toocomplicated.
We don't want to make it thatit's only something that the VDC
staff knows how to do, sothey're the only ones who own it
.
We want this to be again thatuseful tool for everyone to help
build a better building.
(24:29):
So, along those lines, you know, so the 3D model viewer, you
know upgrading our layoutcapabilities over time, getting
more of that direct connect fromthe planning design phases into
the field um as well, um reallylooking at those at those uh
aspects of it as well.
So, um from the self-performside.
(24:51):
So we do self-perform butreally try to help, you know,
our field crews um as much as wecan with those, and so if they
have ideas too, we we reallywant that feedback, we want that
collaboration with them alongthose lines.
So you know, if we find thatshiny object, we'll throw it to
them first and kind of get somefeedback on it and see if you
know it's something that theyfeel used or if it's just a
gimmick, you know, but reallyinvolving involving that aspect
(25:16):
too, because again, if itdoesn't work for them, it's,
it's, we're not going value init, it's just going to gather
dust in the corner.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Absolutely.
And how have these advancementsimpacted Riley and not
collected dust in the corner?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, over time.
Obviously we're still notflipping the switch in that
regard, but over time it'sallowed us to keep that lean
mentality as far as that goes.
So if we're trying to implementa new layout tool, you know we
want it to go from, you know, athree-person crew down to it's
one person and a piece ofequipment, right.
(25:52):
So what that allows us to do is, you know, we're not laying
people off.
We obviously want them to dosomething that's more productive
of their time on the job site,and so that's allowing them to
do something that's moreproductive of their time on the
job site, and so that's, that'sbeen a lot that's allowing them
to to do that.
It allows us to to reallyemphasize better planning as
well.
So the more, the moreconversations, the more
(26:13):
collaboration, the more planningthat we can do ahead of time.
That actually actuallytranslates directly to the field
at this point.
So it's not, you know, we don't.
We eliminate the, the.
We're trying to eliminate the.
The foreman have to go, youknow, spend a month looking
through all the drawings andtrying to get his, his or her
process planned out.
(26:33):
We're taking, we're making alot of that digital, make a lot
of that seamless seamless as wecan within within the tools we
have.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah, thanks for sharing that experience.
So, speaking of how technologyhas advanced Riley and the way
that your organization viewsadoption of technology, is there
a special project in your timeat Riley that holds a very
special place in your heart andis particularly memorable for
you?
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
Probably my favorite one todate would probably be the first
project we did with MilwaukeeTool, so this was 2019.
And we did.
It was the first expansionproject on their campus here
locally.
That one was really fun becauseI was involved from interview
(27:24):
prep through interview throughproject through closeout with it
, so I got to see all differentfacets of it and it was really
the perfect alignment for us.
You know, project size wasright in the wheelhouse, the
ownership team was fantastic.
The project type was complexcomplex that you know you.
You still had to think throughum a lot of different aspects of
(27:46):
it and and the components thatwent into the building were, um,
you know, really allowed us tomake technology shine.
It was just set up really wellfor that and it was a.
It was the customer who caredum about technology, which is
which is great, you know.
Usually, you know, oh cool,that's a nice visual Check the
box.
There.
We actually had customers andpersonnel on the job site that
(28:09):
were legit interested in what wewere doing and how we were
doing it and focusing on thataspect of it.
So that had to be my favoriteone so far.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
That's great.
I really love thatno-transcript.
(28:47):
And as the final question ofthe show and a traditional
future construct if you couldproject yourself out 25 years
and wanted to have any device ortechnology that would benefit
you personally, what would it beand what would it do?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Yeah, absolutely.
So this was a fun one to try, Ithink, through a little bit.
So this was so recently we'vebeen toying around with the idea
of a couple of home improvementideas at the house and you know
, four kids and we love our areabut we just need more space,
right?
So, trying to figure out how tomake this work.
So, you know, my dream ideawould here would be, you know,
(29:25):
the idea of a flexi space home,so a modular house, adaption um
adaptation.
You know.
You know, so you can order anew component for your house,
have it dropped in, take anothercomponent away that you don't
need anymore.
You know your house can growand and flex as you, as you need
it, without changing your, yourfootprint too much.
And you know, allowing you,allowing you to stay in the same
area.
I think that if you want topool one day, order the pool.
(29:47):
I get that six months of theyear because we're in Wisconsin,
and six months of the year I'lltake a heated sunroom.
So switch things out here andthere, make it really, celebrate
the modular aspect of a house.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
That's really wonderful.
There's a sustainabilitycomponent to that, there's a
green component, there'sefficiency, and then it's a
callback to Legos, right?
So it's bringing that into ourpractical day-to-day world.
So I hope that the world seesthat and I hope that you're a
big part of that come the future.
(30:23):
That'd be fun.
Well, thank you, kevin, forsharing your journey and
insights into the future ofconstruction technology.
Your passion for innovation anddedication to empowering the
next generation of constructionprofessionals is truly inspiring
, and it's been a joy and apleasure on having you on the
show.
Thank you so much, kevin.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
No, thank you, Much appreciated.
Welcome to the Future Construct podcast, where we
delve into the innovations andinsights shaping the future of
the construction industry.
Today, we have a remarkableguest with us, kevin Kandelin,
construction Technology Managerat Riley Construction Company
Inc.
With over two decades ofexperience in the field and a
passion for advancingconstruction technology, kevin
has spearheaded transformativeinitiatives at Riley, elevating
(00:29):
their construction processes tonew heights.
From his childhood love forbuilding with Legos to his
dedication to STEM, to education, kevin embodies the spirit of
innovation and growth thatdefines the future of
construction.
With all of your experience,you're continually and
positively influencing thedigital construction market.
Thank you for all of your manycontributions in the AEC space,
(00:49):
kevin.
Well, let's get started.
So, kevin, I mentioned in yourintroduction your childhood
fascination with Legos, whichsparked your interest in
construction.
Could you help elaborate on howplaying with Legos influenced
your career path?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Yeah, it's kind of fun lookingback at that a little bit.
So I was definitely not yournormal Lego kid in that regard,
so I was always trying torecreate real buildings or real
looking buildings with Legos.
I wasn't interested as much inbuilding spaceships or cars or
anything like that.
I was trying, you know, tryingto build um, actual, you know
(01:28):
realistic, you know city typebuilding.
So I think I built a baseballstadium ones, uh built a full
city kind of mock-up, kind ofthings like that.
Um, so that was that was kindof more the uh going after at
that point.
So, um, you know, it was uh, itwas definitely uh took a lot of
inspiration from, from thebuilt world.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Uh, in my lego building days so, uh, what age
range were you?
And, and I'm also curious, howlong did it take to build a full
city or a baseball stadium?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
um, I think I got my first lego set when I was like
four, you know, I think it was acastle set.
So I still remember that, um,the um you know these projects.
I would probably ask my, myparents I would have been like
locked in my room building forhours and days, um, at this
point, like they'd like theywouldn't be able to open the
door.
There was just Lego in the way.
Um, you know these things, andI wouldn't stop till I was done
(02:23):
either.
So I had a schedule in mind, um, as I'm building through this.
So it was definitely um again,not just uh, not just building
the sets.
It was uh, taking, making thecreations kind of take on a life
of their own.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Now did you find yourself?
For example, was the baseballstadium, was that preset or um,
or you know?
Did you sort of innovate aroundthat and the creation of that?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh, that was fully my own doing.
So I think, recalling myself,my dad from his childhood had
this painted baseball fieldboard that his dad had made.
So my grandfather made it.
It was really cool and paintedplayboard, um playboard and it
was.
So I actually ended up usingthat as the baseline and built
the stadium and kind of aroundit, um, at that point, and and
(03:07):
made modifications and kind oftook inspiration from other
ballparks out there and went, uh, probably went, went above and
beyond what, uh, what would have?
You know, put people in theseats, you know, make sure they
had good sight lines.
They had good sight lines,things like that.
You know the important thingsyou think of when you're 10.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So, if I'm picturing this correctly, it sounds like
you took a 2D model and you madeit a 3D model out of Legos.
Yeah, I mean, it was literallyjust the playing field, right.
It was the only thing that wasnot Lego in that regard, and you
know, of course it was.
You know, it was probably athree foot by three foot piece
of wood that was painted on too,so it was no small scale either
by that point.
So it took up a good chunk ofmy room.
Um, you know we had to.
You know couldn't take it aparteither for probably about a
(03:53):
year and a half that youwouldn't allow it to be taken
apart.
We're not.
No, we're not allowed.
Siblings weren't allowed totouch it.
You know it was one of thosecreations very cool.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Um so, with being an avid lego fan, um, uh, what are
the parallels that you findbetween building legos and
managing construction projectsin the real world?
And and I loved how youmentioned earlier that you had
the schedule in mind.
So that's one of them yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So it's kind of funny along those lines too, where it
was um, again, not normal 10year old building of lego, um
buddy stretch.
So I was, I was the one whosorted out all the bricks prior
to um building any set and then,after they were, after I took
those heads apart, they werethen sorted by color and type
and you know, early, earlylevels of ocd are kicking in at
(04:36):
this point and um, but really soI was.
I was really implementing alean before it was cool, um is
the way I'm gonna preface thatone.
And it was um, you know, reallyunderstanding just how things
were assembled, how buildingswent together, understand, you
know, built, you know and triedto tie more realistic
appearances into these.
You know you kind of have tothink through um, a lot of those
(04:59):
different aspects as long as wego with it.
So you know, even now, my, mykids probably hate building with
me because of that stuff.
So they're much more likenormal kids.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Well, in fairness, you know, I think there is no
normal anymore, but I love thatyour kids are exploring.
You know other alternative.
You know tools and hobbies, um,but, uh, I also love that.
You.
You also think that lean iscool, um, so let's, let's talk a
little bit about lean and yourexperience and implementing lean
.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Um, yeah, so Riley's reallybeen lean focused um for for
before my time even at Riley.
So they were kind of startedoff that lean journey um early
on.
So, um, we have, uh, we have aprocess in house called in step,
which is uh, basically our, our, our lean planning process
(05:53):
procedures that are that arebuilt into our everyday project
lives.
Um, so there's a lot of, youknow, planning tools involved
with that.
There's a there's the culturalaspect that's involved in that
too, because it it's it is acultural shift in a lot of
regards, um, but really kind offocusing on making sure we got
the right right people, theright material, the right right
(06:14):
items at the right time, um,throughout the job and in the
communication aspect.
It's it is a huge part of that.
Um, whenever, whenever we talkproject schedules, our most
current up-to-date projectschedule is always the pull plan
that's in the job trailer.
That is, first and foremost,you know, that's your, that's
your pulse on the job, Um, andthat's meant to be both a
(06:37):
collaborative method as well as,um, you know, just kind of
making sure that you knoweverybody's on the same page
throughout the team, no matter,you know, subcontractor, general
contractor, owner, anybodywho's involved in that process.
So it really drives a lot of ourplanning and a lot of our, you
(06:58):
know, implementation on jobsites.
As far as that goes andunderstanding you know what's
coming next, next, what has tohappen before the next item and
items like that um, and alsofrom a pers, from a personnel
standpoint, we we tend to runlean um in that regard too.
So we do a, we do a lot of workwith probably the least amount
of people um possible, andthat's by design.
(07:19):
That's not intentional um, or Ishould say it is intentional
intentional um, or I should sayit is intentional um, it is um.
So our project sites, you knowwe're we're really trying to
emphasize that efficiency sideof it too and make sure that you
know, hey, we will, we'll bringin resources when needed, when
they're needed um.
We're not going to overloadprojects with with um
(07:41):
unnecessary resources.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
So do you apply the practices of lean to have a lean
resourcing schedule or staffingschedule?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
We, we do um to, we're getting.
We're getting that.
One's kind of starting to get alittle bit better um, as you go
through, and again it's it's ajourney, it's it wasn't, uh, you
know, a flip of a switch oranything like that, so, um, but
that continuous improvementprocess is always part of what
we do and I think that's that'sa huge part where we're really
starting to understand.
You know, understand.
(08:12):
You know it's like okay, well,this, you know from a personnel
standpoint, yeah, let's planthat out a little bit.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
We're not going to go in with.
We're going to make sure thatwe have the right people in the
right spot.
Great, and before we jump backinto your childhood, just a
question about theimplementation of lean, and you
mentioned continuous improvement.
So you said that lean wasalready being implemented before
you had joined Riley.
So do you know how long thatlean has been a critical
strategic component at Riley?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'd have to verify that one back in my history
lessons here, but I believe itwas probably around the
2014-2015 year.
Great.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Yeah, so almost going on nine, 10 years of
implementing a core strategy.
So I just love to emphasizethat because it's know, it's a
reminder that we're all notalone and that it takes time to
take a great idea and put thatinto.
You know execution and see thatthrough and still there's
learning and continuousimprovement on it.
So, jumping back into yourchildhood, I'm just wondering if
(09:20):
you could pick a few differentspecific architectural
influences or favorite buildings.
Maybe the baseball stadium orthe city that you built, but you
know that inspired your passionfor construction.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah, absolutely.
So probably the first one thatcomes to mind right around that
that I think probably my middleschool years was Miller park, so
now American family field homeof the Brewers in Milwaukee.
That was, you know, for me thefirst time that we saw a mega
project kind of in the area andthat was that was really
exciting to see.
I was lucky enough because my,my cousin was actually an
(09:54):
interior designer for one of thefirms involved at that time and
she was able to actually get mea job site tour during the
construction and so great, itwas really cool.
So, actually being able to seethat kind of scale you know we
had just seen renderings from,you know, in the newspaper at
that point of what the stadiumwas going to be.
I think they actually built,like you know, the actual 3D
(10:15):
model with the moving roof on itfor the design competition, so
you saw all that kind of stuff.
But actually seeing how thatcomes together and the different
components in the in theballpark I was, was fantastic,
um, so that was number one.
Um, just just really, reallyreally started appreciating
commercial construction a lotwith with those types of
projects, the.
(10:36):
The second one probably wouldhave been the, the uh quadraki
pavilion, uh, so walk, your artmuseum was the.
That was the calatravaexpansion wing, uh, that they
put on, probably around the sametime, a little bit before that,
but it was the first time wehad a international renowned
architect.
You know, come to milwaukee anddesign something, um, in years,
and it was, um, you know, justunderstand, you know, seeing the
(10:58):
building and seeing how, youknow how you would actually
build something that moves, um,that flexes the way that that
structure does, um, I still walkinto that building now and I
still still, you know, just getgoosebumps walking into that to
that main pavilion and seeingjust the white lines and the
repetition within that building.
So, um, but for me it wasreally the, you know, the
(11:18):
problem solving aspect that cameto light, which was okay, well,
how do you actually buildsomething like this, like, yeah,
it's a cool design?
How do?
How do you actually buildsomething like this, like, yeah,
it's a cool design?
How do you, how do you get allthese pieces, components, to
work together and and andunderstand that?
So it was, uh, those were.
Those two were definitely um,inspirational in my career.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Beautiful.
Thank you for sharing, kevin.
So, kevin, I also understandthat you have a strong family
history and and working at theuh.
Our involvement in theMilwaukee Irish Fest.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Our involvement with Irish Feststarted off my parents.
When the kids were younger,they signed us up to volunteer
with them on a morefamily-friendly atmosphere.
They had been, I think,bartenders down there for a
(12:12):
couple and eventually we endedup the family was.
My parents were asked to kindof become coordinators of an
area during the festival.
And for those of you who don'tknow, irish Fest, it's a
four-day long festival inMilwaukee every year.
It's the world's largest Irishmusic cultural heritage festival
, so built, and it takes placeon the Summerfest grounds right
(12:35):
on the Milwaukee lake front.
So it's, it's a really, reallycool um infrastructure, as far
as that's, as far as thefestival goes.
It's not tense in a in a field,it's, it's permanent structures
and real stages and stuff likethat.
Um, it is, uh.
So family's been involved in, inrunning you, in running a
couple of different areasthroughout the years with that.
The Tipperary Tea Room is one,and then we were actually
(12:58):
coordinating a similar venue,patty's Cafe, for a couple of
years as well, and those youknow, serving Irish coffee,
serving scones, things like thatduring the festival.
The festival, uh, but becamemore of a, of a of a family
activity more than anything else.
So that was that was really thestart of it and, um, you know,
(13:18):
obviously that kind of grew toum.
You know, I was on the, I wasended up on the board of
directors for for three yearsand and with the festival and
and siblings have taken onleadership roles within the
festival as well and things likethat.
So now we're now we're thirdgeneration and into it and our
kids are volunteering as well.
They kind of grew up and wejoke around that my brother
(13:39):
learned, you know, my youngerbrother learned how to walk down
that irish fest um during setup, um more evidence imagine a lot
of people we learn how to walkthere too.
Right, right, right stumblefirst, then walk um, yeah, the
um, yeah, it's, uh, so it's,it's.
It's kind of just been a real,a real fun, you know,
(14:01):
volunteering aspect that we,that we've been involved with,
and it's a great community aswell.
The irish community, you know,you don't really normally don't
think irish when you thinkmilwaukee, um, but it, it
there's.
There's a pretty big, uh, irishpopulation here as well and and
pulling in from from nearbyareas as well, from from Chicago
and things like that to our our, you know, really drive up
attendance and all that.
(14:22):
So, um, plus, we have bettermusic.
So there's, I can't, uh, can'tdeny that.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Well, thanks so much for sharing that.
I mean, it's absolutelyincredible Three generations.
Our work is often with unionmembers and it really touches my
heart to see themulti-generational approach to
the union and the constructionindustry.
I'd really love to hear fromyou how the Milwaukee Irish Fest
that has impacted andcontributed to your personal and
(14:52):
professional growth and andmaybe even encourage some
thoughts in the in theconstruction space yeah, um.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So think about that question a little bit too kind
of.
Before this was, it was um.
I think it's learning how toadapt to change.
Uh was probably the biggest,biggest parallel uh between
working with irish fest and inconstruction and things like
that and not letting the littlethings you know get you know,
bother you as much um it.
(15:19):
You know the festival groundschange every year.
There's always improvementsbeing made, things that we have
to adapt to um as well.
And and understanding howdifferent setups work, how
logistics work, how you knowdifferent aspects of of uh, of
the festival management kind ofwork.
I think that really, you know,helped me at least you know,
(15:39):
understand that.
You know we're not, we're notgoing to sweat the little things
.
I'm not going to sweat that.
You know this one little, thisone thing, doesn't working right
now.
We're going to focus on otherthings, um and prior to
prioritize those areas, um, youknow.
But also being able to adapt onthe fly.
You know we can.
We got to make the best of whatwe got at the time.
We got people lined up.
We got, you know, customers outthere.
(16:00):
We got to make sure that we'regiving them the best quality you
know, experience that they have.
As well as you know, as far asas well as keep you know, keep
our festival area runningsmoothly.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Very cool.
I also understand that you're ahuge proponent of STEM and and
I am as well, and and so Ipersonally love your dedication
to STEM education groups.
Can you tell me about howyou're, how you're involved in
STEM and how you show your timethere, and then to expand on
that, how do you believe earlyexposure into construction and
technology at a young ageinfluences the next generation?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, absolutely so.
The my start with my, you know,my involvement with STEM has
really been based off of myearly involvement in the
industry itself as well.
So when I was a senior in highschool, I started my first
internship.
Well, so when I was a senior inhigh school, I started my first
internship, um, so it was.
I had the opportunity to, youknow, get high school credit for
(16:59):
working with a architecturalfirm, um, in the area, and that
was, you know, that opportunity.
I will swear by um for the forthe rest of my days.
And it's, it's, it's just thataspect of of being involved in
something that's real, that'syou're part of the industry,
part of the project team You'repart of.
You're actually, you know,helping build up your local
(17:21):
environment and it's, you know,allowing those opportunities to
you know.
Return those opportunities backto high school, I think, is a
huge aspect, for that back tohigh school, I think is a huge
aspect for that and reallypushing.
You know why we need more andmore, you know, smart people and
really doers within theindustry itself.
The STEM involvement too, andit's been great to see that kind
(17:47):
of grow in the last 10 years,where, you know, I think we're
still living under the mantra ofyou know you have to go for
your college, you have to dothat, you know you have to.
There's a certain way you haveto do things in order to succeed
in life, and now that we'reseeing more of the emphasis on
the trades themselves and beingable to have those aspects into
(18:11):
their education, I think is huge.
I think, also, changing themindset as far as that goes is a
huge aspect as well, and it's,but being able to actually to
help from the industry side ofthings now and, you know, being
able to be involved and showingwhat else is out there for these
kids is great, and helping themkind of think through more
(18:34):
real-world problems and thingslike that that they're going to
be finding on job sites anddesign phase, any aspect of the
construction industry itself.
I think the biggest goal that wehave right now is to show them
that, yeah, trades are important.
No one's denying that one.
We need to keep, you know,trying to get more young people
(18:57):
into the trades.
I think the other part, though,too, is that there's so many
different opportunities inconstruction that are out there
that are overlooked, you know,within the company you have,
obviously, we have marketing, wehave construction technology.
You have, obviously, we havemarketing, we have construction
technology.
We have, you know, so manydifferent levels of that are
abound within the company.
That it's you know.
We don't want to have the mantrabe, you know, it's not just
(19:19):
swinging a hammer.
Yes, that's important, but ifthat's not of interest to you,
there are other things in theindustry that you can excel in
your professional life.
You know things that you know.
I'm doing things today withconstruction technology I never
would have thought would havebeen anywhere in my on my radar,
you know, 25 years ago.
So this is the industry isconstantly changing and it's not
(19:42):
going to stop changing, and soit's our job as, as
professionals in the industry toshow the next generation this
is where we're heading, this iswhat we're doing, this is what
you know.
If these are of interest to you, there's a spot for you here,
um, and we want to keepimproving.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I love that.
Thank you for your dedicationto STEM, um.
I know that I also was verypersonally um impacted by uh on
the job training in my highschool and college days, um, and
I'm so grateful for thoseopportunities and I think it's
great that you know you'refocused on providing that the
(20:20):
lessons learned and the spiritthat you have you know, to the
next generation and you holdthat responsibility dear.
It's incredible.
You had mentioned a couple ofthings that take us to today
which you know.
Earlier in the call we hadtalked about continuous learning
.
Just now you had talked aboutthe importance of educating
ourselves and others onconstruction technology.
So I'm really curious you knowwhat do you do at Riley to stay
(20:44):
so up to date and up to speedand expand on?
You know latest breakingtechnology that you're
considering and how that'sbrought an impact to Riley?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah.
So we have a saying here thatwe're not interested in it,
we're not really interested inbeing on the cutting edge, but
we want to be right behind itand so what that the meaning
behind that is.
You know, we're we're aregional general contractor,
construction manager.
Right, we have, we have ourhome area that we operate in.
We'll travel for clientsoutside of the area, but you
(21:19):
know, we're really interested inmaking sure that we are looking
at value-added tools that areout there.
So these are tools that, again,you know we want to make sure
that they're adding the value tothe project, adding value to
the team, the process, whateverthe case might be, but also that
they can scale when needed.
So we're not looking for theshiny object, the one-hit-wonder
kind of tools that are outthere.
(21:41):
We're looking for somethingthat's going to have tangible
value over the course ofmultiple projects from that
perspective, and it also has tobe a solution If it's a software
tool that adds a step in theprocess, that's not again go
back to Lean.
That's not exactly a solution inour book.
We want that, you know.
Ideally we want a newtechnology tool to eliminate two
(22:04):
steps instead of, you know,adding more.
So being really selective inhow we look at technology and
how we look at those solutionsthat are out there.
We really kind of put it undera microscope and try to put it
through the ringer a little bitin the planning.
You know, before we hit, youknow before we, you know,
(22:25):
purchase the equipment orpurchase the technology solution
.
So there's definitely a processinvolved with it.
It's not just, you know, on awhim kind of thing.
I mean, those do come up.
I won't lie.
You know, sometimes we do see ashiny object, we get really
excited about it, and that'sjust our job as technology
professionals.
But we do really try to have aplan for that tool, have a plan
(22:50):
for its use and make sure that.
You know, at the end of the day, technology is a tool in
construction.
If it doesn't work for you,it's not working, and I think
that's a mindset that we'vereally tried to stick with
looking through those.
So you know, if we do find newtechnology at conferences, if
you know vendors come to us withnew stuff, we'll try it out,
(23:12):
we'll be honest with them andmove on.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, thanks for sharing that Very, very
practical vision that you knowreally shows that you're going
to bring the most most pragmatic, most valuable approach to your
clients.
You know, ensuring thateverybody's resources are used
the most efficiently, you know,while also staying ahead of the
curve.
So, yeah, really I love thatbusiness minded set applied to
applied to technology Brilliant.
(23:39):
So what are some of theadvancements that you've
implemented over the past sixyears at Riley?
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Yes, we've probably are one of our larger ones.
We've switched our modelviewers, so getting a bit into
the field has been a solutionthat we've worked on for a
couple years.
We've settled on products thatreally help push out the use of
a model to anyone, so that'sregardless of hardware setup
(24:08):
that they have.
We want to try to make this asuser-friendly as possible, so
we're trying to keep users onthe forefront of this.
We don't want to make it toocomplicated.
We don't want to make it thatit's only something that the VDC
staff knows how to do, sothey're the only ones who own it
.
We want this to be again thatuseful tool for everyone to help
build a better building.
(24:29):
So, along those lines, you know, so the 3D model viewer, you
know upgrading our layoutcapabilities over time, getting
more of that direct connect fromthe planning design phases into
the field um as well, um reallylooking at those at those uh
aspects of it as well.
So, um from the self-performside.
(24:51):
So we do self-perform butreally try to help, you know,
our field crews um as much as wecan with those, and so if they
have ideas too, we we reallywant that feedback, we want that
collaboration with them alongthose lines.
So you know, if we find thatshiny object, we'll throw it to
them first and kind of get somefeedback on it and see if you
know it's something that theyfeel used or if it's just a
gimmick, you know, but reallyinvolving involving that aspect
(25:16):
too, because again, if itdoesn't work for them, it's,
it's, we're not going value init, it's just going to gather
dust in the corner.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Absolutely.
And how have these advancementsimpacted Riley and not
collected dust in the corner?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, over time.
Obviously we're still notflipping the switch in that
regard, but over time it'sallowed us to keep that lean
mentality as far as that goes.
So if we're trying to implementa new layout tool, you know we
want it to go from, you know, athree-person crew down to it's
one person and a piece ofequipment, right.
(25:52):
So what that allows us to do is, you know, we're not laying
people off.
We obviously want them to dosomething that's more productive
of their time on the job site,and so that's allowing them to
do something that's moreproductive of their time on the
job site, and so that's, that'sbeen a lot that's allowing them
to to do that.
It allows us to to reallyemphasize better planning as
well.
So the more, the moreconversations, the more
(26:13):
collaboration, the more planningthat we can do ahead of time.
That actually actuallytranslates directly to the field
at this point.
So it's not, you know, we don't.
We eliminate the, the.
We're trying to eliminate the.
The foreman have to go, youknow, spend a month looking
through all the drawings andtrying to get his, his or her
process planned out.
(26:33):
We're taking, we're making alot of that digital, make a lot
of that seamless seamless as wecan within within the tools we
have.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah, thanks for sharing that experience.
So, speaking of how technologyhas advanced Riley and the way
that your organization viewsadoption of technology, is there
a special project in your timeat Riley that holds a very
special place in your heart andis particularly memorable for
you?
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
Probably my favorite one todate would probably be the first
project we did with MilwaukeeTool, so this was 2019.
And we did.
It was the first expansionproject on their campus here
locally.
That one was really fun becauseI was involved from interview
(27:24):
prep through interview throughproject through closeout with it
, so I got to see all differentfacets of it and it was really
the perfect alignment for us.
You know, project size wasright in the wheelhouse, the
ownership team was fantastic.
The project type was complexcomplex that you know you.
You still had to think throughum a lot of different aspects of
(27:46):
it and and the components thatwent into the building were, um,
you know, really allowed us tomake technology shine.
It was just set up really wellfor that and it was a.
It was the customer who caredum about technology, which is
which is great, you know.
Usually, you know, oh cool,that's a nice visual Check the
box.
There.
We actually had customers andpersonnel on the job site that
(28:09):
were legit interested in what wewere doing and how we were
doing it and focusing on thataspect of it.
So that had to be my favoriteone so far.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
That's great.
I really love thatno-transcript.
(28:47):
And as the final question ofthe show and a traditional
future construct if you couldproject yourself out 25 years
and wanted to have any device ortechnology that would benefit
you personally, what would it beand what would it do?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Yeah, absolutely.
So this was a fun one to try, Ithink, through a little bit.
So this was so recently we'vebeen toying around with the idea
of a couple of home improvementideas at the house and you know
, four kids and we love our areabut we just need more space,
right?
So, trying to figure out how tomake this work.
So, you know, my dream ideawould here would be, you know,
(29:25):
the idea of a flexi space home,so a modular house, adaption um
adaptation.
You know.
You know, so you can order anew component for your house,
have it dropped in, take anothercomponent away that you don't
need anymore.
You know your house can growand and flex as you, as you need
it, without changing your, yourfootprint too much.
And you know, allowing you,allowing you to stay in the same
area.
I think that if you want topool one day, order the pool.
(29:47):
I get that six months of theyear because we're in Wisconsin,
and six months of the year I'lltake a heated sunroom.
So switch things out here andthere, make it really, celebrate
the modular aspect of a house.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
That's really wonderful.
There's a sustainabilitycomponent to that, there's a
green component, there'sefficiency, and then it's a
callback to Legos, right?
So it's bringing that into ourpractical day-to-day world.
So I hope that the world seesthat and I hope that you're a
big part of that come the future.
(30:23):
That'd be fun.
Well, thank you, kevin, forsharing your journey and
insights into the future ofconstruction technology.
Your passion for innovation anddedication to empowering the
next generation of constructionprofessionals is truly inspiring
, and it's been a joy and apleasure on having you on the
show.
Thank you so much, kevin.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
No, thank you, Much appreciated.
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