At Enerfab, we are constantly exploring smarter ways to build and deliver projects. As the industry changes, we adopt new tools, implement emerging technology, and leverage our people’s experience to bring predictability to our customers.
In this fourth episode of Building Smarter Projects, we discuss how prefabrication and modularization have revolutionized how we approach construction projects. Our teams deliver excellence, safety, and ingenuity on your projects no matter where we operate.
By partnering with our prefabrication and modular capabilities, we can deliver projects SMARTER, faster, safer, and more efficiently.
Read the Full Transcript
Drew: Your best opportunity to impact the course of a project is at the start because once you get into construction, it’s too late.
[Music]
Brad Birck (Chief Growth Officer): Welcome to Building Smarter Projects, a podcast dedicated to exploring how Enerfab continues to adapt to the dynamic world of construction and technology.
I’m your host today, Brad Birck, and I’m excited to welcome our Vice President of Preconstruction, Drew Edwards. Welcome to the podcast.
Drew Edwards (Vice President of Preconstruction): Hey, Brad. Happy to be here.
Brad: Awesome. Well, you have spent a life in construction, right? I mean, you kind of grew up in a family that has always been around construction. You got into construction out of college, you’ve got to see a lot of different things across the country.
You’ve been in the gas world. You’ve been in the EV power plants and everything in between. What are you excited about right now? What are you seeing in the construction industry? What gets you excited right now?
Drew: I think the thing I’m most excited about is the emerging technologies and then the associated markets that are impacted. So, when I talk about emerging technologies, we’re talking about battery plants, we’re talking about data centers, we’re talking about battery recycling.
A lot of new markets out there, chips being another one. But then, as those markets start getting built up, we’re seeing this whole boom of new energy requirements. So, Enerfab being a power and industrial contractor, that plays right into our market as these data centers need electricity. So, I think we’re going to see a huge wave of new power projects out there.
Projections right now are, we need 128 gigawatts over the next five years. And that’s going to be accomplished through natural gas simple cycle, combined cycle, coal plants converting to natural gas, some coal plants being brought back online, and then further down the line, we’ll see these nuclear SMRs start popping up. So exciting times for the future for us.
Brad: No doubt. Well, and you got to spend so much of your career in that power side of the market, and natural gas and different things. It seems like we’re positioned pretty well for this change on both taking on some of these different projects. I mean, again, you help build one of the largest EV battery plants in the country, and we’re looking at some of those other projects at scale. How does that experience help you now in your new role on the pre-construction side? Being out in the field for so many years, seeing how construction gets done, how’s that really helping you in your new role, and where you see us going?
Drew: Yeah, well, Enerfab’s got a unique skill set where traditionally we’ve kind of mastered the boiler maker trade with all of our experience in coal, and that translates directly to these natural gas plants. You know, every combined cycle has got heat recovery steam generators, big scope of boiler maker work.
And then, as we continue to grow our pipe fitter operations, that’s another big facet of building gas plants. And so, combine that with our fabrication capabilities or structural steel experience or electrical capabilities. And, you know, we got a one-stop shop here where we can go execute these projects with, majority on our own.
But my past experience with combined cycle projects, you know, you learn a lot about how to get off on the right foot, how to start a job through that pre-construction period, which is critical for any large energy project. First being, you know, design coordination. You want to get embedded with that engineering team, you want to help them pick the right material specs, you want to help drive down quantities. That’s your biggest opportunity to impact the cost of the production on a project.
So, you know, my team’s really going to be focused on getting into those pre-designed meetings, working with our engineering partners, getting quantities out of the job, reducing welds, modularization, offsite fabrication. And that’s really the way to help start the project, right?
Brad: You know, how are you thinking about that? As you guys look at estimating a project, how are you looking at some of the tools that Enerfab may have available to maybe give us a little different edge on a project?
Drew: Yeah, well, I think one of the biggest things we have going for us is being able to handle that pipe fabrication and module fabrication on our own, in one house. And so, I mean, there’s always that communication link that you have to establish between either an internal company like Enerfab, working with our field construction teams, Enerfabrication Shops, or if you were using a third-party fabricator.
But, you know, the sequence of operation, getting systems fabricated in the right order, getting spools loaded on trucks in the right order, only helps you in the field when you’re not double handling materials, you’re picking straight from a truck to go into the PipeRx, to go into the install location. And so, working that internally with our own people, with our own—
Brad: Especially as these sites are so congested. I mean, these mega projects, I mean, yeah, you have this– they’re huge, right? But, you know, you’re still strangled for land and lay down and moving it around.
So, I mean, everything we can do to kind of take some of that work off-site and then have that just-in-time delivery or kind of that sequence that really makes sense. So, you’re not getting the last truck load when you really need the first truck load, that type of stuff. So, that all starts at, like, when you’re planning a project, huh?
Drew: And then also being able to integrate tools. I mean, being able to go from an estimating phase straight into fabrication, we can really streamline that process of, you know, transferring that information, getting our spool numbering set up, getting all of our tools set up internally, where we’re not trying to tailor our approach to, you know, another fabricator system.
Brad: So, you’re really setting our field teams up for success. How is that different than maybe what you’d seen in the past?
Drew: Well, the relationship between a contractor and a fabricator, I mean, every fabricator is going to have their own process, their own procedures, their own reporting structure. So, you know, when you work with third parties, you have to kind of adapt your approach to what they have available to give you, what data they can give you.
And so, working with our own fabrication shops, our own teams internally, I mean, we can streamline that process from the estimating phase through fabrication, through execution, and, you know, have one workflow that we use over and over.
Brad: How have you seen, you mentioned it a little bit before about how we’re getting, I guess, involved earlier, you know, kind of setting up those partnerships with the, you know, whether it be the GC, the owner. How have you seen estimating really change over the last few years, as far as, you know, the speed to market, the information you’re getting and how we’re collaborating maybe differently than in the past of like a rip and read or whatever?
Drew: Yeah. You know, the first thing that you’re seeing is contract structure. The old way used to be, get a full stack of issued for construction drawings and everybody would put their bids in and, and that process was just too long to, you know, get some of these high value projects built, these data centers, these energy projects.
So, you know, design build came where in the estimating phase you’re getting more preliminary information, you know, you’re getting maybe PNIDs, general, general arrangement drawings, bill of quantities. So you’re estimating with a lot less information, but you still got to put the quality together of, you know, getting your costs right.
And so estimating, I think, is become more streamlined where contractors are looking to have their, their estimating, you know, buckets of work, their account codes streamlined to their schedule and streamlined to their project tracking and have that one consistent flow of information where you’re not breaking up and siloing these different, different parts of project execution.
Brad: I know you’ve been tasked with kind of owning that here at Enerfab. We’ve been around for 120 plus years, so an old company, have a lot of different processes over the years. Part of what’s made us successful is, you know, the entrepreneurial spirit. So certain offices, you know, kind of maybe have taken on certain processes that work for them or a certain customer. But now, you know, you’re saying, hey, we got all these different parts and pieces around the country, and we want to look at it in the same way, or at least, you know, have a similar nature.
So what are some of the things that you’re trying to achieve by this kind of standardization? And then what are some of the major challenges you’re experiencing, you know, that just comes from naturally from a diverse company with a lot of different skills?
Drew: Yeah. Enerfab’s diversity was, you know, one of the things that attracted me to come here, but also one of the major challenges with standardizing estimating. I mean, we self-perform, I would essentially say all trades, you know, ground trades, pipe fitter, boiler maker, mill, right, electrical, instrumentation.
And so that alone creates a huge, huge array of different work we do and different things, different, you know, estimating standards we have to standardize. But in addition to that, we also execute a vast variety of projects. We do maintenance work, we do energy, we do chemical, we do food and beverage. And so, you take all those different markets and all those different trades that we self-perform and, you know, you got a pretty big library. You got a tackle of standardizing means, methods, quantities, codes, all those things that help us streamline that estimating process from quantity takeoff through scheduling, through project controls, through execution tracking.
Brad: But like, what a good opportunity if you’re an estimator here, you get to see so many different industries, behind the scenes of so many different things. You know, I mean, it’s not that… You’re not stamping out the same thing every day. I assume that brings a lot of, you know, excitement and satisfaction, obviously some challenges, but I, you know, it’s different than working at somewhere where you’re kind of like doing the same thing every day. We get to touch so many different processes.
Drew: And I’ve never seen two RFPs here that were the same. Sure, we do similar types of work, but they all seem to have their own twist and their own unique challenges. So, for an estimator here, it’s not, you know, it’s not building the same thing over and over. So that presents another challenge of, you know, getting into that rhythm of, you know, doing estimates in a consistent manner because we’re thrown a curveball every time we get an RFP.
Brad: I think that’s also why it’s been hard for us to maybe adapt certain construction technologies out there, estimating technologies, and things because, you know, nothing fits into that like clean box. So, we’re always trying to evaluate what’s the right tool, and that’s why you end up a lot of times coming back to homemade systems and Excel and things like that. So, do you think Excel ever leaves the process of estimating, or does it always have a place?
Drew: I think it always has a place. Construction technologies, I mean, there’s certain organizations out there that are trying to do more to, you know, create a complete suite of systems. But for estimating, I mean, there’s always specialists for mechanical work, or electrical work, or different scopes of work that we perform. And so, you know, when you don’t have one central system that can do all types of estimating, you end up with these, you know, different softwares for different purposes.
But then you got to bring them all together and do a common summary of your estimate. And so even if we’re not doing take off in Excel, I think Excel still serves a purpose just to help link these different softwares together and serve as a mechanism to talk between different systems.
Brad: That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. You know, in the construction industry, we’re in an industry that expects, you know, standardization, reliability, schedule, budget, I mean, everything, you know, predictable, on time, you know, all that kind of stuff.
But we’ve had a whole discussion about change, and technology, and adoption, and things like that. And you mentioned, you know, not every construction company has or maybe values, change. They like to do what they’ve always done because, you know, we’re risk-averse by nature. How do you create a culture where it’s okay to fail? Or it’s okay to try new things? You know, “You’re not going to lose your job over that. In fact, we encourage it.” How do you create that culture?
Drew: I think the first step is you lead by example. And so, from, you know, the executive team down through regional managers, down through, you know, base managers, we need to foster a culture that allows for innovation and allows for new ideas. So, people are encouraged to try things for the first time and hopefully implement something that we can use as an organization.
Brad: How do we get some of that, like, out of the field? You know, I’m sure there’s guys out there working for us today that either work for a different contractor, or come from a different industry, or just on their own time have researched something, or went to a lunch and learn from a vendor. You know, that we don’t know about, or we never heard about, or we haven’t seen yet.
How do we, you know, in addition to fostering a culture that’s not afraid to try new things, how do we also get them to communicate and bubble some of that stuff up, you know?
Drew: Yeah, and, you know, we could probably do better with, you know, having those final turnover meetings after projects are complete. You know, where did we succeed? Where did we fail? How could we have done this differently? We could probably put, you know, kind of some sort of digital survey method, idea box tools out there where anybody’s free to submit an idea for change, an idea for a new system, whatever that may be.
But you’re absolutely right, our, you know, our frontline craft are ultimately the experts on how to build things. And if they got ideas that can make us better, you know, we need to be getting those ideas and reviewing them and trying to put them into action.
Brad: Absolutely. So Drew, with, you know, part of what your job is, is, you know, evaluating technology, bringing in some technology again to improve our processes, different things. There’s so much out there, you know, it’s like drinking from a fire hose sometimes. You know, how are we evaluating technology, and then you know, A) make a recommendation to the organization that this is it or pull the rip cord? I mean, do you have any sort of process around that?
Drew: I think it all starts with, you know, market research. So, when some of these emerging new products, new technologies come out, you know, the first thing we do is, you know, make contact with these organizations. We usually set up conference calls, learn their business model, learn what they can offer, then do a comparison analysis between multiple organizations, if that’s the case, and then do a cost-benefit analysis.
So, you know, getting our ideas of potential gains that we could see from these technologies. And then, you know, ultimately, it’s, cost is involved, we have to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze.
Brad: Right. So, ROI is there.
Drew: And then, you know, you got to find a target project to try it. So, nobody likes being a guinea pig, but in the pursuit of excellence, you know, eventually you have to put it to work and see how it goes.
Brad: Right. You brought up a great point. Nobody wants to be the guinea pig, but they do if they bring it to the table. Like, what’s the best way that you’ve seen for us to get adoption on technology or implemented, you know, whether it be just on a project or then, you know, fleet-wide?
I guess where I’m going with that is like, okay, we can sit here and come up with ideas all we want, and then we put it out there, and they’re like, this is not what we want. What’s the best way to do it?
Drew: You know, you have to have a culture that encourages innovation. So, I think Enerfab, there’s no doubt that this company is willing to try things. And so, you know, what that does, it gives our project management or field execution teams, gives them, you know, comfort that they can try and they can fail. If they want to put a new technology in place, give it a shot, I mean, it doesn’t go well, maybe that’s not the solution we were looking for.
So, culture is a big thing. You don’t see that everywhere in the construction industry. A lot of companies are set in their ways of, “This is how we’ve always done it.” It’s a very dangerous mindset. But, you know, ultimately, if a technology becomes our future standard, because it’s so great, I mean, I think there’s good reward there too, to be the person that evaluated it, put it into action, and then, you know, created something that we can all use in the future.
Brad: One of the things we’re talking a lot, at least in the IT world right now at Enerfab, is field first. So, you know, everything we’re doing, it needs to impact the field first. You know, how are we getting information? How are we getting things in the hands of the field guys? So, I think to your point, where when a technology provides a benefit to those guys, so they can see that benefit, then the adoption goes way better, obviously.
Drew: Absolutely.
Brad: I know sometimes it gets a little frustrating where, you know, maybe there’s a little bug or something doesn’t work. But I think here we have that, that, “Hey, let’s challenge it, let’s beat it up, let’s make it better,” you know, versus, “Hey, let’s start on the trash can, this thing doesn’t work.” But at some point, some things just don’t work, and you try them. So when do you, when do you, when do you pull the plug?
Drew: Well, change is always difficult for any, you know, organization. Yeah. When people get comfortable with the way they’re doing things, you know, throwing a new way at it is very tough. And with my role, I mean, I’m going to try and force a lot of change, which is going to have resistance. So, the best way you can approach change is to be prepared. All these systems, new, you know, new technologies, new things we’re developing, they got to be tested, they got to be right. And then, you have to have some method to train your teams and give them some kind of procedure to follow. So, there’s nothing worse than putting out a new tool with no instruction manual. So, I think we need to be really, really careful about how we roll things out, and make sure that we have the, you know, the backup there. So people can work through problems, they have, they have someone to contact if they can’t resolve something on their own, and just putting that infrastructure in place where there’s their support.
Brad: Yeah, there’s probably a whole episode on change management and change adoption that we could do on just, you know, what’s the most effective way to get that out there. And I mean, obviously, having a champion always helps where there’s someone that believes in it: “Guys, you got to use this. I’m telling you, yeah, this takes an extra step here, but it changes everything else here,” and giving them that full picture. If you just tell someone to do something and you don’t tell them why, then they’re like, “No.” But if you can paint that picture of like, okay, yeah, by taking this step, it changes all this, and it makes this part easier and makes this part easier for you.
And, you know, I think if you can paint that picture and show… I think it’s similar to like a job, you know, I think that going back to the model discussion where you said a model always is helpful. Another place I think a model is always helpful is like, showing the team what they’re building, so they’ve had buy-in and ownership.
If you just say, “Go and weld that pipe every day,” you kind of go, you leave with, you know, “What’s the purpose? What am I building?” If you kind of get them involved with that process and, “Hey, here’s what we’re putting together, this is how it’s going to affect the community or the world or the product that we’re putting out there.” At least I, you know, I have more buy-in.
Drew: Yeah, all change should present benefit. So, if we’re making a change and, you know, it’s not impacting our crews and our teams, then maybe it’s not a change worth making. But, the changes you make that people are excited about, that they want to use, those are the ones that we need to pursue and push.
Brad: You know, we talk a lot about right now, artificial intelligence, AI, it’s all over, machine learning, gen AI, all the different things we’re talking about. How do you see AI playing a meaningful role, maybe in the estimating world? You know, are you excited about AI? Is it making you nervous? Do you think there’s useful tools that are coming out? You know, what do you think about that world?
Drew: Yeah, I was pretty skeptical about the AI capabilities, and when you take that human brain out of the process to read drawings and understand what they’re, you know, requesting. But we’ve had some meetings here with some leaders in the AI industry and looked at a couple projects to really help, really help the speed of take off.
So, any project, any estimate starts with quantities, and it’s always a big effort to get those quantities down into tables and estimating systems where we can work with the data. So, one of the projects we’re looking at right now is AI tools that can read isometrics and self-performed take off, and that’s something that affects both our fabrication shops, it affects our field execution estimates we’re doing here in Cincinnati and other regions in the company.
So that one tool, you know, could impact all of Enerfab and piping estimates that we’re performing. So, pretty exciting stuff. I’ve seen some examples and was very pleased at the accuracy and what could be done there.
Brad: So, I’m excited about it because it allows those people to really use their expertise in a different way. Now they can really think about the job, about how they could be more efficient, or maybe how they could modurize it, or take some parts out of the field. It gives them time to think, maybe, differently.
But we all know we’ll just bring in more estimates, right?
Drew: And that’s, you know, our focus with AI right now is like, let’s look at the tedious, repetitive tasks that our estimators are doing on a regular basis and, you know, figure out ways where, can we take this, you know, repetitive, tedious task and assign it to a machine, and let our estimators spend more time focusing on project execution, and risk, and opportunities.
So, another example there, you know, estimators spend a lot of time reading commercial documents, technical specifications, and a lot of times, they’re probably doing word searches looking for key wording and key risk things that have bit us in the past. So, you know, if you can train an AI model to perform those searches for you, you know, make lists of risk items, things that don’t match code compliance, that just gives our estimators more time to do effective things.
Brad: That’s exciting. So, a few years ago, you really let… I mean laser scanning been around for a while, we’ve obviously used it in our shops and in the field, you know, at times, but you really kind of own that laser scanning for us. A few years ago, got people trained up, made the investment in the different tools and things like that. How have you seen that change, you know, in our business as far as, you know… How are we using it effectively?
Drew: Sure. So, when, when we started the laser scanning effort, we were doing a lot of scans to enhance our proposals, you know, show our clients that we understood the conditions of the work area. We had plans to do rigging modifications into a boiler, mobilization plans, you know, identifying quantities of things that we were modifying, things like that. The next phase for us is really going to be integrating the laser scanning with design. So, we’re going to start self-performing our own design and we can now use those laser scans to actually implement our 3D modeling capabilities.
Brad: So talking about the 3D modeling a little bit, it’s like, you know, we get 3D models from, I don’t know, GCs, owners, whatever. So often, they don’t really help us, do they? I mean, as far as like having the quantities that you can actually… I guess they help to give you a visual that you can see the process as you, you know, that kind of stuff.
But as far as like giving you the data that you could estimate from a lot of times, it’s not valuable, is it?
Drew: Yeah, depends on the project. So, you know, we get some models that are well-polished, they’ve been through detailed design, they’re clash free, they have, you know, metadata on specs and sizes and systems. Those models are very useful. More often than not, we’re getting models that are in a preliminary phase. Very basic shapes, basic routing, less data that we can export and actually work with. But I would tell you that any model during the estimating phase is help.
It can always help you plan your construction sequence, you know, plan your attack, you know, “How are you going to build this project?” Your execution plan. And even with the basic models, with preliminary data, I mean, you can typically still get some information out that would help you put quantities together, and check your work.
Brad: Okay. How is the laser scanning also kind of helping us in the shop environment then, too?
Drew: Yeah. So, you know, Enerfab, big into pipe fabrication, obviously vessel fabrication, but really a focus for us in the future is going to be module. How do we build these pipe racks with preloaded, you know, piping, electrical instrumentation, take those big pieces into the field and do pick and set? So, we’re taking hours out of the field, we’re putting them in the shop, we’re building work more officially, and we’re reducing, you know, the craft that we need in the field, which is going to be a major challenge here in the future — getting the amount of craft that we need.
So, laser scanning helps there with accuracy. When you’re building the module, trestle, skid, you know, it’s got to get to the field. It’s got to land on anchor bolts, and any misfabrication there in the shop is going to require somebody in the field to go cut it apart, make a modification, and then, you know, you’re giving back the time and the cost that you save.
Brad: Right. So, your point, if we can scan it in the shop and, you know, if there happens to be an error, fix it right there, it helps save everyone.
Drew: Yeah, and we’ve done some, you know, some projects where we’ve scanned up front and we’ve found mistakes and corrected them in the shop before it ever gets on a truck and then you’re picking — pick and set in the field, right where it goes.
Brad: I assume the field guys love it when something comes and it just plops right into place. It’s a good day for everyone.
Drew: And they hate it when they get a pre-fab, skid, and the first thing they do is get out a grinder to cut it apart.
Brad: Sure. “I could have done this on-site.”Yeah, that’s a good point because, I mean, as we’re delivering these products, there’s an expectation that they fit like a Lego brick every single time. And I think that’s one of the things that Enerfab has brought to the market, is that high level of quality and we pride ourselves on making stuff, making sure that the stuff that leaves the shop is going to fit. Because we know, being a construction person, also how much that costs us, you know, to your point, the first thing you do is pull out a grinder and cut something apart, you know. Nothing makes a worker more, you know, upset to cut apart someone else’s hard work and then have to redo something.
Drew: And you lose all your momentum. I mean, as soon as our craft in the field are saying that the pre-fab’s not fitting, it kills morale. So, you know, you really want those prefabricated components to just fit, first time.
Brad: So you’ve been lucky enough or, you know, you’ve had the opportunity to live all over the country, different parts and pieces, you know. What’s the best zoo in the country?
Drew: The best what?
Brad: Zoo in the country.
Drew: The best zoo in the country is in Omaha, Nebraska.
Brad: Omaha? Oh, that’s fascinating. I’ve always heard it was the Cincinnati or the San Diego Zoo. Omaha, it’s the best one, huh?
Drew: No doubt.
Brad: Also, in your spare time, I know you like to play music and do different things. What’s your instrument of choice?
Drew: I started as a drummer. My mom put me into drum lessons when I was 10. So, started when I was young. You know, eventually bought guitars on my own, kind of watched YouTube and learned how to play guitar. And then I went through, you know, electronic DJ phase in college years, but a lot of that gear is collecting dust somewhere in a container.
Brad: There’s always time to bring it back out, maybe the next Enerfab Christmas party — DJ Drew in the house. I love it.
I think it’s so important, you know, it’s neat that you had an upbringing where you had like kind of like unique sides. You had that, like, that hardcore construction and you have this, you know, musical side.
Drew: Definitely engineering on one side, and arts and design on the other, yeah, in the house.
Brad: It’s interesting to… What shapes…
Drew: And somewhere in the middle, too, I think. I’m a pretty good representation of both sides.
Brad: Well, because I’d say what you’re doing, it’s not, it’s, you know… Engineering, I think, you know, it’s designed, it’s linear — you like things all lined up. But in this role, like you’ve mentioned, not everything’s coming in design, not everything’s coming in perfect. So, you’re having to use some of that, you know…
Drew: Creativity, innovation, thinking outside the box, “How can we do this with what we have?”
Brad: Do you think those are the qualities that make the estimator of the future? Is that what we’re looking for in estimators, you know, they got to be able to think differently?
Drew: You definitely have to be, you know, someone that can develop a process on your own. You know, the old ways of: “Here’s the manual, follow it step by step.”
I mean, that just doesn’t work anymore with the different types of projects we’re seeing, the different contract methods.
Brad: The speed to market, the lack of engineering on maybe the owner’s side, or maybe they’re unwilling, because of these new models, why would they spend all that money up front on the engineering? You know, let’s do it in collaboration.
Because I think we see a ton of value from that process, just being able to collaborate early, make those suggestions with the engineer early, so maybe they can change or look at the way they were planning to install something differently, once they understand our perspective from a construction site. Well, we can do that, but we’re going to have to scaffold 100-foot in the air and hang upside down to weld that, and so I just think it’s making the projects better in general by having this collaboration early.
Drew: Yeah, your best opportunity to impact the course of a project is at the start. Because once you get into construction, it’s too late. You’ve lost the ability to take things off-site, you’ve lost the ability to really, you know, affect your future. So, we got to be in there from day one. When we get these awards, putting that team together early, you know, start going after long lead procurement, start developing baseline schedules, our construction sequence, and as you mentioned, constructability. Working with that engineering team, driving quantities out of the job, you know, modifying materials of construction if you can, and really just optimizing.
Brad: Well, just like anything in life, you know what you know. And so, because we’ve been exposed to so many different industries and different things over the years, I mean, you and your team are able to come back and say, “Well, did you really need this metal? Just to make sure you understand, you know, that’s going to add, you know, 10 times cost.”
“Oh, I didn’t understand.” So, you know, bringing back suggestions for maybe different material types, different construction methodologies to really, you know, either A) improve the schedule or just the overall cost of a project. And we lose that ability if we just get a package to go build it at the end of the day, and all that stuff has already been bought.
I think as the owners understand that value more and more, they want us involved earlier, you know, as we can, we can help make those suggestions and changes.
Drew: And I think that whole process and early contractor involvement, I mean, that’s all stemming from energy, at least in my experience, that, you know, commercial jobs traditionally were more rip and read. These design-build, fast-pace, early contractor involvement, I mean, that was created by the industrial market. Now we’re kind of seeing it more back into, you know, these emerging technologies, these data centers, these chip plants, getting those contractors in early and, you know, having as much impact as you can before you even step foot on the field.
Brad: I think it’s an exciting time. I know we’re excited to have you here in Cincinnati and kind of undertaking all the things you’re doing, I think the future’s bright. I think it’s a great time to be in construction, I think it’s a great time to be, you know, where we’re at with Union Labor in the Midwest and with all this stuff going on. And again, with our roots in that, you know, power market combining with, you know, all we’re seeing from these emerging technologies, it just seems like it’s the right place to be right now.
Drew: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more.
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