Field-First Mentality: The Key to Better Project Outcomes

We'll go ahead and introduce our speakers. We've got four of us today, Julia, Chris, Eugene and myself. Eugene, you want to start with a self intro? Sure. Absolutely. So my name is Eugene Eshbach. I'm currently the director of IT for Allen Myers, but I actually started out in construction as a carpenter. I was banging nails for a living. Then I worked my way to a project engineer, project superintendent, project manager. And then one day I got asked to come do some IT stuff and been doing that for about half my career. So the, the field first mentality is definitely a passion of mine because that's where I spent most of my career was in the field, in the dirt with my boots on. Awesome. Julia. Hi. Good morning. I'm Julia with Preston Companies, director of operations technology. I started, in project management as an engineer. And, I mean, as as that role goes, you're kinda just a problem solver all day. Now I've grown up, and I'm a problem solver kind of at the company level. And I drive process improvement in Preston and look for, you know, any technology that we can integrate to make us that much more efficient out there in the field. Great. And Chris. Hi. I'm Chris Ramos, the VP of Field Ops. I've been with the company now for over about thirteen, fourteen years here and started as an engineer, worked my way up to manager, all the way to executive, and now on the field side. Got to see everything from the office, how it operates and now the field and helping the field foreman superintendents apply those tools on an everyday basis. Great. And I'm Brooke Bowden. I'm our director of enterprise sales here at HCSS. Been with HCSS for about eleven years and didn't start as an engineer, but did start as an intern. And I worked in QA for a couple of months. And then on the product side, was a product manager over our safety product, then moved into customer success, and now in sales. So I'll be facilitating the webinar today. We'll have a couple of poll questions that you guys will see, and then we'll have a couple of slides that just detail some of the up tos for the conversation while we just have a couple of conversations. So let's jump into the objectives for today's webinar. We really wanna focus on what field first approach really means, gaining efficiencies and communications across the board throughout the company, hearing some best practices and some strategies that actually work. I've worked with Eugene and Julia very closely over the years at HCSS, and I can tell you these guys are the pros. So their best practices truly, truly have made a difference. And then discovering real time data. So HCSS, we deliver software solutions for the construction industry. And so some of their best practices are in alignment with the HCSS solutions that we offer today. And improving field productivity and equipment utilization. So we're gonna talk about some of those best practices as well. So we'll start out with our first poll question. Do you think a field first mentality can significantly improve project outcomes? I love live polls. I love watching all the, all the bars go back and forth. It's it's it's pretty great. Yeah. It's fun. Okay. Looks like we're locked in. Oh, got a couple. It looks like the winner for today is yes. Absolutely. And and that's the that's the direction we wanna take you through today is we want you guys to see how a field first mentality can improve your project outcomes. And we're gonna talk through a couple of reasons why it might not, why you guys are struggling, where the issues are. So we'll we'll have a couple of conversations around that. So crew centered construction, there's like I said, we've worked with Eugene, Julia, Chris throughout some of their projects. And what we're seeing is individuals that have an exposure to the field and the real problems out on the job sites have a better understanding of how to make these projects run smoother. So, Julia, I'm gonna start with you. What does a field first mentality really mean to you? Well, they're the boots on the ground and ultimately the people who make or break the success of our company. And so we have to make sure that they kick off any project on the right foot. And that doesn't just mean giving them the plan and everything set up for them before they get there. Definitely includes that. But making sure that they have the tools to get their job done. Most of our role as project management is handling all of the challenges that come up. If ever a project was just planned on a plan set and was installed the exact same way it got built in this virtual world, then there'd be no need for us. So thinking about those people who are going to be facing those in the field on the ground situations and setting them up for success and planning our processes to support that, that's how we bring home success at the end of the day. That's right. And then, Eugene, you've got unique experience where you started in the field. So do you want to add some color as to what it means to you and how that's affected your projects in the past? Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, at Al Myers, we believe that that that the work faces is the most important part of our world, right? We know that you can you can create profits and revenues on change orders and those types of things. But in the majority of your world is right around that field, right? So so getting those folks as productive as possible and getting those folks the information they need to make the choices as they're problem solving, just so you know, like Julia had mentioned, right? Problem solving is really the key, right? So give me the information, give me the options and make it as real time as possible. So making sure that those folks have tools they need to do their job is really, really key. And this idea of crew centered construction is something that we believe in deeply to Alan Myers and that the crew really is the center of our world and everything we can do to support them from having great work plans, having, you know, easy solutions to keep time and find information really is really, really does just make the work go that much smoother. Right. And Chris, you've been at Preston for thirteen, fourteen years, I think you said. So have you seen any evidence where the crew centered mentality has made a difference in having an impact on your projects? Yeah, definitely. I just think the evolution of technology over the last decade has evolved so much. And so we have four men from, say, in their 60s to as young as 30s. And so that range of individuals, the technology is a huge tool for them, and we want to empower every individual. And so being able to give them the tools they need from no longer the paper days to actual technology on an iPad, it's where everything's going. And so having data from submittal to RFI, not having to wait for someone to drive to bring it to them, it's just gone a long way. And so having those abilities to do it in a split of a second, it makes everyone more productive to what Eugene was saying, and everyone becomes more better productive and planning for that for that matter. I want to tack on to that. What Chris said was really, really important. It's the waiting, right? There is there is just a vastness of workflow opportunities for waiting. It's not just the submittal and the RFI. It's even survey data. The idea that I'm building a model and I need to get that model to my machine. Do I have to hand it to an engineer on a USB stick and then they have to go run out to the machine to take care of it? The answer is no. Know, there are companies out there with technology that says, you call and be like, Hey, I think there's a bust in the grates. Cool. Give me a survey shot. Great. You get a survey shot. Did you get the shot? Yep. Great. Let me change the model. Great. Okay. Hey, cool. It's back in the machine. And no one has to go anywhere. I mean, that kind of stuff is amazing. It's all about just keeping the work flowing. How can you to just keep it flowing? So, Chris, that was excellent. No more waiting. That should definitely be the mantra. We'll touch on technology a little bit later, but I do. Are there any other strategies that you guys have put in place to make sure that the field comes first? I think a lot of it is. Teaching and making sure we're reinforcing the big picture idea. Getting their buy in is really critical. Right? I mean, I think change is really hard no matter where you're working, whether you're in the field or you're in the office. And so we have a mantra, quality, integrity, and service, right? And so when we go out to discuss some changes that we're doing, whether it's a process or it's a new technology, we tie in these changes to our big picture goal and what we wanna do at the end of the day. And so I think making sure you're including the field in the big picture of what your strategic initiatives are at the corporate level are really critical. Involving them and making sure they're aware of where their piece in it lies and really gaining their buy in to where they fit in the big picture. Think that's a great conduit to my next slide. So go ahead, Chris. And then we'll Yeah, I'll just say, just to Julia's point, a lot of the change that happens is explaining the why. And so a lot of individuals in the field are not into the big picture like Julia's mentioned. So just in any company explaining down from maybe the superintendent all the way to the labor or operator and getting their understanding of why we're doing it, it goes a long way. Excellent. So we'll go to the next slide. This is going to prepare them. The next poll question coming up will feel probably more like a quiz now instead of a poll. So if that was a hint for you guys. So field driven technology, you guys covered this a little bit in some of your responses to the questions, but sounds like this is a real driving force for some of the success that you have in the field to get data quick, get data accurately, but also to retain employees. It's probably a little bit easier for them to get the data to you in a timely manner, in an accurate manner when it's easy to use and it's accessible. How have you leveraged tech and data in the field given all of these problems? So originally, I had this one slotted for you, Jean. But Julia, I heard you mentioned you're the problem solver being a project manager. So I'm gonna toss this one to you. Alright. Thank you, Brooke. So from that big picture that we were discussing, I, get clear understanding and direction on what our goals are. And then, it's a similar way where I look at those goals and I see all of our different data points. So we have an array of different tools that solve different purposes, but they're all contributing to this successful business that we have, right? And they all have those KPIs, those key performance indicators that help us create decisions. And so from where that gives me information to focus my time on, That's how we kind of dive down into, alright, we can focus we can prioritize, looking into this particular flow of information. Right? And that's that's how we dive in and say, alright, this it might not even be a tech application necessarily. It might be we need to refine a process that exists with our current tech tool or solution. And it's kind of like kind of coming out to the big picture and understanding where we're at, you know, and then you dive down into the detail of, okay, let's break it down and see where our pain points are. You know, which department? Is it the field crew that's struggling? Or is it like a next level up in the process? Who's feeling that pain? And then asking that question, can we interject some technology here? What's available to us? And we start analyzing. And then, like I said before, getting the buy in of those stakeholders. I see that there is a potential for improvement here. I go and talk to the stakeholders and get the buy in. And then it's like, okay, yes, we're going to buy a tech tool that's going to solve problem X, Y, and Z. And then, of course, that leads to the next thing. What are we addressing next or what unintended consequences, good or bad, we may have created. Right? But it it is a cyclical and constant process, that does change over time as our strategies are adjusting with our market, with the other external environments, etcetera. So it's it's a fun, constant life that we're living. Excellent. Eugene, how do your teams decide how you bring technology in and how it's going to be leveraged in the field? Good question. So we have I believe we have a really, really, I want to say, hands on approach with this. So in our IT team, we sets of analysts, right? And we a set that we call the shared services analysts. They spend a lot of time with the accountants at HR and the finance systems, those types of things. But then we also have field analysts. These folks handle support problems with the field technology, but their job, they actually spend one to two, some upwards up to three days in the field in project trailers. So they spend time in the project trailers, and it handles couple different things. Number one, it's nice to see IT people out in the field. We have about eighty remote sites. You know, we tune all of our jobs and stuff. And the fact that you see your IT person every so often makes you feel a little good. We collect a lot of really great ideas from the field. You know, you go out and hang with the foreman, and they have all kinds of problems that they don't call about, but they'll tell you about if they see you. So they're floating out in the field. We also see the engineers and the superintendents. We sit in all the job meetings and we say, How are you really using that technology? Right? We started putting some stuff in place because people started saying that this particular technology is frustrating. And we said, Well, we got some other stuff kind of in our toolkit. Why don't you give this a try? So just being open to being influenced by the field is really, really huge. We also go about doing a lot of sharing. So as we hear something in a particular trailer, you know, we'll talk about it in our IT team and then we'll spread the love a little bit. We'll hear the problems. We'll have kind of solutions in our tool belt and spread that as well. Plus, every time we want to do something with the field, we are adamant about piloting it and testing it. So, you know, if we want to take and put a new technology in place, what's nice about spending so much time in the field is we have a good sense of the problem. We can do that first vetting and say, hey, we think we got three solutions at work. Cool. Great. Let's grab these foremen that we have great relationships with, and this superintendent and this PM. Let's go out and see what they think. So we'll go out into their place, and we'll put the solutions on iPads and say, What do you think? Which one do you like better? Which one works better? You know, because we understand the technology back end. But honestly, if they don't like the front end, it doesn't matter how awesome it is. No one's going to use it. They're not going to use it as intended. So we do a lot of testing, and we also do that with documentation as well. So we will prepare documentation, take it out and say, cool, here's an iPad. Here's the instructions that we think we want to give everybody. Test it. What do you think? It either works or doesn't work. I didn't understand this step. I didn't understand that. So it really is, you know, spending time in the field, getting to really understand the process, which speeds up the cycle quite a bit. Then really, like Julia said, involving the field, right, and bringing them into the loop and bringing them in early. And we feel that that's done a really great job at increasing adoption. Also when we need something and we need them to change something, say like, hey, there's an update, we're sorry. Know, we're very trusted. So so as we need to make changes, we get a lot less pushback from the field. So so that that idea of being where everybody is working has worked really well for us. Amazing. Okay, let's go to the poll question. We've got two for this round. So the first one is what is the biggest challenge you face when implementing new technology into field activities? Cost, training and adoption, compatibility with existing systems, resistance to change from the crews, resistance to change from leadership. This is one of those. I think everyone wants to click all of them. So we just said what is the biggest. Yeah. This is quite the Venn diagram of choices you have here, Brooke. Yeah. So I've been just watching the training and adoption compete with the resistance to change from the crews because that's what we see on our side too. So we spend a lot of time and effort perfecting our implementation plans for how do we get crews to adopt our software. Nine times out of ten when when folks come to us, they're excited to have, you know, payroll work and reporting, but they don't think about how difficult it is to fill out a time card in the field. So we're we're this is the heart and soul of HCSS is to make sure that it's easy to adopt and that the field loves us. And so it's it's it's good to see that those are the top two that that everyone seems to be struggling with because those are where we put our our efforts into as well. Okay. Alright. Pop quiz. How often do your field teams participate in technology selection and testing? And I think this has evolved over time. I think a lot of groups, it was maybe a top down decision and execution for technology. And now it's flip flopped where there's a little bit more involvement with the field early on, even from, you know, hey, what are you guys seeing out there? What do you want to use? What's worked in the past? What do you not want to use? So I do think involving them early and I'm the same way. You know, I'm the same way. If you include me early, then when we do have hiccups and it is hard, I'm a little more patient. I'm a little more understanding of the full process. So same thing here. I wonder too if really the focus could actually be not so much the solution, but getting the field involved with defining the problem to begin with. And maybe that's where it starts first, and then it makes it involving them in the technology solution selection that much easier. That's a really good Sorry. I was just saying, yeah, a part of that is just a word-of-mouth. Right? A lot of times you get a few foremen who are working together on a bigger job. They kinda communicate. They talk to the other foremans. And before you know it, it just starts to spiral around the whole company. And it's, becomes one of those things where it just becomes contagious. Everyone wants to start doing it, but understanding the problem is the biggest thing for sure. Yeah. Cause Julia, I've been on a couple of projects where we're trying to solve what we think is the same problem, and it's actually not the same problem. But we can't agree on the solution because we're talking around the problem this whole time. And so that is a really, really good point that let's just start with understanding what really is the problem we're trying to solve. And then we can decide on what the perfect solution is. Okay. Let's see. I think we're going to go to empowering foreman with data and technology. So this was one that Chris highlighted early on for us. The essential piece of technology providing that real time data from the field. For me, it's nice to see that it's accurate. It's, like I said, real time, and it gets to where it needs to go quickly. So Chris and his his folks aren't having to wait. I I do think a lot of the crews see this over time. It is something you might have to see to believe it. Technology sometimes when it first comes in, you're like, oh, this feels like more work. This feels harder than what I was doing before. And so for them to see over time, maybe I'm even doing more with less time now as as they get used to it and as the learning curve dwindles. So this is one that we really like to see if if the office is getting really good data from the field, give it back to the field. Right? So make sure that the field sees, hey. What you're contributing to is really making a difference. So, Julia, I'll ask you, what's the biggest business impact you've seen since implementing a field first emphasis with data and technology? It really is everyone being on the same page, so we're speaking the same language. I mean, if we're not apples to apples on what our understanding is for our goals, right, I mean, before we kick off every single day, our foreman leads the crew by saying, here's what we're doing today and here's the goal. Like, here's how we're going to be successful. Right? And they can't perform that function unless in the in the office we have, you know, set them up with a quality budget to track against. Right? And we're maintaining, quantities to date, supporting the form in that way. So the idea is that that information sharing, like Chris said, getting it to them instantly, is crucial. And then so they can essentially be planning themselves for success. We experienced, I think a lot of us did back in twenty twenty, quite a shock to our system, where suddenly we couldn't be present as much as we wanted to. And so that really pushed a lot of emphasis on, getting our ducks in a row. We implemented a lot more quality control processes for making sure our information was accurate and as current as possible. And that, I wanna say, really exponentially improved where we were at. And it's really helped us launch kind of into the next decade of success for us from setting us up for a growth perspective, how we can really start to have substantial growth as a company and make sure that we can maintain our support of the field folks. What about you, Eugene? What do you think the biggest business impact has been for you guys? Well, so I really want to focus on bullet two here out of four and only because this is this is the topic of our industry for the next several years. Right. It is this idea of fighting for talent. And what's really wild is we get people from outside companies. They'll come in and be like, Oh, man, this is so much better than what I was doing at *** company. And, you know, folks will see that we're not we want you to spend your time building work, not being frustrated by the tools that you have that don't work well or the tools that you don't have at all. So this idea of getting technology to streamline the stuff that is not revenue generating is really huge for our teams. You know, again, it's whether, Hey, I'm only going to spend two, three minutes doing this thing, then I can go home faster instead of saying, Okay, I got to write it down. Now I have to go to the office and turn in my tickets. Now I got to take and fax this. The idea of e ticketing and the fact that it's so like everywhere just makes everybody happy. You know, you don't have spend time doing the stuff that you feel like is just shuffling around paperwork and information, you know, and also supplying people the metrics that really help them understand if they're doing well or not, you know, just it doesn't frustrate people. So this idea of keeping top talent is is, yeah, you know, there's the whole construction side, but the technology stuff should never be a frustration for somebody. That's something that we keep in the back of our minds as we're going out there. Like Julie and Chris said, we involve people. They feel like they're part of the company. They feel like if they are a valuable resource in the construction world, they want to hang with us because we're using them for more than just their construction ability and what their business ability, too. What's that extra thing that the technology angle do to help you help help keep your folks? And what advice would you give Eugene for teams looking to incorporate a field first approach? The advice it really is to make sure that everybody understands what goes on the field, right? Everybody who works for a construction company gets a hard hat. Everybody gets a pair of boots. Go out and see the folks, you know, make them feel supported. Right? Because if you go out and you see what's happening, then you're going to start to realize that this is really where the important stuff happens. It's not back in the office. You know, it's here at the work phase. So that that's that's my biggest thing is get out, see the work, meet the people, you know, let them know you're there to support them and ask them what they need. They'll tell you. And, Chris, what would you say the biggest struggles have been for your teams? It's kind of the things we've talked about earlier, kind of the adoption of one the polls. I think a lot of people are all going through it. Right? And I think what Eugene hit on earlier about getting the beta testing done earlier. So we're minimizing some of that, some of the frustration that people are having in the field. But the more we're talking and the more we're understanding where they're coming from, the better we're all going to be. I mean, we are in a relationship business. We're dealing with other relationships from our clients to engineers to there's many individuals. So internally, there's a lot of individuals we have to deal with. And so everyone functions differently. Some are more visual, some are more textbook, right? Everyone runs to their own beat. And so understanding where they're coming from to make sure that, like Eugene said, the second bullet point, make sure our top performers are performing at the top. We gotta make sure we're giving them all the tools they need to continue to be running at the top. Agreed. Agreed. Okay. Let's go to the polls. We have a new poll question for you. How important is real time data access for managing field activities? And while you guys are filling this out, I know most of the conversation has been centered around key performers and productivity. I've got a I've got some selfish content from a safety side where a lot of the real time data for safety has been so revolutionary too in all of this. So several of our clients are using all of the near miss and observation data that they're getting from the field real time, putting that back out into the field so that they can see, hey, here's all of the things that could have gotten us, that could have have been a bigger issue, and we're getting it out sooner and faster so that it doesn't actually precipitate into an issue. I think that is is something that we just don't capture enough and we aren't putting it out there fast enough. And so I do think this is a place where technology has really helped instead of just filling out a form, sending it into the office. It's in a file cabinet somewhere. No one's going look at it again, and we just expose ourselves to risk. Whereas now I think all of that data that the field is saying, hey, we're telling you guys, we are seeing these things out in the field and we're pushing it back and saying, yep, we hear you. We see it. We're going to get it fixed. I think it's been really, really important. Brooke, I just want to add on to that, because one of the one of the ideas that's really floating around in safety right now because of the fact that data can be so real time is how can your data help coach you, you know, without without the safety person coming out? Right. It's, Hey, I'm going to fill out this inspection form. Okay, great. Know, we're just used to filling out the piece of paper. But what if you fill it out and it said, Hey, I noticed that these couple of things didn't work well. You know, maybe you should think about doing this type of toolbox talk tomorrow or, hey, it looks like your crew's a little light on training in this area. So it's that idea of real time to help coach when everybody's spread pretty thin. So where else can you get your So just want to add on because I think I think it really ties in with what you just said. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's a really great point. And we're going to move on to the next section around career growth and retention. And I think that's right in line where, you know, all this this my generation and the next wave of generations, they want to work somewhere where they feel important, where they feel valued, where they feel like they have a voice at the company. And this is exactly that. They don't want to fill out a form or they don't want to be asked their advice or opinion and it just go into the ether. So I think if you're able to publish some of that back out to them to say, you know, we heard you on some of these topics that it wasn't relevant or it didn't, you know, it wasn't helpful, we can refine it and then push out the changes to them makes a huge difference in employee retention, which you're saying we've heard for, I mean, over a decade now has been the top issue for for construction. So I do think that's a huge, huge piece. How are you guys keeping employees or recruiting employees to stay in field positions? So, Chris, I'm gonna toss this one to you. Yeah. Well, we have a kind of saying, or die. And so it starts from our owner with that mentality. And to continue to grow means that we have to evolve and have to change. And so by changing maybe geographical regions and maybe diversifying what we do, every company has their own strategic plan behind that. But by growing, you're giving individuals who probably would never think of probably making it a career, expand their horizons within the organization. So if you have a laborer, they may come in and say, man, I'm a a laborer and I'm just gonna do this the rest of my life. It's like when we see potential, we want to seek those individuals out to help them to grow, to step into the next role as a lead man, and then eventually take over as a foreman. And by growing the organization, there's a lot of features that they can get out of that. And so a lot of people maybe don't get it right away and kind of my role, I go out to the field and I talk to individuals. I kind of get to know them on a personal basis and say, hey, I think you have a real passion in what you're doing. I think you could take it to the next step. And let me kind of just walk you through kind of what I'm thinking here. And you just open the conversation and get more dialogue out of them. Before you know it, they have aspirations they want to be a superintendent and never knew that unless you talk to them. And so I would say that's definitely a step that we do. Awesome. Julia, do you want to add any color to Preston's strategies here before I ask Eugene? I think Chris pretty well covered it. Like in his role, he's been really instrumental in terms of developing careers for the field staff. I mean, he comes off kind of humble, but we've made huge strides in our succession planning for many years to come based on the work that Chris has been doing out there. And it's giving those individuals that personal touch. He mentioned relationships before. We're really big on that. People is one of our core values. And, I mean, he's out there living it every day. And I think that's just where it matters. It's taking that personal touch and and really caring about the individuals out there. And Eugene, I know you guys have a unique, I will say, roadmap for how you guys build up employees. You want to talk through that a little bit? Sure. So so we've really been focusing on career pathways, and that's the term we're using, right? Because not everybody's career path looks the same. Mine is certainly different. You know, I went from started out as a carpenter and now I do IT stuff, right? So everybody has an affinity. When you think about it, where's your surveyors going to come from? A guy who does pipe grades may make an excellent surveyor. That's not a typical path, but that's a path that we offer to folks. So we really do a lot to say that, Hey, these are the skills that this type of role needs. We send people out to identify who's got those skills, right? And it's not typically the person you would think. So we really focus on letting everybody know that they can run all over the ladder. It's not this straight shot, right? It's all over the place. And like Chris and Julia said, it's really about that personal touch and getting to know your folks and saying, you know, what are your goals? Right. Alan Myers has lots and lots of opportunities. Where do you where do you see yourself fitting in? That that's the big thing is that everything is not a straight shot up the ladder. Yeah. Yeah. I think what we've seen, too, is you've you've given a lot of exposure to options across the organization to anybody. So I can't remember you had two folks start and you put them through like a leadership program where they could shadow different positions. And so I think just getting exposure to what does it look like in all of these different avenues in construction has been huge. And what technology do they use there and what does their day to day look like? And then what does the career path from there look like has been instrumental to those folks growing and finding the right seat on the bus for them. Okay. We're going to go to we've got two more polls for you guys. So let's move on to poll number one. When considering leadership advancement for crew members, where does their ability to embrace technology rank? And I thought this one was interesting because it might depend on the role. It might depend on what role that individual's moving into. We do see when we do implementations, we try to take the individual least likely to adopt the technology to lead some of the implementations. That way, we're trying to show, hey. Look. Even even this person that does not want to adopt it, thinks it's difficult, even they can do it and train it. So I do think at most places I've seen, it's actually not a consideration for leadership placement, but it is actually instrumental in making sure that their crews are a success if they're leading from that perspective and technology is is going to be a stake holder in that in that project. So just something to think about. It might not be part of the career path, but it might actually have an impact on on the success of the job. Okay. I've got another poll for you guys. How significant is the role oh, sorry. This is the same one. Oh, no. Okay. How significant is the role of the field technology in retaining your employees? And have you guys pulled your employees, Eugene, Julia, Chris, on or, like, done exit interviews or during the application progress, how how interested technology is on determining whether they accept or hold a position? I actually think we do. That sounds interesting. Yeah. So the reason that I like this question is because it's just thinking differently, right? Again, we're moving into a different world. AI is the topic of the day, right? What's AI going to do for construction in five, six years? I think it just depends on which vertical you're in, right? You're building buildings, you put pipelines in the ground, you built roads. But it's the idea that, you know, if you're always fighting with your technology, you're probably less likely to hang out with that company and it's like, listen, I don't want to get burned out on these systems and processes based on this stuff. Maybe if I have something a little cleaner and smoother, makes my life a little easier. You know, I got some nicer stuff. I can focus on putting work in place instead of fighting with my technology every day. So that's what I love about this question. I love the answer is we're like, yeah, it's kind of a differentiator. Do people leave companies because the technology is a little squirrely? Possibly if you just get frustrated. So I love the answer here. Great answer. I think adding some certain context to it as well, like changes the perspective on the way you read it though. Like, you know, death by app was the thing that I would hear all the time from other people who are not from our company. But that was what was so great about like our solution, right? I mean, we're an HCSS customer. And so we have a lot of things in one place. And I think that's why a lot of our field folks are so satisfied. They probably don't see the other side of the fence in terms of like, Oh, the grass might look greener, because we're implementing processes and change is hard and painful. But for companies who are considering implementing technology, it's gotta be, kind of to Eugene's point, it's gotta be easy to use. And that's what's really critical at the end of the day is that the employee is not in pain while they're trying to do their job. They don't need to go to so many different locations to source their information. You know, Making it making it easy is is critical. So application is important. Agreed. Okay. Chris, any any comments on this topic before I move on? No. I think Julia hit it. Awesome. Okay. Well, that concludes our our polls, and I just listed some of the the takeaways here for you guys based on the conversations that we had throughout the webinar. And then we're gonna open it up for q and a if you guys wanna discuss. But any last remarks from Eugene, Julia, Chris, before we open up the the q and a? Were you gonna say something, Chris? You came off mute first. I'm sorry. Oh, sorry. No. I just think, think kind of just summarize it for us. There's a lot going on in the world in understanding what the field is going through, kind of to Eugene's point earlier, is very crucial because not only are they trying to conduct an operation in the field with their own team internally, there's the external factor as well. And so a lot of times when you don't have that kind of understanding, it's one of those things that you maybe get frustrated that, hey, how come they're not answering my phone call? How come I'm not getting this information right away? A lot of it is, like you said, get the boots on, go out there, put your PPE on and just live it. And just maybe just for a little bit and understand what they're going through. I think as individuals, sometimes we get frustrated because the expectation is they should have the answer right away. But when you lift someone's shoes and you walk the walk they have to on a daily basis, you realize that it is more challenging than you thought originally. So I'd say a lot of it to be patient with the process, but just know that the process will pay dividends in the long run. Great point. Julia, you want to add any color to that? I'm living what Chris just talked about right now and getting back out there and living some of these processes that we've implemented together over the years and just seeing what our employees, both in the office and in the field, are dealing with on a daily basis, it helps bring perspective. Right? And so while I'm not thinking we went the wrong direction, but it definitely gives insight to the necessary reinforcement. We mentioned training previously in terms of that being like kind of a key issue for folks implementing any changes or technology. It's not just that initial training, right? It's following up with all of your staff, all of your employees in the field. We said we were gonna do this. We trained you on it. Now, how are we doing? How are we doing next in the six month mark? How are we doing about it today? And then understanding your trend of how that initial rollout happened is critical. So checking in with folks and then making tweaks along the way is going to be a huge element for success in terms of implementing any technology, whether it's process or an entire tool. Great points. And Eugene, any last remarks from you? Nope. I think Chris and Julia said it best, empathy and perspective. Get out there and see what's going on. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. Okay. So we do have a Q and A. So we'll give you guys a couple of moments to put any of your questions in the chat, and we can go through q and a. Okay. We do have a question, and I'm gonna I'm gonna kind of blur it a little bit. But we have what looks like a student coming in with a question asking what it would take to be a part of your organization from, like, a skills and qualifications perspective. They have a couple of internships under their belt for the past year. And so just looking at you guys, if you had a college student that was looking to join your teams, what are some skills and qualifications you would be looking for in an individual? Julia, you want me to start with you? Honestly, it's coachability. How teachable are you? Right? How hungry are you to learn something new, to take something on that is a challenge for you? We're looking for character, more so experience. We have a certain expectation for young folks out of college that you definitely have the book smarts and you were able to graduate. And we're looking for that character, someone who's going to jump in, get their hands dirty, be a part of a team, who are hungry for learning ultimately. Great response. Eugene, you want to cover off yours? Yes. We do a lot of internships, and it's funny what we look for out of school is, IT degrees are great, but it's the focus on the business side, because that's where you start to learn business process. How do I think about money, right? Because money is a big part of it and data. So if you are in school, whoever this may be, business classes and data classes are huge because everything ends up being data. And it's a great stepping stone. Because after you get past those first couple of years, it really is about people skills. Just like Julia said, you know, you got you got good character, you can deal with people. If you can think through business problems and think through data problems, you're going to be in great shape. Great. Great. Okay. And then we have one a little on the other side. So how hard do you push for individuals that will not embrace new mandatory technology? So we've seen this, I think, across the board. But, for example, seasoned operators that won't do electronic inspections. So how do you guys overcome this hurdle? Chris, I might toss this one to you first. Yeah. I would say for us, it's a little different because we're not full fledged mandatory for all our operators. But for those who have signed up, I would say it's under back to the understanding. What are the pinch points? Things are making their day frustrating to understand how can we help them? So if or not, if when we get it all mandatory for our operators and so forth, our biggest thing is just, again, it's connection. It's the personal side of what we do as a business, understanding, hey, why don't you wanna do it? Is it because maybe you're not technology savvy, so we gotta do more training with you? Is it because you don't like how it looks and the formatting? Okay, well, see if there's a different layout we could do. There's different things we can do. It's just understanding where they're coming from. And then to see globally, hey, is this just one person or is this the entire company? And inevitably, we just gotta understand what what it is. Great response. Eugene, Julia, you guys have anything to add on that one? I doubt you nailed it. Perfect. Yeah. As I said, it's really the why, right? Some things it's like, why are you doing it? You're doing it because it's compliance and it's required by the law, because it's required by contract? Or is it just something we're trying to do for the equipment maintenance shop? So, you know, it really is that why, just like Chris was talking about. And once the why is understood, then you kind of kind of go from there. Is it Okay? So now that you understand the why, you still don't want to do it. Listen, this this is part of your role here. You don't do it. So which is always the tougher conversation. Okay. I have to add. Sorry, go ahead. Yeah. I'll say to touch on that, right, it goes back to the growth, right? If you have an operator who doesn't want to do it, it's like, hey, this is a stepping stone for your next opportunity. And so we know that we don't want operators to be operators for the rest of their life. Hey, we want you to step up to the floor role. This is just one stepping stone along the journey. All I was gonna add was adding on to Eugene, like, painting the picture of how it benefits them in the end. So for electronic inspections that we submit through HCSS, because we also have Equipment three sixty showing an operator that what you send to the shop doesn't just fall on deaf ears. They get it instantly. And then when that issue has been reported, they get an alert. They've created a work order. That operator is seeing it now, returned back to them on their end, and it's confirmation that they've been heard. And so I think that, like, to this particular business case, understanding the big picture and then showing them how using it and adopting that is going to benefit in the end is huge. Right? They need to feel it individually how it's going to help them. Right? What have you done for me lately? We're gonna show them how it's going to personally help them. Beautiful. Okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna pick up the pace. We're getting we're getting some more questions, so I'm gonna move fast. From what you have seen, what tool is most beneficial beneficial for foreman's superintendents? Anything more specialized or anything that you have personally seen? So maybe each of you can give me, like, your top two most beneficial. Eugene, I'll start with you. So I'm gonna name the apps. Right. So so my my foreman really appreciate their their time card app. It's very smooth, very easy. They can analyze costs. Are in there a lot. That's their number one app. Their number two app, as much as I hate it, email, only because they like to use it as file storage, right? It's like, I don't want to go here. I want you to push me a report. So really, top two things that we need to keep running nice and smooth for our foreman is their time sheet program, which involves the cost analysis and email. Julia, what about you guys? I kinda wanna yield my time to Chris. Okay. What's I'd say production analysis to essentially identify trends. Right? Are are we doing well? Are we not doing well? That that's a big one for us. And also just the safety side of it, the JHAs and everything else along with those. Those would be the two for us. Great. So I'm gonna piggyback off of your production analysis. So we had someone ask, how do you avoid information overload with the amount of data that is available? So Chris, I'll let you color on this one and then Eugene, I'll toss it to you. Yeah. So production analysis data available, we try to simplify as much as we can for, again, this is harrying back the feedback from the guys in the field. We have some foremen who want more codes. We have some foremen who want less codes. So there's that sweet spot in understanding it. But there's information on both spectrums that's beneficial for the company, for us to understand in the field, also in operations, and more importantly, to estimating who's bidding the additional work that's coming through the door. So identifying kind of what that sweet spot is, something we've talked internally and saying, hey, this is gonna be a point where we need to understand globally, because if we get another difficult job, how we ensure that we're on the right pace based on these conditions in the field. Great. Eugene? Yep, it's about the measurable metric, you know. So for us, a productivity number of one is a ratio, right? So it's, hey, get a one here, get a one here, and saying that these are your two metrics to manage. And if you manage just those two, you're gonna be in good shape. And then tools to take advantage of those metrics are really what we focus on. That's how we streamline it to try to keep the overload from all the possibilities. Great. Hey, Brooke, if I could add just really, I know you're crushed for time, but I want to emphasize that the setup that the office does create for the field is also really crucial. I mean, for anything to be successfully used or absorbed by the field, it has to be set up right on the office end. And I cannot say enough about the Like, I cannot emphasize enough how important that is because if it is not set up correctly, it will be garbage for the field. Right? I mean, garbage in, garbage out. It actually starts with having a good solid estimate then a good budget that can be tracked against. And I would agree for the reporting in the same vein. If you set it up correctly, then you get the proper data input back into the system, and then it's really easy to standardize and report across. So absolutely echo that sentiment. Can you speak to how a field first mentality influences your closed loop efforts once a project is complete to learn the lessons that improve estimation, project planning, and field execution on future projects? Julia, I feel like this one Oh, go ahead, Eugene. I was going to say Julia and I were going to say the same thing. So, Julia, why don't you go first? Because you just you just rattled it off. Go for it. Oh, no. You made me so nervous now. So having having that proper setup, right, is key. And then honestly, throughout the process, I mean, it's not a set it and forget it. I mean, we can't do that. Right? We get we get a plan set from an engineer. You can't just let it build itself. And it's the same thing for your your budget. Right? It's it's constant tracking, massaging. Here comes a, you know, a change order, a plan change, what have you. We're constantly making those adjustments, and we're constantly supporting the field so that their data is accurate, so they can boots on the ground, make those right decisions and know where they stand in real time. And then at the end of the job, right, we have a process where it's like, okay, this job is done. We have a closeout procedure, as most of us do. And then it's, all right, we're going to sit down and analyze, you know, top three best activities, top three worst activities, you know, and what can we learn? What is the key takeaway from this job that we can take forward to the next one and be more successful? I just want to add something onto the setups because, you know, only one setup system can win. Either you're going to make it easy for the estimators to get their information once the job is done, or you're gonna make it easier for the folks in construction to take advantage of the projection, right? You want more codes or less codes, more breakdown, less breakdown. So in our world, we say that the key is the estimate, right? So get the estimate straight, let it flow through, let people record productions against the estimate, bring the estimate back and say, great, how do we do? Did we estimate it right? Not estimate it right? And in all of that, it's a standard cost coding system. So, you know, Julia hit it, right? If you set it up right, it's gonna come back right. So everything goes into standard cost codes so that we can say that, Hey, that's thirty inches RCP, you know, single stack box. Hey, that's, you know, sixty inches RCP, triple stack box, you know, whatever it may be, right? So that the estimators can really get what they need and getting everybody understand that, listen, I know it's complicated, but this is why. This is where you fit into the process. Because if you if you code it well, that means that we'll get the next job with realistic numbers and then you'll be happy with your budget. That's right. Okay. We only have a little over a minute left, so I'm I'm not going be able to get to all of the questions. But we do have our contact info listed here if you want to reach out to any of the panelists after this webinar, and we'll send out, I think, the slides and the content to you guys if you registered. So thank you so much for attending. This was a really great event for all of us, and we're so happy to be partnered with AGC on it.