Joshua Weyand is a self-described “tech nerd” with a deep passion for construction, technology, analytics, and leadership. As the director of construction technology at Suffolk Construction, he works to bridge the gap between traditional construction methods and the future of construction technology to ensure that the company remains a leader in the industry.
We caught up with him recently to find out how the latest advances and trends are driving change at the trailblazing company, which has a vision of integrating the entire building lifecycle into a seamless platform to redefine how America builds.
Tell us a little about your role at Suffolk Construction.
Weyand: As director of emerging technologies, my role is to identify and implement cutting-edge construction technology to enhance our project operations. I lead efforts to pinpoint operational challenges, evaluate innovative solutions, and oversee the integration of successful technologies into our standard practices. This directly supports our business objectives by driving efficiencies, improving safety, and enhancing the quality of our projects.
What trends or challenges are becoming “must-solve” problems in the industry?
Weyand: Two of the three largest problems in construction right now are productivity and the shrinking labor force. According to Forbes, over 40% of the current U.S. construction workforce is expected to retire over the next decade. This means that a newer and inevitably much less experienced workforce will take their place. However, this also implies that we will likely have more rework issues come up as folks get more experienced and trained.
What was the driving force or pain point that led you to implement Siteaware?
Weyand: The construction industry as a whole suffers from rework. Most QA/QC walks do a great job of minimizing these problems before they manifest, but they aren’t perfect. Superintendents in the field often find themselves resource-constrained against a fast-moving schedule. As such, some field personnel might not be able to be as thorough as they’d like. Oftentimes things change, RFIs get issued, and the laborer installing work in the field might have installed something wrong but that looks right at a quick glance. Siteaware functions as a safety net for us to verify site conditions and fix small problems before they become massive issues. It also proactively addresses productivity by cutting down on costly rework.
What business outcomes were you looking to achieve with Siteaware?
Weyand: Our main goals for working with Siteaware consisted of finding a solution to increase productivity on our jobs, cut down on rework, and meet deadlines. Siteaware helped us confirm our readiness and identify deviations prior to the pour. Having Siteaware as a second set of eyes meant that we could be more confident in our critical outputs.
How would you describe working with Siteaware up until this point?
Weyand: I’ve very much enjoyed working with the Siteaware team. Our Siteaware Customer Experience team has been critical to ensuring that we get the most value out of the tool.
At Siteaware, we share Joshua’s passion for bringing traditional construction methods and technology together to improve the industry. Our team of construction professionals and software engineers have brought today’s computer vision and AI capabilities to the construction site in real time to enable a new standard of certainty: certainty in quality, in schedule, and in budgets.
Interested in working with Siteaware to challenge the status quo? Reach out to learn more!