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“It’s like a fork in the road right now,” says Bechtel Project Field Engineering Manager Sharod Alford, who believes artificial intelligence (AI) already has a crucial role in shepherding such a transformation. “There’s so much work out there, there’s so much opportunity, the industry is at a point where it has to figure out how to engage AI, integrate AI: not to replace people, but just to keep up with the market,” he adds.

Agreeing with Alford, Christopher Hoffman, co-business unit leader at DPR Construction, says contracted speed-to-market project demands add to the transformation of how firms work.

“Speed to market has become so much of an importance because of the AI boom that it has required a different level of thinking we call ‘design to build,’” he says. “Basically, you’re going to design what you actually build by implementing prefab and certain things that allow you to build faster. So it’s forced [us] to change the way that we build because of the speed to market.”

In order for such a transformation of process to be a success for all project stakeholders, AECOM Greater West Transportation Business Development Director Michelle Hoysick says there must be an industry-wide increase in appetite for versatile solutions.

“We are going to have to be flexible and nimble and adjust as things are happening so quickly due to advances in technology, changes in workforce and changes in funding,” she says.

This year’s class of national Top 20 Under 40 traveled from all corners of the country to gather in New York City, where they mingled and playfully celebrated their contributions to the design and construction industry.
All photos by Photomatica photo booth at Amelias in NYC, original slide background by Getty images/spxchrome, design by Scott Hilling/ENR

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The construction industry has always been challenging, says Freddys L. Hernandez, assistant commissioner in New York City’s Dept. of Design and Construction. He adds, “What’s not challenging, right?” Yet challenges open new doors, he says. “There’s a lot of opportunity to train talent, develop talent, and, to me, that’s exciting.”

Recruiting and developing the next generation of AEC leaders has been an industry-wide priority that hasn’t changed for many Top 20 winners from the moment they began their careers. What has changed is the realization of how politics at the state and federal level can slow bringing projects across the finish line.

“I thought [work] was going to be faster,” says Jane Wilberding, senior mobility manager at HNTB and co-founder of Chicago’s Parking Reform Network. “I thought it was going to be that I’m going to work on this job, and then it’s going to be done and then it’s going to move forward. Starting my career versus now, you kind of just realize that things are political. You can work on the project for 5 to 10 years, and that’s a big chunk of your life. And maybe someone comes into play and changes everything.”

The reverse can also happen, says Wilberding. “Five or 10 years later, someone comes in and sees this plan that you did and says, ‘let’s do that.’ And that also happens in a year or so. So just kind of having patience with the process and understanding there are rules to the game.”

More than ever, it seems projects are integrated with political funding, says Rafiqul Chowdhury, president and founder of Astoria, N.Y.-based Quadrant Engineering. He adds, “That’s across the country for sure, but it introduces a huge challenge and vulnerabilities of construction.”

Among industry vulnerabilities that can stall projects, Hernandez says, insurance should be on the list.

“At least in New York, insurance costs erode the budget,” he says. “It’s one of those soft costs that we’re all hammered with—especially on the owner side, whether you’re private or public owner. Its not just the surety companies, it’s also the professional liability insurance.” Hernandez says a more “creative contract structure” might be a way forward. He adds, “It’s definitely going to continue to be a challenge.”

Amplifying Hernandez’s insurance comments, Rajat Gangrade says insurance premiums are driving “most of these risk mitigation strategies and decisions” in transportation and tunneling.

“They’re taking a leaf out of what was done successfully in other regions of the world … where these technologies have contributed to either efficiency, an increase in safety, or mitigated risks,” says Gangrade, technical advisor in geotechnical and tunneling at HNTB. “Now insurance companies are seeking project agencies and asking, how can you better mitigate risk using these technologies? It boils down to them getting grants from the government. And second, how they’re going to sustain the life cycle of the project.”

 

Rising to Solutions

A year ago, Top 20 winner Amber Smith says staffing was the challenge most likely to keep her up at night. The Kiewit marketing director now says AI has given her, and the industry at large, space to reimagine how they approach solving such a challenge. “We have an obligation to consider what AI tools will help with that—whether it’s autonomous bots in the field or creating efficiencies so that we can focus on things more like strategy and collaboration with humans,” she says.

For a long time, the construction industry has been labor-driven, says Lauren Simone, director of learning and development and lean construction at W.M. Jordan Co. “Now it’s a bit more production-driven. With prefabrication and AI, and everything AI can do,” Simone says the industry should be exploring how it can help, “rather than being afraid.”

As institutional knowledge leaves companies in the form of retirees and employment shifts, AI could be a way to bridge the gap between generational experience and a tool to inspire new workers to take interest in the construction field, says Nathan Mozeleski, technical manager of ITS/traffic at AtkinsRéalis.

“You got that unicorn in the middle, that 15- to 20-year [worker], and then there’s a lot of staff below that,” he says. “But there’s not going to be more 15- to 20-year [workers],” says Mozeleski, who has noticed a shift away from studying civil engineering in favor of electrical, mechanical and computing fields. Mozeleski says such a shift could affect the development of AEC professionals for years to come.

“When you go to career fairs, people want to talk to Google, Facebook, Apple, Lockheed, Boeing,” he says. Mozeleski adds that specialized workers are now taking jobs traditionally handled by civil engineers without the versatility of having studied the field fully. “So not only do we have a gap from the recession, you now have people going through the [specialized] engineering disciplines to do things that are traditionally [handled under civil engineering],” he says.

Mozeleski says it would be more beneficial for the industry if they simply studied civil engineering.“I’m not saying it will all be exciting opportunities, but we’ve got to reinvigorate some of the youth to want to be civil engineers too.”

Quadrant Engineering’s Chowdhury calls for the industry to take a more targeted approach when it comes to recruitment. “We have to expose students at a young age, and we don’t do a good enough job explaining how cool and sexy our job is,” he says.

 

Cultivating Mentorships

To ensure his schedule allows space for him to be a mentor for new workers, Volkert Inc. Vice President of Construction Engineering Jamal Atkins says he follows a simple mantra: “I heard a pastor say you can either be a spiritual cul de sac or conduit,” explaining that one can either gatekeep their knowledge or share it with others. Mentorship works the same say, he says. “The knowledge you have should be passed down to others. And so if you’re too busy for people, then you’re probably too busy. That’s a great opportunity to delegate and share what you know, share projects, share tasks. That way you can help train the next generation.”

For many Top 20 winners, mentorship is a two-way street that has enhanced their sense of career direction.

Smith’s case, her mentor gave her the confidence to launch her own startup within Kiewit and do away with any feelings of imposter syndrome. “He’s been critical to my success … just giving me input, someone that I can call when I feel like I need to just talk to someone about how my day is going, how my team is, and get some guidance,” she says.

For Chase Anderson, associate principal at Thornton Tomasetti, being a mentor can be as casual as grabbing a coffee with junior staff. “Sometimes this mentorship stuff can be regimented,” he says. “I find the best, most effective is the casual. The actual connection there can make a big difference when it comes to their happiness, feeling seen and a valuable part of the organization.”

As daughter of the founder of Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Melanie Jefferies says she didn’t have to look far for a mentor, but she still needed to chart her own path. “Following in such big footsteps, you have to find your voice in that,” says Jefferies, who serves as chief operating officer of engineering services at the company.

In Chicago, Jefferies says she is working to build more women in construction-focused events “to help lift each other up and make sure that we’re celebrating each other.”

In this way, participants are able to build a network of mentorships, says Jefferies. “Our group of friends call it building your personal board,” she adds. “And so a lot of that is finding people. Some people help you personally in this specific arena, and then someone else is helping in a totally different way.”

 

Leading by Example

Through more collaboration, AEC leaders have an opportunity to better understand and establish big-picture goals for projects and the industry, says Emilee Woods, founder and managing partner at Peachtree Corners, Ga.-based Athena Engineering.

“Of course, someone just starting their career may not understand the big picture,” she says. “That’s to be expected. On the other side, a really professional environment should be a group learning environment. I’ve learned things from our junior staff, from our interns, from our fresh graduates, just like they’re learning things from us. That’s what makes us all stronger together.”

She adds, “Rather than trying to poke holes in another generation and how they approach work, I’d like to learn how they’re thinking, and see how that can improve what we do.”

Despite generational and technological differences, Jaros, Baum & Bolles Principal Gina Semerad says she has found collaboration and learning from other teams to still be a key component of what determines a project’s success.

“Culture, how collaborative the team is, really ends up getting influenced heavily by the client,” she says. “When they’re not prioritizing that, it can be really easy for the construction team and the design team to be at odds for the life of the construction project. But if we are all on the same page and the client is encouraging that kind of behavior, it’s a much more pleasant job for everyone, and it ends up going a lot more smoothly. If it’s daily discussions out of the gate about change orders and things like that, it’s hard to reset and get back to the point where you’re not on the defense the entire time.”

McCarthy Building Cos. President of Renewable Energy Dhruv Patel remarks that doing business during COVID-19 brought good habits around early collaboration. “There was a longer lead time because there was so much demand,” Patel says. “The way that the industry used to do business is shifting, where the owners have to engage the contractor a lot earlier in the process, and that’s much needed for collaboration between the parties to get the best outcome. The way the work will be getting done in the future will be drastically different because of evolution.”

 

Embracing Uncertainty

Despite uncertainty tied to shifting project risks, Hensel Phelps Senior Design Manager Tiffany Mok says it is an exciting time to be in the construction industry. “From the perspective that we’re at this influx in our career trajectories, and we have a big say in how our companies can adapt to that, and what that future flexibility actually looks like,” she says. “So many people are in uncharted waters, and that’s really something that can be celebrated. Our ideas are being looked at more so now than ever, and that’s a really great thing that we should all be able to lean into.”

With the demands of the industry, there is “no end of opportunity” says Stephanie Tovar, superintendent at Flintco LLC. “Where I’m working currently, the projects continue to grow, they continue to increase in number and size. So there’s also no end of opportunity for those positions … my company spends a lot of time going to students, to events and symposiums and training with our trade partners to help our whole community fill that need.”

The ultimate goal is to build a better industry that can be proud of seeing their work come to fruition brick by brick on a jobsite, says Pramodh Reddy, senior project manager at PCL Construction.

“Folks who are working in Google and Apple can’t say, ‘Hey, I built that building; I built [Crypto.com Arena]; I built this airport,” he says. “How we can associate ourselves with these megaprojects, that is what drives people to it. We should, as leaders here, try to cultivate the next generation of leaders who will embrace that.”

Tovar adds, “the ‘demanding’ word is not to make anyone afraid, but to increase in our role to help everyone rise.”

All photos by Bruce Buckley for ENR except Lori Ferriss, courtesy of Lori Ferriss