Catch us here
Episode Description
What’s your appetite for technological change? Are you dynamic, static or a naysayer? How do you know? Join host Todd and guest Travis Althouse of Revizto as they discuss the importance of implementation discovery, how and why to embrace technology and how to be aware of what your (and your team’s) capabilities are.
Travis Althouse is the MEP Implementation Manager for Revizto. His 10-year career in the AEC space has included a full-circle experience from field to design to installation. He started his post-college career as a construction field worker and spent several years in a DFMA Project Coordinator role at a respected mid-size prefabrication subcontractor. Later, he worked for years as a mechanical design engineer at an engineering firm. Travis’s passion is up-and-coming construction technology, and he spends time learning how to best leverage it in all sorts to communicate, learn, and produce fabrication designs and models, and how to establish proper communication in all stages of a project lifecycle.
Todd Takes
1. First thought, when implementing new technology or workflows, it is critically important to have a thorough discovery phase. Take some time on the front-end to ask who is going to be using and impacted by this change, why are they impacted and what their capabilities are. Then identify what the success metrics are going to be. Be transparent about where things are in the process. Once you have finished your first project, do a debrief on what worked well and what can still be improved. The main goal is about constant improvement not perfection.
2. Second thought, know what people’s appetite for technology change is. Be aware of three potential kinds of people. You will have dynamic champions who will be inspired creatively for the change. You will have a static champion that will be pleased with the change but will help to bring a realistic view and keep the dynamic champion grounded. Finally, you will have the naysayers who will seek to point out all the flaws with a negative attitude. It is important to know who fits where because you want to partner and empower the dynamic and static champions while seeking ways to win over the naysayers with live examples. A possible solution is reverse mentoring, which I am a big fan of. This is where you take someone who knows technology well and partner them with someone that has the real-world experience. Under reverse mentoring, this pair will take time to trade knowledge with each other creating a more well-rounded team while also humanizing each other.
3. Last thought, the benefits of having a network of people around that you can ask advice and seek wisdom from cannot be overstated. The MEP industry does this far better than most. Take the time to build your network out. You can get a jumpstart by attending shows, even virtually, like MEP Force and MCAA to name a few.
Resources
