Choosing the Right Tools for the Job with Jason Schrader & Kevin Bromenshenk

The construction industry is seeing an exponential increase in the number of programs and tools available for any given project. On this episode of Flintco Forward, host Sean Heath sat down with Jason Schrader and Kevin Bromenshenk, Regional VDC Managers at Flintco, to discuss the need to minimize the number of tools used on any given project. The sheer number of tools available today can actually be a hindrance to success, according to Schrader. “Not always is every piece of technology pertinent to every project,” he said. “We want to make sure in our processes that we pick and select the right tools for the right job.” Narrowing down the list of tools that will be applied should be the result of listening to team members desires, Bromenshenk offered. “Really the answer comes from listening well to your team. A lot of the times, expectations will govern what tools you need to use,” Bromenshenk said. “Generally, those are tells on what tools that particular team is going to be focused on to make their job a better success.” Organizing and facilitating that process for Flintco is their “focused BIM,” explained Schrader. “We use that focused BIM process to strategically evaluate and implement technology, per project," he said. While there is a benefit associated with whittling down the number of tools used, there is a proven advantage to increasing the number of team members involved from the initial stages of any project. “It’s all about integration. There is no one person who is responsible for all of the technology on the project,“ said Schrader. “Our VDC team is integrated throughout the life cycle of the project, but at no point are we the end-all, be-all or sole providers of the technology.” Bromenshenk commented that the influx of this technology leads to some interesting conversations with people outside of the industry. “Every time I do describe to somebody what I do for a living, they are just blown away by the fact that people who build buildings are engrossed so heavily into technologies that, in a lot of ways are borderline animations," he said.