Dirt Talk by BuildWitt

In this episode, Aaron delves into the world of asphalt paving in the Northeast. Josh, the vice president of American Paving Specialists, LLC, and Matt, the foreman/marketing specialist at American Paving Specialists, LLC and founder of Raised on Blacktop, are brothers whose extensive shared experience in the industry since childhood has cultivated their passion and expertise in asphalt paving. The brothers began their journey and continue to work at their family's Connecticut-based paving company, American Paving Specialist Specialists, LLC. They discuss the significance of working and enjoying recreational activities together, reminiscing about their upbringing. Their father, Bill Stanley, whom they still work alongside, often showed up to coach their baseball practices wearing work boots and blue jeans with fresh asphalt still clinging to the bottoms. In addition to their involvement in the family business, Matt's social media presence has flourished over the years. His online presence gained momentum with the success of his company, Raised on Blacktop, which offers a wide range of branded apparel and has established partnerships with brands like LeeBoy to provide customized machines. The Stanleys are the real deal in the paving industry, and if you share their passion for paving, you're sure to like what they have to say. If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron discusses, you guessed it, draglines. These Mammoth machines work 24/7 and are the heart of one of America's largest coal strip mining operations at North American Coal. Aaron and the gang have had the honor to go see these machines work in person in the coal fields at the NACCO Freedom mine just outside of Beulah, North Dakota. That particular machine “Missouri Quest” works strip by strip to clear overburden using a 123-yard bucket! As the machine works to clear the overburden it reclaims the area it was just working. To learn more about this amazing dragline and others tune into this episode! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron is joined by Tim Schurrer, CEO of David Novak Leadership, Author of "The Secret Society of Success” and Host of the "Build a Winning Team" podcast. Tim draws on his experience from being a creative manager to his time as COO of StoryBrand, to producing the How Leaders Leaders Lead podcast with David Novak, and through experiences on his podcast. Tim has a wealth of knowledge on leadership and what it means to be at the helm of any business. That coupled with his electric outgoing personality and genuine care for people, makes for an exciting and thought-provoking episode. Don't miss this one y’all! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron sat down with Dan and Randy to talk shop about BuildWitt. The Executive leadership team is in constant communication with each other and you might be wondering what the heck they talk about for all this time. Today you’re in luck because you get to be a fly on the wall for a pseudo-ELT meeting.  They discuss what we did last year, what we are looking forward to next year, and things that are still in the planning stages. There is lots of talk about the summit and the amazing speakers lined up, as well as what you can expect next from our training product. If you are interested in what BuildWitt is up to this episode is for you. If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron is joined by Philip Sutton, a Lecturer at Ohio State University. Philip teaches three classes, estimating construction, heavy construction, and the program's capstone course. These courses cover a wide range of topics to prepare students to join the workforce as leaders in their respective fields.  Philip draws his knowledge from years of experience in the field, both directly in the field and in the office as an estimator. Ultimately he decided that he could better serve his community in the classroom teaching others not just to do the work, but how to be leaders on the job site. If you want more insight on how you can get ahead in the construction industry, this lesson is a freebie! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron cracks open one of the many books at our office to share something that many might not get the opportunity to read themselves. For its 50th anniversary, Ames Construction had a wonderful coffee table book made. The book titled Persistence Creates Opportunity: Building America for 50 years and details their entire history with many retellings of projects they have completed.  For this episode, Aaron focuses on the humble beginnings of Ames Construction which starts with the story of Dick Ames. If you like this format and want to hear more, or if you don’t let us know! We do hope you enjoy it though! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

A Growing Business and Media Presence with Taylor White – DT 222 In this episode, Aaron got a chance to sit down with Taylor White, Director at Ken White Construction to talk about what it takes to grow an earthmoving business. On top of all Taylor's responsibilities at the company, Taylor also runs a successful YouTube channel @KenWhiteConstruction where you might know him from.  Aaron and Taylor cut it up about what it means to run a company and have almost every aspect of it on social media. They talk about the struggles and successes they’ve had in their endeavors to give us all a glimpse into the dirt world while keeping the business side buttoned up. Stay tuned and laugh along to this absolute full send of an episode! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this one, Aaron is Joined once again by Jason to talk about what it means to build a work environment that celebrates all different people.  Just before this was recorded Women in Construction Week was taking place. During this week Jason had the opportunity to be a part of the Werk-Brau WIC Summit. As a result of reflecting on this experience, Jason and Aaron started to unpack what inclusion means for our business and the industry as a whole.  Words and recognition are nice however at the end of the day the Dirt World is an action-based industry and it takes everyone firing on all cylinders to help solve our workforce challenges. Stay tuned to find out what you can do to better care for the folks that keep this great industry moving forward.  If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode Aaron is Joined by Rob Seibert President of, Off The Road: North America at Bridgestone Americas. You may know bridgestone for their personal vehicle tires or maybe from racing, or if you’re from Nashville the Arena downtown. The average person might not think about the hundreds of thousands of tons of raw materials carried by haul trucks or moved by machines, all carried by air and rubber. This is exactly what Rob is interested in, to him tires are more than just something cool you see transiently passing on the highway. Tires decide production time, tires decide how long a machine can keep running, and tires keep the industries essential to our nation and economy moving forward. To learn more about Bridgestone’s off road tires tune in! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron talks about a recent trip to a BIG gold mine.  Round Mountain, a small mining town in Nevada is home to the Kinross gold mine.  Surrounding the town is mostly military-owned land.  The sprawling arid landscape is broken up by the steep mountain peaks that the town backs up to.  Just outside of town, this is the most interesting feature of the land: an open pit gold mine thousands of feet across and hundreds of feet down. The mine is host to seriously cool machines featuring, CAT 7495 Electric Rope shovels, 793 haul trucks, all followed by 994k loaders to clean up the rest. Just as impressive as the mining process is the refining process. Aaron dives into the formula behind extracting microscopic gold from raw ore. Spoiler: the process is very effective! Stay tuned to figure out how this mine can make approximately 235,690 oz. of gold a year. If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron is Joined by Bob Higgins President/CEO of Barge Designs Solutions. Barge is an employee-owned company that makes building plans for notable civil construction projects such as bridges, highway overpasses, and wastewater solutions, to name a few.  Bob also touches on his time as an Air Force serviceman, during the time of operation Desert Storm/ Desert Shield and how that structure helped shape his path for the future. To hear more about Bob’s story and the important work that they do at Barge stay tuned for this fascinating episode about construction design.  If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron and take a look at an Article published on For Construction Pros, written by Calvin Beyer. It's not the most fun or easy article to read but it is important information nonetheless. This week we dive into the opioid crisis in construction.  Based on a 2020 report people who worked in construction are at the highest risk for overdose deaths of any occupation. Several risk factors contribute to this statistic.  That is why it's so important to be armed with the right resources and information so we can all work to lower this number significantly. All it could take is one conversation. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction you can visit na.org/ aa.org or ask your employer about more resources.  **NOTE** In this episode, Aaron mentions the suicide prevention hotline and uses the in correct number. The number for the suicide prevention hotline is 988. If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron is joined in the studio by Rory San Miguel Co-Founder and CEO at Propeller Aero. Using their own tech AeroPoints and simple DJI drones Propeller is revolutionizing the surveying game.  Many people when they think of construction think of relatively low-tech solutions. Take for example bulldozer, it has one job, it uses lots of diesel power to push dirt. Yes I know there is a lot more to it these days with GPS and grade control and what have you put at its core it's a simple concept.  What if we could have cutting-edge technology with simple implementation? At Propeller that’s the idea and that theory has been proven to work on job sites all around the world.. Strap in for a truly fascinating episode! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

This week we got a special episode that’s not something you would normally see. BuildWitt as you may know has our internal podcast to provide more information for our team members. The other day Aaron and I were talking and we decided “Hey there is some great stuff that could be helpful for more than just our team, so why leave it on the cutting room floor?” I’m excited to share a little sneak peek of what Aaron and Jason have to say about our business, what we have going on this year, and how we are constantly learning and growing. They touch on some internal strategy, the excitement around the Dirt World Summit, and all the amazing folks that we have the honor and privilege to work with. Hope you enjoy! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron Is joined once again by Nick Schiffer. Nick works tirelessly to solve some of the most particular problems regarding home building. He has the eye for it and the passion to follow through. If you have a dream Nick is the guy to make it happen.  In this episode, they talk about an amazing spec build that Nick and his team are doing. They also talk about the nuances of home building and the challenges with all of his work being on social media. To learn more check out NS Builders on YouTube.  If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this week's Monday episode Aaron and I sat down to talk about machines. Specifically a very special wheel loader.  Most Caterpillar 988 H models can be found in quarries but that's not exactly what Bulk Equipment Company has in store for their 988 wheel loaders. Instead Bulk heavily modifies these machines for a specific application. Hot work. These machines are modified to withstand high heat from slag piles, a co-product that is a result of the steel making process.  In this episode we will give some background on why these machines are needed, the specific application they are needed for, and the essential modifications necessary to handle this environment. Tune in to find out what makes these machines so dang cool! (no pun intended.)  If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode, Aaron invited back Will Schuler, owner and CEO of Will Power Excavation. You may remember Will from last time as the guy who made his first million in the heavy civil business when he was still in high school! Now Will’s business is approaching 100 employees and he is more than willing to reflect upon the failures and successes that got him here.  From the technical side to the personal side Will shares it all, but why? As a young leader, Will is confident that sharing the 'secret formula' for success might just be the key to elevating the entire industry. Who doesn’t love some healthy competition? All that to say if you want to find out what it takes to compete in the heavy civil world look no further.  If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode Aaron is once again answering your questions from Instagram. Thank you everyone for submitting questions to Instagram and remember you can always email us directly at dirtalk@buildwitt.com. The questions are as follows.  What advice do you have for someone starting a small business?  Best way to get into the dirt world? How did you start filming? When did you start filming? Why? Best advice for a young person in a leadership role? Most unique job? If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

On this Episode Aaron is Joined by Rob White Owner/CEO of OccuMED1 an occupational health services company primarily providing service to Construction companies.  The conversation starts with some background about Rob's time in the military starting out in the Air Force and later in the Army National Guard. It was during this time in the military that Rob found his passion for medicine and was trained as a flight surgeon.  Later they talk about how Rob came to be a PA and his journey that eventually led to him working in the dirt world. They discuss the service that OccuMED1 offers and how it can protect you employees and your company. To learn more visit occumed1.com  If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!

In this episode of the Monday Dirt Talk Aaron breaks down a project and in an unprecedented turn of events he came prepared this time. He shares some interesting facts about how the mine got its start, the scale of the operation, and the products that are made at the Kennecott mine.  He also shares his personal experience getting to go and photograph this modern marvel. Later we discuss some recent history that might surprise you. If you like big machines and moving lots of earth this is the episode for you! If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!