GlassTalk

Architectural glazing contracts feel a bit special because everything we do is engineered. No cookie-cutter, mass-produced, one-size-fits-all commodity products here: each design is tailored with love and ingenuity to the specific demands of the project. We take pride in starting from first principles and delivering the exact right thing for the task at hand. But what if (gulp) we're hurting our margins with this approach? Kawneer has put a lot of work into finding the sweet spot between standardization and flexibility. Director of global product management, Chris Giovannielli, joins GlassTalk for a conceptual discussion of how you leave wiggle room for specific glazing and facade designs in an out-of-the-box profile package, and how doing so can speed fabrication and installation, delivering more profits to the glazier.

SPIL Glass Software makes software for glass and fenestration manufacturing companies, and Janith and Odara know a thing or two about how manufacturing processes can run better with advanced controls. They join GlassTalk to share their insights, gained from optimizing many plants in Asia and Australia, into what kinds of important information manufacturers tend to leave on the shop floor. And they have concrete tips for how to collect the right data to leverage AI and find efficiencies in your process. We all know we're supposed to be collecting lots of data. Janith and Odara are here to tell you what to do with it.

Lorrie Rand, co-founder of ReCover (a Halifax-based building science research non-profit), has completed a big study into how much deep retrofits might help the envelope performance of 10 different types of Part 3 buildings in Atlantic Canada. Crucially, her team also looked at total cost of ownership to evaluate whether upgrading commercial buildings would ever pay off through energy savings. Betsy Agar of Efficiency Canada joins the conversation to put Rand's findings into a national context and add her insights on how we can make energy retrofits feasible.

Much has been said about the promise of AI and its possible threat to jobs. But how might this powerful new technology affect an old concern: your company's data security? David Mill, CEO and founder of Scelta, a Windsor, Ont., construction software provider, joins GlassTalk to talk about the ways AI might empower bad actors to produce better scams, steal data from your systems, spoof your reviews and even damage your processes if allowed inside. We also discuss how AI-powered security might thwart these threats and allow you to operate with less worries about the old challenges.

Paul Amato of Tallinn Advisory brings 20 years' of professional experience advising construction companies to the question of how to get the different parts of your organization working better together. He joins The Hammer to talk about what he means by “alignment”; the elements of a good mindset; the barriers to great customer service and quality; and how to build a culture that succeeds. Take some time with Paul to think about how you do business!