The Construction Insiders Podcast

In this episode of Construction Insiders, host Jessica Busch delves into the evolving landscape of contracts, risk, and litigation in the construction industry with experts Allison Hunt and Sonny Jester. The discussion focuses on today’s market environment, material cost escalation, and innovative approaches to contract structuring and risk management.

In this episode, Cumming Group’s Ron Pruzinsky and Caddis Partners’ Kyle Miller discuss the complex rightsizing of the national Life Sciences sector, Central region hotspots throughout the U.S., and new areas for growth and funding opportunities.

Join us as we navigate recent industry changes, including economic shifts, labor shortages, and procurement challenges. Learn how modularization, prefabrication, and technology advancements are reshaping healthcare facility design and construction. Gain insights from our in-house experts, Gary Brett and Heather Furhman, as they share experiences and strategies to enhance collaboration, streamline processes, and reduce costs in healthcare construction.

In this podcast, we explore the construction industry's transformation through new technologies, data-driven decision-making, and AI. We discuss the importance of a single point of truth for owners, data management tools like Procore and Kahua, and human factors affecting technology adoption. As we delve into AI, we cover its applications in construction, strategic and ethical use, and the continued need for human intuition. Join us as we uncover the potential of AI and technology to revolutionize construction and reshape project management.

In this episode, two of Cumming Group’s leading educational experts, Jeff Holstein and Kunal Shah, discuss some of the similarities and glaring regional differences across the K-12 sector, and how their approach has changed due to today’s build environment.

Construction in the higher education sector continues to evolve. In our latest podcast, two of our experts discuss building trends they’ve witnessed on various campuses throughout the southeast. “Whether it’s state schools or private schools, the focus is on the students and being able to provide a good education. But it’s more than that. It’s the whole experience, it’s the quality of living and the extracurricular activities that they’re able to engage in,” explains Joe Saatkamp, Executive Vice President for Cumming’s central region. “I see trends toward making that living experience and quality of life higher.”

In this conversation, our team provides tips and tricks for thoroughly reviewing your construction project's contract language. We explain the best ways to ensure your contract protects you, the owner.

Managing Partner at Fort Point Project Management, Christine Mosholder, discusses the recent Life Sciences development boom, including the latest trends, new build approaches, the evolution of the modern lab space, and the utilization of technology to make sure facilities meet today’s changing demands.

In this conversation about San Diego’s ever-changing landscape, host Jessica Busch speaks with Brooks Rehkopf, Managing Director of Cumming San Diego, and Matt Reid, Director of Project Management, about the current and future state of the San Diego market, its dramatic shift from a military-port city to a global bio-tech hub with an increasingly diverse development community, it’s dynamic construction economy, and it’s wealth of future growth opportunities.

In this conversation about all things Nashville, host Jessica Busch speaks with CapEX Cumming founder Joe Saatkamp about the resiliency of the Nashville market, its transformation from a healthcare-heavy economy to one that is increasingly diverse and dynamic, its status as a destination for companies and people looking to relocate, its prospects going forward, and much more.

In this episode, Jessica hands the hosting duties over to Zair Sheema, a Sr. Cost Manager at Cumming who specializes in healthcare MEP systems. Zair leans on his specialized expertise to speak with guest Gary Hamilton, a Sr. VP and healthcare leader with WSP USA, about a range of topics related to healthcare mechanical systems and construction. They talk about COVID-19 mitigation applications for existing facilities, the resiliency of the industry, the importance of giving back, and much more.

Jessica, still at the CASH Conference in Long Beach, sits down with Julie Strauss from HMC Architects and Dana Grudem from Irvine Unified School District. They talk about developing facility master plans, the ins and outs of program funding, the new regulations of Prop 13, and much more.

Insiders host Jessica Busch visits the CASH Conference in Long Beach and catches up with Michael Krause, Assistant Superintendent at Anaheim Elementary School District, to talk about the art and science of planning and implementing a school district construction program.

Cumming’s Vice President of Energy and Sustainability, Christine Marez, discusses the latest in sustainability efforts and trends, including changing attitudes, some of the exciting new technologies being utilized to counteract the effects of climate change, and much more.

Cumming's Vice President of Themed Entertainment, Asif Parkar, talks with Jessica about the unique characteristics of this exciting sector, including the three main elements of a themed entertainment project and why theme parks are more immune to economic downturns than most project types.

In this episode, Cumming Vice President and in-house economist Dan Pomfrett joins Jessica to talk about the trade war between the U.S. and China, and the resulting tariffs from both countries. They examine the details of these tariffs, including the rationale behind their implementation, their effects to date, and what to expect going forward.