How and When to Automate

This episode originally aired in 2023 and contains advice that has become increasingly relevant. 

00:56 - Introduction
Brent Wadas is an Army veteran who has also worked in finance and SaaS. In 2020, he and his two co-founders dove into construction automation with BotBuilt. He joins us today to talk about automated framing.

04:38 - BotBuilt Overview
Brent explains why he sometimes feels like a five-year-old. He and his co-founders found that most automated systems required almost complete uniformity. He explains The Panel Book that contains detailed breakdowns of components, designs, and costs.

He talks us through how they use industrial robot arms from eBay to building out wall-panel systems. (Watch a video of the process.)

The marked, labeled panels then simply need to be properly placed and nailed together.

The contractors working with BotBuilt can complete the framing for a single-family residence in 2.5-5 hours using the panels assembled in their facility.

Brent compares BotBuilt’s process to that of other automated-construction companies.

08:48 - Ikea-style Assembly
Eddie asks how BotBuilt lays out instructions for contractors to assemble their plans. Brent explains that the incredibly detailed plans they did for their first run-through ended up in the mud because the builder just wanted the simplest one-page overview plan.

Tyler asks for some more details about the computer programming. Brent talks about the math involved and the challenge of regional code variations.

Brent emphasizes that they can work up a schedule with just a PDF version of the plans. He talks about high school intern Joseph, whose fast work pace caught Brent off-guard.

18:26 - Growth, the Future, and Recruiting
Brent talks about how far things have come in the last couple years and how quickly things are going to change over the next five years. He talks about his company’s work with Y Combinator.

Eddie asks about the challenges of funding such an ambitious business. Brent talks through the way he and his co-founders process those decisions. This conversation includes some insights gained from buying and renovating fixer-uppers.

We find ourselves talking yet again about the challenges of getting the younger generations interested in pursuing construction jobs. Brent ties in some thoughts from his time in the military.

35:10 - What to Consider Before Automating
Tyler asks Brent to outline the things that owners, contractors–anyone–should consider before automating. Here are Brent’s thoughts:
-Reproducibility is the first thing to consider. If you’re looking at a process that repeats the same specs time after time, you might want to consider automation.
-Ask yourself, “Is there a problem here?” Don’t automate just because you see other people automating.
-Consider the personnel demands. Don’t set yourself up to pay the same people for the same number of hours just to solve a problem in a more complicated, new way.

45:00 - Safety and Legacy
We talk about work site safety, and Brent says that you’re 10x more likely to die framing a house than on the battlefield in Afghanistan. He said that 35 service members died every year at the height of the war. 350 people die every year framing houses according to OSHA. He shares how BotBuilt’s consistency, standards, and simplicity can make a dent in these numbers.

Tyler and Eddie discuss their experiences with safety practices (or the lack thereof) on their early-career worksites. Rarely if ever was there anyone designated to keep an eye on safety. We discuss how messed up that is. This leads us into a discussion about leadership.

1:00:33 - Megaphone Message
Brent has a couple megaphone messages. He wants construction workers to keep hope alive, and he wants people from the tech industry as a whole to please come learn the culture of construction. He wants them to discover the wealth and satisfaction that construction has to offer.

Find Brent Online: LinkedIn - BotBuilt

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