AI is already changing construction. The real question is whether your company is keeping up or quietly falling behind. In this episode of Bridging the Gap, Todd Weyandt sits down with Shel Waggener, Chief Customer Officer at Lumber and former construction company president, to break down what AI adoption actually looks like inside a contractor’s business today. This is not a future-focused conversation. It is a practical look at how AI is already showing up in the back office, in the field, and across workforce management. Shel shares why AI cannot be treated like just another tool, how “agentic AI” is eliminating administrative work, and what it really takes to build AI into your operations as a core capability. The biggest shift is not technology. It is mindset. Contractors must move from doing the work to orchestrating it. If you are not actively building AI into your workflows, your competitors will. You'll Learn Why AI in construction is happening faster than most leaders realize What “agentic AI” actually means in real workflows The most practical back office use cases you can deploy today How field data, computer vision, and site capture reduce rework Why AI should be treated as a workforce multiplier, not a threat How to create feedback loops to scale AI across your company Meet Our Guest Shel Waggener is the Chief Customer Officer at Lumber, where he helps construction companies reimagine their back offices for the AI era. A former President of American Asphalt, Shel brings real operator experience to the conversation, combining deep knowledge of construction workflows with expertise in cloud, automation, and enterprise systems. His work focuses on helping contractors adopt practical AI solutions that drive efficiency, accuracy, and growth. Todd Takes Innovation requires pushing past the industry’s natural resistance to change AI success depends on exposing and scaling ideas across your teams The future belongs to contractors who think like conductors, not just doers More Resources Thanks for listening! Please be sure to leave a rating and/or review and follow up our social accounts. Bridging the Gap Website Bridging the Gap LinkedIn Bridging the Gap Instagram Bridging the Gap YouTube Todd’s LinkedIn Shel's LinkedIn Thank you to our sponsors! Graitec North America Graitec North America LinkedIn Autodesk’s Website

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