Human Side of Construction

Ep.24 - 34,000 Empty Superintendent Seats

Roughly 34,000 superintendent seats sit empty in the US and 63 percent of construction CEOs report trouble finding field managers. The industry’s standard explanation is

Ep.23 - Language is PPE

Episode summary Monique Lewis, founder and CEO of Next 2 Native, was six months into a business with no connection to construction when she heard about a fatality on a C

Ep.22 - The Overdose Crisis in Construction

Construction has the highest opioid death rate of any industry in Ontario, more than four times the next sector. A new ODPRN report tracked 1,338 opioid deaths among cons

Ep.21 - Humility, Trust and the Human Side of Leadership

Marius Tawembe, Director of Special Projects at Pomerleau, joins Angelo to talk about what it actually takes to build a team, a culture, and a career in the corner of con

Ep.20 - The 2029 Collision

Buildforce Canada projects 2029 as the peak year for non-residential construction investment — the busiest building stretch in a generation. It arrives in the middle of a

Ep.19 - The Real Cost of Sucking It Up

Angelo sits down with James Boseley, Trades Lead at Pain BC, whose 25+ years in the oil field and heavy equipment work ended with a nine-foot fall that shattered his heel

Ep.18 - The Leaking Pipeline

A new University of Toronto study of Ontario electricians found that apprentices are six times more likely to intend to leave the trade than licensed journeypersons — and

Ep.17 - Awareness to Action on Mental Health

Organizational psychologist and former licensed therapist Melissa Doman joins Angelo to unpack why construction’s mental health efforts are stuck in an awareness phase —

Ep.16 - Six Construction Skills AI Will Never Replace

In this solo episode, Angelo takes Daniel Pink’s framework of the six human skills AI will never replace and applies it directly to construction. From asking better quest

Ep.15 - Building Culture From the Inside

Angelo sits down with Leighann Harrison — Director of HR and part-owner of Core Mechanical, a mechanical contractor in BC — who brought a psychology background, coaching

Ep.14 - Neurodivergence in Construction

Up to 46% of construction professionals identify as neurodivergent — far above the roughly 31% seen in other industries. In this solo episode, Angelo Suntres argues that

Ep.13 - The Real State of AI in Construction

Angelo sits down with Kris Lengieza, Field COO at Procore, for a no-hype conversation about the real state of AI in construction. They dig into why the industry has digit

Ep.12 - Safety Beyond PPE

In this solo episode, Angelo Suntres tackles psychological safety — not as a soft HR concept, but as the operating condition that determines whether problems on a project

Ep.11 - Recovery Out Loud

In Episode 11, Angelo sits down with Trevor Botkin - a Red Seal carpenter with 30 years in construction who nearly lost his life to addiction and suicidal ideation in 201

Ep.10 - Health & Safety 2.0

In this solo episode, Angelo Suntres examines the gap between how the construction industry handles physical injuries and mental health challenges. Using the analogy of a

Ep.9 - Humanity as a Strategy

In Episode 9 of The Human Side of Construction, Angelo sits down with Ed DeAngelis, founder and CEO of EDA Contractors, a 400-person specialty contractor in the greater P

Ep.8 - Knowledge Transfer in Construction

In this solo episode, Angelo Suntres tackles the construction industry’s most underfunded capability: knowledge transfer. With experienced workers retiring and critical j

Ep.7 - Wake Up - Awareness Doesn't Save Lives

Episode Summary Josh Vitale — co-founder of Project Built, chair of Construction Suicide Prevention Week, and a self-described recovering superintendent — joins Angelo t

Ep.6 - Why Your Best People Leave

Construction has a retention problem, and most leaders are diagnosing it wrong. People aren’t leaving for ten thousand dollars and a fancier title. They’re leaving becaus

Ep.5 - What Psychological Safety Actually Looks Like in Construction

Kabri Lehrman-Schmid is a Project Superintendent at Hensel Phelps with over 17 years experience. She’s currently leading the S Concourse Evolution Project at Seattle-Taco