Building What's Next

Continuous Improvement and Lean principles are paramount in manufacturing – especially the aerospace market – for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s to increase or maintain their high delivery rates to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), optimize labor and productivity, or embark on a new greenfield project, suppliers have a critical need to assess flow on the manufacturing floor and optimize their lines. Hear from Mike McCoy, former president of Korry Electronics, as he describes how Korry improved their margins through a successful Continuous Improvement journey.

Clark Taylor, Mortenson’s Vice President of Estimating breaks down the what the latest Construction Cost Index tells us about the state of the industry both nationally and in specific markets, and helps us understand what it means for owners as they plan for the future.

We're joined by Jason Jennings and Logan Gerken as they discuss the changing landscape of large venues, and the crossroads of sports and technology.

As municipalities and transit authorities begin implementing fleet electrification, they face challenges around infrastructure, technology choices, and long-term financial outcomes. In this episode of “Building What’s Next®” The Podcast, we’re joined Nicole Geneau and Joffrey Wilson, Strategy and Market Development Directors for Mortenson’s Integrated Energy Solutions business, who outline the state of fleet electrification and how owners can avoid some of the common pitfalls that can delay projects or result in unnecessary financial losses down the road.

The first half of 2018 saw record levels of M&A activity in the United States, increasing by 79% compared to the level of activity seen during 2017, according to Thomson Reuters data. The number of deals itself reflected a 13.1 percent decrease from a year ago, reflecting the increase in valuations. Hailed “the year of M&As” by Forbes, the consensus for 2018 is that strong deal activity is ahead. On this episode of Building What’s Next™ The Podcast, we’re joined by Sanchayita Ray, strategy and market development director, who shares insight into the food and beverage industry and the types of surprising risks that executives may encounter during and post-transaction. With M&A activity remaining strong, executives across multiple industries can benefit gaining better visibility into their real estate portfolio.

We're joined by Logan Gerken, Mortenson's Director of Project Development, Sports + Entertainment Group and Julianne Laue, Senior Energy Engineer, Energy Performance Group who talk about the unknown problems, trends and solutions owners of large venues are dealing with. From temperature control to technology, you'll be surprised at the innovation and engineering that goes into every new stadium, theater and arena. 

We’re joined by Clark Taylor, Mortenson’s Vice President of Estimating who breaks down the what the latest Construction Cost Index tells us about the state of the industry both nationally and in specific markets, and helps us understand what it means for owners going forward.

In today’s increasingly digital and social world, sports fans have come to expect seamless mobile connectivity when attending a game. On this episode of Building What’s Next™ The Podcast, Jason Jennings and Tod Caflisch join us to discuss how Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) can be leveraged to optimize both venue operations and the fan experience.

We're joined by Rachel Bartling, Senior Project Development Manager for Mortenson's healthcare group as she walks us through new industry survey results, and breaks down how and why care is becoming decentralized as it moves closer to where patients work and live through small clinics and multi-practice medical office buildings. 

In this episode of Building What’s NextTM – The Podcast, we’re joined by Clark Taylor, Mortenson’s Vice President of Estimating who breaks down the what the latest Construction Cost Index tells us about the state of the industry both nationally and in specific markets, and helps us understand what it means for owners going forward.

In this episode of Building What’s Next™ The Podcast, we talk with Andy Stapleton, General Manager of Mortenson’s Chicago office, who talks us through industry-changing shifts in the development of data centers, how these facilities are becoming more efficient, and how tech giants are strategically aligning to ensure the data we’ve come to rely on continues to flow.  

In this episode of Building What’s Next™ The Podcast, we talk with Gene Hodge, Mortenson’s Vice President of Project Development in our Denver office, who discusses an amazing Smart City project, and tells us how developers are planning for the technology, energy and mobility needs of the future as they develop properties and facilities today.

In this episode of Building What’s NextTM – The Podcast, we’re joined by Clark Taylor, Mortenson’s Vice President of Estimating who breaks down our new Construction Cost Index, shows us the big picture nationwide, explains a few surprises in some markets and helps us understand what it means for owners going forward.

In this episode, we’re joined by Wendy Davidson, Director of Business Development for our Wind group as she breaks down a new Renewable Energy Leadership Series Study on what the industry can expect as the Production Tax Credit phases out.

In this episode, we’re joined by Brent Bergland, General Manager of Mortenson’s High Voltage Transmission group, and leader of our new Energy Storage business. Brent walks us through the state of this cutting edge industry (and the inherent chaos that surrounds this all technology revolutions), breaks down our new Renewable Energy Leadership Series study on the state of the Energy Storage industry, and discusses what it all means for you as we move forward.

We're joined by Clark Taylor, Vice President of Estimating at Mortenson, who breaks down our new Q2 2016 Construction Cost Index Survey, outlines the big picture (and a few surprises), and what it means for owners across the nation. Get your region's survey at

Mortenson Wind Energy Executive Todd Bell joins us to talk about what a new Wind Energy study means for the future of turbine Operations & Maintenance. 

Tim Maag, VP & General Manager of Mortenson's Wind Energy Group sits down to talk about the history of the wind industry, where it's headed and how innovation will be the key to success.

We’re joined by Jon Bonkoski (Design Phase Manager – Minneapolis) and Mike Pedersen (General Manager, Healthcare – Minneapolis) who discuss how upfront planning and collaboration can be a game-changer for large-scale projects. By using Pull Planning to bring all players together to build a master schedule, resolve overlaps, and eliminate conflicts, the teams are able to find ways to increase efficiency and understand the role they play in the big picture.

In our inaugural episode, host Mike Wilson breaks down what to expect from the new show in the future and dives into a fun conversation with self-described “technology geeks” (but described by the rest of us at Mortenson as “geniuses!”) Rick Khan and Taylor Cupp from our Project Solutions group. Rick and Taylor cover Mortenson’s history in using emerging technologies, such as our early adoption of 3D modeling and Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) to pioneering new technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality to make the process of design, decision-making and construction more efficient and seamless.