Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Well, good day, everyone, and welcome to the Cutting Edge Install Podcast brought to you by Omni Cubed, where innovation meets installation, and quite literally could be anything in between by the time we get into these. There's a lot of fun, a lot of banter, but what's it all about? Well, it's about celebrating pros and movers and game changers and shakers in the industry, and it's about learning about them, sharing stories, insights, whatever might come in between. We've literally done karaoke on these before with a guest. Not quite sure we'll get there today, but you never know what could be. So whether you're on the job, whether you're on the install, wherever you are, you've come to the right place and we're going to get cracking.
I have someone who I've been wanting to talk to for a very long time. We spoke a number of years ago at Last Build, but Katie, it's an absolute pleasure to have you on here.
For those of you who maybe don't know you don't know your background, could you give us a little intro who you are, what your role is at the NGA and how on earth you got involved in the glass industry?
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Thank you, Mervyn, thank you so much for having me on your podcast.
I had no idea that karaoke was an option. I would have sent you my. Yeah, I would have sent you my preferred numbers.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: Well, we'll. We'll have to do a follow up.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: We'll do a follow up one next time.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Next time. Primarily all karaoke. Yeah, There you go.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: That's for karaoke. Yeah. So we. Well, I'm Katie Devlin. I am the Chief Content Officer at the National Glass Association.
But I have been at the NGA and thus in the glass industry really since I was a senior in college.
I got an internship. I was attending University of Maryland. Go Terrapins.
And was looking, I was at journalism major. Was looking for, for something a little bit different for my internship. Senior year, saw this little publication called Glass Magazine, based in Northern Virginia. I, I took a position there. It was supposed to be one semester and, you know, 20 some years later, here we are.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome. You got sucked in and it didn't let you go.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and I've heard that's, that's the warning from everybody in this industry.
Be careful how long you stay because you just won't want to leave. And I haven't. I, you know, this is such a great industry. I get to chat with folks like you.
And this is A really terrific organization, the nga. I've just been so grateful to be able to spend my career here.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: That's awesome. That is so cool. Yeah, the NGA has helped us.
Like I said two years ago, invited on a panel and like, who's Omni cubed? Like, really? People didn't know who the heck we were. And from that, we've been able to help people, encourage people in employment retaining and getting people to stay, because that's one of our passions. And then tools help people safe, keep doing their job. But the nga, it plays a major role in shaping the glass and glazing industry.
How would you describe sort of its mission and how does it support glazers across the country?
[00:03:27] Speaker B: So the NGA and I know we'll kind of get into it throughout the conversation, but it's a pretty unique nonprofit trade association. Most associations serve sort of one type of company or one type of individual. But the NGA is looking to serve the entire glass and glazing industry. So it's that full supply chain which makes it a really robust and interconnected group. So we've got everybody from the primaries all the way to the installers and anyone who supplies in between, folks like you, all for the glass fabricators. We have them, of course, among our membership, but also the equipment suppliers. So we're bringing everybody in this universe together, along with the affiliates, the architects, specifiers, interior designers, and then the Fenestra folks. As we start to broaden out and look at who our trade show is serving and what are we doing with this whole community. I mean, we're really looking to build a better industry, to build better companies, to build safer workplaces, to help all of those companies address their key pain points at any given time.
Our four pillars of the nga, kind of our four strategic goals is to advocate. To advocate for, you know, this industry, for the. The companies here at the code level, at the government level, to educate, to help companies build their workforces. You know this. I know we'll talk about labor as we go. That's what you all are hitting on at your company. And then to promote. To promote glass, to make glass the preferred material of choice. It's beautiful. It's so dynamic. It's so multifunctional.
And it's been, you know, it's a pleasure to be part of this, doing something that matters. And also for an industry that's so beautiful, I mean, it really is phenomenal to be able to look at architecture and say, like, our folks did that.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that's Cool.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: I had a. One of my guests does architect or does stained glass windows. And being an Irishman, I was telling him about some of the churches and cathedrals that's in Ireland.
And you walk in and you don't notice the seats, you don't notice the wood. It's the window that you look at and your jaw hits the ground and you're going, how the heck did they ever do that? That's amazing. It is beautiful. And then you go to a modern building and you see all the glass and you're going, again, how on earth did they do that? And it's just.
It's inspiring, but people need to take a step back because glass is everywhere. One guy was like, yeah, we have to see through it. And I'm like, that's a good pun. I like that one. But sadly, we do. We look past it and we don't see it for what it truly is. And, yeah, I really appreciate what you and the NGA are doing and, like, stop and look at it and admire it and just.
It fuels the passion for glass. And everyone's going, really? And you're like, oh, yeah, it really does.
[00:06:44] Speaker B: But to think about what it can do. Right, Exactly.
Yes, you do look through it. And that is one of its key benefits. It brings the outside in, and it just allows that connectivity. But also the invisibles that we as an industry know, the protective possibilities of glass, it doesn't just keep the weather out. It really, truly does protect occupants. It can save lives.
And then you start to get to the more decorative attributes. And I mean, really, glass can do anything.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: It can. It really can.
And on that point, it does everything and it goes everywhere. So, like, you guys are seemingly touching every part of the glass world to your last kind of what we were talking about. But what are some examples that you can give that the NGA is doing today that directly benefits, like, boots on the ground, people on the field.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Yeah. And that's, you know, as we look at the scope of what glass can do, it is really compelling to look at these monumental curtain wall systems, just the glass systems that are pushing the envelope and sort of redefining what's possible in architecture and in the art of these buildings. But, you know, truly what glass is, it's everything that we, you know, it's our shower doors, it's our backsplashes, it's the storefront fronts, it's the, you know, the traditional systems that we look through when we're at the gym or when we're going into traditional office buildings. So it's all of that. And the NGA is sort of we're here to advocate for every part of that.
And I think the biggest intervention right now for boots on the ground is all coming out of our workforce development. You know, it's that workforce development goal.
[00:08:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Labor continues to be the number one challenge for all of our companies, but in particular the glazing firms, the installers, how do we make this? How do we make the glazing field as ubiquitous as plumbing or electrical? You know, how. What can we do? And this has been not only just a strategic goal for us, but something that we are pushing toward with incredible energy. And Jenny Chase, my colleague who heads up our workforce development department, she is in this every single day. And she's been on some recent webinars that I recommend folks look at on the glass.org page. But really the goal is to help our members and really the industry at large find, train and retain their employees.
So on the find side, how do we access the next generation of glazers and installers?
The NGA is doing a variety of things in this area, including just creating recruitment toolkits.
How do you find this next generation? Well, maybe it's at high schools or tech schools, but that's a pretty daunting challenge for a glazer that's kind of as busy as they can be.
Well, okay, it's easy. Yeah, you get into the high schools. But how? So NGA created a recruitment toolkit to kind of tell that how to really give companies the tools for contacting those groups, finding what trade fairs are existing, what materials do you bring to these?
[00:10:31] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:10:32] Speaker B: How do you talk to teenagers?
All of these things are, oh yeah, critical challenges.
And then on the training side, NGA has for, for quite a while now been growing its MyGlass class curriculum online learning. It's really taken a number of steps up for accessibility recently. We've got courses in English and Spanish.
Folks can watch it on their phone. You know, how do you provide training to these newer employees in the industry? It's by going where they are and that's on their phones. So totally. How can you help folks when They've got a 15 minute break where they're just hanging out? Like just provide that education that way. So that's one area. NGA also has an apprenticeship curriculum. We are partnering with registered apprenticeship programs and offer that whole suite of kind of approved courses for glazing.
And then in terms of retention, that's where a lot of the higher level materials in our magazine, Glass Magazine. On the residential side, we've got Window and Door magazine, our education at conferences, the BEC conference, which I know we're going to be chatting through in a little bit. That's. That's coming up at Glass. Build the main stage there.
Looking at just all of the tools for retention. Once you have folks in the door, training is a part of that. People stay when they're trained.
They really develop a connection with those organizations. But what else.
What else do managers, owners, decision makers need to be thinking about to keep those folks?
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Yep. Yeah, those are all.
Wow. That. That one answer alone could be like five podcasts in and of itself. There's so much in there, but it's so. It's so encouraging to hear of adapting and changing to. Because that was like, my next question. Like, you know, everything, everything's evolving, everything's changing.
And what's cool is the NGA is moving with the times.
A lot of places get stuck in the rut and it's, well, this is what we've always done, so this is what we're going to do. Whereas you guys bring a fresh approach and it's like, how do we. We have to go where the young people are. We can't just be like how we were even 20 years ago. It's all changed. It's a different world we live in. Even every day it changes. So it's really refreshing and encouraging to hear that you guys are doing that. It's a resource for people.
They can check these things out. They can go look it up on their break. They don't have to pester their manager or even their teacher. What should I do after work, when I finish school, what should I do? Well, it's right there. Go check it out, see if it's applicable to you.
So, yeah, kudos for you guys for that. But kind of moving on then. How do you, our high daws, the nga, work to sort of bridge that gap between many different people? So we've got manufacturers, we've got fabricators, we've got lasers.
We've also got the architect who kind of kickstarts everything.
How do you bridge that gap? And I hate to say it, but keep everybody kind of happy within each of those different quadrants?
[00:14:13] Speaker B: It is, yeah, it's definitely a challenge to have such a range of companies, you know, as we.
So I'm in charge of the programming that we do for, you know, the BEC conference, that's the Building Envelope Contractors conference, and at the main stage and for all of these, we're saying, who is our, our audience? Well, you say it's Glazers. Well, is that your, you know, $300 million company or your $5 million Glazer? Because the needs there are so distinct. So we really do need to talk to everyone and identify where those pain points cross over cross.
That's a good start. But you mentioned specifically the architectural community. This is a group that NGA has been working to bring in for a number of years. We have on our website, we've got a number of AIA accredited courses that folks can take.
We have, you know, at the main stage at glassbuild this last year we had our full day of architect education.
Architects could come in and earn, I don't know, I think six hours of credits there. But, but how do you really get that group in? And I think we, we have a really interesting opportunity right now. We have a, we're welcoming a brand new CEO, Lakeisha Woods. She was head of the AIA and has been already just in her, you know, I think seven, seven, eight months here at the NGA has been really helping us to target that messaging for this group.
[00:15:57] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:15:57] Speaker B: She invited a number of architects to Glass Build to just walk the show as guests of the NGA and say, hey, what do you think? What is resonating?
And the answer was like, all architects need to be here. This is like, this is cool stuff. You can actually see on the, on the floor, you know, Igus being produced right there. And it's such a great opportunity to show not what we do, but how we do it.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: So I think that's going to be a big area of focus for us. Of course we're, we're looking to address all of the pain points of these Glass industry members. But for the stakeholders around that who directly impact everybody on that chain.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: How can we be engaging and having those conversations?
[00:16:46] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's, I can't, I can't stress enough how much like Glass Build change because we're, we're new to the industry. We've been in stone for 20 plus years. But for, for Glass, it's, we're kind of the newbies on the block. And Glass Build opened our eyes to, wow, this is amazing.
Like some of the things you see, you hear, you meet people, if you're, if there was, if there's someone listening to this and they're kind of like, well, I'm not sure if I should go. Just go.
It's worth, it's worth everything. It really is, it's a family.
It's all. We're all in this together. The camaraderie is like, I've never kind of witnessed it before. It's really special.
Everyone's helping each other. There's a wonderful spirit about it.
Yeah.
Glass Build for me was like, wow, this is quite legit to say the least.
And it's just cool to see, like, interesting. Like for us, people got to come along. They got the touch and feel, the products.
They're like, oh, I didn't even know this thing existed. Yeah, well, you wouldn't have if you hadn't been here. So if you don't go, you're missing out.
But before Glassbuild, and we're gonna get it now to the BEC that's coming up in Louisville. And hopefully when you hear this, it should be in a week and a half's time.
So mark your calendars for you.
What makes this event coming up so important for the whole community? The whole team?
[00:18:21] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean this is the event for glazing contractors in North America, but it's also for everybody who is directly collaborating with that, the direct supply chain for the installer community.
It has been my favorite of our events and maybe I shouldn't pick favorites, but it has for a number of years because it is more intimate. We've got 7, 800 folks in there, so it's not tiny meeting by any means, but just the, the vibe has always been one of just such great community building.
And that is, that is going to be the case here in Louisville. It's our first time, I'm sorry, I should say Louisville.
It's our first time in Louisville and you know, bourbon and baseball bats. We're excited about what this new city has to offer.
The venue is going to be beautiful. Really great flow for everybody on site.
And also just going back yet again to pain points, if folks have that on their bingo card. We're talking about that a lot because it is what our job is to find out what's keeping people up at night and to figure out how we as an association and for me, how I as someone who's working directly with the content for these, these programs and for the magazine, how we can best help those companies get practical, immediate takeaways from our conference. So that's what's, that's what's happening at BEC in Louisville from over a high level perspective.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: Cool. Kind of. Then to get into the minutia, what are some of the. Because we talked about pain points and what keeps you up at night.
First of all, like where would you gain that information? And then secondly then how does that format kind of the event and the conversation that's happening with you guys?
[00:20:33] Speaker B: For sure. Yeah.
So let's see. You said this is coming out what, 10 days before the event. So there's still time. For anybody who has not yet registered, truly make sure you can get there. Louisville is a pretty affordable place to get to get to.
We are looking at, you know, back to that labor challenge. We have a lot of content looking at that.
Our morning keynote to kick off the whole event is Joshua Johnson. He is really looking at how the trades and his talk will be focused on glass industry, but how trades can close the workforce gap by looking at talent pools that might be overlooked. He's a terrific speaker and you will come home with materials not only for marketing your company in this industry, but also for really bringing in these overlooked communities.
You can't talk about workforce without talking about that next generation, how succession is happening. We are an industry of family businesses or of just these multi generational companies that transfer from within a family or within sort of a company family.
So we have a really interesting conversation. It's called our new Gen panel.
But we've got Ted Baumgartner, he's the head of Guthrie AI. He's from a family of Glass folks. He'll be leading a conversation with Emily Yukish of Specified Systems and Evan Affenir from DP Glass. So they will be looking at how do you successfully execute that transition and then we looking at business transitions. We've also got a keynote from pk Priscilla Koritz of Brynn Glass who has transitioned into CEO over there. I think she's been in that seat for maybe a year and a half at this point.
PK is a fascinating, brilliant mind in the glass industry and really eager to hear her talk.
You know what she's sort of bringing with that transition. So all of that content that's looking at our labor workforce, how do we address our biggest people concerns and really foster growth there? That's one part of it. The other is the economy.
[00:23:05] Speaker A: What is happening?
[00:23:08] Speaker B: Yeah. What is happening with this market? I think what I've learned in the last five years is all of the, the hard and fast rules of economics that we thought were true maybe are not so true things we just have.
It's becoming more and more difficult to predict what's going on. So we'll have a number of sessions that are looking at just what the heck is going on. The highlight of that is Sarah Martin from Dodge Construction. She's coming in to talk about, you know, their forecasts, how they develop those forecasts, digging into the details about the segments that will be performing well, not so well for 26. It's a real can't miss session. Had a good meeting with her just a week or so ago and she's got some good insights. I mean coming just for her session would be worth the trip to the one.
[00:24:06] Speaker A: Yep. Okay, good.
[00:24:09] Speaker B: And then looking at. So that's kind of the economics of this current moment. But what about all of the other items in the legislative regulatory code environment that folks need to know about? And for someone who's managing a glazing company, it is impossible to keep track of this on a day to day basis.
And you don't have to because the nga, yeah, we have Irmala Sowell on our, the VP of technical and advocacy here on our side along with our brilliant code consultants, we've got Tom Culp who will be speaking alongside Irmala. Just looking through the need to know code, regulatory, legislative moves, updates that will be impacting our businesses as they trickle down. So yeah, so that's a good one.
Gosh. We've got our Tuesday. The event starts Sunday, March 1, runs through Tuesday, midday. We've shifted our Tuesday to be, we call it Tactical Tuesday. But it's looking at just kind of getting more into the weeds of estimating project management, legal considerations. This is where you want to be sending.
You want to be sending two or three of your folks from your team to make sure that the right people are in the room for this.
Be looking at AI, how glazers can use AI in their takeoffs, in their data management.
We have a couple of construction lawyers coming in to look at contracts, of course, contracts during this time when projects, supply chains, all of that is a little wonky.
But also to talk through immigration enforcement and what that means on the ground for those folks. So stay through Tuesday.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: Plus, you know, some other fun stuff. We have a speaker, Deidre Daniel, she's kind of a comedic keynote speaker.
Very fun.
Will be, you know, bringing the energy Monday afternoon right before the reception, giving folks her talk, I believe is called how to be more interesting than a cell phone.
But she's really got some just fun takeaways. That's so cool.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: That's awesome. Wow. Seems like a three day action packed adventure for anyone who's showing up. Now if someone's listening to this and they've still got a number of days to get registered and get in there.
What would you say would be like sort of one takeaway for say a business owner, one takeaway maybe for an installer or even like a project manager?
[00:27:08] Speaker B: I think there will be different takeaways for each. But for all of those audiences coming to bec, you will come home and this is part of our process with every single speaker, you will come home with immediate takeaways.
The last slide in every session is what can you do tomorrow to address this certain issue. So for immigration enforcement, for example, folks will come away with resources. What to do if immigration enforcement comes to your job site checklist there. It's the same for improving efficiencies in your pre con work. What can you do today to improve these processes and then bigger, you know, how, how do we as an industry look at the next generation, recruit the next generation.
But for the company, what can you do tomorrow to begin to change your business so that it becomes a place where that is welcoming to new communities, to new people.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: Don't miss it, folks. Get signed up. Get signed up.
We kind of.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: Oh, plus bourbon. Did I talk about bourbon? Merv? I don't know.
[00:28:22] Speaker A: I think you may have mentioned it ever so slightly, but we can give that in big bold letters across the screen now that you've said it.
[00:28:31] Speaker B: Come to BEC for better businesses and bourbon.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: There you go. What more would you want? Totally, absolutely. Bottoms up. But we've heard a lot about the workforce, we've heard a lot about shortages.
I have my opinions where that might be. But from your perspective and kind of what you hear, what are some of the root challenges when it comes to recruiting and it's okay getting them in the door, but keeping them here and giving them kind of a long term projection.
[00:29:07] Speaker B: I think the biggest challenge is just letting people know that this industry exists.
Right.
[00:29:13] Speaker A: Funny how great minds think alike. That's exactly the same one.
Yeah.
[00:29:19] Speaker B: So if people don't know what a glazer is, how can they be it?
[00:29:22] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: So that's number one.
Number two, I think it's, we obviously have the challenges of being a competitive industry. You know, how can this industry compete against other jobs that might pay more? You know, if it does or just offer, I don't know. Working in glass can be hard. Working in a glass factory can be hard, it can be hot, can really take a commitment. And you might not have some of those same challenges in, you know, an Amazon warehouse.
But how can we show that a career, a job in glass can be a career in glass?
And it really.
How do we teach not just about the industry, but teach that or show that the long term success here is you can have a wonderful, valuable, decades long career here in this community.
[00:30:26] Speaker A: Totally, yeah. And I think, I think you nail it on the head where there's a perspective and I think this maybe needs to be taught too, where not everything is just handed to you. And I think we live in a day where sadly young people just expect and when it doesn't happen they get disappointed and it's like it's not for them.
So teaching them that, yeah, it's a very hard job, like it's difficult, it's hot, it's sweaty, there's a lot of lifting involved, you're going to go home painfully sore in the evening. But the reward on the other hand is you get to step back when the job's completed and go, I did that.
I can see that a plumber can't really see the pipes in the wall and if he can, they've not done a very good job.
An electrician is the same. All their work is kind of hidden. You don't see it and if it doesn't work then that's a whole other story. But a laser, like for me there's something in glazing that's actually very rewarding where you can see the finished work and you can admire it and go, I did that. I can see it, everyone else can see it. It's tangible, it's there, you can touch and feel it.
And I think in the glazing industry that needs to be encouraged and told to people because like you said, they don't know.
Like I have a 14 year old son and if I was to say, hey, you should go into the glazing trade, he'd go, what is that? If I said an electrician, he maybe have a better idea or a plumber. But I think there needs to be a lot of groundwork done. And what does this trade look like for the like of a 16 year old lad or gal leaving school, College maybe isn't the way they want to go and they want to get into the workforce. What does that look like?
But it works both ways. It also has to be employers, they have to be able to adapt and understand that you need to bring these people in and foster that good work environment and they are going to make mistakes. Come on, we all do every single day.
But it's okay, learn from it, move on, try not to make the same one again. If you do, then we have another conversation. But there's a Little bit of both. That needs to happen and jive for this industry because sadly, if we don't bring up the next generation, it's going to be like the dodo and it will be extinct. And we don't want that. We can't have it because it's so important.
And getting that across is. I really appreciate you guys and I really appreciate, like, like, Max does an awesome work on this where he's trying to educate people and be like, this is a, a really cool, fun industry. And his podcast is like, it's bringing people on and it's, it's addressing things. It's. There's just a lot of, there's a lot of good nuances happening right now to encourage, but it's getting to those trade events, it's getting to the schools, it's getting in front of these young people and making them excited because it is exciting. But if they don't know, they don't know. And so it's my mission and yours and many others to champion the cause of. This is an awesome industry. We provide tools to help you stay safe, to do it more effectively, to have longevity that you're not carrying, you know, five, six hundred pound pieces of glass, stick it in a cart, move it wherever.
Those are things to improve and help with people too.
[00:34:11] Speaker B: Well, and I'm glad that you brought that up. My mind went there as well, because the innovations on the equipment side are changing what it means to be in this field and are creating a safer workplace and a job that can be done for many decades.
These tradespeople can really become craftspeople in this way and become experts in how they do it.
And can you?
I have a hard time leaving my own journalist hat behind, so I'm going to ask you a question.
[00:34:46] Speaker A: Oh, boy. Maybe the camera might go dark here.
[00:34:49] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Can you talk a little bit about what you're seeing just in. As, as OmniCube is developing these solutions, like what you are, how you're addressing that and how you're communicating like we can do things differently.
[00:35:06] Speaker A: So I always go back to the Egyptians and how they moved things.
They were very, very smart people and they moved huge pieces of stone and everything with little round bars that rolled. You never seen an Egyptian person lift anything.
Sadly, we got away from that and the status quo was you had to be able to lift such and such a weight to be able to do anything.
There's no longevity in that.
Weightlifters at the Olympics only go to a certain age. Why is that? Because they burn themselves out.
These lasers are weightlifters. Every single day.
If you can put something in a cart, put it in a dolly and roll it rather than lift it, you've now saved energy, you've now saved your mental capabilities because you're not hauling this stuff around and your body thanks you at the end of the day where you go home to your family and you're actually able to be with your family, which actually gives you the boost the next day to keep coming back. So it's like a circle.
So what we've noticed is the tools we provide help guys think differently. But the problem is so many of them are stuck in the rut of, well, I've always done it this way, yeah, but there's a better way. And so we're trying to educate and train people that you gotta think smarter.
We have a generation coming up who, be honest, maybe don't want to work as hard as the current generation. And so if you can stick it in a cart and roll it, you're onto a winner. Plus they're shiny, they look cool, and it's kind of like a win win situation.
[00:37:00] Speaker B: But you know, Merv, maybe it's, maybe it's not that they want to, that they don't want to work hard, they're just going to work smart.
[00:37:09] Speaker A: They are, that's the thing.
They're willing, they're accepting the changes that are coming. So like AI, they're accepting it, they're embracing it.
Like templating is now going from measuring tapes and pieces of cardboard and handwritten to lasers. Like they're laser templating everything. And then guess what? That gets automatically sent over to the guy in the fab shop. He then starts producing and it's done. That's where you've got to at times embrace technology, embrace new ideas and understand that these young people that are coming out of college, maybe listen to them a little bit more and okay, we've got the gray haired people with a lot of wisdom. I'm starting to get some coming in. So I can say that.
Not that I've got much wisdom, but they have wisdom. But there's gotta be a meeting in the middle and not a, well, you're young, what do you know?
There has to be an embracing of both. And it's so important that the tools are provided, there's an opportunity to use them.
Because a lot of times we'll hear of, well, that's really cool, but you guys would never use that.
Well, maybe give them an opportunity.
You go back to claims And a piece of glass is expensive after it's gone through all the different processes and moving, and if you get it to the job site and you drop it and smash it, it's a little bit of money that's been wasted. And that money could have been invested in a piece of equipment to protect your people. And the material, it's paid for itself with one prevented break.
So it's important to.
It's important for the older generation to embrace the younger and to please, please work together and encourage each other in these things, like, learn from each other and be that, Be an advocate for one another.
And listen.
One of the previous guests said, you have two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk.
And when you go in a room, be the idiot in the room. And I don't say that rudely. I mean, like, go on and learn. Like, ask why. Why are we doing it this way? Not to be rude or obnoxious, but to learn and to grow. And if we do that, then we will embrace different things and different carts and technology and everything.
So, yeah.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: I think you said a lot there. That is really resonating for me.
But thinking about technology, it's just moving so quickly.
AI is moving.
We thought the introduction of the Internet changed the way the world works. Well, we had no idea.
[00:40:15] Speaker A: We've gone up a few levels since that.
[00:40:18] Speaker B: Yeah, this is really a transformative technology and we need to be doing it right. And I, I don't think there is anybody in this industry who's completely putting up blinders, but there has to be a curiosity about how to incorporate this, how it can improve your processes. And Even if an AI can't do something today, in 10 days, it might be able to. It might be able to totally because of that pace. So, yes, having that curiosity and not being defensive about the new technologies that come along, it is a challenge. Even for me. There's sort of a resistance. Well, what do you mean? We have to change how we've done this.
[00:41:09] Speaker A: Exactly. Yep.
[00:41:12] Speaker B: But if we can all keep that end goal in mind and be in agreement of that, maybe.
We know we want our people to be safe. We know we want to.
To build the best buildings we can. We know we want to be able to continue to push the envelope of what's possible with glass.
So how can we do that? And technology has to be a part of that.
At bec, we've got Travis Nevins coming in to talk through some of these job site technologies and just how Glazers can be incorporating New technologies in the field. And that's a huge exciting area.
There are robots that can be in the field. There are handling devices that folks continue to not use in some cases. And that needs to be part of the conversation from the beginning.
If this is what we're going to do, then what tools do I need to do to make it happen?
[00:42:12] Speaker A: Exactly. And how can I keep my crew, who should be like a family to me, safe and healthy and well, that they go home at night the way they came in in the morning?
And that's where we need to. There needs to perhaps be a shift in how we think of employees.
They're not a number anymore because sadly there are few and far between. And we've got to retain what we've got and look after what we've got. And then in turn them tell their meet, oh, I work for this company and wow, they give me the best tools. They're awesome to work for. And then guess what, there's a job opening and the meet applies for it and you're gaining momentum that way. So it's what I love about Glassbuild and just the glazing field in itself is it is a family and everyone actually is willing to help one another.
Like, I'll see many times people will throw a question up, has anyone else run into these problems and other industries? It's crickets.
I think everyone's just waiting back to go. Who's going to answer first?
And in the last side of things, it's like, oh my word, there's like 90 comments in like two minutes. And you're going to first of all, get off your phones. But anyway, thank you very much for all your input. But it's awesome and people are giving the information and helping one another.
It's just a breath of fresh air. And that goes again with technology. So, like, if I learned something today and I think it might help someone somewhere else, like tell them about it, like, let them know there's enough pie for it to go around everybody and to hold onto it is not right.
And I said it at the panel I was on. You never see a U haul behind a hearse. And people came up and were like, I have never heard that before.
What's that? And I explained it more. And the knowledge you have will die with you if you don't share it with someone else. And with some people, the knowledge is just phenomenal. That's so, so phenomenal. Share it. Just give it away.
[00:44:33] Speaker B: Well, we have to.
[00:44:35] Speaker A: We have to. It actually makes you more Profitable and more of an asset to the company if you do that. We've seen it in our company with our engineers. Just they give their knowledge to the next generation and it encourages that younger generation, it sharpens the older guys. It's just a win, win situation.
[00:44:55] Speaker B: Well, it's that dual mentor. Right. You know, we talk about this a lot on sort of the business management side, but I think it goes for every position.
In particular those folks who are in the field just what sort of recognizing the incredible value of the life experience and the knowledge of everybody involved. So your new folks coming in are likely much more adept at technology and can likely pick up so many of these new tools and processes and then the folks who have been doing it for decades that that knowledge is irreplaceable. I mean that is so, so valuable. And so how can, how can you foster those connections and make that. Take the time to really reinforce that in whatever role you have.
[00:45:47] Speaker A: Yeah, and it's.
I have a boss who's phenomenal and he's always been, you know, he always taught me from day one, you know, you're in your job but train the person behind you to take your job.
And I was like, are you for real?
I don't want to train someone for my job. What am I going to do? You know what it does, it pushes you on.
It might sound really wacky, but it works. It so does because you become proficient in your own. You're training the next person and you're slowly, you're bringing the next person up with you and you're growing as well and the company's moving forward because a company that's kind of not moving is stale and stagnant and it could be in trouble.
So like learning and growing, like with you guys, go online, watch the different programs you have. Like learn, always learn. Like we talked about 15 minutes on the phone. Typically what'll happen is people will be on TikTok and it's just really seriously go on like go on your guys website, go on the training videos. Even if you did like two a week, how much would you not learn in a month till a year?
It would be unbelievable.
[00:47:04] Speaker B: Well, and what do we need to do at the NGA of using TikTok? More like how do we get them.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: From there to you guys?
[00:47:13] Speaker B: Yeah, we need to do, we need to meet people where there are, where they are. And for as you know, interesting as glass.org and myglass glass.com are, we're not going to compete with TikTok. So, so it Is, you know, finding that those, those interventions in that space. And, and I think we are really working to accelerate that. And that does, you know, require insights of a whole new generation of folks too. So we see that at the association level too.
[00:47:46] Speaker A: And what we've noticed here is that attention spans are a lot less than they used to be. So you've got anywhere between 30 to 45 seconds max to like really pull someone's attention.
So short, pithy, straight to the point.
Here's what we do, here's what we are, here's what we offer.
Follow the link, Boom. Sends them across, grabs our attention and they go for it.
Some of these long, drawn out, hour long trainings, we do some for safety here. And they're like, you're fighting to stay awake.
You'll watch it in the conference room upstairs. And it's on, say for instance, back safety. Well, it's interesting the first five minutes and then the eyelids start to go and you're like, oh boy, stay awake. So we typically get donuts and stuff and to try to get the sugar levels up to be like, stay awake, people. This is really needed. But yeah, there's, there's a lot we can do. There's only so many hours in the day, but for sure, going to where they are, I think you've nailed it. It definitely is vitally important and that might be avenues that we've never been before. Well, we're going to have to learn them and get there.
I'm not proficient on tech talk, but I gotta be because that's where they're at. And so you gotta go there or.
[00:49:07] Speaker B: Hire somebody who is, you know, I think, yeah, there's also, yeah, there have been so many social platforms that have come and gone that I do feel incredibly outdated on all of them. I mean, I still remember Friendster, so.
[00:49:26] Speaker A: Wow. Back in the day. Oh, dear. Yep, that's cool.
[00:49:30] Speaker B: MySpace, you know.
[00:49:31] Speaker A: Yep. Oh, yeah, they're all there. It's like, what is going on? Yeah, and they're. And some of them are actually still around and you're like, really? What's happening here? But kind of going, kind of drawing everything up for you.
What puts wind in your sail, what keeps you going, what gets Katie excited to keep pushing on in this industry.
[00:49:58] Speaker B: What I have always loved about my role at the NGA and whatever variation it took when I was an intern all the way up till now, is that every day, every conversation, everything is a little different because we are, we're a small association relatively. And in some ways we are a small industry, you know, so we are able to, we're able to pivot and try new things and put together, have a conversation with somebody and then try to compile new educational materials or resources that we can get. It's just constantly evolving based on what the most immediate needs of our members are, while of course keeping in mind those long term goals that we're always reaching for. But I think for me, what keeps the wind in my sails is that just knowing that every day, every conversation will be a little bit different. And I, I'm never stuck in a rut because we're just moving and there's something new. Yeah.
[00:51:10] Speaker A: Yep. It's awesome. Well, listen, this has been a wonderful podcast. We've. I have a lot more questions that I could ask. So maybe there may be a karaoke podcast in the works. Who would know Would love it. But we shall see.
[00:51:26] Speaker B: But what's your karaoke song, Merv?
[00:51:30] Speaker A: It's a Celine Dion song. Because I am a huge Celine Dion fan, I'm not going to tell you what the song is because I'll probably burst out in the song and time is cracking on, so that'll have to come. But maybe that'll entice people to come back and listen. Who knows?
[00:51:45] Speaker B: Oh, I can't wait.
[00:51:46] Speaker A: There you go. Maybe at the Glass Build we should have a karaoke time and just do it up on stage.
[00:51:52] Speaker B: I'm sure that meets some of those strategic goals. It's certainly building.
[00:51:56] Speaker A: It's called team building. It's called let's have a laugh. Let's not take ourselves too serious.
[00:52:02] Speaker B: I would be first in line. Let's do it.
[00:52:03] Speaker A: Oh yeah, Big time. Good stuff. Well, Katie, thank you so much. I appreciate your time.
This lady does a phenomenal job for the nga. She's a great advocate for it.
I've learned a lot from the NGA and so if you're not a member, sign up, go on their website, check it out, go to glassbuild, go to bec.
Just learn, learn and grow. And NGA will definitely assist you in every way in that department. So Katie, thank you so much.
[00:52:34] Speaker B: Oh, thanks for having me, Marv. This is been a great conversation and really appreciate what you do.
[00:52:40] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, that's a wrap on this episode of the Cutting Edge Installs. If you've enjoyed it, be sure to follow, subscribe, leave a quick review if you would like to be on it, perhaps to sing karaoke like us in the days ahead, please ask. Not a problem. Share it with your crew. Keep an eye out for the newest episode. It drops every Thursday or every other Thursday. Sorry at 8am Pacific State. Time. For more about Omnicubed, go on omnicubed.com for the tools that we design to help glazers and installers do their job more safely, efficiently and more effectively.
And until the next time you hear my dulcet tones and see my my looks, whatever way you want to say it, I will say cheerio. Take care and stay safe. Goodbye.
[00:53:22] Speaker B: Thanks Mark.
