Most construction companies are managing their single biggest cost center — labor — with the same tool they use to track lunch orders. And it's costing them far more than they realize.

In this episode of the ConTech Exec Podcast, Robert Zimmerman sits down with Anna Berger, Co-Founder of Trayd — an all-in-one back office operating system built exclusively for specialty contractors. Anna grew up watching her father run a construction business on razor-thin margins, stepped into his back office, and couldn't believe what she found: a $1.2 trillion industry still running payroll on paper timecards and Excel spreadsheets.

The result? Payroll admins trapped in a seven-day hamster wheel with no time to innovate, a single bad paycheck costing upwards of $960 to correct, and compliance exposure that can dwarf that figure many times over.

What you'll take away from this conversation:

• Why construction payroll is the most complex in any industry — and why tools like ADP and Paychex keep failing contractors
• The real cost of a single payroll error — and why 100% accuracy isn't a goal, it's the only option
• Why unstructured labor data is the single biggest obstacle blocking AI from delivering real value in construction
• How getting field workers genuinely bought into digital tools — not just compliant with them — is the key to clean data
• The compliance trap: how rising regulatory pressure on public works is raising the stakes for every specialty contractor

For C-suite leaders in construction, this episode connects two of the most critical operational realities you face: your data is only as good as the process that captures it, and your margins are only as good as your payroll.

🔗 Connect with Anna: linkedin.com/in/annajberger | buildtrayd.com

🎙️ Follow ConTech Exec on LinkedIn for executive-level insights on the construction company of the future.

Construction doesn’t have an AI problem.

It has a data problem.

In this episode, Robert Zimmerman and Landon Messal unpack why “data governance” is the missing foundation behind productivity, forecasting, and real operational control.

From overlapping project phases to inconsistent data in the field, the conversation exposes how the industry is building faster—but thinking slower.

Key takeaways:

• Why productivity in construction has stalled while other industries surged

• How poor data structure limits AI and decision-making
• The importance of measuring production (not just tracking spend)

• Why solving 80% of the problem beats chasing edge cases
• How to create simple feedback loops that actually improve performance

This episode is a reality check—and a roadmap—for construction leaders who want to move from reactive to predictive.

Connect with Landon Messal on LInkedin

Be sure to check out Sitemarker -

https://www.sitemarker.com/

Construction projects rarely follow the perfect linear process we imagine.

In reality, land development, design, permitting, and construction often overlap, creating incomplete plans, communication breakdowns, and costly rework.

In this episode of the CONTEC Exec Podcast, Robert Zimmerman sits down with Landon Messal from SiteMarker to unpack one of the biggest challenges in the construction industry: overlapping project phases and the lack of reliable field data.

They explore why projects often start before designs are complete, why incomplete plan sets are still being priced and built, and how poor communication leads to costly change orders.

They also discuss how AI, better data governance, and improved field data collection could transform how projects are built.

• Why construction phases increasingly overlap

• The hidden cost of incomplete plan sets

• Why communication failures create project losses

• Why only 4% of AEC data is organized and accessible

• How AI could reshape decision-making in construction

• The role of leadership and change management in adopting new technology

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