Construction tech graveyard: AI, tariffs, and market uncertainty

Last week at the ConcreteNZ 2025 Annual Conference at the Auckland Viaduct Events Centre, I introduced a new AI-powered Excel application I’ve developed: ECOXcelCrete AI. This lightweight tool is designed to optimise concrete mix design in real time, using your actual local materials to fine-tune aggregate blends, adjust proportions, and deliver instant grading curves, mix costs, CO₂ estimates, and performance feedback. It’s built for both precast and readymix operations, helping producers improve strength, durability, and sustainability while cutting waste and complexity. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be releasing tutorial videos that show exactly how the software works in practice—simple, smart, and built for everyday use. If you're in the concrete industry and want to test-drive the tool, I’m offering early access to qualified professionals. Just send your work email and organisation name to: nk@consulthub.co.nz or submit a request via https://lnkd.in/gzfhGWDJ I’ll send you a free trial copy by email. Your feedback will directly shape the next evolution of ECOXcelCrete AI—let’s build the future of concrete mix design, together. #ECOXcelCreteAI #ConcreteNZ #ConcreteMixDesign #ConcreteTech #PrecastConcrete #ReadyMix #SustainableConcrete #ExcelEngineering #MSExcel #ConcretePipes #ConcreteInnovation #ExcelAutomation

I’m offering early access to qualified professionals in the concrete industry. Just send your work email and organisation name to nk@consulthub.co.nz or submit a request via https://lnkd.in/gzfhGWDJ. I’ll send you a free trial copy of ECOXcelCrete AI by email. Your feedback will directly shape the next evolution of the tool—let’s build the future of concrete mix design, together. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be releasing step-by-step tutorial videos showing exactly how the software works—simple, smart, and built for everyday use. If you're in the concrete industry and want to test-drive a solution that adapts to your materials and plant needs, now’s the time. This journey began at the ConcreteNZ 2025 Annual Conference in Auckland, where I introduced ECOXcelCrete AI—an Excel-based application powered by AI to help concrete producers optimise mix design faster and with greater precision. Whether you're working in precast or readymix, this tool allows you to dynamically adjust aggregate blends, visualise grading curves in real time, and optimise for cost, carbon footprint, and performance—all within a familiar Excel interface. It learns from your own trial data and improves over time. Concrete may be thousands of years old, but how we design it doesn’t have to be. Let’s move the industry forward—smarter, leaner, and more sustainable. 👉 #ECOXcelCreteAI #ConcreteNZ #ConcreteMixDesign #ConcreteTech #PrecastConcrete #ReadyMix #SustainableConcrete #ExcelEngineering #MSExcel #ConcretePipes #ConcreteInnovation #ExcelAutomation

🧠 Now available: Voices in Construction – The Marketing Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Construction Industry Our latest Voices in Construction panel explored one of the industry’s biggest challenges: how to build stronger brands in a sector that’s often driven by short-termism, word-of-mouth, and “we’ve always done it this way” thinking. From the need for digital confidence and marketing expertise, to the growing value of brand trust and long-term strategy, our panel of industry experts shared clear, actionable insights into how construction businesses can evolve. Key takeaways: 📌 Building trust by mitigating risk. 📌 Shifting from “leads now” to long-term credibility and brand strength. 📌 Digital strategies, AI, and content with purpose will separate the innovators from the followers. 👏 A huge thanks to our panellists, including our very own Miriam Drahmane FCIM, for helping to shape this powerful discussion. Download the full insight paper here: https://lnkd.in/echh7f3U 💬 Want to be part of the next Voices in Construction panel? Get in touch or comment below — we’re always looking for new voices to shape the conversation. #voicesinconstruction #insightpanel #ConstructionInsights #IndustryExperts #b2bmarketing #b2binsights #itpaystobecognitive #MarketingThatBuilds #DigitalConstruction

This is HUUUUUGE 🤩 So happy to share the News with you on this #techWednesday 🥳 👉 Together with Converge we will be bringing interesting content about #concrete and #structures with the series starting soon on Youtube 👊 The team is also supporting the #EngineeringAcademy so more students can learn at a lower cost 💪 Changing the imagine of #construction, bringing young people to the industry, introducing the great tech - we’re on the mission 🫡 #civilengineering #loveconstruction #skillsshortage

🚀As part of our BOOST 6 cohort spotlight series, we’re thrilled to introduce MOD, an AI-native platform that’s making industrialized construction 100x more intelligent, scalable, and efficient. Offsite construction has huge potential, but today, real estate developers and prefab suppliers just don’t talk to each other the way they should. MOD fixes that. MOD's platform analyzes architectural designs early in the process to identify prefabrication opportunities, then connects projects to the right suppliers within its global network. This helps developers and designers integrate prefab elements into traditionally built projects much faster, more intelligently, and at scale. Founded by Marc Beermann and Yashar Moradi, MOD is redefining how prefabricated elements, and the suppliers behind them, are accessed for any construction project. 👏 Huge congratulations to the MOD team, we’re so excited to be part of your journey! Stay tuned as we continue spotlighting more BOOST 6 companies in the weeks ahead!

We often talk about what we build. But in this conversation, INHUS CEO Audrius Tulaba shares how we build and why. In the newest episode of PROTO INDUSTRIJA, Audrius looks back at how INHUS started, the challenges that came with growth, and what it really means to step into new markets. 💡 He talks about lessons learned, ideas that worked (and didn’t), and why innovation in precast construction is as much about mindset as technology. 🎥 Find the full episode link in the comments.

Huge thanks to Daniel Roche and the team at M.B.Roche & Sons Ltd for bringing us in on this one 🙌 We produced this AI-generated transformation video using just a couple of low res before-and-after photographs — showcasing the incredible redevelopment work on the SongBird Survival / Neighbourhood Network project in Hull. It’s amazing what can be achieved with AI — turning static images into dynamic storytelling tools that bring engineering, community and creativity together. #INITCreative #Hull #AIVideo #Engineering #Innovation #RocheEngineering #SongBirdSurvival #NeighbourhoodNetwork #DigitalStorytelling #Community #TechMeetsCreativity Sewell Group Hull City Council Construction Business News Middle East Hull City Council Helen Gill Brendan Storch Samuel Babarinde FEOHull MKM Building Supplies Arco: Experts In Safety

𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁. I recently listened to Rion Willard's Business of Architecture podcast with Alireza Razavi, founder of STUDIO RAZAVI + PARTNERS; an architect registered in France, the UK, and the US, with offices in Paris, New Yorkdon. Here are 4 insights that stood out to me: ▪︎ Experience shapes vision. Before starting his own practice, Alireza worked with icons like EISENMAN ARCHITECTS and Shigeru Ban Architects. But what helped him most wasn’t the “highs” of their careers, it was seeing how they handled the lows. He said: “It’s more important to witness downs and see how others handle it, than to just be cruising at high altitude.” ▪︎ When you start your own practice, stand for your ideas. He said something that hit deep: “Those first years are the founding years of your practice. You can’t compromise. You need to fight to see your ideas come to life.” ▪︎Architecture is a business, not just a passion. He admitted that architecture schools rarely teach business, and even if they did, he probably wouldn’t have attended those classes. But after 15+ years in practice, he’s realized: “If it’s not a business, there cannot be architecture.” ▪︎ Small or big, every project is an opportunity. Even the smallest furniture piece can carry a firm’s ethos. “Designing a chair is as important as designing a 100,000 sq. ft. building. They both reflect our values.” That’s a great mindset! Architecture isn’t just about designing buildings; it’s about building systems, relationships, and beliefs strong enough to sustain your ideas. Architecture schools don't teach business or leadership the way they teach design. Those are things you must be intentional about building for yourself. __________ I’m John Ojo, a content writer and marketer for architects and architecture brands. I help them build a strong presence on LinkedIn through strategic storytelling. #Architecture #StudioRazavi #DesignLeadership #JohnOjo #Okpako #ArchitecturalPractice #ArchitecturalBusiness #ArchitectureStudents

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐋𝐋𝐌𝐬 (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 1 — 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥) for next token prediction (generation task). Everyone talks about model size. Few talk about what actually makes an LLM production-ready. It’s not just architecture — it’s 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 that make or break your training run.  𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝:  1.𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 — 2 M rows with (~13 words each) can take 20 mins on an A100. Save .bin files and skip retokenizing next time.  2.𝐌𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠— float16 where safe, fallback to float32 for stability. Faster, leaner, smarter.  3.𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 — model, optimizer, scheduler, epoch. One crash shouldn’t mean a lost run.  4.𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧— can’t fit big batches? Use micro-batches (e.g., 32-step accumulation). Same effect, smaller memory.  5.𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐏𝐏𝐋)— tells how confident the model is in next-token predictions. PPL 13 (vocab 50k) → model unsure among ~13 options.  6.𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞 — model.eval() = deterministic predictions & stable results.  𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 Every small step matters — preprocessing, checkpoints, batching, metrics — that’s how you go from a toy LLM to a production-ready system.  𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 2: I’ll share how to take your trained LLM to production — covering quantization, distillation, serving optimization, and monitoring.  𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐆𝐏𝐓 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 →  https://lnkd.in/g9ha5TDa Download the full PDF guide here: https://lnkd.in/gtwcyZrS #LLM #MachineLearning #DeepLearning #AI #MLOps #LLMTraining #GenerativeAI

We had an awesome conversation with Dominic Bagnato better known as the “Invisible Architect” about all things property development and house flipping on The People Behind Proeperty podcast with myself and Jason Mudford from OBrien Real Estate. Highly recommend this to anyone looking to start their journey in building a property portfolio, Dominic covers off on many topics and myths to help you get started. 🚀🚀🚀 #property #development #houseflipping #design #architect