Author: Peggy Smedley
The construction industry is facing many challenges: the need to build more, faster, and with constrained resources. Does construction need more workers? Yes. But what is actually required more than ever is innovation and excitement about a new way of doing things, and central to that is technology, which is one of the reasons we developed the Constructech Top Products awards program. With the help of a panel of judges, the hope is the research conducted for the 2025 Constructech Top Products awards program will help businesses identify the best products in the construction market, as well as the solutions…
The telecommunications industry is facing big transformation, especially with the rise of gen AI (artificial intelligence)—and perhaps there is no greater place where this has been on display recently than MWC Barcelona, which took place March 3-6 in Barcelona. Taking a closer look at MWC, we are seeing a few big trends emerging that are remarkably interesting for the coming year. Once a year, roughly 100,000 thought leaders come together to talk about the top trends in technology and telecommunications. From digital agriculture to transportation to manufacturing, one big trend is that many industries are impacted by telecommunications and the…
Peggy talks about the biggest trends shaping how we build infrastructure in 2025 and beyond. She says we need to bring curiosity to construction to spark new innovation to help build more resilient and secure infrastructure. She also discusses: A U.S. infrastructure history lesson. Four areas shaping infrastructure today. How to spark innovation in 2025. peggysmedleyshow.com (3/11/25 – 911) IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a…
Peggy Smedley and Brian Baker, president and CEO, Sentry Equipment, talk about some of the greatest lessons learned running a 100-year-old company. He says he is proud of being a leader of an organization that has stood the test of time. They also discuss: Employee ownership and how it helps serve customers, communities, and workers. The five pillars it builds its culture on. How the business has grown and diversified in the past 40 years since employee ownership. sentry-equip.com (3/11/25 – 911) IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud,…
Peggy Smedley and Ty Witmer, president and founder, ProjectTeam, talk about the CMMC (cybersecurity maturity model certification) and why it is critical. He says since 2017 there have been rules in place for contractors working with the federal government to protect sensitive government data—and often it hasn’t been enforced, but that enforcement starts now. They also discuss: What percentage are working toward compliance today. What needs to be compliance: people, processes, and technology? Advice for organizations working on government projects. projectteam.com (3/11/25 – 911) IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, cloud,…
Those working in the construction industry know the statistics. Roughly 47% of women are employed in the overall workforce and, yet only around 11% are employed in the construction industry, and even less are skilled trade. Progress is slow to say the least. This is unfortunate because there are several advantages for women working in the construction industry, according to a new survey. The survey was conducted by the New York chapter of PWC (Professional Women in Construction) New York. Regina Rivera, executive director, PWC NY, says today there are only 1.3 million women employed in the construction industry, despite…
Is higher confidence in gen AI (artificial intelligence) associated with less critical thinking? New research says yes. Let’s take a closer look and determine how we can better prepare and train our workforce for this new era of work side-by-side with gen AI. A new report—The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking—examines how 319 knowledge workers perceive the enaction of critical thinking when using gen AI and when and why gen AI impacts their effort to do so. The research done by Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft is interesting to say the least and will shape the future of…
Peggy kicks off Women’s History Month by unpacking the history of women in the workplace and looking at where we are today, in anticipation of Intl. Women’s Day on March 8. She says we are making progress, but not fast enough, especially considering many industries have a dire worker shortage. She also: Discusses three new university research reports that suggest some big trends at work. Determines when we will see gender parity. Identifies how this impacts the worker shortage across multiple industries. peggysmedleyshow.com (3/4/25 – 910) IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation,…
Peggy Smedley and Ani Aprahamian, Frank M. Freimann professor of physics, University of Notre Dame, talk about her research, energy conversion, and how nuclear energy fits into the equation. She says energy is essential to our lives and we have seen increased use of energy in the last 200 years. They also discuss: How we can reach carbon goals. The process of changing energy from one form to another. If we are going to hit the climate goals that we talk about. chemistry.nd.edu/people/ani-aprahamian (3/4/25 – 910) IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation,…
Peggy Smedley and Brian Comiskey, futurist and senior director, Innovation & Trends, Consumer Technology Assn., talk about some of the big CES trends that will shape what happens next in 2025. He says even though we are looking back, the beauty of the show is it is about being a window to tomorrow, setting up for what the year ahead and beyond will look like. They also discuss: How AI (artificial intelligence) made an appearance at CES—and what comes next—for both enterprise and consumer. A new birth with technologies in smart home and digital health—and how sustainability factors into the…