S03 E05 - Layton Construction’s Sean Farrell and Randy Christiansen on building impactful relationships between tech and field
Built DifferentShow Notes
Leveraging technology in construction can revolutionize your results, but integrating it seamlessly into your workflow is key. 🏗️
Join us on the latest episode of the Built Different podcast as we sit down with construction leaders from Layton Construction – construction manager Sean Farrell and senior VDC manager Randy Christiansen. We take an insider look at their innovative project at Vanderbilt University and explore how starting with tech at the foundational level can optimize outcomes. Plus, discover the immense value of fostering strong relationships in the construction community and how it can drive company-wide adoption of transformative tech solutions.
Established in 1953, Layton Construction is a top-tier builder, proudly boasting projects in all 50 states. Their enduring commitment? Elevating the construction industry by offering predictability in an unpredictable industry.
More from Built Different
How do you go from zero to five drone docks – and a company-wide mandate – in under 18 months? In this episode, we sit down with Chase Ertzbergerfrom Lexicon to break down how his team turned top-down buy-in into a field-ready drone program that’s scaling fast. From dodging pilot bottlenecks to proving ROI before the lawyers even show up, this one’s packed with hard-earned lessons in autonomy, adoption, and adaptability.
From jungle drones to high-rise progress shots, Neil of Blue Water Drones shares his wild path into construction tech—and how he's redefining what it means to be a service provider in reality capture. We talk about contractors self-performing drone work, why documentation saves more than just time, and how marketing footage can also win lawsuits.
In this episode, we sit down with Josh Kanner to unpack the real evolution of construction tech – from pre-iPad field tools to AI-driven safety systems. We get into what it takes to build for an industry with slow cycle times, the shift from labeling images to prompting vision models, and why your data is only as useful as your process. If you’re serious about cutting through AI hype and deploying tech that actually works in the field, don’t miss this one.
What happens when doing it all stops working? In Episode 45, we sit down with Julia Guerra from FlyGuys to unpack the pivotal strategy shift that took her from leading solo to building scalable systems that actually work. From hard lessons in trust and control to unlocking growth through partnerships, this episode dives into what it really takes to scale reality capture in construction—and why empathy, education, and alignment are the new tools of the trade.
How does a 76-acre offshore wind project turn daily drone capture into business-critical infrastructure? In this episode, we sit down with Kara Fragola and Louis Saccaro from Skanska to unpack how their team scaled a 7-pilot drone program without adding chaos. Learn how civil and building teams synced ops with top-down visuals, how 60+ staff rely on daily flights, and why DroneDeploy has become a safety and planning essential.