Jobsite chaos isn’t new, but the pressure to deliver faster, safer, and more profitably is hitting harder than ever. With so many moving parts, spreadsheets and scattered tools just aren’t cutting it anymore. Construction teams are looking for smarter, more connected ways to stay ahead, without slowing down.
That’s exactly what our recent Fireside Chat: Construction Insights with Quickbase Experts at Empower 25 was all about.
The panel featured real-world insights from Jon McCartney, Owner and General Manager at 318 Construction; Robert Coakley, Director of Equipment at Lithko Contracting; and Robert Salaj, (Industry Solutions Lead at Quickbase. Together, they explored how modern tools are helping construction firms cut through project chaos, improve visibility, and unlock more agile ways of working.
Want the full story? Check out the highlights below and watch the entire conversation on demand—packed with practical takeaways, including how AI is showing up on job sites and why a centralized Project Hub is becoming a construction essential.
Why Construction Tech Feels Broken (And What You Can Do About It)
Most construction teams don’t have a tech problem. They have a tech overload problem.
Between RFIs, scheduling tools, daily logs, project updates, and safety reporting, many firms juggle 10+ different apps to keep a single job running. That approach isn’t just frustrating, it’s expensive and inefficient.
One major issue? Most of these tools don’t talk to each other. Data lives in silos. Field updates get buried in emails. Project supervisors are stuck handling info manually. And leadership is often forced to make decisions based on outdated or incomplete data.
“When you’re dealing with 600+ active jobs and renting every piece of equipment—you can’t afford to guess. We needed one place to track it all.” —Robert Coakley, Director of Equipment, Lithko Contracting.
With centralized platforms like Quickbase, teams can connect everything—field inputs, scheduling, equipment tracking, RFIs, and more—using one customizable solution.
Start Small, Scale Fast: A Practical Approach to Tech Adoption
One of the most important lessons from firms like Lithko Contracting, a powerhouse in construction innovation is this: digital transformation doesn’t have to be disruptive.
Coakley explained how Lithko drove success by aligning tech with processes that already mattered: “We required projections every month. That meant adoption wasn’t optional—it became essential.”
Rather than tossing out existing systems or mandating a total overhaul, Lithko took a phased approach. First, they started by solving high-friction problems like equipment tracking and RFI visibility. Then, over time, Lithko layered in additional workflows using a flexible platform that adapted to their existing processes.
This kind of step-by-step modernization is crucial in an industry where change can be risky. It’s not about turning everything upside down. It’s about building momentum, removing roadblocks, automating the tedious stuff, and creating a more agile operation, one process at a time.
AI in Construction: It’s Here, and It’s Actually Useful
Let’s talk about one of the biggest buzzwords in ConTech today: AI in construction.
Yes, there’s plenty of hype—but there’s also real value.
318 Construction, a premier general contractor specializing in roofing, remodelling, and commercial projects, is already using AI to automate form intake, streamline reporting, and cut out repetitive tasks. It’s not about replacing people. It’s about removing roadblocks.
But before AI can help, your data needs to be ready. It must be clean, well-organized, and easy to access. This means no duplicates, outdated entries, or messy records. Without this foundation, AI can't provide helpful insights, it might even create more confusion.
Once your data is in order, the next step is centralizing it. That’s where Quickbase comes in. It helps construction teams gather data from the field, keep it organized, and share it across the project. With everything in one place, everyone, whether in the field or the office, stays aligned and up to date.
And the best part? You don’t need to be a tech expert to use it. The right tools make it easy to get started with AI and see results quickly.
Field vs. Office: Bridging the Construction Communication Divide
Let’s be real, There’s still a huge gap between the field and the office, and it’s not because people don’t want to communicate. It’s because the tools they’re using don’t make it easy.
On the jobsite, supers and field crews are hustling to keep things moving—tracking progress, managing subs, and putting out fires (hopefully not literal ones). Meanwhile, back at the office, PMs and execs are juggling budgets, schedules, and risks, trying to make decisions with whatever updates trickle in.
Both sides are frustrated. The field feels micromanaged when sudden changes happen. The office feels blindsided when problems show up too late to fix. Most of the time, it’s not anyone’s fault—it’s just that key data is buried in spreadsheets, texts, or someone’s inbox.
The real fix? Visibility.
In construction, visibility isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a must. Field teams need to log updates on the go. Office teams need to see those updates instantly. Without shared visibility, decisions slow down, and projects suffer.
That’s where Quickbase’s Project Hub Pro App comes in. It gives every team member the right view—simple mobile forms for supers, live dashboards for PMs, and high-level insights for execs. It bridges the gap between jobsite and office, turning scattered data into clear, real-time insights.
As Jon McCartney of 318 Construction put it, “We built a system that made life easier in the field—and when it helps them close jobs faster and more profitably, adoption is easy.”
No more divide—just one unified team, working together seamlessly.
Your Most Valuable Asset? Real-Time Data from the Field
Data has long been seen as a back-office thing—used by finance teams, analysts, or leadership after the fact. But that mindset is changing fast.
Forward-thinking firms are putting data in the hands of field teams, empowering them to own the process—from logging progress and tracking equipment to flagging issues in real time. This shift not only boosts jobsite accountability—it also leads to faster insights, better decisions, and healthier margins.
Take Lithko’s approach to equipment management. By collecting usage data directly from the field, they were able to identify underutilized assets, resolve scheduling conflicts, and optimize resources across multiple projects. That kind of visibility was impossible when everything was buried in spreadsheets.
With the right system in place, your field team becomes your frontline data engine—and your entire operation benefits.
Get the Full Story—Watch the Fireside Chat on Demand
If you’re juggling disconnected tools, struggling with jobsite visibility, or wondering how to apply AI to your workflows, this on-demand webinar is for you.
You’ll hear real stories and actionable strategies from the teams at 318 Construction and Lithko Contracting—two firms that have faced a lot of the above challenges and found solutions that works for them. It’s an honest, no-fluff conversation full of real-world insights on:
- Reducing tool overload and simplifying your tech stack
- Closing the gap between field and office
- Deploying AI in a grounded, practical way
- Scaling smarter with the Quickbase Project Hub Pro app
Hear it straight from the pros. Watch the On-Demand Fireside Chat now.
Get inspired and see how the right tools—and the right mindset—can turn project chaos into clarity.
