Beyond Prequalification

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Highwire

14 episodes

1 week ago

How do trust and leadership influence performance in construction? In this episode of Beyond Prequalification, David Tibbetts, CSP, sits down with Tony Iannessa, Founder and CEO, and Chris Farrington, President, both of BIG Construction, to explore their career journeys and the values shaping BIG’s growth in the Chicago market. Tony and Chris discuss how early experiences in the trades shaped their leadership philosophies and why BIG focuses on long-term relationships rather than transactiona...

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Management

Technology,

Business

Episodes (14/14)

Beyond Prequalification

BIG Construction and the Impact of Strong Partnerships

2 weeks ago

33 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Keene State College: Educating the Next Generation of Safety Leaders

How do you educate and prepare the next generation of safety professionals for an industry that’s evolving faster than ever? In this episode of Beyond Prequalification, David Tibbetts, CSP, sits down with Brady Keene of Keene State College and Corey Silverman of Highwire to explore Keene State’s unique position as one of the only institutions in the country offering dedicated degrees in safety, construction safety, and construction management. Brady discusses the growth of these programs, the...

3 weeks ago

38 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

How Skanska Navigates a Shifting Modern Construction Landscape

In this episode of Beyond Prequalification, Shayne Gaffney, VP of Product and Engineering at Highwire, sits down with Chris Hillyer, Senior Vice President and Regional Director of Pre-Construction Services at Skanska USA Building. Chris shares his nearly 30-year journey in the industry and offers an inside look at Skanska’s central U.S. portfolio from higher education and healthcare to mission-critical, multifamily, and developer-led projects that are reshaping skylines. Chris explains how hi...

1 month ago

28 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

How Planning and Partnership Deliver Safer Outcomes at Riley Construction

How do proactive planning and strong relationships create safer, more successful projects? In this episode of Beyond Prequalification, David Tibbetts, CSP, Chief Safety Officer at Highwire, talks with Robert Pieters, Safety Manager at Riley Construction, about how engagement, empathy, and planning form the foundation of Riley’s safety approach. Robert shares how six-week lookaheads help identify and plan for high-risk work, how leadership walks strengthen trust across teams, and why training ...

1 month ago

28 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Gardner Builders: A Human Approach to Construction

What does it look like when a general contractor places relationships and hospitality at the core of project delivery? In this episode of Beyond Prequalification, David Tibbetts, CSP, interviews Barry Stoffel of Gardner Builders to explore how a “green and growing” mindset promotes people-first construction. Barry shares his career journey, from childhood curiosity to leading with empathy at Gardner. He discusses why "safety is empathy,” how language influences company culture, and what it me...

1 month ago

33 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Inside Frampton Construction: Aligning Safety & Operations

How can safety and operations leaders align to deliver safer, more successful projects? In this episode of Beyond Prequalification, David Tibbetts, CSP, Chief Safety Officer at Highwire, talks with Michael Brakefield, Director of EHS and Risk Management, and Jon Wood, CHC, General Superintendent at Frampton Construction. They share how Frampton’s “Future First” mindset shapes a culture of collaboration between superintendents and EHS, where early planning prevents serious incidents and keeps ...

2 months ago

34 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Measure What Matters: Tracking Events with SIF-potential

Traditional safety metrics like Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) don’t always reflect the risks that lead to the most serious outcomes on construction sites. In this episode of Beyond Prequalification, hosts Dave Tibbetts and Shayne Gaffney explore why tracking Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs) and SIF-potential events provides a more accurate view of jobsite safety. They define SIFs and SIF-potential events, explain how to identify high-risk exposures, and share insights from Highw...

2 months ago

33 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Boosting Wrap-Up ROI with Safety Programs

In this episode, Highwire's Chief Safety Officer, David Tibbetts, talks with Joshua Rogove, President, and Trevor Casey, New Business Development Leader at Consolidated Risk Solutions, about how to improve the effectiveness and profitability of wrap-up insurance programs (OCIPs and CCIPs). They share lessons from years of experience, covering key risk factors during bidding, managing claims mid-project, and boosting safety performance. The conversation highlights the importance of early team ...

3 months ago

29 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Driving Contractor Success in Mission-Critical Environments with T5 Data Centers

What does it take to manage contractors safely and effectively in mission-critical construction? David Tibbetts and Adam Board, Senior Vice President of EHS at T5 Data Centers, break it down in this episode. Adam shares how T5’s unique role as developer, builder, and operator shapes their safety culture, and why leadership visibility and trust are non-negotiables. The conversation explores the challenges of labor shortages, onboarding new workers, and partnering with contractors who may...

3 months ago

34 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Rethinking Contactor Safety Manuals with Help from AI

In this episode, Shayne and Dave discuss how the role of safety manuals is shifting and how AI is helping teams review and apply them more effectively. They reflect on the old days of binders stacked in jobsite trailers and talk about how modern tools now make it possible to extract key insights from those documents in seconds. The conversation looks at what makes a safety manual useful, the difference between compliance and true risk management, and how AI gives safety professionals more tim...

4 months ago

30 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Engaging Leadership to Prevent Falls in 2025

Join Highwire’s Chief Safety Officer, David Tibbetts, as he speaks with Jason Edic, VP of Risk Management at Lee Kennedy, and Ryan Rohleder, Director of EHS at Fortis Construction. Together, they explore why falls remain the leading cause of fatalities in construction and what it takes to change that. You’ll hear honest stories from the field, strategies for spotting and addressing fall risks, and insights on building a culture that empowers teams, drives accountability, and challenges compla...

6 months ago

36 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Unlock the Power of Inspection Data

Highwire’s Chief Safety Officer, David Tibbetts talks with Mike Hennebery, Vice President of EH&S at Torcon, about building inspection programs that do more than check a box. They explore how thoughtful, quality-driven inspections can improve jobsite conditions, uncover meaningful trends, and drive faster hazard correction. Mike shares lessons from his 30+ years in construction safety, discussing how data can shape internal improvements and build stronger trade contractor relationships. H...

6 months ago

32 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Inside the Safety Score: How NOVO Construction Evaluates Subcontractor Risk

Join Matt Buzzetta, Safety Director at NOVO Construction, for a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the Bay Area’s leading GCs uses Highwire to understand subcontractor risk and build a stronger safety culture. Matt shares a unique perspective as both a Highwire contractor and hiring client, offering insights into how Safety Scores are evaluated by safety and prequalification teams. You’ll learn how NOVO uses both lagging and leading indicators to make informed decisions, and how they are wo...

6 months ago

30 minutes

Beyond Prequalification

Welcome to Beyond Prequalification

In this kickoff episode, hosts Dave Tibbetts, Chief Safety Officer, and Shayne Gaffney, VP of Product and Engineering at Highwire, introduce the Beyond Prequalification podcast. They share their personal journeys into construction, safety, and tech, and explain why prequalification must evolve into a continuous, insight-driven process focused on Contractor Success. The hosts also preview future topics like AI, inspection strategies, and common contractor pitfalls, and invite listeners to join...

6 months ago

12 minutes