With a unique blend of experience working as an architect, owner’s representative, and general contractor, Saravana Vennelakanti is an AEC triple threat. Currently, he works as a construction project manager at Donald Borg Construction, a fourth-generation commercial contracting and construction firm based out of Schaumburg, Ill.
He’ll be joining us for the upcoming 2025 Construction Tech Conference, where he’ll be joining experts from MJ Harris Construction Services, Hensel Phelps, Enlaye, and Mass Mobility Hub for a conversation focused on the tools and strategies firms are using for smarter management. In the lead-up to the event, we had the chance to sit down with Vennelakanti to discuss his unique perspective on technology’s impact on the design and construction processes.
Can you tell us about your journey from architecture to construction management, and how your design background shapes your approach to project delivery?
It took a couple steps to get from architecture to construction, and they weren’t planned. A little while after I got my architecture license, a recruiter called me about interviewing for an owner’s rep position with a commercial real estate company.
This was not at all on my radar, but the company sounded interesting. After my first interview with them, I knew it was a position I wanted. It was an opportunity to learn a different side of the industry, and the leadership was willing to take as much a chance on me as I was taking on them. I met Steve Skarosi, current president of Donald Borg Construction, while working that job. Down the line, he offered me a position that would allow me to work closely with and learn directly from him.
Across all the roles I’ve had, I’ve found that a creative approach to analyzing and solving problems plays a big role in making a project successful. I believe my design background informs that approach and has been an invaluable asset in my work.
How has your dual experience in architecture and construction influenced the way you approach constructibility reviews and design-phase collaboration?
It really helps to have experience as an architect and owner’s rep. It’s easy to misunderstand design intent, especially in the early stages of drawings. Being able to step into the shoes of all stakeholders helps the entire team communicate and collaborate better.
Had we continued without catching the problem until the end of the project, the job would have been delayed by months and rework would have cost over 10 times more to rectify.
How has your approach to project tracking and progress monitoring evolved with newer technologies like drones, mobile apps, or cloud platforms?
Cloud platforms and mobile apps essentially made project reporting a less curated and more real-time, raw deliverable. While this does create some challenges, in my experience it increases the quality of the project. We’re able to do a virtual site visit at basically any time, and that allows us to have multiple quality assurance checks rather than relying solely on the onsite team to inspect every aspect of the project.
Can you share a specific example of a project where close coordination and technology helped you prevent rework or major delays?
It is a little difficult to identify examples of coordination preventing delays since good coordination helps avoid problems developing in the first place. I can, however, think of a few instances where we caught a problem early on, leading to much less rework and a lower cost than if we had caught it later in the process.
For most of our projects, we use 360° cameras to create regular virtual walkthroughs throughout the course of the project that are then shared with all stakeholders. For one project, we captured the site after all framing was completed but before any MEP was installed. A client’s team clicked through the walkthrough and realized that the location of the demising wall was different than what was required per the lease. This change in the lease never made it into the latest construction drawings, so this would not have been caught until the end of the project, when the landlord did their final walkthrough. Catching it so early in the project allowed for rework to be completed within two days and for less than $10,000. Had we continued without catching the problem until the end of the project, the job would have been delayed by months and rework would have cost over 10 times more to rectify.
How do you encourage tech adoption among field crews or trade partners who may be less familiar with digital tools?
This is my biggest problem from an operations standpoint. Quickly-changing construction tech and the built-in habits and processes field crews have been following for decades make it difficult for them to adapt to new technology. We’ve found that the workflow is much more important than the actual technology itself. Creating step-by-step guides and starting with a small test group before rolling out to the rest of the crews has proved effective; although, it does mean new tech and processes take months to implement.
How do you balance the need for innovation with the realities of jobsite constraints, such as limited training time or resistance to new tools?
When implementing a new process, we start with our least tech-savvy person in the field. I don’t want to name anyone, so let’s just call this person “Marty.” If Marty can use the new tech without too much frustration after two weeks, it’s a good indication that we can implement the process company-wide.
Marty also helps us adjust our guides to make them more usable to the field staff. For example, we’ve found that changing an instruction like “click the drop down” to “click the white triangle at the top right” makes the workflow much more likely to be successful.
Saravana Vennelakanti will be speaking at the BuiltWorlds Construction Tech Conference on the “Project Precision: Tools and Strategies for Smarter Management” panel, exploring the cutting-edge technologies and strategies that enhance project efficiency, reduce delays, and optimize resource allocation.
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