Human Side of Construction

Angelo Suntres
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Helping construction leaders improve the human experience in the industry. humansideofconstruction.substack.com

  1. Ep.12 - Safety Beyond PPE

    Jun 8

    Ep.12 - Safety Beyond PPE

    In this solo episode, Angelo Suntres tackles psychological safety — not as a soft HR concept, but as the operating condition that determines whether problems on a project get surfaced early or buried until they blow up. He breaks down the real cost of silence on a job site, why the old fear-based model has a shelf life, and what psychological safety actually looks like in practice. The throughline: it starts with the leader being willing to be wrong out loud. Key topics covered •        Why most construction leaders can't remember the last time they admitted a real mistake — and what that signals to the crew •        How silence carries a dollar value: rework, delays, safety incidents, and change orders that started as unspoken concerns •        Why fear-based culture only looked efficient — and why it's aging out with the workforce •        Psychological safety vs. accountability: holding a high standard without shutting people down •        Concrete examples of psychological safety on site — toolbox talks, coordination meetings, apprentice questions •        Why recognition matters and how flipping the feedback ratio changes the dynamic •        How psychological safety directly improves physical safety •        The challenge: be wrong out loud in front of your team Connections •        Episode 10 — mental wellness and protecting the individual (“the me”). This episode is its counterpart: protecting the team (“the we”). Contact: angelo@hsoc.one This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    8 min
  2. Ep.11 - Recovery Out Loud w/ Trevor Botkin

    Jun 1

    Ep.11 - Recovery Out Loud w/ Trevor Botkin

    In Episode 11, Angelo sits down with Trevor Botkin - a Red Seal carpenter with 30 years in construction who nearly lost his life to addiction and suicidal ideation in 2019. Trevor shares his full story, from being told he was stupid in school to finding belonging on job sites, to the day he planned to end his life and the treatment center stay that changed everything. He’s now leading the development of Muster Point, Canada’s first worker-driven peer support network for the trades, built in partnership with the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation and ICBA.   Key Topics Covered •        How basic job site conditions send a message about worker value •        Why construction concentrates vulnerable populations rather than creating mental health issues •        The role of shame, ego, and imposter syndrome in trades careers •        Trevor’s personal story: addiction, suicidal ideation, treatment, and recovery •        Chronic pain in trades and PAIN BC’s Trades and Pain initiative •        Muster Point: peer support platform, app functionality, and subscription model •        Why EAPs get 5% uptake and what to build instead •        Leadership responsibility: “You’re not just their boss, you’re their shepherd” •        Canada’s construction fatality rate compared to the UK   Guest Bio Trevor Botkin is a 30-year construction veteran, Strategic Lead, Trades at the Canadian Men's Health Foundation, and host of the CMHF podcasts Don't Change Much and MusterPoint Off the Clock. Since entering recovery in 2019 after walking back from a planned suicide, he's brought his lived experience and voice to jobsites and projects nationwide and now leads the build of MusterPoint — a worker-built, worker delivered peer-led mental health network for Canada's skilled trades sectors. If listeners want to get involved in MusterPoint or have lived experience and want to step up to be trained as a MusterPoint Connector and join our team, they can email me directly at trevor.botkin@menshealthfoundation.ca Links Mentioned •        Muster Point: musterpointcanada.ca •        Canadian Men’s Health Foundation: http://menshealthfoundation.ca/ •        Off The Clock Podcast: tradespodcast.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    47 min
  3. Ep.10 - Health & Safety 2.0

    May 25

    Ep.10 - Health & Safety 2.0

    In this solo episode, Angelo Suntres examines the gap between how the construction industry handles physical injuries and mental health challenges. Using the analogy of a broken arm - where safety systems respond instantly and without stigma - Angelo makes the case that mental wellness deserves the same systematic response. He introduces the concept of Health & Safety 2.0: integrating mental wellness into existing safety programs, strategic plans, and leadership training rather than treating it as a standalone initiative.   KEY TOPICS COVERED •        The broken arm analogy: comparing physical and mental health responses on the job site •        Why off-site personal stressors become on-site safety problems •        How construction’s culture of toughness became a culture of silence •        The stigma barrier: why workers don’t speak up •        Three leadership actions: normalize the conversation, make EAPs visible and trusted, model vulnerability from the top •        Health & Safety 2.0: mental wellness as part of your safety program, not separate from it •        The business case: fewer incidents, lower turnover, less rework from disengaged workers •        The “ask again” challenge: stop accepting “I’m fine” on the job site This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    9 min
  4. Ep.9 - Humanity as a Strategy

    May 18

    Ep.9 - Humanity as a Strategy

    In Episode 9 of The Human Side of Construction, Angelo sits down with Ed DeAngelis, founder and CEO of EDA Contractors, a 400-person specialty contractor in the greater Philadelphia area. Ed shares his journey from paper boy to construction CEO, the morning he hit a physical and emotional wall that changed his leadership philosophy forever, and how he built a people-first culture in an industry that wasn’t ready for it. The conversation covers EDA’s PACT substance recovery program, mental health statistics in construction, the ROI of investing in people, and Ed’s practical advice for leaders who want to start this journey but don’t know where to begin.   Key Topics Covered •        Ed’s origin story: paper boy, early work ethic, and the power of saying yes •        Starting EDA Contractors in 1999 and the fear of failure •        The breaking point: burnout, hitting a wall, and rethinking leadership •        Building a people-first culture in a technical industry •        The ROI of investing in people—and why you should treat it like buying equipment •        Mental health statistics in construction: suicide, substance misuse, and the stigma •        EDA’s PACT program: Personal Accountability Changes Today •        Addressing skeptics: why this is the hard work, not the soft work •        Vulnerability in leadership and why it’s a strength •        Trust as a core value: you don’t give trust, you build trust •        EDA Cares: charity work and giving back to the community •        Advice for leaders starting this journey   Guest Bio Ed DeAngelis is the founder and CEO of EDA Contractors, a 400-person specialty contractor based in the greater Philadelphia area. Founded in 1999, EDA has grown under Ed’s people-first philosophy of “humanity as a strategy,” investing in neuroscience-based leadership development, emotional intelligence training, breathwork practices, and the PACT substance recovery program. Ed is a sought-after speaker and advocate for mental health in the construction industry.   Links •        EDA Contractors: edacontractors.com •        Ed DeAngelis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwarddeangelis/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    1h 13m
  5. Ep.8 - Knowledge Transfer in Construction

    May 11

    Ep.8 - Knowledge Transfer in Construction

    In this solo episode, Angelo Suntres tackles the construction industry’s most underfunded capability: knowledge transfer. With experienced workers retiring and critical judgment leaving organizations every day, Angelo breaks down why proximity-based learning fails, what real mentorship actually requires, and how reverse mentorship can become a competitive advantage. He closes with a concrete challenge for leaders to identify and protect their organization’s single-point-of-failure knowledge. Key Topics Covered: • The difference between losing headcount and losing institutional wisdom • Why osmosis-based knowledge transfer doesn’t work • The generational stalemate blocking knowledge flow • Three pillars of real mentorship: intentional matching, equipping the mentor, accountability • Reverse mentorship and why it requires a cultural shift from leadership • A practical challenge: identify your organization’s single-point-of-failure knowledge This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    8 min
  6. Ep.7 - Wake Up - Awareness Doesn't Save Lives

    May 4

    Ep.7 - Wake Up - Awareness Doesn't Save Lives

    Episode Summary Josh Vitale — co-founder of Project Built, chair of Construction Suicide Prevention Week, and a self-described recovering superintendent — joins Angelo to dismantle the comfortable lie that awareness alone is solving construction's mental health crisis. They get into the data we don't quote, the family disconnection thread that runs through every superintendent he's ever met, the CEO whose strategy was to wait the obstructionists out, and the cocaine-mice study that explains why our job sites are breaking people. If you lead anyone in construction, this conversation is the one to share.   Topics Covered •        Why Josh refused to lead the way the linemen who hazed him led •        The mask: outside success and inside collapse in your twenties •        The construction mental health stats every leader should know cold •        The EAP call that started Josh's second journey •        Becoming "the suicide guy" and the hero complex he had to unlearn •        Why awareness alone is the on-ramp, not the destination •        The 18.3x suicide multiplier for men in financial difficulty •        Family disconnection as the universal thread across thousands of supers •        The CEO who said "wait for them to retire" •        What to actually say to old-school holdouts •        Listening as leadership — and the Jim Allison story •        Programs that work: Proactive Communication and Frontliners •        Mechanical solutions vs. human solutions on a slipping schedule •        The cocaine mice and the case for environment-as-intervention •        Where to start the inner work: self-awareness, journaling, breath work, nature •        Josh's three-word message to every CEO, CFO, and super listening   Guest Bio Josh Vitale is the co-founder of Project Built, a non-profit confronting addiction, suicide, burnout, and disconnection in construction. He chairs Construction Suicide Prevention Week, the industry's largest annual awareness initiative, engaging hundreds of thousands of participants every year. A former IBEW/NECA high voltage journeyman lineman turned superintendent, Josh helped build Tough Enough to Talk into one of the most recognized mental health programs in commercial construction, and successfully lobbied to include construction workers in the Arizona State Suicide Prevention Plan. He has been open about his own PTSD, suicidal ideation, and recovery. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    51 min
  7. Ep.6 - Why Your Best People Leave

    Apr 27

    Ep.6 - Why Your Best People Leave

    Construction has a retention problem, and most leaders are diagnosing it wrong. People aren’t leaving for ten thousand dollars and a fancier title. They’re leaving because they can’t see a future inside your organization, and instead of asking, they assume there isn’t one. In this solo episode, Angelo breaks down the four things every construction leader has to get right to stop the slow bleed of talent: confronting the promotion bottleneck honestly, redefining what growth looks like, building a real talent pipeline before it’s an emergency, and having the two career conversations almost everyone avoids.  Key topics covered •        Why “they left for the money” is almost always the wrong diagnosis •        The promotion bottleneck in construction — and why silence about it is the real problem •        Generational expectations: progression every two to five years isn’t entitlement, it’s the world they grew up in •        Reframing growth: cross-functional exposure, expanded scope, and seat-at-the-table moves that aren’t promotions but are real growth •        The development-plan test: can your high-potential people describe their path specifically? •        Building the talent pipeline before you need it — critical roles, competencies, and bench identification •        Why companies grooming people in secret are the ones losing them •        The two awkward conversations that separate organizations where careers are built from organizations where people pass through •        Honesty delivered with respect as a leadership standard •        This week’s challenge: have the one career conversation you’ve been putting off This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    8 min
  8. Ep.5 - What Psychological Safety Actually Looks Like in Construction

    Apr 20

    Ep.5 - What Psychological Safety Actually Looks Like in Construction

    Kabri Lehrman-Schmid is a Project Superintendent at Hensel Phelps with over 17 years experience. She’s currently leading the S Concourse Evolution Project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as part of a $2B+ terminal renovation program, with a career portfolio that already exceeds $2 billion in completed project value. Off the job site, she’s co-founded Build With Pride Seattle, co-chairs the Washington State Task Force on Construction Suicide Prevention, and created one of the first toolbox talks on neurodiversity in construction. In this episode, Angelo and Kabri go deep on what psychological safety actually looks like in the field — not the boardroom version, but the day-to-day decisions a superintendent makes to create an environment where people feel safe enough to do their best work.  In this episode:  •        How Kabri went from an engineering student working at Starbucks to leading a Pentagon renovation internship — and why you never know what conversation will change your life •        What 17 years at one company actually teaches you about what people need to stay •        Why field leaders don’t need to wait for corporate culture — and how a superintendent builds it from Day One of mobilization •        The “gatekeeper” reframe: why we’re all gatekeepers, and how you choose to be a conduit or a barrier •        Perspective taking as the most important leadership skill in a technical world •        Mental health in construction: 7,000 workers lost to suicide per year, 10,000 to drug overdose •        The room of 45 electricians, and what happened when half the hands went up •        What a low voltage foreman said to Kabri a year after she left his job site •        Why people are afraid to say the wrong thing — and why saying nothing is worse •        The business case for psychological safety as a performance strategy, not a feel-good initiative •        Build With Pride Seattle: 200 people, 85 companies, and what it means when people say it was the first time they felt acknowledged in construction •        Why inclusion programs that don’t survive the job site gate are a leadership failure •        Neurodiversity in construction and the toolbox talk that didn’t even say the word •        The deep foundations foreman who buried cows in an elementary school lawn •        What Kabri wishes she had known on Day One of her career  This episode is for any construction leader who has ever wondered whether the human side of the work is really their responsibility — and needs to hear the answer from someone who runs a billion-dollar job site every day. Want to be a guest? Reach out: angelo@hsoc.one This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com

    1h 3m
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Helping construction leaders improve the human experience in the industry. humansideofconstruction.substack.com

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