Latest news with #AEC
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Witkoppen Clinic opens its doors to tomorrow's healers
Seven bright-eyed students from the Alexandra Education Committee (AEC) stepped into the Witkoppen Clinic on July 1 as aspiring healthcare professionals. This marked another milestone in the clinic's expanding partnership with AEC, an organisation committed to equipping young people from underserved communities with the tools they need to thrive. For a full day, the students shadowed seven clinicians across the facility, diving into the inner workings of primary healthcare. From observing consultations to engaging in meaningful dialogue with their mentors, the learners got a rare glimpse into the human side of medicine, a career path many of them hope to pursue. Also read: Witkoppen Clinic sees efficiency gains after Novartis donation of medical equipment Sbonga Shange, who runs the marketing and communications for the clinic, described the experience as deeply rewarding. 'The presence of these students brought a renewed sense of purpose to our team. Their energy, eagerness to learn, and thoughtful engagement sparked meaningful conversations, deep reflections, and a shared sense of hope.' Also read: Witkoppen Clinic launches Winter Warmer Campaign to support underserved communities Shange added the programme was about more than exposure; it was about inspiration. 'We believe that nurturing the next generation of healthcare workers begins with exposure, mentorship, and inspiration. These job shadowing sessions serve as powerful reminders of why we do the work we do, and how vital it is to uplift and empower our future leaders.' The job shadowing initiative is part of a broader effort by the clinic and AEC to build bridges between education and real-world experience, especially for students who face limited access to professional environments. 'Partnerships like these do more than bridge gaps; they build futures.' Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! Have a story idea? We'd love to hear from you – join our WhatsApp group and share your thoughts! At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Decoding a voter's poor handwriting is subjective – let's enlist AI to help with the Bradfield recount
Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian has appealed her narrow loss to Nicolette Boele in Bradfield to the court of disputed returns. According to Professor Anne Twomey, no questions of law are raised in Kapterian's challenge. Rather, the court is being asked to determine more mundane questions. Is that 1 actually a 7; is that 6 an 8? and so on. Cases like this present an almost absurd disjuncture between the banality of the evidentiary questions – is a 1 a 7? – and the weight of the consequences: who shall represent over 100,000 citizens in parliament? Australian elections are global exemplars of fairness. All adult citizens are required to be enrolled and to turn out to vote. Ballots can't be hacked in Australia: they are tangible things, physical pieces of paper, with handwritten markings. Scrutineers from both sides carefully observe the count. The entire electoral process is administered by a politically neutral agency, the Australian Electoral Commission. The prospect of an Australian election being determined by competing subjective assessments about poor handwriting is jarring, at odds with the rigorous procedural fairness so valued and so manifest in Australian electoral law and practice. AEC officials no doubt do their best, and must make thousands of these judgments in the course of closely scrutinised counts like the one in Bradfield. Indeed over the course of a career, many AEC officials must become some of the most experienced handwritten-digit distinguishers in the world. Nonetheless, challenges to their initial judgments can be made under section 281 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act, reserving disputed ballots for determination by a more senior AEC official. Further challenges about the formality of these ballots can form the basis of a petition to the court of disputed returns. The last time the courts considered questions about ballot formality was in 2007 from the seat of McEwen. The resulting federal court case produced one of the more unusual judgments one will find in Australian law reports. Mitchell v Bailey (No 2) contains a lengthy tabular schedule, listing the disposition of 643 reserved ballots and – in 153 instances – reasons for Justice Richard Tracey's assessments about ballot formality differing from those of the AEC. Examples include comments such as 'Notations reasonably resemble numbers. In particular, three of them can be recognised as figures 7, 6, 5.' Why? How? Presumably, they just did to Tracey, just as they did not to AEC officials. No criticism of the late justice is intended; the point is to highlight just how subjective and hence seemingly unfair these assessments – and election outcomes – can appear. Tracey's observations and principles were adopted in their ballot formality guidelines. Given the rather exhaustive guidance provided by Mitchell v Bailey, what's left to dispute? Highly subjective judgment calls about handwriting is all that is left to fight over, something akin to Australia's version of the United States's unedifying hanging chad episode in the 2000 presidential election. Can we do better? Could an election really be decided this way? That one person's 7 is another person's 1? Here's a modest proposal. For decades we've been training computers to recognise handwritten digits, principally for making mail processing and delivery more efficient. Massive datasets of real, handwritten digits have become one of the touchstones of machine learning, test beds for refining algorithms and global competition among researchers. The best algorithms have 99.82% accuracy in recognising digits. And the AEC itself uses digital scanning to process Senate ballot papers. The outputs of digit recognition algorithms are probabilities, summing to 1 over the 10 possible digits, collapsing to a probability of almost exactly 1.0 on one candidate digit in most cases, but more spread out when processing poor, ambiguous handwriting. Algorithmically derived, rigorously validated on massive datasets spanning hundreds of thousands of handwritten digits, these probabilities could be a useful alternative – or at least a guide – in helping a judge determine whether a 1 is a 7, whether a 2 is an 8, and so on, and ultimately as to whether a ballot is formal or not. One simple decision rule might be to classify an ambiguous mark as that digit recognised with probability above 0.5, consistent with courts' reliance on the 'balance of probabilities' as a decision rule in many legal settings. Humans remain very much 'in the loop' in this process. The algorithms only assist in the hard cases: the ballots subject to dispute. Further, while digit recognition algorithms process single digits, ballot formality turns on whether a unique, valid enumeration of preferences or sequences of digits can be discerned, an assessment that considers not just individuals marks but the ballot as a whole. Surely this guidance could not only help the court in a practical sense (parsing hundreds of reserved ballots) but offer reassurance to the parties – and the voters of Bradfield – that the election is being finally decided rationally and with a degree of objectivity, consistent with the fairness integral to Australian elections. Simon Jackman is an honorary professor at the University of Sydney, specialising in elections, public opinion and data science
Business Journals
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Journals
Blueprint for growth: Trends shaping Kansas City's AEC industry: Table of Experts
What makes Kansas City's construction landscape stand out from comparable metro areas? How are local AEC firms navigating workforce shortages while keeping major projects on track? And with the city riding a wave of large-scale development, what comes next when the current megaprojects reach completion? The Kansas City Business Journal (KCBJ) recently gathered local industry leaders for a candid panel discussion exploring these questions and the broader forces shaping Kansas City's architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sectors. Moderated by Publisher Stacie Prosser, the conversation ranged from infrastructure investment and market trends to talent development and the power of strategic collaboration. Together, these insights offer a timely look at how Kansas City is building its future — project by project. STACIE PROSSER of KCBJ: Kansas City's strong AEC presence sets it apart from other markets. You've all worked in different cities — what makes KC unique? Lance, as the newest transplant, let's start with you. LANCE CLAIBORNE of The Builders, a chapter of AGC: From my outsider's perspective, Kansas City's construction industry is defined by a rare mix of deep-rooted legacy and forward-looking innovation. We have a long history of craftsmanship and a strong work ethic. There's union strength as well as open shops. Many are family-run or employee-owned firms that have built in this region for generations. What truly sets us apart is our willingness to evolve through project delivery models and strong public-private partnerships led in part by robust philanthropic, civic and business communities in our town. The spirit of collaboration across owners, contractors and design professionals creates an environment in which complex, high-impact projects actually get done. In KC, we're big enough to tackle multibillion-dollar developments, but small enough to get all the key players around the table to help solve industry-level problems. ANDY MCDONELL of Brinkmann Constructors: Although I moved here eight years ago, I have been working on projects in this area for almost 20 years. As Lance said, the history of the architecture and engineering industries in Kansas City is known nationally. When I was doing projects in 2006 and 2007, Kansas City was much more of a traditional design-bid-build market. We try to bring a lot of design-build mentality to what we do on the private side. In recent years, I've seen the industry in Kansas City embrace that method of project delivery. The subcontracting market has grown significantly more sophisticated, with many firms now employing in-house engineers instead of outsourcing design-build work to third parties. As I traveled throughout the country over the past 20 years, I've seen other Midwestern cities try to catch up. DAVID BURKHART of Garney Construction: To add to what Lance and Andy have said, the legacy firms in the AEC industry headquartered here in Kansas City have a tremendous impact not only here in Kansas City but across the country. Some of these AEC firms are builders and doers, companies that design and build projects that create and build the infrastructure. Some part of that is tied to another kind of legacy in Kansas City: employee ownership. A number of companies here are employee owned. Together, the region's history of AEC legacy firms and employee ownership make Kansas City the powerhouse that it is in this industry. CLAIBORNE: I agree. I've seen the family-owned model play out in other markets. But the employee-stock-ownership-plan (ESOP) model has turbocharged some companies to recruit and maintain talent and then deploy it elsewhere. Outside of this area, I've not seen this high of a concentration of firms with those fundamentals driving their growth. MCDONELL: Brinkmann Contractors' ESOP is about 10 years old. This type of structure changes the culture. I'm old enough to have worked for and seen organizations that have started as family-owned, and through their succession plan, become ESOPs. The culture changed almost overnight in several of those organizations. I know it did for the better in ours. It was pretty good to begin with, but everybody was in the boat rowing in the same direction pretty quickly. JAMEY BERTRAM of Burns & McDonnell: Burns & McDonnell has been 100% employee owned since 1986. The strong cultural tie of employee ownership is backed by our ESOP, a tax-qualified employee retirement plan that turns employees into shareholders. Clients and customers also see a big upside from employee ownership, including: They can get used to seeing familiar faces, as employee-owned companies regularly outperform others on employee retention. We're more empowered to problem-solve and make decisions quickly to keep a client's efforts moving forward — and we're accountable for the success of those solutions. Enhancing employee skills through training and shared institutional knowledge is a priority. Relationships with suppliers, consultants and other partners are deep and lasting. PROSSER: What recent changes are currently shaping design and construction strategies? MCDONELL: Technology is the biggest trend shaping nearly all businesses including ours. It's about embracing AI and using it in a variety of ways, such as estimating, pre-construction costs, checking quality and making sure you have the right quantities. Coordination is another area in which technology has helped general contractors. We may hire 100 different vendors and subcontractors to work on a project. We're trying to choreograph that dance and make sure all of those parts fit together. Using that technology can help us do that. It has become essential to that process. Another example is in plan review. Being able to put a three-dimensional model on a screen and spin it to look at it in different perspectives helps people understand the geometry behind some of the aspects of building design. Technology also helps us design buildings that are safe. We call it safety by design. We do a lot in the warehouse space, big one-million-square-foot buildings that have a parapet wall at the edge of the roof. The parapet height has to be compliant with OSHA fall protection rules and sometimes they're not. So then you have to go back and fix them. Whereas if you make it a little bit taller to begin with, you can save some of the construction costs and risks to the contractor and owner. There are lots of examples like this. On the other side, in more of the of the back-office spaces, data analytics have become a big part of our daily business. Everything we do is about data and learning from previous experiences. We've gathered data and continue to track everything from safety metrics to unit costs to material types. We have a real-time dashboard that allows us to keep track of some of those metrics as we move forward. BERTRAM: We see robotics and automation as powerful tools to offset material-related inefficiencies and labor demands, significantly improving precision as well as safety. They can help limit employees' exposure to conditions that have the potential to cause strain or other injuries. Integrating technology will likely attract more individuals to pursue careers in the trades, offering new and diverse career prospects compared to traditional perceptions. At AZCO, a Burns & McDonnell subsidiary, a collaborative robotic welder is streamlining fabrication work. A cobot, as this tech is called, supports welders by completing more repetitive tasks, allowing on-site personnel to focus on other critical project details. The Burns & McDonnell construction teams are exploring how to integrate the cobot with AI for an even more robust solution. We also see big opportunities in building digital simulations to allow the correct design information, materials and tools to be in the right location at the jobsite so we can focus on completing the work. AI is already shaping how we work at Burns & McDonnell — not just as a tool, but as a mindset shift. We're using it to streamline operations, surface insights and invite innovation into everyday decisions. Just as the adoption of technologies like BIM is transforming our workflows, AI is now enabling us to reimagine how we approach design, planning and project delivery. It's helping us move faster, think smarter and unlock new opportunities to serve our clients more effectively. BURKHART: Technology's certainly a component of it, especially on the safety front, from drones surveying jobsites to predictive analytics. We're seeing a lot of trends in response to the speed and size of technological advancements. The landscape is always changing, whether it's water treatment technology, electrical equipment, gear, availability of materials, volatility of pricing or uncertainty of budgets. expand PROSSER: What other trends are shaping the design and construction strategies for your business or customers? BURKHART: Another trend is on the collaborative front across all types of delivery models. The opportunity to bring the contractor in during the design phase is key to ensuring projects can be constructed safely and within budget. Contractors can often identify opportunities to economize throughout the life of the design to meet the owner's budgetary demands. We've certainly seen that trend in the industry over the past decade throughout the country. It has been a little bit of a progression. Certain states adopted those new delivery methods a little faster than others. But as we've seen success, it's taken off coast to coast. PROSSER: Lance, what are you seeing? CLAIBORNE: In line with what has been said, technology is a big conversation right now in terms of how you apply what is being developed and then how you harness it. We're definitely seeing more of what David was talking about, where end users are relying on contractors earlier in the process to make sure that issues that they typically hear about after the fact are part of the discussion. The forethought is baked into that process. And that's driving some staffing considerations and challenges. There's also consistent evolution when it comes to safety in our industry. Increasingly, insurance companies are looking for more people to have more skin in the game when it comes to integrating safety into their culture and staffing. PROSSER: It's no secret that Kansas City has some big projects on the drawing board. But what sectors are driving demand for your companies? Where do you see the most opportunity over the next three to five years? BURKHART: Where we see the shifts and therefore the largest opportunities are related to the onshoring or reshoring of manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing, such as data centers. All of the efforts to bring the manufacturing sector back to the United States from a contractor's perspective create opportunity because these facilities need to be built. The facilities need utilities, whether it be power, water or wastewater treatment. You're also going to see opportunities for transportation as manufacturing comes in and utilities get built out. People move to the city to do the manufacturing. Houses are built, more utilities go in, and more transportation is built. This trend is certainly evident in Kansas City, just as it is throughout the country. We've seen a lot of activity in the western part of the metro with the Panasonic battery facility. We've seen data centers going in north and west of the city. A lot of activity seems to be driven by technology, technology manufacturing or basic reshoring of manufacturing to the United States. MCDONELL: I would echo what David said. On the industrial side, for example, we're pretty heavy in Kansas City in two spaces — living units and industrial speculative or build-to-suit light industrial and manufacturing. Living units encompass hospitality, senior living and student housing as well as market-rate and multifamily developments. A tremendous need remains in both of those sectors. Manufacturers are looking to build in this area, partly because of our geographical location in the middle and our transportation node. We've done several projects in this market, including the pretzel production facility in Lawrence, which is now Hershey's Salty Snacks, and Cnano Technology, which is the carbon nanotube manufacturer at New Century. It is one of Panasonic's suppliers. We have several projects at the Raymore Commerce Center, including Nuuly, the new Urban Outfitters facility. There's still a buzz for this market when we talk to our industrial developers. We're looking forward to several projects in the next year to two. That's what our runway looks like. The hospitality side is starting to come back. Not a lot is being built right now, but a lot is on the drawing boards. There's a life expectancy component on those buildings. They want to build new buildings because people want to stay in new buildings. That's the way that market works. With the multifamily market, everyone's aware of what it costs to buy a house. People still want to rent. All of the developers in the markets that we're plugged into are pretty positive about next year. All of this ties together. Numerous macroeconomic issues are pausing a lot of that right now, such as the cost of money, cost of capital and equity availability. But those products are still in demand. During my 35 years in this business, I've seen a few cycles. It will come back. BERTRAM: Two key growth sectors for Burns & McDonnell are data centers and electrical infrastructure, as the AI revolution is poised to reshape both the data and power industries for decades to come. The data center power demand shortfall is a complex challenge, especially when measured against the rapid timelines that hyperscalers require to bring new data center facilities online. This surge is driven by the accelerated adoption of AI, cloud computing and high-density infrastructure, which require not only more power but also faster, more reliable delivery. We support a diverse range of clients — from hyperscale operators to colocation providers and emerging developers — by sourcing, evaluating, designing and constructing sites tailored to their unique needs. On the power side, we support utilities, who are navigating a complex balancing act: They must plan for load growth, integrate distributed energy resources and manage aging infrastructure. The general electrification of our commercial and industrial world is also driving the need for power. Many systems that were once powered by fossil fuels or thermal/mechanical technologies have now been electrified, offering lower costs for our industrial and commercial customers. That general shift is really starting to drive more load on the grid and is exacerbated by the explosive growth of data centers and AI applications. There's also a significant component of the power delivery market that is still condition-based. The year-over-year capital spend efforts from utilities still exist. The data center industry has introduced additional considerations that build upon our existing infrastructure commitments, which were already providing substantial opportunities for growth before cloud computing became more prominent. BURKHART: Andy mentioned Kansas City's location. From a logistics standpoint, I can't think of a better place in the United States to manufacture than in the Midwest. For things that we're going to use and consume here in the United States, manufacturing in the center of the country makes sense. Our location is prime from a logistics standpoint with an interstate system in all four directions. We also have ample availability of land and water. If we can continue to strengthen and expand our electrical infrastructure as we've done over the years, there's a tremendous amount of opportunity in the Midwest and specifically here in Kansas City. This ties back to the earlier discussion about legacy companies here in Kansas City. These 100-year-old firms in architecture, engineering and construction in the middle of the country with ample resources present numerous opportunities that could benefit Kansas City. PROSSER: Lance, your organization represents many different people. Is Kansas City different from other places when it comes to collaboration? We think we're a collaborative city, but are we? CLAIBORNE: I was firmly in the camp that thought that it was just a buzzword. I heard it repeatedly during the search process while interviewing for my role with The Builders and while talking to members. I dismissed it as just something that this area says. But it is not just a buzzword. It is absolutely a key ingredient to our past success, ongoing success, the works. Kansas City has a culture of trust, and that trust is what breathes oxygen into big, bold ideas. You start to think about the kinds of projects that we're tackling. They're on a different scale altogether than projects in the past. We're having to reinvent the process as those projects are landing. The companies that are represented on this panel are major players in the region and nationally. But when you peel back the onion, they're just as engaged as anyone here locally. That's really where you get to that collaborative nature. It's not a facade. Our members trust us with their futures. In the network of AGC chapters, Kansas City has one of the largest what we call Construction Leadership Councils in the country. That council is composed of young professionals in the industry. Kansas City's collaborative nature is one of the reasons our council is among the largest. Young professionals need to know not only their fields, but also who's who and how things are done here. In that group, we're very intentional about the programming to build those relationships — GC and supplier, GC and subcontractor, and subcontractor and supplier. And as they're all growing and thriving in their careers, they're building relationships with people they're going to work with, rely on and call on. Building those relationships has become important because that, quite frankly, is how we get business done here in KC. It's a collaborative approach. PROSSER: For years, workforce shortage has consistently emerged as a key issue in these conversations. What are your organizations doing to attract, train and retain talent in Kansas City? BERTRAM: We partnered with The Builders to open the Career Development & Exploration Center (CDEC), an educational and training facility in North Kansas City dedicated to training the next generation of construction professionals and inspiring interest in careers in construction. The 3,300-square-foot CDEC features hands-on exhibits that help mimic real-life scenarios for a career in the construction trades. It also provides practical information about the types of careers available in the trades. In addition, the space includes an 8-foot-by-32-foot industrial training module. The module includes common structural, electrical, instrumentation, mechanical and process components and will be used to train early-career professionals on scenarios they would see on a typical jobsite. We are also deeply committed to helping the next generation thrive through programs like Accelerate, a dynamic mentor-protégé program held in partnership with Evergy. It provides mentorship and training to owners of small and diverse businesses. Since 2023, more than 110 businesses have gained valuable guidance through this initiative. Burns & McDonnell supports STEM education through a variety of initiatives. With the massive amounts of work and projects coming, we know we need to continue to grow and innovate how we build the talent pipeline. We see this as an investment to recruit and train talent. KC firms are continuously collaborating in unique ways to grow the talent pipeline for the region. Burns & McDonnell is a key player in KC Global Design and TeamKC, two Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) initiatives that focus on creating tools and connection opportunities to attract and retain talent for KC. MCDONELL: Getting people to want to come work here is the number one thing I do. Our philosophy is to start early. We have a very robust internship program and have had success with those programs in all of our offices across the country, which include Kansas City, Denver, St. Louis, Phoenix and Richmond, VA. We map out the 10- or 12-week internships. We do a lot of the fun stuff, like picnics and ballgames. But they're also going to be plugged in as project engineers. They're going to learn how to do submittals and checksets. They're going to sit in meetings and write meeting minutes. They are going to do the job of a project engineer. This philosophy has been super successful for us. Several people at senior levels started as interns, including the vice president of the Denver office and the vice president of our industrial business unit. The other part of the equation is telling a compelling story about what separates us from our competitors. Part of that great story is our ESOP. When our founder, Bob Brinkmann, sold the company to us, he sold 100% of it on day one and everybody who was eligible got into the program. That's a compelling story. Half of it didn't go to four people with the remainder trickling down to everyone over time. I've interviewed many people over the years, and the question about culture comes up again and again. I've heard many definitions of company culture, and the one that jumps to mind is your culture is what you do every day. It's what time you show up, what kind of meetings you attend, who you are talking to and whether you are collaborating and engaging with other people. You want to make the culture a pleasurable experience for those people. The third tranche is how you retain them. Once you have them on board, how do you show them the love? A lot of that is providing training opportunities and creating opportunities for them to grow — opportunities for them to be the next vice president or to run an office, department or project, and trust and have confidence in your people. BURKHART: About 10 years ago, we did an exercise to determine the greatest headwinds in our industry. The number one headwind was attracting and retaining talent. That challenge is still with us today. We have begun to realize that we need to shift the conversation from attracting, recruiting and retaining talent to developing the next workforce. Our colleges and trade schools do a great job, but we need to get more people involved in our industry at an earlier age. Construction offers people a pathway to a rewarding career, both professionally and financially. But they need to be made aware of these opportunities and given the skill sets to help them succeed. So we've started partnering with high schools. We host summer construction camps for high school students, including one designed specifically for young women. During these events, we take a straightforward approach: Here are the career paths you can take. Here's what this industry can provide for you. Here's a basic set of skills that you could carry forward if you pursue this path. We've opened the Build Lab at Garney, a training center geared towards providing hands-on training for our skilled crafts. But we've also made that available to the local community colleges and high schools and have had a number of events there for kids as young as seventh grade. The younger kids did a hands-on experiment of creating a water filter out of a two-liter pop bottle and a handful of household supplies. They were judged on who built the best water filter. This has given us an opportunity to introduce ourselves to a workforce that may be 10 years from even entering the industry. But that's the type of change we need to see and where we're putting our effort. Whether they join Garney is somewhat beside the point. The bigger issue is that our industry as a whole needs more people. We need more engineers, architects, builders and machine operators. AI can do a lot of things, but it's not advanced enough to replace those people in the field who build the work, and I don't see that changing any time soon. We need to continue to invest in our young people and developing the workforce that will carry this industry forward. CLAIBORNE: Workforce has been a challenge for us for a number of years, even generations. But it's also an opportunity. How we handle workforce development is going to define this market. Right now, there are more projects than I can list on the horizon. The corresponding talent has not been identified, plugged in and, as David said, prepared to tap into those opportunities. Builders are responding with an ecosystem approach. We have a 90,000-square-foot training center in North Kansas City that houses the Burns & McDonnell learning lab Jamey mentioned. That's an important investment for us. It's designed to align the workforce need with the existing talent pipelines. But this is not a one-company fix. This requires an industry-wide approach. Our region as a whole is already pivoting by introducing dual credit programs and real-world learning strategies and experiences in K through 12. We're also adopting pre-apprenticeship strategies to try to engage this next generation. We have some success stories. But the challenge comes with trying to scale successful programs. The entire industry can benefit from the initiatives several companies like Brinkmann and Burns & McDonnell are pursuing. We have to create an ecosystem where those things work in synergy. That's the challenge for us here. We aren't going to find a silver bullet. We have to bring this collaborative approach to bear on this challenge. BURKHART: I agree that it will require a collaborative approach. And I would add in one more layer: manufacturing. Statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that as of May 2025, there were 245,000 open construction jobs and 414,000 in manufacturing. Combined, that's more than half a million workers short of what we need to build the projects that are out there today. So while it's important that we collaborate as a community and industry, there's a cross-functional industry relationship that one day needs to come together. It is going to be an all-of-the-above approach to work through this. PROSSER: Infrastructure is a hot topic right now, especially as it relates to how we're going to support new projects and events, such as data centers and the World Cup. David, how do you see the region's infrastructure needs evolving? BURKHART: Kansas City is experiencing significant growth, which is exciting. At the same time, our infrastructure is aging. Depending on where you are located in the city, you may see aging infrastructure being upgraded and repaired while new infrastructure is being built to prepare for the influx of people attending the World Cup. This global tournament will be an opportunity for Kansas City to introduce itself to the world and hopefully attract more business and growth here. Our only choice is to do that well and to get it right the first time. So continuing to invest in all types of infrastructure is important. BERTRAM: The World Cup absolutely serves as an accelerator, and we will see investment in venues moving from planning into design and construction. Of course, several of these projects have deadlines prior to June 2026. In addition, transportation infrastructure is key to our region. We have one of the highest highway miles per capita in the country. We experience minimal congestion but also expensive maintenance on the interstates and highways. Kansas City is one of the largest rail hubs in the United States, second only to Chicago. The region serves five Class I railroads to support our freight logistics, and all railroads are making infrastructure investments. PROSSER: What are some of the biggest challenges currently impacting project delivery in Kansas City? BURKHART: We touched on the workforce challenge earlier. What stands out in Kansas City is the strength of the labor pool and a deep-rooted work ethic that continues to show up across the region. That mindset is a real advantage as we navigate ongoing workforce challenges. By investing in training programs, internships and mentorships, we're building capacity from within while reinforcing the local talent foundation. BERTRAM: I agree that talent is another asset that sets Kansas City apart. Within Kansas City, we've established a national epicenter of construction talent, strongly positioned to support the continued growth of the economy. This includes universities focused on developing top-skilled construction and field management talent, as well as a solid concentration of union and nonunion training facilities. The talented union and nonunion craft often work side by side on projects, allowing staffing of projects while navigating an extreme demand for labor with megaprojects throughout the region and country. Our central location is beneficial for labor and material sourcing. BURKHART: We're also seeing other challenges that the rest of the country is experiencing, such as volatility in pricing. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped how contractors navigate things like tariffs, supply chain, pricing and cost escalation. That experience pushed the industry to be more proactive and resilient, but navigating those factors remains a challenge. PROSSER: Lance, what keeps your members up at night? CLAIBORNE: It's the uncertainty. Construction is literally a risk business. That's what our members and contractors are entrusted to do — mitigate risk and get things done according to schedules and timelines. So uncertainty is the last thing that they need. The prevalence of uncertainty right now is probably the biggest challenge. BURKHART: Two areas of uncertainty that impact us the most are on the regulatory front. In our business, it's water quality standards set by the EPA and funding. Funding for a lot of projects, particularly the municipal projects, runs through state and/or federal governments. Public utilities may not have the same access to funding that they did a few years ago and that creates challenges. The counterbalance to that is the large amount of private equity sitting on the sidelines ready to invest in something stable, such as hard assets like infrastructure. So while public utilities may be unsure about funding and loans from the government or the state, opportunities exist in various forms of public-private partnership or infrastructure funds or other avenues that can bring some of the private capital for the public's benefit. For example, Garney recently became a strategic investor in PERENfra's Perennial Infrastructure Fund I™, a private investment fund focused on core water infrastructure assets. It's one way we're helping unlock alternative financing to move critical water projects forward. BERTRAM: Power availability is now one of the primary drivers in site selection and design for data centers. Hyperscalers are increasingly planning infrastructure needs four to five years in advance. However, this horizon may even be too short, given the pace of demand and the significant time needed to permit and develop new generation assets — especially for green energy sources, which can take up to a decade or longer to develop. Utilities are also strategically steering data center projects to locations where there is existing capacity, but these opportunities are limited. Energy providers are expecting unprecedented growth in demand over the next decade, all while striving to provide affordable and reliable electricity during the broader transition to a clean energy economy. At Burns & McDonnell, we see firsthand the challenges of building infrastructure today. We still have a significant labor shortage in the power delivery and power generation markets. Some of this shortage is being masked by the supply chain disruptions that have doubled procurement timelines for essential equipment and materials. However, there is a significant labor shortage for both construction and technical professions. MCDONELL: On the private development side, the macroeconomic issues are challenging — the availability of capital and equity combined with high interest rates. It makes some of the deals a little less successful than they would have been a couple of years ago. Then you combine that with the other variable — construction costs. They're higher because of some of this uncertainty. This business is like an old algebra eight-variable equation. You can't solve for all eight variables at the same time, and when one goes down, two of them go up, and you're always trying to balance all of them. I always tell people that hope is not a plan, but sometimes you have to have hope. The need for the products is still there. And so the projects will happen. We just have to work out the numbers and the process. CLAIBORNE: The uncertainty is not in the demand for projects as Andy mentioned. In some rarefied areas, it doesn't matter what the capital markets are saying. My understanding is that we are dealing with some uncertainty around later phases of some of the data center projects. But anything that's tied up in the normal markets is going to be in that cycle to some extent, and some will get released and some won't. It's the uncertainty around predictability in rates and the financial markets that are holding some of the stuff on the sidelines. MCDONELL: To go back to earlier themes, collaboration within the industry with our trade partners and vendors is key. You need constant communication to build relationships. With people starting their careers, I emphasize the importance of picking up the phone and talking to your partners once a week. Some younger people aren't used to making calls. I remind them that if they dial the numbers, they can actually talk to somebody on the other line. They may have to do it several times to see the value of that. But staying in contact helps mitigate that risk. Currently, procuring electrical components is a big risk. It takes a long time to get them. Pricing volatility is kind of iffy. A few years ago, roofing material was hard to get. Something changes all of the time, but you have to stay in front of those variables. Open communication and collaboration among the whole team are essential, which ties back to the design-build or design-assist approach. Let's say your team is in place and a developer and owner have a project. If they're doing the traditional design-bid-build, they don't have the contractor sitting at the table yet. They have to go bid it and see what happens. Then it can be a big fight. That is probably the top selling point of that design-build collaboration — bringing a team on board early that can manage the entire chain of designing, bidding, contracting, procurement, delivery and start up. BURKHART: Communication is key, partnership is key, and I would absolutely double-down on collaborative delivery rather than pricing out an entire project. Projects can cost hundreds of millions, or even reach a billion dollars, depending on the scope. Rather than pricing everything out on a single day, within a very narrow window, as is typical with design-bid-build, collaborative delivery allows procurement of materials and equipment to be phased over longer periods of time. With strong partnerships and good communication with the client, you can better time those purchases and manage costs to stay within budget. Clearly, I am a huge proponent of collaborative delivery. It gives us the flexibility and transparency needed to navigate today's market challenges. PROSSER: Earlier, we talked about large-scale development projects happening right now. What can we do to help drive development after those megaprojects wrap up? How are we going to keep the people you recruited here? CLAIBORNE: Great question. The biggest part is not sitting back and waiting for the next megaproject. Steady, diversified development is important, and some good groundwork has been laid by some great organizations like the KDADC and the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City. In addition, the various chambers of commerce and state and county governments are all working together consistently to put legislation in effect that incentivizes and allows us to compete in those markets. Those systems are constantly churning out projects of all sizes, including large-scale development. So to the extent that we land another one, great. They've also done a good job at looking at those mid-level acquisitions for companies competing in those spaces. The same thing is happening with creating incentives for companies based here to grow here. The work those groups are doing is important. It's important for folks to know that it's not an accident that we have all of these megaprojects landing here. A strategy has been in place for years. That strategy will continue to work because these organizations have done a good job at keeping Kansas City in the forefront. Along with that, it was good to see that both Kansas and Missouri have recognized the importance of keeping our sports teams here. They help attract economic development. They are huge civic pride staples and huge business and philanthropic anchors we need to keep here. The current collaborative environment has lent itself for our organization to do our part. We're helping to streamline permitting processes. We're helping to make sure that there are efficiencies on the approvals and land-use sides. Those processes impact project timelines and the schedules that AEC firms have to navigate to deliver projects on time and on budget. My main point is that we're not waiting for any single project or project type, but we are preparing to support the growth across the board. There are pieces already in play to ensure that we continue to grow and thrive as a region.
Zawya
17-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Positioning Youth at the Forefront of Africa's Energy Future: African Energy Chamber (AEC) Endorses Youth in Oil & Gas Summit 2025
With first oil production on the horizon in Namibia, the country is on track for rapid growth across its oil, gas and broader energy sectors. This highlights a strategic opportunity for the country's youth, and the upcoming Youth in Oil&Gas Summit – taking place July 25-26, 2025, in Walvis Bay – seeks to position young professionals at the forefront of Namibia's energy development. Held under the theme Drilling into the Future: Empowering Youth in Namibia's Oil&Gas Revolution, the second edition of the Youth in Oil&Gas Summit represents a vital platform for advancing youth-led innovation and inclusion. Offering a vibrant platform for dialogue, education and strategic collaboration, the summit provides an opportunity for meaningful engagement between youth and energy leaders, thereby positioning youth at the helm of Namibia's energy future. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) – representing the voice of the African energy sector – offers its full support and endorsement of the upcoming summit. As a strong advocate for the role youth play in the oil and gas sector, the AEC considers this a vital platform for enhancing collaboration, fostering dialogue and advancing projects. The Youth in Oil&Gas Summit comes at a critical time for Namibia's oil and gas industry. Having emerged as one of the world's most promising frontiers, the country has witnessed a series of exploration success across its offshore market in recent years. The country is on track for first oil production by 2029, led by the TotalEnergies-operated Venus field, which anticipates a final investment decision in 2026. Other projects such as the Galp-led Mopane development are also driving this production timeline. The company has made a string of discoveries at its exploration wells at the Mopane field – situated in PEL 93 -, with the latest made in February 2025. These discoveries have revealed the potential of over 10 billion barrels of oil. Additional exploration campaigns in the Orange basin include in PEL 85, where energy company Rhino Resources is exploring. Energy services firm Halliburton announced the delivery of two exploration wells at Block 2914 in PEL 85 in May 2025. This follows a discovery made by Rhino Resources at the Capricornus-1X well in April 2025 and the confirmation of a hydrocarbon reservoir at the Sagittarius-1X well in February 2025. Other players such as Stamper Oil&Gas Corp and Pancontinental are also pursuing exploration projects, with interests in the Orange basin's Block 2712A and PEL 87, respectively. Beyond the Orange basin, Stamper Oil&Gas Corp secured stakes in Block 2914B in the Lüderitz Basin in 2025, as well as Blocks 2213, Block 2011B and Block 2111A in the Walvis Basin. The Lüderitz asset is situated in the southern part of the basin, with drilling expected to start in 2025. Energy major Chevron also acquired an 80% operating stake in Blocks 2112B and 2212A in the Walvis Basin, highlighting the level of global interest in Namibian assets. The country is also accelerating the development of the Kudu gas field – spearheaded by BW Energy. The field is situated in PEL 003 and, following completion, will be a key gas-to-power project in Namibia, utilizing a floating production unit to harness gas resources from the Kudu prospect. An appraisal well is set to be spud in late 2025, targeting the Kharaas Prospect in the north-west section of the Kudu formation. Namibia is also making a strong play for onshore exploration, with campaigns led by energy company ReconAfrica. With stakes in the onshore Kavango basin, ReconAfrica is advancing its 2024 drilling campaign, targeting 3.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Damara Fold Belt. Preparations are underway to spud a second exploration well. The company has since raised C$18 million to finance exploration activities, including drilling the Kavango West 1X well. The well targets 346 million barrels of gross unrisked prospective crude oil and 1,839 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Drilling is set to commence after rig mobilization – planned for June/July 2025, pending final permits. These exploration campaigns have not only unlocked opportunities for domestic oil and gas production, but highlighted the level of commercial opportunity available in Namibia's oil and gas sector. Beyond upstream, the country is also aligning investments with broader goals of enhancing fuel security through modernized infrastructure. Notably, Nigeria's Dangote Refinery is expected to construct a 1.6-million-barrel fuel storage facility in Namibia. A tripartite agreement was also signed between the Namibian ports Authority and the respective national oil companies of Angola and Namibia to establish an integrated logistics base in Namibia. These introduce strategic opportunities for youth across the entire oil and gas value chain and the upcoming Youth in Oil&Gas Summit will outline opportunities, challenges and potential collaborations. 'This is our opportunity to promote youth and encourage them to be drivers of the future. Namibia is on track for rapid growth across its oil and gas, but without youth, it will fail to unlock the full potential of the sector. This is the time to establish mechanisms that encourage participation, foster inclusion and place collaboration at the forefront of development,' states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
Globe and Mail
16-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Credo Bets Big on AEC Business: Will It Deliver Sustainable Growth?
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd CRDO is placing a strategic bet on its Active Electrical Cable ('AEC') product line. AEC business delivered double-digit sequential growth in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025. Importantly, three hyperscalers each contributed more than 10% of quarterly revenues, underscoring the increasing market for Credo's solutions. The growth is driven by its increasing adoption in the data center market. CRDO highlighted that AECs are fast becoming the 'de-facto standard for intra-rack applications.' The demand is increasing as ZeroFlap AECs offer more than 100 times improved reliability than laser-based optical solutions. It offers improved signal integrity compared with traditional direct attached cables ('DACs'). This made AECs an increasingly attractive option for data center applications, contributing to the new expansion of AEC usage and further solidifying Credo's position in the market. Moreover, Credo's system-level approach is giving it a competitive edge. It owns the entire stack of SerDes IP, Retimer ICs, system-level design, qualification and production. This integrated approach allows faster innovation cycles and strong cost efficiency. With demonstration of PCIe Gen6 AECs for scale-up AI networks, strong customer growth and increasing hyperscaler interest, this product line is expected to remain a growth engine going ahead and drive overall revenues. Apart from AEC, CRDO stands to gain from its Optical DSP and retimer product lines. For fiscal 2026, Credo anticipates revenues to surpass $800 million, implying more than 85% year-over-year growth. Catalysts Driving Top Line for Competitors CRDO's main competitors are Broadcom AVGO and Marvell Technology MRVL. Broadcom is a leading player in the semiconductor market. AVGO is gaining from strong AI momentum as it witnessed increasing demand for networking and custom AI chips. It reported 20% revenue growth in the last quarter, driven by strength in AI semiconductors and the momentum in VMware. AI semiconductor revenues of over $4.4 billion jumped 46% year over year, with AI networking improving more than 170%. Broadcom projects AI semiconductor revenues to reach $5.1 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, up nearly 60% year over year and representing the 10th consecutive quarter of AI growth. Heavy demand for Broadcom's Ethernet-based networking portfolio, which includes Tomahawk switches, Jericho routers and NICs bodes well. Marvell Technology's top-line performance continues to be driven by a strong demand environment across the data center end market. Higher demand for AI-driven custom silicon and strong shipments of electro-optics products for AI and cloud applications are driving data-center revenues. The segment accounted for 76% of the quarter's total revenues in the last reported quarter. Ongoing recovery in carrier infrastructure and enterprise networking end markets is another catalyst. MRVL expects revenues to be $2 billion (+/- 5%) for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, indicating growth of 57% year over year at midpoint. It expects data-center revenues to increase in the mid-single-digit range sequentially and maintain strong year-over-year growth. CRDO Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Shares of CRDO have gained 28.7% over the past month compared with the Electronics-Semiconductors industry's growth of 9.9%. In terms of the forward 12-month price/sales ratio, CRDO is trading at 20.75, higher than the Electronic-Semiconductors sector's multiple of 8.75. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRDO earnings for fiscal 2026 has seen a significant upward revision over the past 60 days. CRDO currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and Sells We're not kidding. Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent. Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators, and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone. See Stocks Now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Marvell Technology, Inc. (MRVL): Free Stock Analysis Report Broadcom Inc. (AVGO): Free Stock Analysis Report Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO): Free Stock Analysis Report
