Day One

Explore the Agenda

Pre-Conference Day

Monday, September 21

Day One

Tuesday, September 22

Day Two

Wednesday, September 23

7:00 am Check-In & Networking

8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Steve Black

Quality Support Director, Power Construction

Preparing the Next Generation

8:10 am Redefining Quality Leadership for the Next Era of Construction

Collin Sutt

Senior Organizational Excellence & Quality Consultant, American Contractors Insurance Group

Exploring how shifting workforce expectations, hyperscale growth and digital delivery models are reshaping the future of quality
Examining how leadership styles, communication approaches and decision-making must evolve to engage and retain top talent
Identifying the structural and cultural shifts required to future-proof quality functions in a rapidly changing industry

8:40 am Repositioning Quality as a Strategic Business Partner to Prevent Risk & Drive Operational Buy-In

Robert Achilles

National Director of Quality Control, Shawmut Design & Construction

Redefining the role of quality from auditor to trusted consultant, moving beyond box-checking to proactive risk prevention
Embedding quality into the fabric of operations, ensuring it is integrated into planning, leadership decisions and delivery
Securing buy-in from CEOs, operation leaders and project teams by demonstrating tangible business value rather than enforcing compliance

9:10 am Panel: Developing the Next Generation of Quality Leaders to Close Skill Gaps and Retain Talent

Callie Johns

Quality Manager, JE Dunn Construction

Collin Sutt

Senior Organizational Excellence & Quality Consultant, American Contractors Insurance Group

LaShira Champion-King

Quality Lean & Innovation Director, Walbridge

Guillermo Garcia

QA/QC Lead, Allison Smith Company LLC

Building scalable onboarding and role clarity frameworks that define what quality means in your organization
Creating visible career pathways and mentorship models to retain high potential talent, protect institutional knowledge and prevent experience drain
Modernizing training delivery to accelerate competency, engage younger generations and upskill cross-disciplinary hires

9:50 am Speed Networking & Morning Refreshments

Track 1: Quality Program Leadership & Evolution Track 2: Quality Assurance Planning & Design Processes Track 3: Project Quality Management Tools Track 4: Lessons Learned: Managing Quality in the Field

Track 1: Quality Program Leadership & Evolution

Chaired by

Collin Sutt

Senior Organizational Excellence & Quality Consultant, American Contractors Insurance Group

Megaproject Execution Excellence

10:50 am Facilitated Discussion: Maintaining Quality While Accelerating Delivery on Hyperscale & Mega Projects

Helene McLellan

Director of Quality, Mortenson Construction

Mark Drzewiecki

Company Director of Quality, Mortenson Construction

Sean Neary

Senior Project Manager, Holder Construction Group

Delivering hyperscale data centres and mega projects while protecting quality under extreme schedule compression
Managing fragmented project teams across structure, envelope and specialist scopes as scale forces delivery models to evolve
Safeguarding quality amidst supply chain volatility, material shortages and global market pressures impacting procurement and execution

11:20 am Clarifying Where Quality Fits Within Multi-Phase Commissioning on Megaprojects

Steven Wright

Principal Consultant, Decima International

Understanding how quality responsibilities align across the different phases of commissioning on large-scale data center and mission-critical projects
Defining clear boundaries between quality, commissioning agents, and third-party inspectors to avoid scope creep and liability confusion
Clarifying how quality teams can manage construction phase commissioning requirements through inspection, documentation, and verification

Track 2: Quality Assurance Planning & Design Processes

Setting Up for Success

10:50 am Setting Clear Quality Expectations to Prevent Scope Creep, Avoid Liability & Reduce Closeout Disputes

Kelly McBride

Director of Quality, Aecon Group

Defining and reinforcing quality roles early to ensure alignment with client expectations while avoiding scope creep and unintended liability
Establishing progressive turnover of quality documentation to provide client assurance and prevent costly closeout disputes years later
Maintaining disciplined, professional communication through friction points to protect relationships and ensure design intent is met

11:20 am Maintaining Quality Control in Fast Changing Projects by Turning Change into a Managed Process

Derek Dizon

Senior Associate - Project Architect & QA/QC Manager, Merriman Anderson Architects

Understanding how the change management process directly impacts quality
Protecting quality at the source by ensuring bid and construction documents haven’t been compromised during design changes before work begins
Managing uncertainty once a project is underway by embedding discipline into how contractors handle evolving requirements, revisions, and inevitable scope shifts

Track 3: Project Quality Management Tools

Chaired by

Stephen Villareal

Assistant Vice President, SDI Risk Control, Arch Insurance Group

Driving Execution Through Data

10:50 am Facilitated Discussion: Turning Quality Data into Predictive Insight to Prevent Rework & Drive Performance

Micah Stanton

Director of Quality, Sure Steel

Defining high-impact leading indicators without creating data fatigue
Using historical incident data and AI to proactively flag risk during work planning
Turning quality data into measurable cost, schedule, and rework impact to prove business value

11:20 am Implementing ITPs to Drive Crew Accountability & Improve Field Execution

Peter Kevork

Director of Quality, Dragados Canada

Preventing ITPs from being overlooked by embedding them into daily field execution
Building accountability with less-experienced crews through clearer work planning and expectations
Strengthening self-perform management by aligning ITPs with how contractors execute work

Track 4: Lessons Learned: Managing Quality in the Field

Chaired by

Rodd Weber

Executive Director of Safety & Quality, The PENTA Building Group

Enabling Field-Led Quality

10:50 am Case Study: Developing a Field Engineer Survival Guide to Accelerate Onboarding & Protect Project Performance

Zizi Badagliacca

Construction Quality Manager, Stacy Witbeck

Developing a simple, written Field Engineer Survival Guide to get new hires up to speed fast
Creating a clear, scope-based reference tool so engineers know what to do and who to ask
Building confidence in field engineers through structured guidance, visuals, and practical resources to protect schedule, reduce confusion, and prevent performance breakdown

11:20 am Case Study: Standardizing Language Across Teams to Improve Alignment & Eliminate Operational Silos

Dan O’Hara

Senior QA Manager, Flintco

Creating an agreed company-wide “language book” of acronyms, definitions and standard terms to eliminate confusion from day one
Locking in consistent terminology and processes across safety, quality and logistics to prevent siloed investigations and duplicated effort
Driving hyper-efficiency by standardizing what “good” looks like

12:20 pm Networking Lunch

Track 1: Quality Program Leadership & Evolution

Chaired by

Collin Sutt

Senior Organizational Excellence & Quality Consultant, American Contractors Insurance Group

Integrating for Outcomes

1:20 pm Panel: Aligning Owner-Mandated KPIs with Internal Quality Priorities to Prevent Misaligned Execution & Reporting

Julie Youngblood

Director of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Systems, Intel Corporation

Ashot Sargsyan

Deputy Executive Officer, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Kyle Kelly

Director of Quality, EllisDon Corporation

John Hamblin

Principal Architect – Global Design & Construction, Equinix

Aligning owner-prescribed KPIs and contractual reporting requirements with internal quality objectives
Managing increased owner involvement in civil and infrastructure projects, where execution oversight and performance metrics are contractually embedded
Designing a Quality Management System that bridges external KPIs with internal goals, ensuring teams remain focused while meeting evolving owner expectations

2:00 pm Case Study: Unifying Safety, Health, Environmental & Quality Programs to Improve First-Time-Right Delivery

Michael Bart

Regional SHEQ Manager, Granite Construction

Transitioning from siloed Safety, Environmental and Quality goals to a unified framework that supports operational excellence
Aligning under one integrated roadmap to deliver consistent, first-time-right outcomes in the field
Moving from separate performance targets to shared objectives that overlap and reinforce value-add execution

Track 2: Quality Assurance Planning & Design Processes

Designing Out Rework

1:20 pm Panel: Bringing Quality into Pre-Design Phase to Prevent Rework & Strengthen Project Outcomes

Jay Glasco

Construction Quality Manager, Microsoft

Jeanette Shaw

Director of Quality & Sustainability, Powers Brown Architecture

Susan Tienhaara

Quality Manager, Govan Brown & Associates Ltd.

Tonya Johnson

Director of Quality Assurance & Quality Control, Nibbi Brothers General Contractors

Embedding quality at the RFP and estimating stage to define realistic quality budgets and turnover strategy from day one
Partnering with estimators, designers, and trades early to strengthen constructability, reduce scope gaps, and prevent downstream rework
Managing evolving bid documents and design changes collaboratively to protect cost control and schedule certainty

2:00 pm Using Collaborative Constructability Reviews to Prevent Field Issues Before They Start

Jeffrey Fischer

Director of Quality Assurance, Brinkmann Constructors

Brandon Fisher

Director of Building Science & Resiliency, Pinchin, LLC

Partnering GC, design teams, and trades early to identify missing scope, coordination gaps, and constructability risks before construction begins
Creating structured, feedback-driven collaboration between designers and contractors to strengthen design quality and reduce downstream rework
Minimizing the impact of ongoing design revisions by aligning teams early around documentation control, cost certainty, and execution strategy

Track 3: Project Quality Management Tools

Chaired by

Stephen Villareal

Assistant Vice President, SDI Risk Control, Arch Insurance Group

Embedding Quality Ownership

1:20 pm Panel: Empowering Trade Partners to Own Quality Control to Strengthen Accountability

Robert Achilles

National Director of Quality Control, Shawmut Design & Construction

Jeremy Bunting

Senior Quality Control Manager, Clayco

Guillermo Garcia

QA/QC Lead, Allison Smith Company LLC

Raising expectations by pushing trade partners to own and execute their own quality control processes
Requiring trades to prove they are performing quality checks using the tools provided
Shifting the quality team’s role from policing to verification before handover to the owner

2:00 pm Building an Integrated Quality Program to Manage Trade Partners & Self-Perform Work Effectively

Steve Black

Quality Support Director, Power Construction

Responding to the industry shift towards self-perform delivery models, understanding the need for greater control of execution
Designing a quality program that supports both trade oversight and direct hire self-perform work
Addressing the shift towards self-perform, driven by labour shortages and the desire to control schedule, quality, and safety

Track 4: Lessons Learned: Managing Quality in the Field

Chaired by

Rodd Weber

Executive Director of Safety & Quality, The PENTA Building Group

Driving Alignment Through Clarity

1:20 pm Panel: Empowering Superintendents & PMs to Lead Quality from Day One to Reduce Risk & Drive Accountability

Ted Boyce

Director of Safety, Quality & Organizational Development, Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company

Amy Yount

Group Quality Manager, Sundt Construction

George Boles

Director of Quality Assurance, Danis Construction

Shane Collins

Director of Quality, Michels Corporation

Shifting from inspection-driven quality to making quality a true team sport led by superintendents and PMs
Embedding ownership of the quality playbook within project teams, with quality staff acting as a resource, not the police
Defining clear roles and responsibilities so quality is a core leadership function on every project

2:00 pm Embedding Relationship-Driven Quality to Reduce Conflict & Protect Project Margins

George Boles

Director of Quality Assurance, Danis Construction

Shifting focus from paperwork and specs to relationship building across the full project lifecycle
Aligning client, contractor and trade partner understanding of requirements early to avoid blind spots and costly misinterpretations
Proactively addressing disconnects, disengaged trade partners and spec ambiguity to prevent conflict, protect margins and reduce downstream rework

2:30 pm Afternoon Networking Refreshments

Track 1: Quality Program Leadership & Evolution

Chaired by

Collin Sutt

Senior Organizational Excellence & Quality Consultant, American Contractors Insurance Group

From Systems to Standards

3:30 pm Elevating MEP Quality Management to Meet the Demands of Complex Building Systems

Mike Johnson

Director of Quality Control, RJM Construction

Chris Liedman

Director of MEP Systems, RJM Construction

Moving beyond loosely defined MEP oversight by clarifying accountability between Quality, MEP Managers and Commissioning teams
Addressing the growing requirement for formal quality programs and dedicated quality managers on complex projects
Ensuring MEP quality is treated with equal importance rather than being absorbed into superintendent-style execution roles

4:00 pm Punch List as an Outcome, Not a Phase: Driving Progressive Completion & Defect Elimination

Lauren Slaven

Senior Regional Quality Manager, Shawmut Design & Construction

Neil Haynes

Regional Quality Manager, Shawmut Design & Construction

Shifting the mindset that punch list is the primary quality checkpoint by embedding progressive verification and issue resolution throughout construction
Establishing cleaner rules of engagement for punch list ownership, documentation and accountability to ensure issues are captured and addressed before substantial completion
Implementing structured walkthroughs and early punch identification to reduce end-of-project backlog and enable a smoother, faster turnover to clients

Track 2: Quality Assurance Planning & Design Processes

Scaling Quality Delivery

3:30 pm Standardizing Quality Processes to Stay Consistent While Adapting to Change for Both Megaprojects & Smaller Jobs

Laurie Stidham

Director of Quality Control, McGough

Standardizing SOPs and quality processes to meet the demands of hyperscale projects
Simplifying complex quality systems so they remain scalable and practical for smaller projects with limited budgets and fewer resources
Balancing people, process, and technology by developing streamlined frameworks

4:00 pm Standardizing Inspection & Test Planning to Ensure Consistent Quality Execution

Daniel Earp

Director of Quality, MasTec

Driving consistency in Inspection & Test Planning to eliminate variability across projects and align teams
Translating drawings and specifications into clear installation requirements, tolerances, and defined acceptance criteria
Embedding ITPs on critical scopes of work to ensure quality is determined upfront, not debated after installation

Track 3: Project Quality Management Tools

Chaired by

Stephen Villareal

Assistant Vice President, SDI Risk Control, Arch Insurance Group

Embedding Risk-Based Controls

3:30 pm Developing a Robust Quality Management System to Drive Ownership & Continuous Improvement

Blake Binford

Project Quality Director, Worley

Designing a Quality Management System that drives ownership of quality assurance while embedding continual improvement
Moving beyond inspection-focused roles to build a structured system that supports teams, motivates engagement, and addresses real operational pain points
Strengthening the internal business case for quality by debating the value of dedicated quality roles, tracking rework, and integrating safety and quality programs

4:00 pm Implementing Risk-Based Checklists to Strengthen Governance & Improve Project Outcomes

Jim McFadden

District Quality Supervisor, PCL Construction Enterprises

Moving from optional to mandatory checklists with clear executive buy-in, ensuring quality processes are consistently applied across projects
Flagging high-risk projects to trigger enhanced onsite oversight and required checks
Using graded quality health scores to drive accountability, incentivize elevated performance, and create competition across teams

Track 4: Lessons Learned: Managing Quality in the Field

Chaired by

Rodd Weber

Executive Director of Safety & Quality, The PENTA Building Group

Scaling Quality Capability

3:30 pm Case Study: Building a Quality Academy to Upskill Talent, Strengthen Technical Competence & Scale Quality Across the Business

Amy Yount

Group Quality Manager, Sundt Construction

Todd Patterson

Group Quality Manager, Sundt Construction

Designing structured apprenticeship and academy pathways to build technical competence in quality from year one
Delivering hands-on, scope-based training to expose early career engineers and inspectors to real project risk
Scaling a classroom model into a business-wide capability engine that increases visibility, strengthens bench strength and embeds quality as a core organizational resource

4:00 pm Developing Field-Focused Work Plans That Can Actually Be Used in the Field to Enhance Safety, Quality, and Production

Angelo Trapani

Quality Director, The Walsh Group

Developing simple, practical tools that can be easily referenced and applied in the field
Identifying the key characteristics of effective field-focused work plans, including clarity of scope, critical quality hold points, and visual guidance that supports real-time execution
Ensuring work planning drives field performance rather than compliance

4:30 pm End of Day 1

Day Two

Pre-Conference Day

View Event Brochure

Day One

Explore the Agenda

7:00 am Check-In & Networking

8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Preparing the Next Generation

8:10 am Redefining Quality Leadership for the Next Era of Construction

8:40 am Repositioning Quality as a Strategic Business Partner to Prevent Risk & Drive Operational Buy-In

9:10 am Panel: Developing the Next Generation of Quality Leaders to Close Skill Gaps and Retain Talent

9:50 am Speed Networking & Morning Refreshments

Chaired by

Megaproject Execution Excellence

10:50 am Facilitated Discussion: Maintaining Quality While Accelerating Delivery on Hyperscale & Mega Projects

11:20 am Clarifying Where Quality Fits Within Multi-Phase Commissioning on Megaprojects

12:20 pm Networking Lunch

Chaired by

Integrating for Outcomes

1:20 pm Panel: Aligning Owner-Mandated KPIs with Internal Quality Priorities to Prevent Misaligned Execution & Reporting

2:00 pm Case Study: Unifying Safety, Health, Environmental & Quality Programs to Improve First-Time-Right Delivery

2:30 pm Afternoon Networking Refreshments

Chaired by

From Systems to Standards

3:30 pm Elevating MEP Quality Management to Meet the Demands of Complex Building Systems

4:00 pm Punch List as an Outcome, Not a Phase: Driving Progressive Completion & Defect Elimination

4:30 pm End of Day 1

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