AI in action

By Emma Peterson. 

This webinar offers real-world lessons from metal building contractors on how AI can improve your operations. 

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, it’s finding its way into more and more sectors of the roofing industry. To talk about where AI is cropping up in the metal building construction and erection market, we will be hosting a MetalTalk™ titled How Erectors Are Putting AI to Work. This webinar, which is sponsored by the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association (MBCEA) and Western States Metal Roofing, will be live on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET).  

Meet the panel 

Joining MetalCoffeeShop host Karen Edwards for this conversation will be three incredible experts, Steven Hudgins, Justin Willett and Bryan Harshbarger. 

Steven is the president of Rainwater Construction Company. Prior to taking on this role, Steven worked in different parts of the commercial construction industry with roles such as vice president of sales, manager of business development and corporate accounts, and senior global corporate accounts manager.  

As for Justin, he boasts a career that spans more than two decades in construction. It began in sales at Butler Manufacturing and has given him extensive building retrofit and energy efficiency expertise. Today, Justin has taken the helm of Fleming Construction Group/Fleming Steel Erectors as their president. 

And last but certainly not least, Bryan is the president of Briner Building, Inc., a leading design-build general contractor. His career with the company began over 19 years ago as a project manager and estimator. Today, in addition to his work at Briner, Bryan serves as vice president and a board member of the MBCEA and as president of the Adams Wells Manufacturing Alliance. 

Putting AI to work 

These three experts will be sitting down with Karen Edwards for a discussion of how AI can be used as a practical tool for contractors in the metal building industry. They will open with the many different ways they have seen AI integrated into different operations and then dive into real-world examples of how they are using it to improve workflows and make more informed decisions.  

From there, the conversation will shift into implementation of AI as the panelists share easy entry points for contractors, lessons learned from implementation and how to overcome common challenges. Whether you're already experimenting with AI or just beginning to think about its potential, this webinar is a powerful resource for your team.  

The webinar is coming up on September 16, 2026! Make sure to register to attend live.