Sarah Buchner, a longtime trailblazer in the construction technology space, recently launched Trunk Tools. This groundbreaking generative AI platform has the potential to significantly improve workflow efficiencies and reduce the risk of costly errors across all construction projects. Buchner, raised as the carpenter’s daughter in Austria, fueled by her passion, rolled up her sleeves and quickly went to work learning the ropes of construction. She immigrated to the United States, where she quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a foreman, then a superintendent and finally a contractor.
Buchner’s decades of industry experience has given him keen insight into the urgent challenges facing large-scale construction. She observed that an average large, high-rise, public investment in New York City comes in at about $500 million. To fuel this monumental effort, it needs an equally impressive 3.5 million pages of paperwork! Except this massive tidal wave of red tape is riddled with gaping inconsistencies. As a result, it leads to enormous cost waste and adds carbon emissions by creating inefficiency in the way work is performed.
Understanding these challenges, Buchner moved away from the physical realm of construction to the world of construction software and technology. Her innovative approach led to the development of Trunk Tools, which utilizes AI and machine learning to restructure unstructured documentation on construction sites.
“We take all of the unstructured documentation on a construction site, and we use different AI and machine learning tools to restructure it,” – Sarah Buchner
Digitization is a persistent challenge for the construction industry. The result is nearly $1 trillion in lost productivity annually. As a general rule, companies spend less than 1% of their revenues on IT-related investment. This is a pittance compared to what’s common in other industries, such as automotive and aerospace.
Buchner’s company, Plan A, recently raised a new funding round that makes her total investments $70 million. That monetary support will enhance Trunk Tools’ work to fix the inefficiencies that have hampered the construction industry for decades.
At her crescendo, Buchner was in charge of a $400 million high-rise modular construction project with 600 laborers reporting directly to her. Unfortunately, that high-pressure environment uncovered some ugly truths. After seeing a death on site, being front and center to the fatality became a harsh reminder of the inherent dangers in construction.
“At the peak, I was running a $400 million high-rise, 600 guys working for me in the job. And on that specific construction side, I had a fatality, which in construction happens, unfortunately, a lot,” – Sarah Buchner
Reflecting on this experience, Buchner admitted, “I was, I think, very young, and couldn’t fully process what was happening.” This new turning point only strengthened her resolve to ensure safety and efficiency across the industry.
Besides optimizing workflows, Buchner is committed to building understanding. She’s working on a health and safety app as well to create better health and safety conditions on site for workers. Her aspiration is to help turn one of the most dangerous and least digitized industries in the world into a more efficient, effective, and safer ecosystem.