Dirt Talk by BuildWitt – Episode Summary
Episode: Autonomous Dozers, Lumberjacks, and Salt (Building BuildWitt #40) – DT 417
Host: Aaron Witt
Date: February 16, 2026
Overview
This episode of Dirt Talk features Aaron Witt providing his weekly behind-the-scenes update on what’s happening at BuildWitt, with a focus on three fascinating site visits: a tour of an autonomous equipment company in Washington, a mechanized logging operation in Oregon, and a trip to a salt mine in Utah. Aaron also shares news on product development, customer success, and sales processes within BuildWitt, delivering his usual candid outlook on the construction and mining world.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Autonomous Equipment at AIM (Redmond, WA)
- Timestamps: 01:25 – 07:00
- Aaron visits AIM, an autonomous equipment company, and gets unprecedented access to their testing facility, previously a SpaceX site.
- Witnessed autonomous dozers (Komatsu and a D6) and an excavator in action.
- Operators can remotely instruct machines via various devices (iPad, computer, touch screen).
- LIDAR-based 3D surface mapping allows the operator to see and modify the work in real time.
- Aaron is enthusiastic about the technology’s reliability and AIM’s transparency.
Notable Quote:
“The guy, he’s in an office on site, but the office can technically be anywhere. And he told the dozers, ‘Alright, I want you guys to do this…’ and you could see it all happening in real time, instantaneously.” (Aaron Witt, 04:35)
2. Mechanized Logging Operation (East of Eugene, OR)
- Timestamps: 07:10 – 15:00
- Original site visit plans changed due to landowner restrictions, leading to an introduction to Brinks, working on burned National Forest Service land.
- Aging, hazardous burned old-growth trees (300–400 years old) are being selectively removed by two-man logging crews using only chainsaws, axes, and wedges (no equipment off-road allowed).
- Discusses the high risk and skill involved: “One wrong move can kill these guys.”
- Innovative filming techniques using drones and action cams due to safety boundaries.
Notable Quote:
“There’s so much more to cutting a tree down than you would imagine. There’s so much more to cutting a tree down that’s been burned.”
(Aaron Witt, 13:05)
- Aaron highlights the dedication and danger of these loggers, expressing admiration for their craft.
3. Redmond Salt Mine Tour (Redmond, UT)
- Timestamps: 15:20 – 21:30
- Visit to Redmond’s underground salt mining operation. Aaron has been a fan of their product for years; their recent partnership via sponsoring Dirt World made this visit possible.
- He got to set off a blast in the mine—a personal highlight.
- Toured both food-grade and rock salt operations and the processing facility.
- After the tour: “Salt on homemade french fries and hamburgers while shooting dynamite on the nearby shooting range.”
Notable Quote:
“They gave us the VIP underground salt mine tour… got to set off a blast—which is always so much fun.”
(Aaron Witt, 17:35)
- High praise for Redmond’s products, emphasizing they are not paid endorsements.
BuildWitt Internal Updates
Product & Engineering
- Timestamps: 21:50 – 24:00
- Development team is rolling out a new home screen UX/UI for BuildWitt Improve, and re-architecting components to address performance as user base grows.
- Adoption of AI-first development tools is accelerating BuildWitt’s “velocity.”
Notable Quote:
“They’re able to do it in pieces, deliberately, surgically, so that we’re not impacting day to day while solving for some major challenges.”
(Aaron Witt, 23:05)
Customer Success
- Timestamps: 24:10 – 25:45
- Pivoted to a phased rollout approach for major customers, after learning that methodical implementation leads to better retention and learning cultures.
- Importance of support and process, not only product quality.
Notable Quote:
“We are building learning cultures… that takes time, a methodical approach. So rather than rushing into something, we’ve taken a step back.”
(Aaron Witt, 25:05)
Reflections on Innovation
- Timestamps: 25:50 – 27:30
- Inspiration from James Dyson’s book about building entirely new models versus improving the old.
- BuildWitt’s approach: shifting from outdated, long-form training to a more effective, bite-sized daily model.
Notable Quote:
“You don’t want to challenge existing models. You want to build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete…” (James Dyson quote read by Aaron Witt, 26:28)
Sales & Marketing Enhancements
- Timestamps: 27:35 – 32:05
- Focus on offering more value before the sales pitch; moving toward easily accessible product demos and better content discoverability (including over 2,000 training videos).
- Improvements in identifying website leads by refining detection of construction company traffic.
Notable Quote:
“We can provide more value to people before we start talking to them… a full product demo will soon be available on the website—anybody, anytime.”
(Aaron Witt, 28:15)
Notable Moments & Quotes
- On loggers’ dedication and risk:
“Watching that unfold and understanding the reality of one wrong move can kill these guys—it’s just unbelievable.” (Aaron Witt, 14:25)
- On the salt mine VIP treatment:
“We had some of their salt on homemade french fries and hamburgers while shooting dynamite on the nearby shooting range. Because why not?” (Aaron Witt, 19:35)
- On BuildWitt’s mission:
“Our purpose is to build the dirt world’s next generation.” (Aaron Witt, 11:20)
Recommended Actions and Closing
- Follow BuildWitt on social or reach out via email for questions or collaboration.
- Stay tuned for the upcoming videos documenting these site visits.
Closing Quote:
“Stay dirty, everybody.” (Aaron Witt, 32:28)
Key Timestamps Recap
- 01:25 – Visit to AIM and autonomous dozers
- 07:10 – Logging operation in Oregon
- 15:20 – Redmond Salt Mine tour
- 21:50 – Product development update
- 24:10 – Customer success update
- 25:50 – Innovation and training philosophy
- 27:35 – Sales and marketing/UI improvements
This episode captures Aaron’s unique, hands-on approach to exploring the evolving “dirt world,” combining cutting-edge technology, gritty fieldwork, and internal business innovation. If you’re interested in the intersection of construction technology and workforce development—with a dash of adventure—this is an episode not to miss.