Dirt Talk with BuildWitt – Episode 416: Clay Greene (Garney Construction)

Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Aaron Witt (A)
Guest: Clay Greene (B), Construction Technology Department Manager at Garney Construction

Episode Overview

In this engaging and candid conversation, Aaron Witt sits down with Clay Greene, the Construction Technology Department Manager at Garney Construction, America’s largest water/wastewater infrastructure contractor. The episode explores Clay’s journey from field engineer to tech leader, the realities of construction, the undervalued impact of water infrastructure, and how Garney is implementing technology for practical results—not hype. The wide-ranging discussion covers education, career humility, industry challenges, critical infrastructure, and the pitfalls and promise of construction technology.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Clay’s Background: Education, Loss, and Entry into Construction

• Engineering School Struggles:
  Both Aaron and Clay reflect on the grueling nature of engineering programs.

  • “Engineering school, it’s...abusive, man. I was fighting for my life.” —Aaron (02:06)
  • Clay describes being an average student at Georgia Tech and feeling “mentally unready” at 18.

• Personal Tragedy & Resilience:
  Clay lost his mother to suicide during college, prompting him to leave school, work construction a year, and return with newfound perspective.

  • “The thought of going back to school...I can’t.” —Clay (05:23)
  • “Just, you know, the bottom drops out...the pain for my two brothers...it’s just confusing. Overwhelming.” —Clay (04:14)

• Reinvigorated at University of Tennessee:
  Clay returned to school as a “totally different person” with maturity, drive, and focus, ultimately connecting with Garney Construction.

2. The Real Impact of College & Building Careers in Construction

• Nuance in the College Debate:
  Both discuss that college’s value isn’t black and white; it depends on attitude and commitment.
  • “You can go be the world’s biggest shithead [in college], or you can go become an astronaut.” —Aaron (08:33)
  • “It’s what you make it. And I think I gave 100 on my end, and they met it.” —Clay (08:07)
• ROI of Engineering Degrees:
  Agreement that engineering is one of the best-value four-year degrees, but not without shortcomings.
• Where College Falls Short:
  • Not enough focus on communication/collaboration skills.
  • Lack of required field experience for most students.
  • Disconnected from real-world problem-solving.

“The most effective engineers are not the smartest ones...they’re good enough and can talk to people.” —Aaron (14:46)
“Engineering teaches you to think and problem solve.” —Clay (13:10)

3. Importance of Field Experience and Humility

• "Boots in the Mud" Internships:
  Clay’s foundational lesson was working in trenches as an intern, realizing actual construction happens far from the safety of classroom calculations. Both men advocate for field internships over cushy office-based roles.

  • “Day one, I’m up under a 24-inch mechanical joint with an air gun...What the hell am I doing?” —Clay (16:40)

• Learning Your Place in the Chain:
  Realization that office staff and engineers are support roles: the bid sheet is about materials and labor, not you.

  • “Go find you on the bid sheet...nowhere. Right.” —Aaron (19:35)

4. Water & Wastewater Infrastructure: The Quiet Miracle

• The Unseen Value:
  Water infrastructure is essential, underappreciated, and critical for public health.

  • “The single most substantial improvement we’ve made in modern health is clean water and disposed wastewater.” —Aaron (36:58)
  • “We always say we’re in the business of water new and used.” —Clay (28:06)

• Big Projects, Big Impact:
  Discussion of projects like Phoenix’s 66-inch welded line for redundancy; Loudoun County’s quarry storage; and Texas water redistribution.

• Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Projects Explained (32:01–36:00):
  Clay details CSO history and solutions—huge investments, complex tunneling/storage, and massive environmental impacts.

• Anecdotes of Pro Bono Work & Global Perspective (38:27–42:08):
  Clay shares stories of bringing water to rural communities in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

  • “Those trips are so good...humbling and making you grateful for water.” —Clay (39:13)

5. What It’s Really Like to Build Critical Infrastructure

• Career Purpose:
  There’s meaning in building infrastructure that never shuts off—unlike most jobs, there’s no day the water company can just not deliver.

  • “365 days a year, I don’t think twice about water...That is a modern miracle.” —Aaron (42:43)

• When Things Go Wrong:
  Clay recalls high-stakes pipe failures, referencing Flint, MI and catastrophic consequences of poor infrastructure.

6. Company Values, Mental Health & Safety

• Consistency Under Pressure:
  True values show when schedules slip, not when everything’s smooth.

  • “You really find out who’s serious about [safety] when the schedule starts to slip.” —Aaron (47:41)

• Mental Toll of High-Stakes Work:
  Stress of doing “perfect work” daily with no room for error; importance of mental health and safety culture at Garney.

• Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast:
  On good leadership and crew effectiveness.

  • “The good crew leaders embody that.” —Clay (49:26)

7. Technological Change in Construction: Reality Check

Department Structure & Philosophy (96:29–98:49)

• Clay leads two teams:

  • Tech Ops: drones, scanning, survey, etc.
  • Special Projects: implementation/integration of technology across Garney

• Field-First Mentality:

  • “We work for the guys that build. I make damn sure ops teams know I work for you.” —Clay (74:03)

• Lessons Learned:

  • Tech is only valuable if it simplifies and improves the end user’s (field’s) experience.

Implementation Pitfalls

• Adoption Fails:
  • Often leadership buys software/tools that field can’t use, or doesn’t implement/train for.
  • Efforts to “build their own” software rarely succeed.
  • “Please don’t. We don’t build software. We build water, wastewater.” —Clay (80:04)
• Be Willing to Pivot:
  Clay shares a humbling experience where Garney scrapped a major tech investment that wasn’t working for the field—despite sunk costs.
  • “We made internal announcements...and then had to pull the plug. It was tough.” —Clay (82:40)
  • “What’s important: get the right solution, or save face? At Garney, there were no egos—just get it right.” —Clay (85:00)

8. Best Use of Tech: Practical, Not Sexy

• Real Problems Are in Process/Data, Not Robots:

  • “It is really easy to go buy hardware...but the real value comes from the processes and how that information is exchanged.” —Clay (106:28)

• Big gains come from cleaning up data, unifying processes, and focusing on productivity (e.g., timecards, hours, and quantities by operation).

• Where AI Fits and Where It Doesn’t:

  • AI can help estimate, analyze, and improve productivity—but can’t lay pipe or pour concrete.
  • "You still have to put pipe in the ground..." —Aaron (110:01)

• Skepticism for Overhyped Tech:

  • Both are realistic about robotics and the limits of autonomy, especially for dynamic, real-world job sites.

9. Evolution of Drones & Data Collection

• “We started our drone program three years ago...now we've got 50 pilots, 50 drones flying on most job sites.” —Clay (115:54)

• Frustration over U.S. drone policy (DJI ban); other systems lag behind in capability and cost.

• Automated Drone Docks (119:36–121:46):

  • Future vision: stationing drone docks at plant jobs, enabling remote pilots and daily scans for transparency, owner relations, and progress tracking.

10. Industry’s Image, Workforce, and Mission

• Pride and Support:
  • Both Aaron and Clay are fiercely loyal to the dirt world, advocate for everyone to promote what the industry really does, and hope to attract people who want to create and build—not just shuffle paper and money.
  • “I’m loyal to the industry...to the future of our country, which means the future of this industry.” —Aaron (95:14)
• Calling for Teamwork Across the Industry:
  • “We’re missing the plot here...there’s a bigger game. We’ve got to start thinking like a team.” —Aaron (95:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[On engineering school:] Once you get beat up enough, you’re like, all right, I’ve been around this block. I just ate it. I get up and do it again.” —Aaron (10:46)
• “You’re not just laying pipe...that’s thousands and thousands of families that will depend on this water line for the next 50 years.” —Aaron (27:28)
• “The public never sees what we built...it’s all buried. It sounds so weird, but it’s beautiful sometimes, man.” —Clay (59:00)
• “The most important person on a pipe crew is the pipe layer and the lead operator. The whole job works for those two people.” —Clay (20:15)
• “Technology is only valuable if it makes peoples’ lives better.” —Clay (74:50)
• “It’s such an authenticity boost... when you just admit that you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.” —Clay (85:41)
• “Tech can help, but garbage in, garbage out. You must clean up your data first before AI.” —Aaron (105:18)
• "Are humanoid or, or four-legged robotics gonna really move the needle for us? No...not in the what I have left in the construction industry." —Clay (111:59)

Important Timestamps/Segments

• Personal loss and college path: 04:14–06:30
• Engineering school failures and life lessons: 10:08–11:22
• Field internships and humility: 16:39–18:22
• Bid sheets and support staff reality: 19:35–20:07
• Complexity of small vs large water projects: 21:08–22:07
• Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) explanation: 32:01–36:00
• Global water work anecdotes: 38:27–42:08
• Critical infrastructure & ‘miracle’ of water: 42:43–43:23
• Field-first tech philosophy: 74:03–75:31
• Tech implementation—admitting failure and pivoting: 82:16–85:07
• Practical AI/tech vs. hype: 105:09–112:12
• Future of drones and jobsite data: 119:36–122:29

Episode Tone & Style

Candid, direct, no-BS, with plenty of builder humor, humility, and a persistent field-first philosophy. Both Aaron and Clay blend serious industry insights with self-deprecation and a “we just want to get it right” attitude.

Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass in both the culture and challenges of heavy civil construction—delivered by two passionate insiders. It highlights the immense unseen value of water infrastructure and provides grounded, field-focused perspectives on technology, people, and the future. If you’re looking for real stories, practical wisdom, and a no-hype assessment of construction tech, this episode can’t be missed.