James, Challenge accepted. Request direction and how to. I can make it a truck talk! thanks for being inclusive ;)

I really appreciate your point — there’s real value in learning the fundamentals the “old school” way. Getting into the drawings, walking the site, checking lap lengths— those reps build judgment and intuition. I completely agree that you have to understand the work to be able to manage it. But I want to add another perspective.For many of them, the hardest part isn’t doing the work — it’s knowing what they should be looking for to begin with. They don’t have the pattern recognition yet. They don’t even know what questions to ask. And too often, our industry throws people in the deep end and waits to see who sinks. We call it “breaking them in,” but it results in: - The same error gets repeated over and over, is that Lean? - rework and cost impacts - and a belief that “figure it out alone” is the standard That’s not Respect for People. And it doesn’t scale a healthy workforce. This is where AI can reinforce fundamentals, not replace them. AI can help a new PE: - translate drawings into meaning - understand why certain details matter - see what “good” vs “poor” looks like - learn the language of construction so they can actually participate It becomes like learning a foreign language — immersion matters, but having a translator accelerates comprehension. So yes: Walk the footings. Count the bar. Calculate concrete volumes. Those lessons are important — and some lessons are best learned the hard way. But we don’t have to make people learn every lesson the hard way. AI doesn’t remove the need for foundational experience. It helps people get to understanding sooner — so they can contribute sooner — and make better decisions sooner. Foundational learning + AI isn’t about replacing thinking. It’s about teaching people to think faster, and with support.

I agree that for many people, “Lean” feels like a four-letter word. I want to challenge us to reshape the experience behind it. Toyota didn’t make Lean feel positive by rebranding it—they made it meaningful through Respect for People and Continuous Improvement lived out in practice. Maybe the shift isn’t about new language, but about demonstrating what Lean is actually intended to be. Lean= Built on trust + Learning!