The Next Generation Brings Tenacity to Building Tech with Diana Vargas

What happens when you spend over two decades working on some of the most massive infrastructure projects in the country and realize the traditional building automation model is completely broken? You go out and build a company to fix it.In this episode of It's a Controls Problem, we sit down with Dave Mulcahy, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Unified Controls. Dave takes us behind the scenes of his 20+ year journey in the trenches of the trade, opening up about the brutal early lessons that shaped his engineering philosophy and the exact moment he knew he had to leave a stable career to start something new.We dive deep into the meat of the industry's biggest headaches: why building systems remain so frustratingly siloed, how to build a technology-agnostic strategy so owners actually own their own data, and the reality of keeping OT networks secure without locking facility managers out of their own systems.Finally, we tackle the massive "age out" and knowledge loss our trade is facing as veteran technicians retire. Dave shares how we can capture that critical institutional wisdom, what the next generation needs to know to survive the steep learning curve, and why he’s genuinely optimistic about the future of smart buildings.Whether you're a seasoned master systems integrator, a building engineer drowning in alarm noise, or just starting out in the sandbox, this conversation is packed with real-world perspective you won't want to miss.

How do you protect a building’s brain while pushing the boundaries of what it can do?Jacob Jackson of Aptitude returns to the show to trace his journey from the trenches of building automation to becoming a self-published author and independent publisher. We catch up on his latest role, the massive insights he’s unlocked since his last visit, and what it’s really like to build a media engine from scratch to give technical voices a platform.Then, we’re diving straight into the weeds on cybersecurity. Jacob breaks down where controls contractors are still dropping the ball on operational technology (OT) security, how to bridge the gap between legacy hardware and modern IT expectations, and exactly what he would add to his book if he were rewriting it for today’s fast-moving landscape.We wrap up with a heavy dose of industry reality: the stubborn bottlenecks still plaguing major construction projects, what a truly intelligent society looks like on a macroscopic scale, and Jacob's raw advice for BAS professionals navigating the massive career fluctuations and consolidations hitting the space right now.

Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence right now, but how much of it is just marketing noise, and how much is actually moving the needle in the mechanical room?This week, we are welcoming back industry visionary Keith Gipson to move past the surface-level talk and dig into the front-line realities of AI adoption in building automation. Keith updates us on some massive recent project wins and breaks down exactly what happens when advanced algorithms find the hidden potential that standard BAS setups completely miss.We dive deep into the real friction points holding owners back, how to completely flip the script on IT and governance pushback, and why over-regulating your data can actually choke your building's performance. Keith also shares his perspective on where the absolute biggest opportunities for scaling are hiding right now, the critical difference between a "smart" building and a truly intelligent one, and some bold predictions for the future of the facility engineering workforce.If you are tired of the buzzwords and want a blunt look at how machine learning is actually reshaping our industry, you won't want to miss this conversation.Learn More: https://www.facil.ai/

The building automation industry is facing a massive talent crisis, but the bottleneck isn't a lack of bodies, it’s an outdated approach to finding, training and hiring them.On this episode of It's a Controls Problem, we dive deep into the human architecture of smart buildings with Diana Vargas of Stacks+Joules. A non-profit powerhouse, Stacks+Joules is completely disrupting traditional workforce development by taking tech-marginalized youth and adults and fast-tracking them into advanced building automation and energy management careers.We break down how they utilize virtual sandboxes and digital twin environments to give students the freedom to fail, experiment, and build deep technical confidence before they ever step into a live mechanical room. Diana shares how their project-based curriculum prepares graduates to look past flashy software dashboards and tackle the critical, boots-on-the-ground hardware issues that actually keep facilities running efficiently.Finally, we look at how businesses can stop admiring the problem and start solving their talent shortages. Diana lays out a vision for where the built environment needs to go over the next decade, how systemic industry culture must evolve, and exactly how contractors, engineering firms, and end-users can partner with Stacks+Joules to build a more resilient, climate-critical workforce.Logic Link Collective:⁠⁠⁠Donate to Stacks+Joules⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Involved⁠⁠

This week, we sit down with Nicholas Gayeski, co-founder of Clockworks Analytics, to break down the sheer physics of how buildings actually work—and why our current systems so often fail them.Nick took a very different path into building automation, moving from the academic research labs of MIT straight into the messy reality of the mechanical room. In this conversation, we look at the industry through that "physics-first" lens to find out where the gap between engineered sequences and actual valve performance truly lies.We dive into the friction holding facilities back today, exploring how to shift from stressful, reactionary firefighting to true condition-based maintenance. Nick gives us his unfiltered thoughts on the digital noise flooding the market, the real role of AI, and why a standardized data ontology like Haystack or Brick is absolutely non-negotiable if we ever want our buildings to speak the same language.Finally, we look ahead at what this means for the new guard entering the trades. Nick shares his advice for the next generation of digital natives and paints a picture of what a data-optimized, perfectly operated city could look like if we finally solve the controls problem.Logic Link Collective:⁠⁠Donate to Stacks+Joules⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Involved⁠

In this episode, we sit down with Matthew Oliver of Static Air and Static Grow to explore the high-stakes world where building automation meets precision agriculture. We track Matthew's journey into the smart building industry and dive deep into why standard commercial HVAC strategies often fail when applied to the sensitive, volatile environments of indoor grows.From the financial risks of minor temperature swings to the communication strategies required to navigate high-pressure crises on the job, Matthew shares the "lessons from the trenches" that have defined his career. We also take a hard look at the current state of the controls industry, discussing the common mistakes we continue to make and the advice every new professional needs to hear to stay ahead of the curve.We wrap things up with a look at the horizon, discussing where the smart building and indoor ag sectors are headed and how we can better address the technical and professional gaps in our field today.https://www.staticairusa.com/https://www.staticgrow.com/

In this episode, we sit down with Justin Thomson to track his journey from the early days of WASP Technologies to his current role with Logan Pass Construction pushing the boundaries of the industry. We dig into the philosophy behind building a Linux-based Niagara station and why Justin leans so heavily into open-source foundations for critical infrastructure. It’s a great look at how technical curiosity turns into industry-changing hardware.We also get into the heavy lifting of data center construction and what the AI explosion actually means for the physical layer of buildings. Justin shares his take on future-proofing infrastructure and why we need to move past the "happenstance" of how people land in building automation and start being more intentional about the technology we deploy.To wrap things up, we shift from the server room to the boardroom. Justin breaks down his approach to leadership and communication through the lens of a control loop—using integration and feedback as metaphors for managing high-pressure projects and building better teams.Logic Link Collective:⁠Donate to Stacks+Joules⁠⁠Get Involved

Ever stood in a mechanical room wondering why your data feels like a guaranteed hand-delivery while other times it’s just tossed into the ether?Scott Sammarco is officially breaking it down in the premiere of MicroSwitch, our brand-new short-format series designed to give you the technical goods without the fluff. In this first episode, Scott dives into the backbone of BAS networking: UDP vs. TCP.In the world of building automation, picking the right protocol is the difference between a rock-solid front-end and a laggy mess of "offline" points. Scott walks through the "handshake" reliability of TCP—essential for when every bit of data is sacred—and stacks it up against the lightning-fast, "send and forget" nature of UDP.TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): The reliable veteran. It checks for errors, manages flow, and makes sure everything arrives in the right order. It’s your go-to for critical supervisor-to-server communication where you can't afford a single missing packet.UDP (User Datagram Protocol): The speed demon. It’s lightweight with much less overhead. Since it doesn’t stop to check if the data actually made it, it’s perfect for real-time streaming or high-speed hardware pings where a tiny bit of loss is better than a long delay.#MicroSwitch #BuildingAutomation #BAS #SmartBuildings #BACnet #Networking #TCPvsUDP #ScottSammarco #ItsAControlsProblem

This week on the show, we’re joined by the powerhouse trio behind the Automation Ladies podcast: Nikki Gonzales, Ali G, and Courtney Fernandez. If you’ve ever wondered how three people from such distinct paths end up dominating the industrial automation space, this is the conversation for you. We dive deep into their individual origin stories, moving past the resumes to the actual grit it took to navigate an industry that isn’t always the easiest to break into. From the early hurdles of being some of the only women in the room to the hard-won trials and tribulations of running major projects, they share the reality of what it looks like to build a career in the world of bits, bolts, and heavy machinery. From nerdery to redemption in the trades, this is a can't miss!The ladies gave us the full backstory on OT SCADA CON. Born out of a need for a community that actually feels like a community, they broke down why they decided to build their own convention from the ground up and how it focuses on hands-on learning and real-world connection rather than just corporate slide decks. It’s an episode packed with heart, high-level tech talk, and a lot of laughs about the chaos of the automation realm.Logic Link Collective:Donate to Stacks+JoulesGet InvolvedConnect with the Ladies:Listen to Automation Ladies: automationladies.ioJoin the Community at OT SCADA CON: otscada.com

In this weeks episode, we’re joined by Jonathan Spooner of Stacks+Joules to look at how the next generation is rewriting the rulebook for Building Automation. We also discuss the "DAB Lab," where students move past bench testing to get their hands dirty with real-world troubleshooting on active boilers and AC units. From the philosophy of "messy but functional" wiring to why Revit and digital twins are the perfect bridge for a generation raised on Minecraft, this conversation covers the evolution of the facility manager into a high-tech systems navigator. Plus, we hear about their exciting expansion into the Charlotte market and how they’re de-risking the hiring process for contractors by proving that local talent is ready to handle the high-torque demands of modern buildings.Learn More About Stacks+Joules at:https://stacksandjoules.org/