Watsonville, Calif.-based Granite Construction Awarded For Innovative Tailored AI Training Tool Designed To Pass Along Retirees’ Knowledge

Association Presents Firm with $7,000 to Help Share its New Tool that Uses Artificial Intelligence Makes Sure to Collect Insights from Senior Asphalt Paving Professionals before they Retire

Watsonville, Calif.-based Granite Construction awarded for its development of an innovative AI-powered training tool, called Asphalt Guru - designed to address the looming retirement of experienced asphalt paving professionals. As a result, Granite Construction was named the grand prize winner of the AGC Innovation Awards, sponsored by Autodesk.

“We are seeking to support these innovations and to allow their creators to perfect and promote the innovations,” said Todd Roberts, the association’s national president and president of ERS Inc. in Jackson, Mississippi. “If we really want to change the industry, we have to find a way to encourage the widespread adoption of significant innovations, which is precisely what these awards do.”

In a collaborative effort between Granite’s IT department, Asphalt Center of Excellence, and Construction Technology group, the company developed Granite Asphalt Guru—an AI-powered training assistant. The foundation of Asphalt Guru began with gathering critical data through in-depth interviews with seasoned asphalt experts across the organization. These conversations were carefully transcribed to capture valuable insights, real-world experiences, strategies, and troubleshooting methods. Additional training content was drawn from Granite’s Asphalt Basics courses, industry publications, OSHA safety reports, equipment specifications, and internal knowledge libraries. The result is a comprehensive and reliable knowledge base that enables Asphalt Guru to deliver accurate, well-cited answers.

The association presented Granite Construction with a $7,000 grand prize during its annual convention earlier this month in Columbus, Ohio. The funds are intended to help Granite improve and promote its innovative new solution. In addition, LIFTbuild earned second place for its innovative Vertical Manufacturing™ method, which reimagines high-rise construction by assembling floors at ground level and lifting them into place—delivering safer, faster, and more efficient buildings. And Old Fashioned LLC won third place for its Addressing the Skilled Labor Shortage in U.S. Construction - A Structured Apprenticeship-Based Immigration Approach, a groundbreaking union-led apprenticeship program that simultaneously addresses the skilled labor shortage and creates a structured path to legal status and eventual citizenship for non-U.S. citizens.

Roberts noted that the association created the AGC Innovation Awards, sponsored by Autodesk, to inspire members of the construction industry to craft innovative solutions to pressing industry challenges. He added that the Innovation Award showcases free thinkers within the construction industry to provide solutions to construction challenges we face.

Click here if you would like to learn more about the Innovation Awards.