Raffi Elchemmas and Jennifer Massey are dedicated individuals with an important mission — to help normalize talking about and raising awareness for mental health in the construction industry.

There are about 5,000 deaths by suicide a year in construction in the U.S. There are several challenges to consider, such as the job being physically demanding, the high probability of injury in the workplace, environmental factors, the long hours, and the traveling required. But there are resources and support in place to help people in the trades to deal with mental health issues.

As senior members of the MCAA and the United Association, respectively, Raffi and Jennifer stop by to share their professional experiences with us and highlight the importance of addressing mental health in construction.

Join us as we discuss:

• [10:54] The importance of mental health in the construction industry

• [35:01] Warning signs that someone may be having mental health challenges

• [49:01] Available resources and support for those struggling with mental health
  

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• MCAA

• United Association

• OSHA

• CIASP

• MCAA’s Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Video

• MCAA’s Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Video (Spanish)

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

• ServiceTitan for Commercial Contractors
  

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.

Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Kelsey Whittenberg fell in love with being an electrician. She loves to understand how everything works and how to use both her technical expertise and tools to help solve problems in the field.

She also posted videos on social media as a creative outlet while she was at job sites, and that quickly burgeoned into a great passion.

As an industrial Electrician at Weifield Group Contracting, Kelsey provides professional electrical solutions across different industry sectors and also actively promotes her company on social media. She stops by to share her professional journey with us and talks about the challenges and opportunities she sees as a female technician. She also explains what motivated her to become active on social media and how her content has helped build a great community online.

Join us as we discuss:

• [6:56]: Kelsey’s experience as a female technician

• [20:58] What inspired her to build a social media presence

• [34:30]: Advice to people who want to become influencers on social media
  

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• Weifield Group Contracting

• Thespicysparkykelsey (TikTok)

• ServiceTitan
  

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.

Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Sheena Palacios was truly built into the trades in every aspect since her father, brother, husband, and other family members are electricians by profession. For her, the trades are a passion and an opportunity for her to return that appreciation for something she didn’t have before.

She is also a strong believer in data transformation and how data is a treasure trove that can be leveraged by teams to make impactful decisions. It also comes down to understanding, setting up, and streamlining your processes and workflows for greater success.

As the owner and ServiceTitan Solutionist at NIFT Business Solutions, Sheena is on a mission to empower teams in the trades to make smart, data-driven decisions. She stops by to share her entrepreneurial journey with us and talks to us about how she found her niche in the trades.

Join us as we discuss:

• 07:41: How to ensure a successful onboarding process

• 20:56: Why IKEA's showroom is a perfect analogy for ServiceTitan workflows

• 24:09: Advice for customers struggling with their ServiceTitan accounts
  

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• NIFT Business Solutions

• Connect With Sheena

• ServiceTitan
  

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.

Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.