field notes · construction × technology

Field-tested.
Product-minded.

I run safety programs for construction, and I build the tools my industry is still waiting for someone to make. Not because it's a career move. Because the problems are real and the existing solutions don't work. Along the way I've picked up a product management instinct I can't turn off.

let's_talk →see_the_work
73%
Voluntary adoption, hot-work permit
Zero enforcement required
$950K+
Documented impact across projects
Conservative · pilot-validated
50x
ROI, NFC asset management
$240K+ recovered in 8 months
52,000+
Workers through digital systems
60+ sites · still running without me
// thesis

Construction doesn't have a technology problem — it has a design problem. The tools that actually get adopted are the ones built for how people work, not how you wish they did.

LAB-002 · Featured BuildLive

An interactive walkthrough of a fully instrumented jobsite — what it looks like when every worker, asset, and environment signal is connected in real time. Not a product pitch. A hypothesis about what's technically possible right now, built to make that case visually.

HypothesisThe gap between what's possible with today's sensor and data infrastructure and what's actually deployed on construction sites isn't a technology problem, it's an adoption and design problem.
enter_the_site →// live · floor-by-floor experience
enter_the_site →
01 · about
Nick Rogoff
[ safety_director + builder ]

I've spent five years in construction safety, implementing and building programs, managing compliance, and trying to make jobsites less dangerous. The traditional playbook — more training, stricter enforcement, better documentation — works up to a point. Then it stops working.

What actually moved the needle was treating field problems like product problems. I started doing user research before I knew what to call it. I built MVPs before I knew that's what they were. The difference between a safety program that sticks and one that doesn't comes down to the same thing that makes software good: it has to fit how people actually work.

"I'm not leaving construction. I'm trying to make it better from the inside. These tools are what that looks like in practice."

On the side, I take on a small number of projects each year — typically EHS technology evaluations, early-stage construction tech tools, or product consulting where someone needs both domain expertise and product judgment in the same person.

02 · worktechnology built in the field
2020–2021Safety ManagerFirst Build

Digital Worker Orientation System

Replaced a paper-based orientation process at scale. 52,000+ workers across 60+ sites; the original problem was compliance, but the interesting problem turned out to be adoption. Built it iteratively based on what field supervisors actually did with it, not what we asked them to do.

52K+
Workers
60+
Sites
$171K
Annual value
“The paperwork was never the problem. The process around the paperwork was the problem. That distinction changes everything about how you build the solution.”
read the case study →
2022Safety ManagerShipped

NFC Asset Tracking System

Equipment was disappearing at project closeout while adjacent sites were buying the same items new. Built a lightweight NFC tracking system focused on field usability over completeness; the version that got adopted was the one that took 10 seconds per scan, not 60.

50x
ROI
60–70%
Reuse rate
$240K+
In 8 months
“When users started requesting features, I realized I'd built something they wanted to use, not something they had to use. That's a completely different problem to have.”
read the case study →
2024Senior Safety ManagerShipped

Digital Hot Work Permit System

Subcontractors were skipping permits because the process took longer than the actual work. Not negligence, rational behavior. Treated it as a product problem: user research, a stripped-down MVP, pilot on two sites, then iteration before rolling out broadly.

73%
Voluntary adoption
78%
Time reduction
$196K
Year 1 ROI
“73% voluntary adoption with zero enforcement. The permit didn't change; the experience of doing the permit changed. That's the whole lesson.”
read the case study →
03 · projects4 tools in the field
Heat Stress Planning ToolNIOSH/OSHA-backed work-rest schedules in under 2 minutes. Built for field supervisors who need an answer and a plan, not a compliance spreadsheet.heatsafety.nickrogoff.comopen →Safety ROI CalculatorTranslates injury prevention into dollar figures that finance and leadership understand. Makes the business case so you don't have to argue from gut feel.safety-roi-calculator.nickrogoff.comopen →Schuylkill ScrambleCommunity bikepacking rally, full race management system built from scratch. User research, iterative build, registration + route + comms infrastructure. Different domain, same product instinct.scramblerace.comopen →Field TalkGenerate complete toolbox talks from your phone in minutes. Supervisors know what to say; this removes the friction between knowing and doing it.toolbox.nickrogoff.comopen →
04 · the labbuilding in public

Where things get built before they have names. Hypothesis-driven experiments in construction safety and field technology, open build logs, documented failures, and work in progress.

2026.03Construction Site of the Future — interactive instrumented-jobsite walkthroughlive
2026.03AI Exposure Matrix — construction roles and automation trajectoriesactive
2026.02Field Talk — generate toolbox talks from your phone in minuteslive
2025.12Construction Safety Software Comparison — side-by-side EHS platform datasetlive
2025.09PPE Anatomy — interactive breakdown of personal protective equipmentlive
— shipped— active— log entries— hypotheses
enter_the_lab →
05 · contact

Domain expertise and product judgment, in the same person.

When the right full-time opportunity comes along — product or strategy in construction tech or EHS software — I'm interested. Until then, I take on a small number of consulting engagements each year: EHS technology evaluations, early-stage construction tech tools, and product strategy for teams that need someone who knows what a jobsite actually looks like.

Currently taking on: consulting projects, EHS tech evaluations, and early-stage product advising in construction and safety tech.
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