The Zemba Companies

Dr. Joshua J. Tilton is the Executive Director of Information Technology at The Zemba Companies, where he leads technology, systems integration and operational tools across the company’s business lines. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Capitol Technology University. His doctoral research focused on using AI to improve quality assurance in emergency medical services. He also holds an MBIS and a BS from Muskingum University. Dr. Tilton serves on the Ohio Health Information Management Association’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force, NIST AI Workshop and speaks regularly on practical uses of AI in industry and healthcare.

Starting With the Work, Not the Tool

When people hear “artificial intelligence,” they often picture tech startups or research labs. They rarely picture a concrete plant, a septic truck ora gravel yard. Yet that is where we have found some of the most useful ground for AI.

The Zemba Companies works across five construction verticals, concrete products, materials, logistics, excavation and environmental services. That last group covers residential, industrial and septic work. Many of our people work in the field, not behind a desk. So, our question was never “How do we use AI?” It was “Where does paperwork, delay or guesswork slow our people down?” We started there and worked backward.

Small Projects, Real Problems

Our first rule was to build small tools that solve one clear problem. We used AI as a building partner. It helped our small IT team design, write and test web apps in weeks instead of months.

Safety came first. Our crews used to fill out paper Task Hazard Analysis forms before starting a job. Paper gets wet, lost or filled out in a rush. We replaced it with an electronic form that crews complete on a phone. Supervisors can now see submissions, export them and spot patterns across sites.

“AI will not pour concrete or drive a truck. What it can do is clear away the busywork so our people can focus on the work that matters.”

Next came scheduling. We built a crew scheduler with views for admins, crews and managers. A supervisor can build the day’s plan and text or email the whole crew in one step. That replaced a lot of phone calls and whiteboard photos.

Our residential, industrial, septic and environmental services team had a similar pain point. Drivers must file a state pumping report for every load. We are building a phone-friendly version of that form. Drivers enter each load, including disposal cost and managers see the totals on a dashboard. The state report and our own cost tracking now come from the same entry.

We also built “Ask Zemba,” an internal AI assistant. It gives employees a simple chat window with a few focused helpers for common tasks. The goal is fast answers without digging through folders or waiting on a reply.

Behind the scenes, AI has helped us connect systems that never talked to each other. Payroll, field time, trucking and accounting data used to be re-keyed by hand. We mapped those data flows and built links between them. Fewer hand entries mean fewer errors and fewer late nights at month end.

Our newest project is a single onboarding hub. Managers request equipment and access, HR tracks its steps, IT logs what was issued and leaders see cost per employee. Every business line now follows the same process.

What We Have Learned

A few lessons stand out for any industrial leader thinking about AI.

First, start with the person doing the work. Every tool we built began with a conversation with a driver, a foreman or an office manager. If the tool does not make their day easier, it will not get used.

Second, keep people in the loop. AI helps us build faster and sort information faster. But people still review safety forms, approve orders and make the final call. We treat AI as a helper, not a decision maker.

Third, think small and deploy often. Our wins came from focused tools that went live quickly. Each success-built trust for the next one.

Finally, invest in your people. We bring in college interns each year and they learn to build with AI alongside our staff. Our team has grown more confident with every project.

AI will not pour concrete or drive a truck. What it can do is clear away the busywork so our people can focus on the work that matters.