Some of the best ideas in construction come from people who are willing to look at familiar problems differently.

That thinking is at the heart of the General’s Lab Innovation Program (GLIP), an Ontario-wide initiative that connects post-secondary students with real challenges faced by the construction industry.

Presented by American Global and the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA), and coordinated through the OGCA Innovation Committee, GLIP brings students, contractors, technology professionals, educators and industry mentors together with one goal: develop practical solutions to real construction problems.

The program goes well beyond a traditional classroom exercise.

GLIP describes itself as neither a competition, hackathon nor simulation. Instead, students work through a structured development process using challenges identified by OGCA member contractors. Their goal is not simply to present an interesting concept, but to develop something that could realistically be implemented in the industry.

GLIP focuses on three major areas affecting construction today:

• Productivity optimization
• Safety innovation
• Sustainability solutions

Contractors identify actual problems they are facing. Those challenges are then assigned to multidisciplinary student teams from Ontario colleges and universities.

Students may come from construction management, engineering, computer science, business and other disciplines. Each team is paired with an experienced industry mentor who helps them understand the practical side of the problem.

That mentorship is an important part of GLIP.

A solution may look excellent on paper but still fail because it is too expensive, difficult to use, impractical on a jobsite or disconnected from the way construction companies actually operate.

Mentors help students test those assumptions against factors such as cost, schedule, safety, procurement and constructability.

For students, that creates an experience that is difficult to reproduce in a classroom.

Ten teams progressed to Phase Two of the 2026 program, representing students from institutions including Algonquin College, George Brown Polytechnic, Centennial College, Queen’s University, Carleton University, Western University and Cambrian College.

Their projects addressed a wide range of construction challenges.

Teams explored artificial intelligence for safety reporting, construction workforce wellness, automated MEP routing, environmental monitoring, equipment utilization, construction knowledge management and lower-carbon building materials.

Several teams moved beyond research and into prototypes, software development, hardware testing and industry validation.

That is one of the strongest features of GLIP.

Students are not simply being asked what construction might look like in the future. They are being asked to help build that future.

The students involved in GLIP spent approximately eight months working on live industry problems with experienced construction professionals.

During that time, they had to research problems, defend their ideas, accept criticism, revise their approach and eventually present their solutions to the industry.

Those experiences help transform talented students into young emerging professionals.

They also expose students to a side of construction that many may not have previously considered.

Modern construction increasingly depends on software, data, artificial intelligence, BIM, automation, analytics, environmental science and connected field technologies.

GLIP allows students from many different academic backgrounds to see how their skills can fit into the construction industry.

The response from Ontario colleges and universities has also been significant. The program has been so well received that some institutions have begun incorporating GLIP into their curriculum, taking the concept beyond an extracurricular program and into formal education.

That could prove to be one of GLIP’s most important long-term accomplishments.

GLIP is supported by a broad group of organizations that have contributed funding, mentorship, expertise and industry access.

American Global has played a central role in developing and operating the program, while the OGCA has helped connect GLIP with Ontario’s general contracting community. Executive support has come from both organizations, with American Global’s program team helping carry the initiative from the original industry challenges through to the Final Showcase.

The 2026 program also recognized partners including Alberici Constructors, Eastern Construction, GEN-PRO, Highline Beta, Maple Reinders, the Surety Association of Canada and TESC Contracting, along with additional supporters.

Just as important were the many industry mentors who gave their time and experience to the student teams.

Maestro Technologies and GLIP

Maestro Technologies was pleased to be part of that mentoring community.

Michael Rennie, Business Development Manager at Maestro Technologies, participated as a GLIP mentor, bringing his experience working with construction companies on estimating, project management, job costing, accounting and field technology.

Michael worked directly with the Algonquin Incubator team from Algonquin College.

Their project tackled a problem that is especially familiar to construction technology companies: information spread across disconnected systems.

Schedules, cost codes, procurement information, field reports and other project data are often stored in separate applications and databases, making it difficult for contractors to see the complete picture.

The Algonquin team developed UNOX, a framework designed to connect information from BIM models, schedules, field reports and compliance data so it can contribute to broader project intelligence.

For Maestro and Michael Rennie, the role was not to promote a particular product or direct the students toward a Maestro solution.

The value was in providing industry context, challenging assumptions and helping the team consider how its ideas might work inside an actual construction business.

That type of exchange works both ways.

Students gain access to decades of industry experience, while companies such as Maestro get to see how the next generation of construction professionals approaches technology, information and problem-solving.

The 2026 GLIP program concluded with its Final Showcase on August 25 at Limberlost Place in Toronto, where the teams presented the results of months of work to members of the construction community.

But the real success of GLIP will likely be measured over a much longer period.

Some of these ideas may become products. Some of the students may eventually become construction executives, engineers, project managers, entrepreneurs or technology leaders.

And some may look back on GLIP as the experience that first showed them there was a place for their skills in construction.

That may ultimately be GLIP’s greatest contribution.

It is not only helping develop solutions to today’s construction problems.

It is helping develop the people who will solve tomorrow’s.