Jeremy Coughlin is the VP of Enterprise Analytics for Coast Capital Savings, where he is responsible for enabling the organization to leverage data effectively. He has a background in Psychology (BSc.) and business (MBA) and has been an analytics professional for over 20 years. Jeremy is also a board member for Technical Safety BC, as well as a volunteer board member for the Vancouver Analytics Board and the North Delta Sunfish swim club.

How has the Data Analytics space evolved over the years?

Business operations have long benefited from data analytics. However, today as the functions and methods to create, collect, and use data have all advanced significantly, data analytics is now seen as a tool that may help us stand out from the competition and give our consumers more value.

For instance, I work for Coast Capital Savings, which is the largest credit union in Canada in terms of the number of members it serves. The biggest problem with credit unions is that people don’t really know what a credit union is or why it is different than banks, and so that’s why most people don’t pay much attention.

When credit unions first emerged on the scene, their primary mission was to serve underprivileged people who did not actually have stable sources of income and, as a result, banks did not enjoy doing business with them. Therefore, credit unions made it possible for these groups of people to gather together and purchase things like houses and other similar items. But now, the world has changed a lot, and now things like geographical isolation they’re not the same. When people question why a credit union makes sense anymore, that’s where data comes in. Banks use data to make profits for the shareholders and their owners, whereas the credit union’s only goal is to make its members’ financial lives better. And so we are looking to use data in the same way but only to make our members’ lives better. That’s why data’s so important in my role and is the only driving force behind all the work I do. 

What are some of the challenges in the Data Analytics space, and how can you effectively mitigate those challenges?

As our whole practice is now moving into the cloud, the biggest challenge we face today is finding people that have good experience people. Through my experience, I have seen that we have many open positions all the time but finding good talent to compete with our competitors is very difficult to find. So we are spending a lot of our energy recruiting and finding the right talent and are also spending more time creating training materials and documentation. So that we can hire more junior people and be a place where people can grow and learn.

What are some of the technological trends that are influencing the Enterprise Analytics market today?

Today, the technology landscape has grown very complex and is changing quickly. Due to this, one of the biggest challenges we encounter is that by the time we are even beginning a project, we realize something new has come out, and we might want to change what we are doing because there’s already an alternative. As a result, we are frequently revising our strategy, resulting in a complex scenario.

What are some of the best practices a business should have to steer ahead of the competition?

The most crucial element is to align our work with the organization’s vision. However, among so many things going on in the company, it can be challenging for most people to decide what to do next or what to focus on. So my advice is to first properly focus on the primary goal of your firm and next relay that information to your stakeholders, explaining why you are doing this and how it fits into your overall strategy.

Glen McCord is an experienced Sales and Operations Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the construction industry. He is skilled in Negotiation, Business Planning, Operations Management, Sales, and Team Building. Presently Glen McCord works as a senior project manager at Southland Holdings.

What are some of the major challenges in the construction industry?

Since the advent of COVID, the construction industry has been experiencing a versioning growth. There is a significant turnaround in the amount of infrastructure that needs to be placed, replaced or rehabilitated. However, despite the fact there is a tremendous amount of work being done, the dearth of skilled workers is one of the major challenges faced by this industry today. As a result, many of my construction industry colleagues and I are forced to increase our training efforts for hiring unskilled workers or individuals who were not previously employed in the field in order to keep up with the accelerated pace of work.

"Banks use data to make profits for the shareholders and their owners; whereas the credit union's only goal is to make its members' financial lives better"


We must be creative when attempting to balance risk and safety in the heavy civil market, regardless of whether the application is commercial, single-family, residential, retail, or multifamily. Although OSHA is there, we still have to take extra precautions to put in place safety measures so that we can bring in this new crew of unskilled workers and place them in this busy working environment.

What are some of the emerging trends to overcome these challenges?

Today, companies are re-evaluating their risk tolerance on design-build projects. With the advent of improved construction technology and new workforce, and larger projects that require taller, shorter completion times, we are really vetting our designs a lot better. So I believe training is essential in every market. At Southland, we value training and insist that all of our employees, even those who have worked there from top to bottom for more than 20 years, continue to learn and grow.

What are some of your latest project initiatives?

We actually collaborated with one of our local agencies who wanted to have a training program. We did a job training that covered every aspect of construction safety as well as preparing the students for actual work situations. Then, we choose a certain number of students from that pool to actually assign the work to.

How do you envision the future of this space?

The shortages of materials, trucks, workers and other resources will continue for a while. It’s important to redesign our programs and thought processes. For example, in Florida, trucking shortage is a common problem. What we have done at Johnson Brothers is to schedule our activities more closely aligned with the availability of trucking. Scheduling has always been important, but it’s now even more crucial for having an effective, efficient, and productive job cycle. One must stay on top of whatever scheduling software companies use, especially considering the shortages and extended lead times for material purchases.

What is your piece of advice for fellow colleagues?

As we are navigating into uncharted waters, as a senior project manager, it is my duty to the company, my staff, and our subcontractors to ensure that our position is protected and that we can effectively produce a product that will satisfy our customers—while staying within a given budget. It’s important for companies to admit that what they did 20 years ago doesn’t truly work today. Moreover, to manage risk, it’s essential for companies to provide field workers with some form of legal-oriented field training so that they can recognize potential issues in the future and pursue prompt risk-shifting choices.