AI in Construction: What's Actually Working Right Now | Cindy Ly, ToolBox Consulting

What does AI actually look like on a construction jobsite in 2026 — not the hype, the reality? In this episode of Voices of CFMA, host Sal Marino talks with Cindy Ly, founder of ToolBox Consulting, about her unconventional path from industrial construction cost control to yoga teaching in Europe to leading AI strategy for hundreds of construction companies. Cindy shares what she's seen across the industry in the last six months, where AI adoption is accelerating, where it's stalling, and why data standardization matters more than the tools themselves. In this episode: - Cindy's path from $500M industrial mega-projects to yoga teacher training in Europe and back to construction - Why she believes AI is a catalyst, not the solution, and data is the real work - The gap between field operations and financial control, and how AI is starting to close it - Common mistakes leadership teams make when rolling out AI tools - Her advice for CFOs and controllers navigating AI adoption right now Chapters: 00:00 Intro & welcome Cindy Ly 00:35 What Cindy does now 01:11 Growing up near Chicago, drawn to construction 02:06 From pharmacy major to construction management at Purdue 02:36 Industrial construction: blast furnaces and coke batteries 03:04 Burnout, and becoming a yoga teacher in Europe 05:26 The pivot into construction technology 06:36 Hiding her career changes from her parents 07:35 How yoga reshaped her approach to work 09:30 Reconnecting with the industry 10:10 The data problem before AI was a buzzword 12:49 What pulled her toward AI specifically 15:38 Her first AI project: Groundbreak 2025 and Procore 18:01 Why she started ToolBox Consulting 20:50 Hard lessons and the value of a slow burn 23:33 Where AI adoption is accelerating and stalling 25:27 Field operations vs. financial control 27:33 Hackathons and vibe coding, explained 30:27 Common mistakes in AI rollouts 32:07 Her #1 piece of advice for CFOs and controllers 32:59 Life outside work: DJing 34:06 Final advice: keep an open mind Connect with Cindy: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ly-cindyt/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ToolboxTechTalk About Voices of CFMA: Voices of CFMA brings you conversations with construction financial professionals and industry leaders on the trends, tools, and ideas shaping construction finance. Learn more at http://cfma.org. #ConstructionAI #ConstructionTechnology #CFMA #ConstructionFinance