Mark Sands
Mark Sands , PE
Founder & President | Building Catalyst / Agile Integrated Solutions

Following engineering school, Mark served in a variety of roles from project engineer to vice president with multi-regional building companies. Mark managed commercial, institutional, and industrial projects across twenty-five states. From 2000 to 2009 Mark helped develop an industrialized-construction concept with Steelcase, the world’s largest manufacturer of interior office systems. This experience inspired the development of the Building Catalyst – SaaS (Software as a Service) platform to help construction move from its siloed and fragmented state to one that is more integrated and automated. Education: BS in Civil Engineering, Master’s in Business Administration, Licensing: Registered Professional Engineer, Michigan Experience: 27 years in general contracting and construction management, 19 years in data research, process, and software development including development of Building Catalyst.

Courses

card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Acts of Creation: Balancing Total Cost of Ownership with Joy

What happens in planning and design impacts what happens in the facility life cycle and vice versa. Unfortunately, project life cycle factors are overlooked when the project team has a myopic attitude to capital planning only putting first cost front and center.  Brushing TCO aside during planning and design leads to costly waste and unintended consequences.  Responsible Owners envisage the long-term impact of ROI on their bottom line and strive to minimize TCO within their business model. Accountable Architects strive to meet the Owner’s project requirements by providing solutions with considerations to "cradle to grave” and TCO assessments. The TCO is a crucial factor in calculating the ROI, for efficiency and for value creation.  A TCO strategy is an approach to delivering a sustainable project.

Course expires 01/17/2026

1.50 LU|HSW