Let's Hear it From Michael Mayberry

Level Green Landscaping CTO

CEO, president, project manager, branch manager, developer. These are all common positions within landscape companies. Each plays an important role in the group’s success. A less common title is quickly becoming a critical piece for businesses, though. The chief technology officer (CTO) is responsible for the information technology department and managing the integration of technology into company operations. CTO is a common role in many industries, but has taken some time to reach the green field. 

“So often, people are kind of happy to do things the way that they always have, but we don’t like that. Technology was something that was not on anybody's minds at all, so we decided to be among the first in the industry,” says Michael Mayberry.

Michael is a passionate computer programer and landscaper. He combined these passions to spearhead a new role within his Maryland team at Level Green Landscaping. Michael became the company's CTO in 2016, stepping into a brand new position that would bring big changes for a company ready to dive into the world of tech. 

Michael actually joined Level Green Landscaping as an operations manager and worked in the position for several years. His green industry career began when he was 15 years old on a golf course. He worked as an assistant superintendent in Florida until 2008, then switched to be an operations manager with Brickman Group in Maryland. He always had a passion for computer science, though, and developed programs in his free time. In fact, he considered a career in the field, but wanted to spend his time outdoors. When Level Green’s owners noticed his tech skills, they decided to put them to use. 

“I started doing both roles: first the project management and then programming in my spare time,” he says.

"My team gave me the space to be creative
in my suggestions, ideas & applications,
& it really began moving us forward."

"We started doing things that were unheard of in the industry by using automation and technology to make life easier. They saw that opportunity and wanted me to be on the forefront of it, and that has been paramount to our success,” says Michael.

As Michael developed in his CTO position, he began incorporating new business techniques into the company. One of his first ideas came in 2017. He coded a property service report software that allowed crews to record the work they did on a site, then the information would be shared with the site’s property manager and owner. It helped speed up the communication process and keep records of a site’s development. In just a year, more than 55,000 service reports were sent through the program.

“Account managers were using pen and paper, long emails or worse—phone calls—to keep records of things,” he recalls. “Property managers rarely had time to digest the information when it was given to them, so having automated reports in a concise digital paper trail made a big difference.”

Michael says his ideas are rooted in one goal: efficiency. 

"I throw my knowledge of technology &
how to program into my work because I
know there are better ways."

“I came through the field, so I know what needs to be done to make things easier for the people in the field." he says.

The team is still largely focused on finding ways to automate their work. These days, they are getting familiar with robotics and how automated mowers can ease their workflow. Michael believes robotics will be a part of every crew in just a few years, so he wants to learn the ins and outs of these new machines now. Michael is leading demos with different robotics companies and trial sessions on different work sites. He is also training team members and preparing to bring on more staff with expertise in this area. 

Level Green plans to deploy several new robotic tools this year and says they are one of the few companies testing many of these products. The team is determined to stay ahead of the curve. 

“We will already have the systems down as other companies just begin integrating them,” Michael says. “When they’re figuring out robots, we will already be on to the next thing.”

Level Green anticipates the next game-changing development will come through artificial intelligence. The tech is already integrated into the robots through sensors and cameras. Michael says at some point the robots will collect information about a property and provide an incredible amount of data to teams. This could include things like land grading, overgrowth and even dying plant material. The robots will drastically expand a team’s reach without the team having to actually expand. 

“Technology will play a huge role in addressing workforce issues, because the more you can automate, the more efficient you can be,” Michael says. “There are a lot of things in landscaping that require a lot of thought, pruning and picking weeds and things of that nature. That's what we want our human beings to focus on. On the account manager side, if we're automating some proposal writing based on whatever the robots are seeing, then it allows our account managers to save time and create better connections with our clients. It gives them time to build those relationships instead of doing admin work, which we can automate.”

Michael admits that it could be five to 10 years before these developments are fully implemented into businesses, but urges companies to start planning now. He says a CTO role is becoming more important each day. 

“You must have someone who is in charge of it in the company, and it shouldn't be the owners,” he adds. “Owners don’t have time. Technology is changing quickly, and you need someone who is passionate and who can be focused. I guarantee that there are people who are building computers on the weekend, playing with code or even automating their house using little Raspberry Pis. Those people are out there, and you should definitely fan that fire.”

Get In Touch With...

Level Green Landscaping
Phone: (202)544–0968
www.levelgreenlandscaping.com