NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 INC. www.acec.org

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38 BACK TO LIFE 21 Member Firms restore historic and environmental properties.

ECONOMIC POWER OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT 26 HDR employees pool resources to benefit global charities. 8 YOUNG PROFESSIONALS OF THE YEAR 32 Cover Feature Five young engineers honored for contributions TRAVELING SMART 8 to the profession. Smart-vehicle technology requires new intelligence in transportation infrastructure. MARKET DRIVEN 34 ACEC Coalitions provide specialized resources to help members address market and business Features management challenges. INDUSTRY DRONE USE TAKING FLIGHT 14 Unmanned aerial vehicles will change 2015 FALL CONFERENCE 38 engineering practices. Highlights of record-setting meeting in Boston.

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FROM ACEC TO YOU 2 GUEST COLUMN 44 MEMBERS IN THE NEWS 49 Progress on Capitol Hill. ISI becomes “smart” business choice Sweeney named CEO of RS&H; for WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff. Thomsen named president of MARKET WATCH 4 Urban Engineers of New York; Lapping Freight market surge GUEST COLUMN 46 promoted to president of RBA Group. on horizon. Engineer as executive. MERGERS AND LEGISLATIVE ACTION 6 BUSINESS INSIGHTS 48 ACQUISITIONS 52 House clears six-year transportation New Amazon portal expands Three things every first-time bill; Appeals court stops WOTUS ACEC offering of practice buyer should do. rule nationwide. publications.

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Engineering Inc. promotes the advocacy and business interests of ACEC by offering news, legislative analysis and business practice information to member firms, clients, opinion leaders and policy makers.

The articles and editorials appearing in this magazine do not represent an official ACEC position or policy unless specifically identified as doing so. From ACEC to You ENGINEERING INC. THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES Progress on Capitol Hill, CHAIRMAN Ralph W. Christie, Jr. PRESIDENT & CEO David A. Raymond ACEC/PAC Heads to Strong Finish VICE PRESIDENT, Mary Ann Emely OPERATIONS ongress is set to pass a major surface transportation bill by VICE PRESIDENT, Steven Hall GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Thanksgiving—a significant bipartisan accomplishment that ACEC VICE PRESIDENT, Marie Ternieden has championed for some time. The bill will help address America’s BUSINESS RESOURCES C AND EDUCATION infrastructure deficit, advance many needed reforms, and provide greater DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS Alan D. Crockett certainty for our members in their planning. AND MEDIA Both parties have also come together on a new budget deal that will STAFF EDITOR Andrea Keeney prevent further across-the-board cuts (known as sequestration), setting the [email protected] stage for passing spending bills in December to support critical federal pro- 202-682-4347 SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS Gerry Donohue grams in 2016. WRITER The Council continues to urge Congress to extend key tax code provi- sions, such as the R&D tax credit, production tax credits to support renew- ACEC PUBLIC RELATIONS AND able energy, and business expensing incentives that benefit our industry—all EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE of which we expect Congress to address by the end of the year. CHAIRMAN James Blake Critical to achieving these and other objectives—including passing com- MANIFEST LLC prehensive energy legislation—is a strong ACEC/PAC. It gives us the means MANAGING EDITOR Christopher Brandon to support lawmakers in both parties who advance our agenda. We greatly ART DIRECTOR Jeff Kibler appreciate the contributions of ACEC members to our PAC, which will PROJECT MANAGER Amy Stephenson Fabbri soon reach its strategic goal of $1 million. It is also noteworthy that Engineering Inc. has just won three Gold ADVERTISING SALES Awards—for cover design, feature writing, and overall magazine content— Leo Hoch ACEC from MarCom, an international competition honoring excellence in market- 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor ing and communications. Washington, D.C. 20005-2605 We wish you and your families a happy holiday season and look forward 202-682-4341 [email protected] to working with you in the new year to advance the agenda of our industry.

Engineering Inc., Volume 26, Number 6 (ISSN 1539-2694), is published bi-monthly by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Ralph W. Christie, Jr. David A. Raymond 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005-2605. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Annual ACEC Chairman ACEC President & CEO subscriptions are $24 for members (included in dues as a non-deductible amount); $45 for U.S. non-members; $65 for institutional subscriptions. Back issues are $15.

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4614_AECOM_ACEC_Aviation_Ad_NovDec2015_FINAL.indd 1 10/9/15 4:18 PM MarketWatch BY GERRY DONOHUE Domestic Freight Market Surge on Horizon

he outlook for the to 18.1 percent in 2026. (For domestic freight more on energy production and T market is bright. Pro- pipelines, see Market Watch in pelled by continued popula- the July/August 2014 issue of tion growth, an expanding Engineering Inc.) economy, the energy sector and In the even longer term, rising foreign trade, the major Keith Bucklew, freight practice modes of domestic freight leader at CDM Smith, forecasts transportation—trucking, rail that “between now and 2040, and pipeline—are forecast to freight volumes are projected to grow strongly over the coming increase by 40 to 60 percent.” decade. In the short term, how- ever, the market could be in for Dip in the Road a bumpy ride. Stuart Matthis, vice president for business development at Mode Shares STV, Inc., says that 2014 and to Shift early 2015 were great years for According to the American the U.S. freight business. “In Trucking Associations’ (ATA) fact, they were so good that TranSystems transformed a heavily congested freight yard into this three- U.S. Freight Transportation Fore- it created shipping problems level rail overpass to eliminate a major bottleneck near Kansas City, Mo. cast to 2026, domestic freight brought on by the higher The project featured a 9,300-foot-high flyover and was a 2005 Engineering volumes will increase by 28.6 demand for freight carrier traf- Excellence Awards Grand Award winner. percent over the next 11 years. fic,” he says. Trucking is the primary Two factors that propelled infrastructure programs that Nationally, railroads have been freight hauling mode, and while the sector were the economy’s they need an increase in both spending more than $100 bil- its tonnage will grow substan- accelerating emergence from the federal and state funding just to lion in infrastructure from 2011 tially over the ATA’s forecast 2008 recession and the expo- preserve and maintain existing to 2014 and were projecting to period, trucking’s share of total nential growth of the domestic highways.” spend an estimated $29 billion freight will fall from 68.8 per- energy market. Railroads are also feeling the in 2015. cent in 2014 to 64.6 percent in In recent months, however, pinch, due primarily to turmoil “There have been reports 2026. the sector’s momentum has in the energy markets. that the railroads aren’t going Rail faces the same situation. slowed, and engineering firms Coal has long accounted for to spend the money this year Overall tonnage volumes will are feeling the impact. a substantial share of railroad that they had announced,” says increase, but its share of the Firm leaders point to Con- freight tonnage, but “the move- Keating. “They pay for these overall market will decrease, gress’ repeated failure to pass a ment of thermal coal has been investments out of revenues, from 14.2 percent in 2015 to long-term transportation fund- significantly reduced due to and when their revenue goes 12.3 percent in 2026. Within ing bill as a huge drag on the market changes [and] environ- down, they have to cut back.” the rail segment, intermodal domestic freight sector. mental and political pressures,” freight will be an increasingly “We’re seeing DOTs and says Scott Goehri, senior vice Potential important segment, rising by other public entities actually president and global market Opportunities 4.5 percent annually through walking away from federal high- sector director for freight rail at Despite these difficulties, the 2021 and then increasing by way grants because they don’t HDR. Coal shipments for steel freight sector remains a vibrant 5.3 percent annually to 2026. have the local matching funds,” manufacturing have also flat- market with numerous oppor- Propelled by the dramatic says Jeff Keating, senior associ- tened, and while rail shipments tunities for engineering firms. growth in domestic energy pro- ate of rail and transit at H.W. of crude oil have increased, they Matthis says railroads are duction, pipeline volumes will Lochner. “We’ve rarely seen that cannot come close to filling the allocating a lot of their project increase by an average of 10.6 before.” void. resources to freeing up system percent a year, and the sector’s “Financially, many states The slowdown appears to pinch points, locations where share of freight tonnage will are struggling,” Bucklew says. have cut into railroad compa- too many tracks converge and rise from 10.8 percent in 2015 “They’re so far behind in their nies’ infrastructure spending. too many trains must pass.

4 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 MarketWatch

Some of these projects may structure to attract the larger “Our analysis shows that according to HDR’s Goehri, be relatively small, but many container ships. intermodal containers will be it could do the same for roads of them are huge. The largest “All these ports have done one of the strongest avenues that carry the bulk of the project right now is the CRE- their projections as to what the for the freight rail industry over nation’s goods. ATE program in Chicago, post-Panamax ships will mean,” the next three years,” says Mat- According to Keating, before where the railroads and public says Matthis. “There are imme- this. “The ability to effectively the 2008 recession derailed the agencies will spend $1.6 bil- diate opportunities in all phases and efficiently transfer freight plans, a private consortium was lion over the next 20 years to of port expansion—deeper from one transportation mode moving forward on a private upgrade rail infrastructure. waters, more bulkheads, more to another will become increas- eight-lane toll road that would Along the East Coast, says room to unload the ships.” ingly vital as we compete in the have run from the Mexican Keating, “there are so many Because most ports have a global economy.” border to north of Dallas. pinch points, and every one of natural limit to their expan- “I think we may see that them is a billion dollars.” sion—there’s only so much Private Highway model going into the future Another “huge area of shoreline—a third big oppor- Funding in certain corridors,” Keating growth,” according to Keating, tunity is the planning, design Despite the expectation that says. “It may be the next gen- is the expansion of U.S. ports. and construction of intermo- Congress will eventually pass eration of interstates.” In anticipation of the comple- dal facilities. “Inland ports,” a long-term highway bill, sev- tion of the wider Panama Canal where shipping containers are eral firm leaders say that just Gerry Donohue is ACEC’s in 2016, many U.S. ports along offloaded from trucks and put as private funding has created senior communications writer. the East Coast have been aggres- onto trains, are springing up all a domestic freight rail system He can be reached at sively upgrading their infra- along the East Coast. that is “the envy of the world,” [email protected].

“SEI works. So far we’ve sent two senior SEI turns successful A/E leaders through the SEI program. Today, the positive impact of SEI on our firm is executives into unmistakable in organization, profits, and long-term focus. The training in systems forward-thinking thinking paid dividends immediately. Just that one session helped us recover our industry leaders. firm’s entire SEI investment within a year ...” Lee W. Slade Walter P. Moore Engineers & Consultants SEI Class V

SEI Class 22 begins September 2016. For details and registration, visit sei.acec.org

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 5 Legislative Action

House Clears Six-Year Transportation Bill CEC helped advance a key legislative priority Awith the House vote to approve a six-year reauthoriza- tion of federal highway, transit and safety programs. The bill features an inflationary increase in funding over current levels and a number of important Council-backed policy reforms. The House vote now sets the stage for conference negotiations with the Senate, with the goal of voting on a final program before the Thanksgiving holiday. The House-passed bill provides $262 billion for highway programs over six years, including $242 billion in formula funds to the states, $4.5 billion for a new grant program aimed at improving freight ASTERIX0597/GETTY IMAGES mobility, and $1.2 billion for TIFIA loans and credit assistance. test alternative revenue mechanisms such provide sufficient funds to sustain five Annual state highway funding as mileage-based user fees. or six years of funding under the bill. increases from $38.4 billion in F.Y. The House also adopted a bipartisan The Senate-passed DRIVE Act funds 2016 to $42.8 billion in F.Y. 2021. amendment during the floor debate only the first three years. Transit programs receive $68.6 offered by Reps. Richard Hanna “The investment levels in the House billion over six years, including (R-N.Y.) and Sean Patrick Maloney and Senate bills are nowhere near what $55 billion in formula funds to state (D-N.Y.) that urges the Secretary of they should be when compared to and local governments and $12.8 bil- Transportation to encourage state the enormity of our nation’s needs,” lion for capital investment grants. The DOTs to contract out to engineering said ACEC President/CEO Dave bill also includes aggressive project firms “to strengthen project perfor- Raymond. “But it’s a long-awaited delivery streamlining reforms backed by mance, improve domestic competitive- significant step forward, and will ACEC, as well as measures to promote ness and create jobs.” empower transportation agencies to get technological innovation in the highway In a key development, lawmakers on with critical projects all across the program, and multi-state pilot projects to adopted an amendment that would country.”

Congress Looks Ahead to Tax Extenders

ongressional tax R&D tax credit, bonus depre- 2016. Taking a different to S corporations. writers are crafting ciation, higher expensing lev- approach, the House has Although the final legisla- Clegislation to extend els and energy tax credits. approved permanent tion could include a couple a number of expired tax In July, the Senate Finance extensions of the R&D tax of permanent provisions, it provisions of importance to Committee approved a two- credit, higher Section 179 is more likely to be a one- or the engineering industry. A year extension of the tax expensing limits, and a two-year extension. Congress package of 52 tax provisions extenders. The legislation provision improving access is expected to complete expired at the end of Decem- would be in effect for 2015, to the firm’s capital for C work on the tax extenders in ber last year, including the retroactive to Jan. 1, and corporations that convert December.

6 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 Reauthorization of the ISSUES ON THE MOVE WHAT’S NEXT Export-Import Bank Passes Surface Transportation Bill House-Senate conference to develop final package by House via Transportation Bill Thanksgiving Tax Extenders To be included in year-end he House of Representatives approved ACEC-backed budget deal legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States for four years as part of a larger House, Senate Energy Bills Possible floor action in T November/December transportation package. The Senate has already voted to approve legislation to reauthorize the House Poised to Pass bank through passage of its six-year surface transportation bill (the DRIVE Larger Energy Bill; Clears Act), putting ACEC and other bank Crude Export Bill supporters in a strong position to secure this language in the final transportation he House Energy and Commerce Committee passed bill that goes to the White House. ACEC-backed legislation that will expand energy markets, The week prior to the vote on the clearing the way for consideration by the full House.

BILL CLARK/GETTY IMAGES T transportation package, Rep. Stephen The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of Fincher (R-Tenn.) used a rarely Rep. Stephen Fincher 2015 (H.R. 8) includes provisions to streamline energy project employed legislative procedure to force (R-Tenn.) permitting to facilitate liquid natural gas exports and pipeline a vote to extend the Export-Import approvals; resolve environmental and grid reliability conflicts; Bank. Fincher’s effort effectively bypassed House committee improve grid security, with emphasis on protecting against cyber- consideration and brought a reauthorization bill directly threats, severe weather and electromagnetic pulse events; improve to the House floor, where it passed by a vote of 313-118. energy planning and coordination with Canada and Mexico; The vote, which included a majority of House Republicans, specify the near- and long-term roles of the Strategic Petroleum set the stage for including reauthorization language in the Reserve; and identify opportunities for optimizing energy effi- transportation bill. ciency and environmental performance through Department of During consideration of the transportation bill (H.R. 22), Energy-funded Industrial Assessment Centers. ACEC and its allies in the business community and in the The Senate Energy Committee has also cleared a comprehen- ASTERIX0597/GETTY IMAGES House fought off 10 separate amendments to eliminate or sive energy bill, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 (S. weaken the bank’s reauthorization provisions. Both the House 2012), setting the stage for action later in the fall in both houses. and the Senate bills include ACEC-backed provisions to The full House also passed ACEC-backed legislation (H.R. expand the scope of energy projects eligible for bank financing. 702) to end the decades-old ban on crude oil exports, although in Final passage of the reauthorization bill is critical, since the face of White House opposition, the measure’s fate is uncer- currently no new export contracts can be signed with the bank. tain in the Senate. Appeals Court Stops WOTUS Rule Nationwide udges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati have put a nationwide hold on implementation Jof the controversial Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, which would significantly expand the federal definition of regulated wetlands. The decision builds on the August decision of a federal district court in North Dakota that blocked implementation of the rule in 13 states. The appeals court observed that the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attempted to make a “long overdue” clarification of jurisdictional lines over the nation’s waters. But it noted that the “sheer breadth of the ripple effects” caused by the rule ROOTSTOCKS/THINKSTOCK “counsels strongly in favor of maintaining the status quo for the time being.” ACEC and a broad range of industry For More News stakeholders raised a number of concerns about the proposed For weekly legislative news, rule during its development. Opposition was particularly visit ACEC’s Last Word online strong from organizations representing private client markets. at www.acec.org.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 7 INTELLIGENCE

8 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 INTELLIGENCE inSmart-vehicle Motion technology prompts new intelligence in transportation infrastructure and opportunities for engineers

INSET: C.J. BUROTON; CHINAFACE/GETTY IMAGES CHINAFACE/GETTY BUROTON; C.J. INSET: By Samuel Greengard

he automobile is undergoing a radical transformation. Advancements in technology, along with growing pressure to reduce congestion, trim carbon emissions and improve safety, are fueling Tthe concept of connected cars and smart transportation systems. Already, automated braking, lane- departure alerts, collision warning and adaptive cruise control systems are available in many vehicles. Meanwhile, Google’s Self-Driving Car project has tallied more than 1 million miles without causing a collision. >>

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 9 systems at Gannett Flem- to the U.S. Department of ing. “Although much of this Transportation. technology is still well out “It’s very clear that we into the future, there is no need to make infrastructure question that vehicles and safer and more efficient,” driving will change over the says Theodore Zoli, national coming years.” chief bridge engineer at Industry leaders expect HNTB Corporation. “We that change to provide sig- need to make investments in nificant business opportuni- “When you smarter vehicles and trans- ties for engineers, according change or portation networks in order to the latest (3rd quar- to maintain a functional ter/2015) ACEC Engineering eliminate transportation infrastructure Business Index (EBI). Results reaction times, and the desired quality of show that “Smart Infra- steering within life.” structure/Smart Cities” was lanes and Automakers are leading ranked No. 1 by Member the way. They’re moving Firm leaders (21 percent) other human forward with systems that among emerging markets factors, you reduce human input, and Nissan’s self- they believe show the most the technology is rapidly driving car makes can reengineer potential for growth in the evolving. Many high-end a turn at an roadways to add coming years, followed cars now use sensors to intersection. closely by “Renewable capacity.” brake automatically if a Energy Production, Trans- JOHN MOELLER driver approaches a vehicle mission, Storage” (19 per- JOHNSON, MIRMIRAN & too quickly or does not THE ASAHI SHIMBUN/GETTY IMAGES SHIMBUN/GETTY THE ASAHI cent) and “Climate Change/ THOMPSON begin to slow at a stop sign. How these technological advances will Resiliency” (15 percent). Other vehicles issue alarms impact America’s roadways is a new chal- and warnings if a driver veers out of a lane lenge facing engineering firms. There’s Rolling Forward without using a turn signal. growing demand to develop smart infra- It’s no secret that the nation’s highways are General Motors is introducing Super structure systems that do things such as in need of technological advancements. Cruise in the 2017 Cadillac. It takes alter traffic flow dynamically. Motorists According to an August 2015 study con- control of highway steering, accelera- are using apps, such as Google Maps and ducted by the Texas A&M Transportation tion and braking at speeds of up to 70 ILLINOIS TOLLWAY Apple Maps, to bypass congestion and Institute, U.S. drivers spent a collective mph through the use of radar, ultrasonic incidents, but far more advanced vehicle- 6.9 billion hours stuck in traffic in 2014. sensors, onboard cameras and GPS. to-vehicle (V2V) communication and That equates to about 42 hours per year Mercedes-Benz has already demonstrated vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) systems per commuter and collectively wastes a fully autonomous concept car, while lie ahead. $160 billion in time—approximately Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Nissan and “There is a lot of research and develop- $960 per motorist. In addition, distracted other manufacturers plan to introduce ment focused on automated and autono- drivers are a serious problem. Human vehicles that, under good weather condi- mous vehicles,” says Matthew Schiemer, error is responsible for 70 percent to 80 tions, operate without driver input on vice president of intelligent transportation percent of all vehicle collisions, according rural roads and interstate highways. These systems will also apply the Which of the following emerging engineering markets do you believe brakes or take control of the shows the most potential for growth? steering wheel when they detect danger. Smart Infrastructure/Smart Cities 21% The endgame is smarter Renewable Energy Production, Transmission, Storage 19% infrastructure. Today’s infor- Climate Change/Resiliency 15% matics systems, including Education/Healthcare Facility Renovation 14% emerging products such as Infrastructure Security/Vulnerability Protection 13% Apple CarPlay and Android

Grid Modernization 9% Auto, offer basic input about traffic and can suggest Marine/Ports 6% alternate routes based on 2% Other current traffic flow and con- Offshore Engineering/Mining 1% gestion. “This introduces 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% a level of connectivity that Source: ACEC Engineering Business Index (EBI) third quarter, 2015 report hasn’t previously existed,”

10 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) contains smart features designed by Alfred Benesch & Company that foretell the future of highways.

ists will receive information it’s possible to have cars drive at optimal and warning messages via speeds and distances and nearly eliminate a visual display or audible collisions,” says Dennis Motiani, execu- alert. In addition to provid- tive director of the National Operations Automated cars ing alerts when it isn’t safe Center of Excellence. “A smarter trans- will allow highway to enter an intersection or portation network is possible.” This could designers to narrow when a vehicle several cars mean developing urban transportation roadways and add ahead begins braking, these grids that function in a real-time, opti- more lanes. systems would deliver warn- mized way by adjusting for changes in

ILLINOIS TOLLWAY ings at rail crossings or when traffic flow dynamically. says Laura McGovern, senior vice presi- black ice appears on roadways. Sensors Immediate possibilities include greater dent at engineering firm Alfred Benesch in roadways or data from other vehicles use of reverse lanes, express toll lanes and & Company. could alert motorists before they reach an dynamic lines that adjust to capacity. As a result, highway designers will need icy patch or a flooded intersection. Interactive lighting could provide speed to integrate signals, roads and other infra- What’s more, data from these sensors or weather guidance, while dynamic structure to create V2V and and vehicles would stream paint adjusts to weather and lighting V2X networks. As McGov- into Traffic Management conditions. ern puts it, “Bigger gains Centers (TMCs) that moni- Further out, as more smart cars begin are possible when most or tor and manage conditions to eliminate human operation, cars will all cars on the road are con- and events in real time. travel closer together, allowing engineers nected and communicating This would allow a TMC to add additional lanes to roadways by with one another.” to adjust traffic signals or narrowing their width. John Moeller, pres- For now, the framework is lower or raise speed limits, ident of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thomp- largely under development, for example. It could also son, an engineering firm that specializes and the federal govern- help officials dispatch main- in transportation projects, says, “When ment is establishing rules, “It’s very tenance crews or snow plows you change or eliminate reaction times, standards and protocols clear that we faster and exactly where steering within lanes and other human for V2V and V2X systems. they’re needed. factors, you can reengineer roadways to These mesh networks will need to make add capacity.” use dedicated short-range infrastructure Highways of the Future V2X systems will also pull data, such as communications to com- safer and more An Internet of cars would traffic volume and speed, from connected municate with vehicles at a efficient.” revolutionize how engineers traffic signals, bridges and tunnels, and range of 1,000 feet or about THEODORE ZOLI design highways. “When adjust the speed or route of other vehicles. 10 seconds at highway HNTB CORPORATION you introduce connected These systems could also reduce vehicles’ speeds. Ultimately, motor- and autonomous vehicles, carbon footprint and improve safety.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 11 The Illinois Tollway’s 15-year, $12 billion program, “Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future,” will improve mobility, relieve congestion, reduce pollution, and link economies across the Midwest region. ILLINOIS TOLLWAY

For instance, they might detect a boulder traffic. “If the system detects a crowded standards that span 50 states and even or mudslide and issue a real-time alert. off-ramp, it may suggest an alternate exit,” other countries, “the entire system starts Connected infrastructure and vehicles McGovern says. “The system will com- to break down. National standards must would also allow buses and trains to opti- municate with drivers and let them know exist for both auto manufacturers and mize schedules and even wait a few min- when a bus is using an inside lane.” motorists.” utes longer during a traffic delay. They In Singapore, officials have tested a sys- Funding is another challenge. Motiani could also hold signals longer for older or tem that relies on induction loops in road- says, “With infrastructure and transpor- disabled individuals. ways to monitor traffic. The next phase of tation funding dwindling, tax revenues At some point, when fully automated the system will add data from video cam- falling due to fuel-efficient and electric and autonomous vehicles eras and taxi GPS systems vehicles, and virtually no political will to roll onto roadways, high- to provide more precise data change the current environment, there are ways may no longer need about traffic conditions. still many more questions than answers.” signs, signals and other The same technology is In the end, transportation experts take a physical information deliv- now being used in Lyon and cautious but optimistic view. “We are see- ery systems. “The display Montpellier, France. The ing the technology advance and vehicles in the automobile becomes traffic control algorithm becoming more sophisticated, but the the alert system,” Moeller relies on a number of key idea of widespread self-driving cars is still explains. factors, including road cat- decades away,” Schiemer says. “There are In fact, the future is egory, density of traffic on still too many technology concerns, infra- beginning to take shape. For the road, speed limits, and structure issues, policy and legal matters, example, the Jane Addams “The system will traffic and incident data to and social issues to sort out.” Memorial Tollway (I-90) communicate adjust stoplights. Nevertheless, Moeller believes it’s in Illinois contains a smart with drivers and important for engineers to view connected corridor designed by Alfred Challenges Ahead transportation as an opportunity. “The Benesch & Company that let them know The biggest obstacles, for reality is that vehicles and highway design provides information about when a bus is now, are establishing design have changed considerably over the last few traffic, collisions and road using an inside and engineering standards to decades. This is simply a continuation of conditions at half-mile lane.” support connected vehicles the trend. At some point, connected vehi- intervals. The system uses and obtaining funding to cles and infrastructure will take shape.” I LAURA McGOVERN road sensors and cameras to build connected infrastruc- ALFRED BENESCH & collect data and feeds the ture. McGovern says that Samuel Greengard is a technology writer COMPANY data to signs that can direct without clear and workable based in West Linn, Ore.

12 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015

14 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 Industry Drone Use Taking FlightBy Bob Violino Unmanned aerial vehicles will change the way engineers work—if regulations can catch up to the technology

nmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, are beginning to generate unique opportunities for the engineering sector. Though developed in the 1970s for the military, commercial use has lagged behind because of cost, regulations and specialized skills

SAMI SARKIS/GETTY IMAGES SARKIS/GETTY SAMI Urequired to operate. But that is quickly changing. >>

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 15 In recent years, prices have dropped, key component parts such as batter- ies have improved, and software has advanced, all resulting in many new com- mercial and construction applications. The only obstacles prohibiting more rapid utilization are the uncertain regula- tions governing commercial use of drones. “UAS technology has advanced much faster than the regulatory framework,” says Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), a non- profit organization devoted to advancing unmanned systems. “Many businesses want to use UAS but remain grounded until the rules are in place.” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published draft regulations for small UAVs that fly within an operator’s line of sight, and the agency is currently reviewing comments. Orrin (Mac) Mac- Murray, former ACEC chairman and now chairman emeritus of consulting firm C&S Companies, is representing the The AirRobot AR100-B Council on an FAA rulemaking commit- UAS can be used in tee that is advising the FAA in its efforts the most diverse and to safely integrate drones into national extreme environmental airspace. conditions for “Currently, use of UAVs is limited to reconnaissance and hobbyists,” MacMurray says, “unless the inspection.

FAA issues what is known as a Section OF AUVSI COURTESY 333 exemption.” Firms that want to use drone technology for a specific commer- cial purpose need to apply for and obtain such an exemption. Final regulations on small UAVs will follow the review period, but the tim- ing is unknown, MacMurray says. “It is expected that engineers will be allowed to use small UAVs for commercial use up to 500 feet above ground level without an exemption.” This will allow some engineering tasks to be done, such as flyover roof inspections of buildings under 500 feet, MacMurray says. “However, this will not allow many of the uses requiring altitude or flights beyond visual line of sight,” he says. A second rulemaking process has begun to address the use of drones beyond visual line of sight, and the committee on which Woolpert uses the MacMurray serves has met several times Nova Block III from UAS with the FAA. But no date has been set manufacturer Altavian for draft regulations. for surveying and “Beyond visual line of sight is where the mapping collection.

real high-value use of [drones] really is for OF WOOLPERT COURTESY

16 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 many industries, including engineering,” site construction,” he says. create the same products in MacMurray says. “It is here, for example, The industry “has always a day and hope to speed that where one could program a UAV to fly adapted or even led in the up even more utilizing near with a heat sensor down a power line and development of ‘measure- real-time cloud processing in check for hot spots without having to ment’ technology for its the future.” visually see the UAV.” business cases,” Hobbs says. McKim & Creed plans “GPS, laser range finders, to add more drones in the Drones in the Field remote camera and CCTV future and is evaluating The uncertain operational environment of systems, roadway scanners, whether it makes more sense drones makes investing in the technology chemical and flow moni- “GPS, laser to do all of its own acquisi- a risky prospect for firms. tors—these are all examples range finders, tions or to contract with But that ambiguity hasn’t discouraged of high-tech systems we other firms. “Ideally, we several engineering firms from starting to use every day in our work. remote camera want to create value-added use drones. The FAA has approved nearly UAS will, eventually, be and CCTV products that meet our cli- 1,500 Section 333 exemptions to date, just another tool in the systems, ents’ needs in a timely man- and requests are far outpacing approvals. toolbox.” roadway ner at the highest quality,” “So there is clearly a growing appetite for Stallings says. “What makes UAS technology,” Wynne says. Unlimited Potential scanners, the most sense to achieve Woolpert was one of the first engineer- Christian Stallings, a certi- chemical and that goal today may not be ing firms in the nation to receive a Sec- fied photogrammetrist flow monitors— true tomorrow.” tion 333 waiver and has since focused on at McKim & Creed, says these are all The great thing about UAS testing, product development and his firm has received FAA the technology “is that it’s data integration, says Layton Hobbs, vice approval to fly three differ- examples of a means to get some type president and director of technology and ent UAV models. The firm high-tech of sensor payload in the air, development at Woolpert. plans to have a team travel systems we use ground or water to collect The firm is focused on how drones will from project to project every day in our information,” Stallings says. benefit its core service offerings, including throughout its service areas, Engineering and construc- engineering and geospatial technologies. with licensed pilots operat- work. UAS will, tion companies will use “We’ve completed several mapping and ing the systems. eventually, be these vehicles for surveying, imaging-related projects this year using “Once the FAA creates a just another tool taking aerial photos of sites UAS,” Hobbs says. written exam in the toolbox.” and performing inspections

COURTESY OF AUVSI COURTESY Woolpert clients are inter- for small of all types. MacMurray LAYTON HOBBS ested in the use of drones for UAVs, we says, “Imagine being able WOOLPERT construction site monitoring plan to train to inspect a bridge without in support of the company’s our survey lane closures or fly along the traditional construction teams and have an internal route of a buried gas line sensing for leaks. inspection services. training and safety program If you can think of it, this technology will “Fundamentally, the ben- so that it becomes a stan- affect it in some way.” efit of UAS is its ability to dard service and tool for There are many other promising appli- attain and record a broad each survey team,” Stallings cations for the technology, MacMurray perspective of features, says. Potential uses for these says. “Uses are limited only by one’s movements or changes on “Imagine being systems include infrastruc- imagination and the development of the the ground,” Hobbs says. able to inspect a ture inspections and creat- technology itself.” The use of drones will bridge without ing 3D elevation informa- supplement these capabili- tion for landfills, quarries Challenges Ahead ties by allowing a small team lane closures and other small sites. As the use of drones advances, it can to deploy a mapping or or fly along the “We find that potential become easy for a company to get caught imaging system over much route of a buried applications from this tool up in the latest trend without evaluating smaller sites than were gas line sensing complement many of our a system based on what makes the most economically feasible in existing services and in sense for its business. the past, Hobbs says. “And for leaks. If you many cases provide a more Stallings says firms need to assess how because we can revisit the can think of it, cost-effective way to provide rapidly drone software and hardware site daily or even hourly, we this technology products,” Stallings says. is changing and determine what new can track change at a level will affect it in “For example, surveying technology best benefits their customers. not possible with tradi- stockpiles using traditional “For us, high-dollar drones and sensors tional manned systems—for some way.” survey or terrestrial scanners deployed to map small site projects don’t example, when monitoring ORRIN (MAC) MacMURRAY used to take a few days, but make a lot of sense for our current pro- C&S COMPANIES

COURTESY OF WOOLPERT COURTESY a major phase of building or now we find that we can gram,” he says. “We have been careful

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 17 to select technology we can use to cre- types of drones best meet their needs. come up with new and exciting applica- ate comparable products for a lot less “UAS platforms come in many differ- tions of the technology,” Hobbs says. investment and pass that savings to our ent shapes and sizes,” Wynne says. “The “We see this technology as limitless,” customers.” best UAS for a particular application will Hobbs says. “Woolpert has a robust his- This also positions the firm to regularly depend on a variety of factors.” AUVSI tory of engineering, mapping, surveying, reinvest in new systems as the industry maintains a product database to help data collection and analysis—and all of evolves. “This is the real advantage of companies looking for a platform, he says. these will be enriched with the use of drones,” Stallings says. “Educating our Internally, Woolpert is working through UAS. We’re just beginning to realize all clients and understanding their needs is several challenges in how data collected that can be done.” n important in understanding what tech- from the systems should be stored, pro- nology best fits our program.” cessed and cataloged. “There is still plenty Bob Violino is a business and technology Firms will need to determine which of work to be done in these areas as we writer based in Massapequa Park, N.Y.

Christian Stallings and Rob Crawshaw from McKim & Creed use a 3DR Solo drone to inspect a bridge. COURTESY OF MCKIM & CREED COURTESY

18 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 BIM, Productivity, and Quality Control A synopsis of the ACEC Fall Conference presentation, Allen Preger Michael O’Toole “Delivering On The Promise Of BIM” Newforma cofounder WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff and vice president associate

It was the size of the Revit models that prompted the change. BIM is not the only contributor to information overload. They were simply too big to upload and download. Transfers took too long, and the stakes were too high in the event Even if you’re not using BIM, you’re buried in project informa- someone worked from an outdated fi le. tion: Marked-up documents, meeting minutes, action items, and endless amounts of email. Instead, the collaborators implemented a way to share fi les automatically, on a schedule, without manual intervention. All this info contains decisions essential to the project record. The project is the New Balance headquarters in the Brighton neighbourhood of Boston. The collaborators are WSP Parsons Collaboration is mandatory Brinckerhoff, John Moriarty & Associates, and Elkus Manfredi To get the most out of 3D modeling, at the very start of the Architects. And the fi le-sharing technology they’re using is project you need to get input from all the project stakehold- saving time as it reduces the risk of lost quality. ers: engineers, consultants, contractors, subs, trades, suppliers, facility managers and others. In the past, this input came too BIM offers great benefi ts, but it brings new late to benefi t the built structure. Now the ideal is build the risks. project virtually before breaking ground physically. Design and construction teams are overwhelmed with infor- How WSP, Moriarty, and Elkus Manfredi did it. mation. And BIM has had a lot to do with it. The solution used by the WSP team is by Newforma. Among With 3D modelling, you can now batch-generate thousands of its features is the ability to create direct Newforma-to-New- 2D drawings, details and specs with the press of button. forma connections to share fi les being used jointly.

And with dozens of discipline-specifi c, information-rich 3D In addition to automatically sharing fi les such as BIM models, models on a project, your teams are challenged with managing the feature transfers action items, requests for information, unprecedented amounts of information in rapidly iterating submittals and other information. versions. Now, no time is wasted uploading and downloading fi les. How much has project information Shared information need not be entered twice. And teams are really expanded? assured of always working with the most current information.

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Untitled-1 1 10/9/2014 4:05:10 PM MULTI-PROJECT FEATURE BACK TO PROJECT: Historic Santa Fe Train Depot Ft. Madison, Iowa FIRM: Klingner & Associates Quincy, Ill.

PROJECT: Rolling Hills Wetland and Little Chatata Creek Restoration LIFE Cleveland, Tenn. FIRM: S&ME, Inc. Raleigh, N.C.

PROJECT: University of Minnesota Northrop Auditorium Renovation Minneapolis, Minn. FIRM: Meyer Borgman Johnson Minneapolis, Minn.

PROJECT: Member Firms Zedler Mill Dam Restoration restore Luling, Texas FIRM: Freese and Nichols, Inc. historic and Austin, Texas environmental properties >> By Darlene Bremer

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 21 MULTI-PROJECT FEATURE Historic Railroad Depot Back on Track

Ft. Madison’s historic downtown train depot was lifted off its foundation and lowered onto a new concrete base constructed to withstand flooding.

PROJECT: Historic Santa Fe Train Depot, Ft. Madison, Iowa

FIRM: Klingner & Associates, Quincy, Ill.

stablished as a military post in 1808, the city of Ft. Madison Ebecame a major rail hub in the level as the buildings. In addition, the interior of the main depot 19th century when the Santa Fe Rail- building was remodeled with terrazzo floors, upgraded light- way constructed a bridge over the Mis- ing and a new HVAC system. “The renovation was designed to sissippi River. The original Santa Fe maintain the historic ambiance of the facility and its 1945 art Railroad Depot was built in 1888, and deco interior look,” Wavering says. The final phase, scheduled for over the years, the complex expanded 2016, will include constructing a 1,000-foot concrete platform to include a Railway Express Agency Stephen Wavering along the tracks that will feature retaining walls, period lighting, building and freight office. But by signage and landscaping. 1968, the historic railway depot was no longer in use. Raising the century-old buildings without damaging the In 2007, the city hired Klingner & Associates to rehabilitate brickwork presented Klingner with an extensive challenge. the downtown depot so that it would once again be an opera- “After researching various alternatives, we developed a plan that tional passenger train station. “The town’s goal was to create a included constructing a temporary steel gridwork on which the showpiece to attract visitors and provide economic development buildings were jacked in 18-inch synchronized increments,” opportunities for the city,” says Stephen Wavering, the firm’s chief Wavering says. Maintaining the historic integrity of each building financial officer. structure was another challenge. “By closely coordinating design Klingner led the design for the four-phase project. The first efforts and construction processes with the Iowa Historical Pres- phase, in 2011, raised the complex’s three buildings by four feet, ervation Office, we were able to ensure that the buildings could above the Mississippi River’s 500-year flood elevation. In 2012, be successfully renovated and made operational without damag- during phase two, the surrounding site was raised to the same ing their historic components.”

22 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 MULTI-PROJECT FEATURE Wetlands Relocated After Being Displaced by New Jetport

PROJECT: Rolling Hills Wetland and Little Chatata Ken Barry, technical principal for S&ME, says one major chal- Creek Restoration, Cleveland, Tenn. lenge was finding a suitable, available mitigation site away from the jetport that would minimize wildlife attracted to the jetport FIRM: S&ME, Inc., Raleigh, N.C. and receive the support of the community. The final mitigation was performed approximately five miles from the jetport at a hen Cleveland, Tenn.’s air- site that was part of a former golf course situated between two port could no longer support streams. “We assessed the site for its potential, prepared engineer- Wthe area’s general aviation ing plans for managing hydrology and establishing appropriate demands, a new jetport was built. plantings on the site, and worked closely with the city to obtain However, the jetport displaced a local neighborhood acceptance of the mitigation plan,” he says. wetland, and environmental regula- The jetport opened in 2013, but S&ME will remain involved tions required the city to relocate the until 2022, conducting long-term monitoring of the 21-acre wetland and mitigate the impact to a Rolling Hills Wetland restoration site and the half-mile relocation nearby creek. Liz Porter of the Little Chatata Creek to ensure regulatory compliance. In 2006, S&ME provided a baseline The project demonstrates that unique jetport requirements, jurisdictional of the wetland to state and federal agencies. Subse- which include limitations on tree height and wildlife attraction, quent environmental services for the project included permitting can be incorporated into a mitigation plan while still returning of the stream and wetland impacts, engineering design and con- adequate stream restoration and other ecological improvements struction oversight. to the community. Many factors contributed to the project’s complexity, including adverse geologic conditions, flood design restrictions and strict new regulations for construction stormwater monitoring. “To overcome these issues, we balanced compliance and collabora- tion between the many regulatory agencies, consultants and other stakeholders,” says Liz Porter, national resources department manager and vice president for S&ME.

S&ME will continue to monitor a 21-acre wetland restoration site and half- mile creek relocation, displaced by construction of Cleveland’s new jetport.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 23 MULTI-PROJECT FEATURE The University of Minnesota’s Northrop Major Makeover Auditorium reopened in 2014, following a for Antiquated three-year interior renovation that preserved its historic Auditorium elements.

PROJECT: University of Minnesota Northrop Auditorium Renovation, Minneapolis, Minn.

FIRM: Meyer Borgman Johnson, Minneapolis, Minn. level of the building. “We had to reinforce trusses in place that he University of Minnesota’s are up to 70-feet above the floor level; build new trusses over the giant steel Northrop Audito- stage opening to support new, higher loads; and create internal Trium, originally built in 1928, structural trusses to extend the stage into a new addition,” says had become acoustically abysmal. As Murphy Curran, MBJ’s director of business development. part of a revitalization drive, the uni- Since almost no area of the building was untouched by the versity decided that, rather than pay- renovation, the project required extreme design flexibility and ing the economic and environmental modifications. To meet these challenges, the company used a costs of demolishing an outdated but wide variety of structural systems, such as post-tensioned concrete nostalgia-rich facility, it would repur- Murphy Curran in the auditorium, structural steel reinforcement and new steel pose the building into a world-class roof trusses, composite steel construction for additional floors, performance facility with much-improved acoustics. The project load-bearing concrete walls and precast concrete in the building included a redesign of the perimeter classroom space for public addition, and micropile foundation reinforcement to support the study and other academic and theater programs. new stage. “We had to design these systems so that they could be As the structural engineer of record, Meyer Borgman Johnson constructed through a 13-foot-wide hole made in the north end (MBJ) first had to stabilize the building’s exterior, which it did of the building, because it was imperative to the university that between 2005 and 2008. Renovation design followed in 2008, the exterior structure remain intact,” Curran says. construction began in 2011, and the performance hall opened in Six years after the initial design began, the 176,000-square-foot 2014. MBJ’s scope of work included designing and rebuilding the auditorium and new performance hall once again is a keystone of auditorium, evaluating and reinforcing the roof structure, build- the university’s campus and will host graduations, concerts and ing an addition and designing additional floor space on every dance performances for generations to come.

24 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 MULTI-PROJECT FEATURE Troubled Dam Shored Up

PROJECT: Zedler Mill Dam Restoration, As the project’s prime engineering consultant, Freese and Luling, Texas Nichols conducted surveys and geotechnical borings to deter- mine soil conditions, performed stability analysis, developed FIRM: Freese and Nichols, Inc., Austin, Texas mitigation solutions, developed the restoration design, and over- saw the construction process. “Construction began in April 2014 hen Fritz Zedler con- and was completed seven months later,” Mortensen says. structed a mill on the Assessments were severely hampered by the lack of historic Wbanks of the San Marcos documentation. “We overcame this challenge by performing as River in 1874, he built a stone much investigation as access allowed,” Mortensen says. Analy- dam and a wooden dam to pro- sis consisted of visual observations, including dive inspections vide water and power to the mill. to determine what design parameters would be required. Dive A concrete dam replaced both of reports revealed that the sandy clay soil foundation was under- these original structures around mined, wooden support timbers were not in contact with the 1914. The mill has been inac- Dustin Mortensen dam concrete, and under-seepage was extensive. “It was decided tive since the 1950s, but today it, that these problems would be solved by installing 37 micropiles along with an adjacent park, provides a popular recreational as the new foundation and by grouting underneath the dam to space and event venue. fill voids in water erosion areas,” he says. In 2008, the city of Luling became concerned about the Working closely with the Texas Historical Commission, Freese Zedler Mill Dam after a similar dam built by the same company and Nichols obtained approval for the proposed site changes six miles downstream failed. The city hired Freese and Nichols while maintaining the historic appearance of the dam. I to restore the aged structure. Dustin Mortensen, project man- ager in the company’s Central Division Water Resources Group, says, “Saving the dam fulfilled several goals.” A water treatment facility just upstream required water from the dam-formed lake as the intake for its treatment process, and the town wanted to preserve the environmental and historic features of the mill and surrounding buildings to help maintain the character of the area and attract visitors.

The Zedler Mill Dam restoration project was awarded a Public Works Project of the Year for preserving the environmental and historic features of a structure built in 1914.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 25 Corporate Social Responsibility

By Calvin Hennick ECONOMIC POWER OF Employee Engagement

26 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility

A grant from the HDR Foundation enabled Green By Calvin Hennick Empowerment HDR employees traveled to provide water to Nicaragua with Green to impoverished Empowerment and helped install communities in a solar-powered water pump in ECONOMIC POWER OF Nicaragua. the village of El Jocote. OF GREEN EMPOWERMENT COURTESY n early March of this year, Eric Keen—vice HDR employee chairman of HDR, Inc., and president of HDR charitable spirit Engineering—woke up in the middle of the night in his hotel room in Australia for a video- means dollars conference with communications manager and time for Nichole Andersen to check on the status of an important project back in the U.S. worthy causes The company wasn’t wrapping up work on a new Idevelopment or trying to lock down a big client. Instead, Keen was excited to see how much progress had been made on the company’s first “Day of Giving,” an effort to raise money for the HDR Foundation. >>

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 27 Keen had spearheaded we were going to get from Employee Involvement the creation of the founda- our employees, and they just Julie Jessen, a public involvement manager tion in late 2012 as a way to came out en masse. It was in HDR’s Anchorage, Alaska, office, helped help employees pool their really fun to see.” Keen get the foundation off the ground resources for worthy causes, “The goal was presented and has served as chair of the employee-run and the organization gave as numbers,” says Keen. grant-giving committee. While other firms out some $150,000 in grants “But it was really about also have their own charitable arms, Jessen in each of its first two years. engaging our employees and says the level of employee participation at But much of the early giving getting them excited about the HDR Foundation is “pretty unique.” was driven by senior leader- “The goal was the possibilities of what we “We are employee-owned, and there’s a ship, and the foundation at presented as can do, and then knowing high sense of ownership and connection to first remained something of that that engagement would HDR,” Jessen explains. an abstract concept for many numbers. But it have a real impact across our The firm matches up to $300,000 in of the firm’s employees, who was really about communities. employee contributions to the foundation were accustomed to directly engaging our “Now we have a responsi- per year and also allows workers to donate donating their time and employees and bility to make good decisions the cash equivalent of their unused vacation money to charities. about how those dollars will hours. The foundation focuses on three “When we started, the getting them be spent,” he says. firm and employee priorities: health, participation levels were excited about pretty small,” says Keen. “I the possibilities Lynx Robotics said, ‘We should not feel of what we can participants compete bad about that.’ Until you in robotics contests. start to show some results do, and then and how the foundation will knowing that impact our communities that engagement and how it will engage our would have employees, we can’t expect a whole groundswell of a real impact support.” across our The Day of Giving was a communities.” chance to create that ground- ERIC KEEN swell. During the founda- HDR, INC. tion’s first two years, around OF HDR COURTESY 340 employees donated, and Keen hoped to nearly triple that number to 900 donors in the span of 24 hours. It was an ambitious goal, to be sure, but Keen was hopeful as he waited for Andersen’s update. The news was good—the company hit its goal before the middle of the U.S. workday. But even with the mission accomplished, Keen couldn’t go back to sleep in Australia. He now was too excited. By midnight in the States, nearly 1,500 HDR employ- ees had donated more than $450,000—more in a single day than in the entire previ- ous two years combined. HETRA provides equine- “It was really amazing,” assisted therapeutic says Andersen. “We had no sessions for veterans. idea what kind of response OF HETRA COURTESY

28 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 education and the environment. Nonprof- Grant Recipients its need an internal employee sponsor to In 2014, the HDR Foundation awarded three “large” grants (more than $15,000) apply for grants, and the foundation gives and six “small” grants (under $15,000) to organizations throughout the nation, strong preference to organizations with including these five: HDR employee involvement. When appli- cations are unsuccessful, someone from Green Empowerment, Portland, Ore. the foundation lets the employee sponsors know why. The grant will support project equipment costs and local engineering for an “This truly is employee-driven,” Jessen organization that provides renewable energy and water systems to impoverished says. “The more I meet the people that vol- communities around the world. More than 25 HDR employees volunteered with unteer for this, the more we talk about it; the group on a solar irrigation project in Nicaragua. there is certainly a high level of interest and excitement.” Lynx Robotics, Council Bluffs, Iowa Jean Hansen, a sustainable interiors man- Funds will help the organization purchase additional robots and increase the ager at HDR, who sponsored a successful number of students involved on a competitive robotics team. grant for the Center for Environmental Health, says that the high level of employee involvement makes the foundation feel Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy (HETRA), Gretna, Neb. especially relevant and personal to employ- Grant money will be used to improve HETRA’s facility. HETRA provides equine- ees. “It’s really exciting when the company assisted activities to adults and children with a variety of challenges, such as that you work for can help support an cerebral palsy, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder. organization that you know is doing really fabulous work,” Hansen says. City Blossoms, Washington, D.C. Josh Krayger, a strategic program man- Grant money will help the organization create and maintain “kid-driven” green ager at HDR, who chaired the foundation’s grant-giving committee for a year, says spaces throughout the nation’s capital and increase programming at two he “didn’t fully understand” the founda- formerly vacant lots that now provide free produce and culinary education tion when it first started. But he’s since to residents. embraced the concept. “Donating what I can to a soup kitchen Bridges to Prosperity, Denver, Colo. in my local community is great and has an Funds will be used to create bridges in communities in Nicaragua. impact,” Krayger says, “but the idea that

COURTESY OF HDR COURTESY you can pool your resources and make a

Approximately 300 people who live in the village of El Jocote no longer have to walk over a half of a mile carrying water jugs to obtain potable water. COURTESY OF HETRA COURTESY OF GREEN EMPOWERMENT COURTESY

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 29 Shinn sponsored a grant application for Salish in 2013. It didn’t get funded. Then, in 2014, he sponsored another application, with the same results. “My job as a pursuit leader is to come into a project team and help them win a project,” Shinn says. “I’m kind of a competitive guy. It’s my job to win. That’s what I do. So when we didn’t get the first grant, I was like, ‘What? How did this happen?’ I wanted to do a debrief and figure this out.” Shinn sat down with members of the grant-giving committee to learn more about what the commit- tee was looking for. This year, the foundation finally Salish Sea Expeditions awarded Salish a $15,000 crew members and grant to help outfit a new students deploy a Niskin vessel with state-of-the-art bottle. Grant money from scientific equipment. the HDR Foundation will Seth Muir, executive direc- fund additional scientific tor of Salish, calls the grant equipment. “a huge nod of approval” COURTESY OF SALISH SEA EXPEDITIONS OF SALISH COURTESY and says that Shinn really huge impact on an organization is really at your heartstrings. This is not a rubber “gets” what his organization is trying to cool.” stamp by any stretch of the imagination. do. “This is going to enable us to gather Both Jessen and Krayger stress how It’s hard.” professional-quality, irrefutable data that much effor t employee volunteers put into we can compare and contrast with the the grant-making process. “It was really Making an Impact data students gather by hand,” Muir says. difficult,” Krayger says about choosing Brad Shinn, a strategic pur- Shinn sees a dual benefit between different organizations. “The suits leader in HDR’s Seattle to the foundation: It helps applications were so diverse. It was every- office, became involved out organizations in the thing from homeless shelters to conserva- with Salish Sea Expeditions communities where HDR tion to high-school students who were when a representative from works, while also amplifying interested in robotics and STEM work. We the group explained the employee efforts. especially gave credibility to organizations program at a staff meeting. “From an employee that HDR employees had contributed to in The nonprofit organization standpoint, it’s nice because the past.” helps students develop criti- the company is saying, Krayger says that the application that cal thinking and creativity ‘We value what you value, most “touched my heart” came from a through scientific research and we want to support Colorado organization called Sweet Dream on Puget Sound. “The idea that that,’” Shinn says. “And as in a Bag. The group provides new bedding “It struck a chord with you can pool a company, when we say and toys to children transitioning out of me,” Shinn says. “In our your resources we’re involved in our com- temporary housing. “There was a need for industry, we talk about hav- munities, you can’t say it it, and it was really cool to learn a little bit ing a shortage of engineers. and make a any stronger than that. I about them,” Krayger says. We talk about having a huge impact on think it’s smart on a lot of “The thing I find wonderful is the level shortage of women in engi- an organization levels.” I of discussion at our committee meetings,” neering. Yet I feel like as an is really cool.” Jessen says. “Each and every person really industry, we don’t do very Calvin Hennick is a business, JOSH KRAYGER looks at these requests and asks some really much to address that at any technology and travel writer HDR good questions. Certain proposals just tear kind of systemic level.” based in Milton, Mass.

30 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 constructing with care

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™ 2015 ACEC Outstanding Yo u n g Professionals Yearof the t this year’s Fall Conference, Juan Osorio ACEC Langan Engineering & presented five Environmental Services Elmwood Park, N.J. engineers with Juan Osorio, 30, is a civil engineer 2015 Young involved in commercial, residential Professional of the Year and institutional projects in New York, A New Jersey and Nevada. As an integral Awards. The recipients were selected by the College of part of the development of the award- Fellows for their outstanding winning Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, he was responsible for contributions to the the site design as well as preparation of engineering profession in the coastal storm and shoreline protection early stages of their careers. analyses. He is currently leading a team to develop a mobile application to streamline data collection and report Juan Osorio preparation for evaluating Americans with Disability Act compliance.

32 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 William Billiet inspects a mechanically stabilized earth William Billiet wall in Montgomery County, Md. Schnabel Engineering Baltimore William A. Billiet, 30, is a geotechnical/civil engineer responsible for designing foundations for buildings, bridges and dams. For one of his most recent projects, he served as the project geotechnical engineer for the Dulles Metrorail Project, an 18-mile Metrorail extension in Dennis Hymel Jr., (right) helps members of the Paulina Fire Department Northern Virginia. In in Louisiana rescue a woman from Hurricane Isaac floodwaters. 2012, he traveled to Nigeria to lead a large Dennis Hymel Jr. subsurface exploration for a T. Baker Smith future petroleum facility in Thibodaux, La. a remote jungle. Also active Dennis Hymel Jr., 29, is a civil engineer currently working on several in his local community, new bridge initiatives in the preliminary project development stages Billiet delivers STEM and is supporting the design and field effort for the Tiger Bridge presentations to local high Replacement Project. He is also spearheading his firm’s effort to solve school students. flooding problems in St. James Parish, after personally spending days filling and delivering sandbags, constructing ring levees and assisting the Parish Emergency Operations Center following Hurricane Isaac.

Jessica Garcia Clanton & Associates, Inc. Boulder, Colo. Jessica Garcia, 29, develops options for how to integrate large energy-consuming systems into the intelligent, modern and reliable electricity infrastructure that is the smart grid. She has managed the analysis of street lighting demonstrations for a number of major urban areas and has expertise in exterior lighting control systems. A strong advocate for women in engineering, Garcia, who now works for a women-owned engineering company in Colorado, was chosen by National Engineers Week to represent ACEC in the annual “New Faces of Engineering” feature published in USA Today this past February. Jessica Garcia

Corin Marron Corin Marron ARCADIS (center) and Tucson, Ariz. Pedal with Corin Marron, 30, works in the field of potable Purpose team members water reuse to bring renewable, high-quality drinking participate in a water to two Southwest communities facing long- fundraiser for term drought. She makes critical contributions in the innovative water, areas of master planning, water quality assessment, sanitation and conceptual design of advanced water treatment hygiene solutions facilities, and team coordination. Marron also in developing volunteers with Water for People, a humanitarian nations. organization dedicated to providing safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 33 Council of American Structural Engineers (CASE) Chairman: David Mykins Market Member Firms: 143 Mission: Improve structural engineering firm success by reducing claims, increasing profitability, improving quality and enhancing management practices.

DrivenACEC Coalitions provide specialized resources and networking to help members address specific market development and business David Mykins management challenges The growing use of public- private partnerships (P3s) is a positive dynamic for structural engineers that will lead to business growth in 2016, says CASE Chair David Mykins, president of Stroud By Stacy Collett Pence in Virginia Beach, Va. CEC’s six coalitions— dedicated communities of ACEC members “Previously, P3s were used organized by only on large projects, but practice area or we’re starting to see them a lot firm size—provide a wide range more, even on the local level Aof practical, day-to-day resources for schools and municipal and best practices for the unique buildings. That’s becoming an opportunity for our members.” needs of each field. While the Still, he says that CASE groups share some challenges, each members are hampered by discipline also faces its own unique short code cycles that they concerns in the coming year. would like to see extended to In this special Engineering Inc. six years. Health care is also report, coalition leaders offer an issue. “Health insurance costs continue to hit us on the their insights and projections on bottom line,” Mykins says. current challenges and future “There’s a lot of pressure in the opportunities for their specific marketplace to keep our fees industry discipline. down, yet our soft costs keep

34 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 increasing, and health care is find a job either went off to Council of Professional out of harm’s way by flying over one of the main line items on do something else or didn’t Surveyors (COPS) highways, for instance, but laws our firms’ budgets.” get the experience we would Chairman: Ralph Guida must be passed allowing them Mykins believes that the like them to have in a normal Member Firms: 116 to be used in these areas. economic downturn of four market,” says LDC Chair Mission: Provide Member Surveyors are also anticipat- to five years ago discouraged Mark Borushko, vice president Firms best practices in geomatics, ing growing opportunities in many college students from primarily in the form of products 2016 thanks to a recovering entering the engineering field, and information on legal issues housing market. Guida says, “A and that slump is now impact- and government affairs. rebound in the housing markets ing Member Firms. “We’re will create demand for more of starting to feel a little bit of our traditional surveying, such that drain on new graduates as as construction staking and well as midlevel positions,” he mapping of new subdivisions says. “Those who stayed in the and general manager at David and lots.” industry and remained with Evans and Associates, Inc., in their firms are now considered Phoenix. Council of American the cream of the crop, and Yet those same millennials at Mechanical folks are doing whatever they the center of the skills shortage and Electrical Engineers can to keep them.” are also driving most of the (CAMEE) He remains optimistic for coalition’s optimism for 2016. Ralph Guida Chairman: Kevin Peterson the industry in 2016—as long “The millennial generation is To combat the declining num- Member Firms: 79 as the economy keeps chug- starting to come into its own ber of surveying professionals, Mission: Help members serve ging along, he says. “The econ- and starting to drive demand COPS plans to help revamp their clients and run more effec- omy is definitely improving, for housing and retail,” the image of today’s modern tive and efficient businesses. and that rising tide is floating Borushko notes. “After years surveyor. “We need to re-image all boats.” of living an urban lifestyle or ourselves as high-tech and cre- maybe still living with mom ative, not just people crunching Land Development and dad, they’re now going off formulas and numbers and Coalition (LDC) on their own, getting jobs and grinding out in the dirt,” says Chairman: Mark Borushko being able to afford certain COPS Chair Ralph Guida, Member Firms: 71 things.” president of Guida Surveying in Mission: Strengthen the land Similarly, the needs of Irvine, Calif. “We are looking development business environ- the baby boomer generation at how to show a new image: ment with an emphasis on are changing. “As those two [surveyors] flying unmanned quality services in the global cohorts continue to evolve in aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Kevin Peterson marketplace. the marketplace, the demands CAMEE represents a diverse for types of land uses are going group of firms. Some work to continue to change to where with architects on buildings in there are going to be new types vertical markets, while other of housing, health care, retail firms focus on government and entertainment,” Borushko infrastructure projects. “On says. the building side, business The return of single-family creating images that show the is better [than this time last home building would most public what the future is going year], but it’s still not great,” benefit land developers in to look like on a subdivision or 2016. Borushko says, “Green- development.” Mark Borushko field development, which Technology is revolution- LDC Member Firms are also creates the need for roadway izing the way surveyors provide facing staffing challenges, par- extensions, sewer lines, water- services, Guida says. Drones ticularly at midmanagement line extensions—requiring all can be now used for aerial map- levels. “Over the last seven the services that we provide ping. “They will improve our years, aspiring civil engineers as a civil engineering indus- productivity and product at a says CAMEE Chair Kevin who were graduating from try—will be the biggest game very cost-effective rate,” he says. Peterson, president and CEO college but weren’t able to changer for us.” Drones also help keep surveyors of P2S Engineering, Inc., in

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 35 Long Beach, Calif. “People Small Firm Council (SFC) looking at these things and “We’re still thinking that on the infrastructure side are Chairman: Matthew Murello trying to forecast these things even if developing countries seeing much better backlog Member Firms: 172 out. Most small businesses are slow down, they’re still going growth and profitability than Mission: Increase business lucky if they’re forecasting six to be growing at 5 percent to 7 people in the vertical market.” prospects for small and mid-size to eight months, and that’s percent, which is higher than Downward trends in the firms through custom-designed good. The days of forecasting the United States,” Siegel says. economy could actually spell forums, advocacy, tools and out a year or two on projects opportunity for CAMEE processes. are gone.” Member Firms in 2016, Peter- Murello says the best thing son says. Higher energy costs, that could happen to the DPC for instance, would benefit engineering industry to ensure Design Professionals Coalition business. “Our M&E designs future growth is “a drastic Founded in 1983 are around how we can lower change in Washington” and energy costs for clients. When a pro-growth, pro-business Some areas of the world are we have a significant energy mentality. “We need people up, such as booming regions increase, then clients look to in Washington who have run of Africa, while others such as our engineering expertise for a small business, people who China are down. efficiency or new designs. This have had to make payroll or Siegel predicts that the sets us apart from our less tech- Matthew Murello figure out how they’re going to U.S. will remain in slow- to nical competition,” he says. SFC Member Firms have their deal with their 941 quarterlies no-growth mode for another Peterson believes that more hopes raised for long-term fed- and their end-of-year taxes.” five years. But other areas look funding sources for infrastruc- eral transportation legislation, promising in 2016. “Europe ture would have the biggest which has the best chance of Design Professionals has some bright spots but impact on the engineering passing in years—and would Coalition (DPC) overall is struggling with debt industry in the coming year. benefit small businesses. Chairman: William Siegel and other issues,” he says. “The can has been kicked “When the Highway Trust Member Firms: 53 “There is a lot of growth from down the road for too long Fund filters down to state Mission: Promote action that a population/demographics on infrastructure across the funding projects—as well as advances the interests of ACEC’s perspective in Africa and some United States, especially with larger firms in public policy, South Pacific countries like improvements to transmis- funding and contracting with Indonesia and Malaysia, and sion distribution systems and federal and state agencies. generally that drives infrastruc- electrical,” Peterson says. “The ture and demand for engineer- investments we should be ing services. But there are no making on an annual basis to guarantees.” keep those things as reliable as municipal funding projects for All six coalition leaders agree they can be haven’t been made schools, infrastructure, roads that ACEC plays a significant for years and years. How do and highways—that’s where role in addressing the indus- we come up with that extra small engineering firms are try’s business challenges. “The money? Our politicians don’t capitalizing,” says SFC Chair more we try to get the mes- seem to have an answer.” Matthew Murello, president of sage out through government Lewis S. Goodfriend & Associ- advocacy and from a lobby ates in Whippany, N.J. William Siegel standpoint, the better and Optimism over transporta- Global competition and the stronger we are as a group,” tion funding doesn’t eclipse volatile global economy are Siegel says. n persistent challenges that small two of the biggest challenges engineering firms face from confronting large U.S. engi- Stacy Collett is a business and the Affordable Care Act, how- neering firms. A significant technology writer based in ever. “They keep moving the number of DPC firms have Chicago. goal post,” Murello says about extensive overseas operations regulations for small businesses or work on projects in partner- and what types of policies are ship with overseas owners, says allowed. “Small businesses DPC Chair William Siegel, don’t have large HR depart- president and CEO at Klein- ments or teams of lawyers felder in San Diego.

36 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 Partnering with you to improve quality of life. We are 28,000 smart, talented and driven people committed to exceptional and sustainable outcomes. We collaborate. We innovate. We deliver results. We are Arcadis. Improving quality of life.

WWW.ARCADIS.COM ACEC 2015 Fall Conference Is… BOSTON STRONG Nearly 1,000 members and guests participated in a business program featuring world- renowned speakers and a strong focus on industry innovation.

38 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ACEC President Dave Raymond welcomes attendees to the 2015 Fall Conference at the Westin Copley Place in Boston.

orld-famous oceanic ACEC Chairman Ralph Christie to the Board explorer Dr. Robert of Directors: “The incredible cooperation Ballard and Pulitzer that we enjoy between national and state programs to achieve our Prize-winning author advocacy and business interests is Doris Kearns Goodwin what makes our association highlighted the 2015 so strong.” Boston conference. Member Firm CEOs reviewed industry Wconditions and best practices. CIOs, CFOs, emerging leaders and other industry professionals participated in more than 30 advanced business management sessions. >>

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 39 “It was a very well-organized conference, and the lineup of programs was salient to our business needs,” said Dean Anagnost, KLJ, Bismark, N.D. “I received value from every- thing I attended.” “With a coast-to-coast orga- nization such as ACEC, this was an important occasion for information sharing and discussion of those legislative, regulatory and industry issues that we all must address,” said Jason Matson, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Orange, Calif.

Ocean Explorer Ballard Has Sights on New Deep-Sea Breakthrough Dr. Robert Ballard, whose trail- Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin blazing discoveries of the Titanic, provided interesting insight on leadership from her study the German battleship Bismarck of U.S. presidents. and John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 already appear on his resume, said he U.S. presidents, said she discovered a wasn’t done yet. common leadership trait among her “I have one more trick in me—colo- subjects, regardless of the era in which nization of the world’s oceans,” he said. they lived or the challenges they faced— “We have no choice but to move out the ability to effectively communicate. into the ocean. We need to farm and In her biographies of Lyndon herd and increase the productivity of Johnson, John F. Kennedy and Franklin the ocean for the future survival of man- Roosevelt (for which she won a Pulitzer kind. I’m working hard on a design right Prize), along with Theodore Roosevelt now.” and Abraham Lincoln, Goodwin Ballard, who was presented the ACEC learned that an exceptional ability to Distinguished Award of Merit—the communicate shaped each president’s Council’s highest award given to an legacy. individual—recapped his legendary “FDR was perfectly suited to the career and then stunned many listeners new age of radio,” she said. “When by revealing that his 1985 discovery of his fireside chats aired, more than 80 the Titanic was actually the cover for a percent of the nation’s radios were classified U.S. Navy intelligence opera- tuned in. tion to find two U.S. nuclear subma- “Teddy Roosevelt masterfully used rines, the Thresher and the Scorpion, lost newspapers to his advantage and his during the Cold War in the 1960s. After whistle-stop tours were an excellent way finding the missing submarines, Ballard to meet with local editors, in addition had 12 days left to find the sunken to the citizens. JFK and Reagan were luxury liner—and succeeded. outstanding in the way they took “The guise of searching for the Titan- advantage of a new age of television.” ic’s wreckage provided a perfect alibi for She also emphasized that President the intensified presence of U.S. ships on Lyndon Johnson is earning newfound the Atlantic,” he said. respect, thanks to the current cantankerous political climate. “People Kearns Goodwin: Noteworthy are beginning to realize and appreciate Dean Zerbe, former counsel to the Senate Finance Presidents Share Similar the way Johnson used his ability to Committee, predicted passage of a highway bill Leadership Traits communicate to get Congress to do before year-end. Doris Kearns Goodwin, the best-selling major things at a critical time for our author of acclaimed biographies of nation,” Goodwin said.

40 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 Renowned oceanic explorer Dr. Robert Ballard, recipient of the ACEC Distinguished Award of Merit, shared highlights of his legendary career.

“I believe the bill will contain about two-and-a-half years of funding as part of an overall six-year package,” Zerbe said to conference attendees. “I expect it all to be finalized sometime in December.” Currently serving as national man- aging director for alliantgroup, Zerbe praised ACEC for its aggressive advo- cacy on several tax measures, includ- ing R&D tax credits, cash method of accounting and capital gains. “ACEC’s efforts on the cash accounting issue is a good example of what an orga- nization can do to keep the issue on the minds of policymakers,” he said. “Noth- ing matters as much as when engineers meet with their representatives in your state or district. Being on the Hill for 18 Stephen Hickox (at the podium), chairman and Former Senate Finance Counsel years, I can tell you both sides really want CEO of CDM Smith, was part of a CEO panel that Praises ACEC, Predicts New and need to hear what you have to say.” discussed the importance of innovation in the Highway Bill in December A/E industry. The other panelists were Eric Keen Dean Zerbe, former counsel to the Sen- CEOs Describe Industry’s (center), vice chairman and engineering president ate Finance Committee, forecast that ‘Need to Drive Innovation’ of HDR, and Tom Scarangello (right), chairman and Congress would pass a highway bill for Thornton Tomasetti Chairman and CEO of Thornton Tomasetti. President Obama’s signature by the end CEO Tom Scarangello described his of the year. firm’s commitment to “bet the farm

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 41 Lisa Brothers (left), president and CEO of Nitsch Engineering, made a point during a panel discussion of people and practices that build firm success. Other panelists were Mike Carragher (center), president of VHB, and Larry Smith (right), president and CEO of Haley & Aldrich.

Robin Greenleaf, president of Architectural Engineers, Inc., in Boston, was presented the as employee ownership and accredited together more than anything else we 2015 ACEC Chairmen Emeritus Award by former in-house learning that have helped pro- could have done.” ACEC Chairman Dick Wells for her exemplary pel VHB’s growth. “We focus on our contributions to the Council. Moments earlier, people,” he said, “and let them follow ACEC Celebrates Young Pros; Greenleaf also received the 2015 ACEC Coalitions their passions.” Scholars; and Community Service, Distinguished Service Award. “Culture drives everything,” said Coalition, and Chairmen Emeritus Nitsch Engineering President and CEO Award Winners Lisa Brothers, whose company was ACEC presented Young Professional of on innovation” and how the company named the second-best civil engineering the Year awards to five Member Firm works internally and with clients to firm to work for in the United States by employees who have made significant build a learning organization. ZweigWhite. Brothers pointed out that contributions to the industry early in “If our industry is to thrive,” he said, firms on that list historically have had a their careers: William Billiet, Schnabel “we need to drive innovation, not just 16.39 percent average annualized return Engineering, Baltimore; Dennis Hymel adapt to it.” compared with the S&P 500’s aver- Jr., T. Baker Smith, Thibodaux, La.; HDR Engineering President Eric Keen age annualized return of 4.12 percent. Juan Osorio, Langan Engineering & talked about how smart infrastructure “Having engaged employees is a com- Environmental Services, Elmwood Park, and Big Data are changing the industry. petitive advantage,” she said. N.J.; Corin Marron, ARCADIS, Tuc- “Technology is changing our approach At Haley & Aldrich, President and son, Ariz.; and Jessica Garcia, Clanton to design,” he said. “We are becoming CEO Larry Smith has a leadership information engineers. Design files are development program based on ACEC’s Thomas Ritter (left), of Century Engineering in Hunt Valley, Md., and Lamar Dunn (right), of no longer construction documents, but highly successful Senior Execu- Strategic Services Company in Maryville, Tenn., intelligent information files that con- tives Institute. “We’ve displayed the rings they received as new members tinue for the life of the facility.” had 104 staff go of the Order of the Engineer. One of the biggest challenges for through the five, Twenty-five members firms, said CDM Smith Chairman and four-day sessions,” took the Order oath CEO Stephen Hickox, is responding to he said. “It has to “uphold the the big market drivers, such as regula- knit the company standards and dignity tory changes, major population shifts of the engineering and climate change/resiliency. “You can’t profession.” be afraid of change,” he said. “Never be satisfied with the status quo.”

CEOs Discuss How Strong Teams Build Successful Firms “In order to have sustainable firm suc- cess,” VHB President Mike Carragher told a general session audience, “you need to maintain a balance between business concerns and your people.” Carragher outlined programs such

42 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 & Associates, Boulder, Colo., who was June Jewell, AEC Business Solutions, also chosen by National Engineers Week led a seminar on improving a firm’s to represent ACEC in its annual “New financial performance. Faces of Engineering” promotion. The College of Fellows honored the 2015 ACEC Scholarship Winners: Mariah Schroeder, $10,000 ACEC Scholar of the Year Scholarship; Alex Pint, $7,500 Kennedy/Jenks Consul- tants Scholarship; Corey Walker, $5,000 ACEC Life/Health Trust Scholarship; Daniel Weisenberger, $2,500 Small Firm Council Scholarship; and Shawna Peter- son, $2,500 Council of American Struc- tural Engineers (CASE) Scholarship. Two members received the 2015 Community Service Award, which recognizes those who make an extraor- dinary impact on the quality of life in their communities: Clint Robinson, Black & Veatch, Overland Park, Kan., and Eddie Kho, Morton & Pitalo, Fol- som, Calif.

ACEC/PAC Continues to Break Records in 2015: More Than $780,000 Raised ACEC/PAC hosted a Casino Night, with participants enjoying blackjack, roulette and Texas hold ’em. Chips were cashed in for prizes. Attendees also won door prizes. ACEC/PAC sold more than 800 tickets for its annual ACEC/PAC Fall Sweepstakes. Troy Holloway, Century Engineering, New Cumberland, Pa., won the $10,000 grand prize. Winners of the $5,000 prizes were Matt Crafton, Crafton Tull, Rogers, Ark., and Stepha- Paul Wagner, senior vice president of Wagner nie Wagner, Wagner Engineering & Sur- Engineering & Survey, Inc., in Northridge, Calif., vey, Northridge, Calif. Thomas Crochet, won a $275 gift certificate to Legal Sea Foods McGee Partners, Atlanta, and David as part of the ACEC/PAC Casino Night raffle. Scott, ACEC/Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, won the $2,500 prizes. Winners of the $1,000 prizes were Greg Burns, Kimley-Horn and Associ- ACEC Thanks Our 2015 Fall Conference Sponsors ates, Frisco, Texas; Mike Burns, Crafton GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS ACEC/PAC SPONSORS Tull, Rogers, Ark.; John Carrato, Alfred Autodesk, Inc. ACEC Life/Health Trust (PLATINUM) Benesch & Co., Chicago; Charles Goz- Chartwell ACEC Retirement Trust Lockton Companies dziewski, Hardesty & Hanover, New Newforma bluStone Marketing York City; Mary Hall, GZA, Boston; Marsh/ACEC Business (GOLD) Brenda Longman-Escamilla, Byce & Insurance Trust Pennoni Associates Associates, Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich.; Jeff Morrissey Goodale LLC McElwain, Ackerman-Estvold, Minot, THANKXL Catlin (SILVER) N.D.; Richard McFadden, Jaros, Baum C&S Companies & Bolles, New York City; Gary Powell, Strand Associates Stantec, Chicago; and Jim Thomson, HNTB, Bellevue, Wash. I YOU NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 43 Guest Column BY HAL KASSOFF Envisioning Sustainability In the Infrastructure Business

he leading firms in our business work with clients on the system that would be the most appro- priate to their interests and needs, to learn from and share our continuously strive to strike the experiences, and to see over time which approaches would prove right balance among compelling the most sustainable in their own right. Our team developed and (and occasionally conflicting) circulated information within the firm and to clients and found goals—to do what is right that the narrower the rating system’s focus, the less appealing it seemed to be to the broad range of clients that we serve. At least for our planet, to reflect the one client asked us to develop a system from scratch tailored to its underlying values of our profession, to adhere specific needs. Tto the culture of the company, to respond to So what brought us from neutrality to joining ISI as a charter ® the needs and desires of member in support of Envision ? It was the result of a number of threads. First and foremost was the appeal of a universal system our clients, and to achieve whose breadth extended across the complete array of infrastructure the profitability essential categories—from levees and dams to roads and rails, from airports to our continued viability. and seaports to pipelines and power lines, from clean energy and We constantly scan the telecommunications to water supply and wastewater treatment. The idea that each of these individual infrastructures would be horizon to discern and to associated with its own sustainability evaluation system simply did help define the leading not seem viable over time. edges of our practice, and The second consideration was the broad base of support from to determine whether the three sponsoring organizations—ACEC, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Public Works Association— to actively engage in Hal Kassoff whose reach among professionals and organizations across the emerging concepts and industry is so pervasive. ideas or continue to assess them against the A third factor was the early movement of Envision® to an open prisms of plausibility and practicality. body of knowledge available to all interested organizations and professionals, regardless of whether they had the desire or the bud- get to engage ISI in the full-fledged, fee-based, third-party review WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s strong allegiance to the principles system. of sustainability is rooted in beliefs and practices that span well Fourth was our early rapport and ultimate trust in the compe- over a decade. However, the decision on whether and when to par- tence, commitment and collaborative approach of the ISI profes- ticipate as a charter member in the Institute for Sustainable Infra- sional staff—particularly its leader Bill Bertera, who came out of structure (ISI) Envision® rating system required more deliberation retirement and has so skillfully navigated among the occasionally than may have been indicated by our firm’s obvious philosophical disparate goals and expectations of the founding organizations and support for sustainable early adopters. infrastructure. In fact, Fifth was the early movement among progressive clients to train we were not among the their staff to gain the ENV SP credential. A few reflected in their earliest to enroll as charter procurement documents their desire for—indeed, in some cases members. What caused us their demand for—ENV SPs on the professional staffs of firms to hold back just a bit? competing for their business. Over the past five years As these factors aligned toward the end of 2013, the company and more, a multiplicity of sustainability rating systems for trans- moved quickly to join the community of charter members. As pro- portation infrastructure (mostly, though not exclusively, focused fessionals, and as leaders in our industry, it was the right thing to on highways) have appeared. We made the decision to be, as the do. And from a business perspective, it was the smart thing to do. CEO of our U.S. company, Greg Kelly, put it, “agnostic” rather When these reasons for signing on became evident, our leader- than tilt toward any of the proposed systems. ship moved with dispatch from “wait and see” to “sign us up” to While others signed on to their preferred systems (Greenroads, “how can we help?” ISI told us they needed to build the corps of GreenLITES, INVEST, STARS or Envision®, among others that ENV SPs to a critical mass, to serve as advocates as well as analysts were rapidly emerging), we formed a team to study them all, to in advancing sustainable infrastructure. We also agreed that we

44 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 The New York City 26th Ward Wastewater Treatment Plant earned Envision Silver. COURTESY OF PSOMAS OF COURTESY COURTESY OF NYC DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL OF DEPARTMENT NYC OF COURTESY L The South Los needed more of our professionals to learn Angeles Wetland about the value of the Envision® system Park earned Envision to inform and to inspire owners in the Platinum. application of sustainability principles and practices as well as to conceive sus-

L The Snow Creek tainable solutions and evaluate outcomes. Stream Environment In our discussions with ISI, we accepted Zone Restoration earned the challenge to have at least 100 of our Envision Platinum. staff earn the ENV SP credential within one year (by the end of 2014). M The Grand Bend Area Our leadership took this challenge Wastewater Treatment seriously. By the end of the year, we Facility earned Envision surpassed the goal of 100, and well into

COURTESY OF CDM SMITH CDM OF COURTESY Platinum. our second year, the numbers continue to grow. And while interest in the full- fledged, third-party, fee-based formal evaluation process is still emerging, numerous projects and clients have been influenced by the broad-based criteria inherent in Envision® that is freely avail- able online. WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff continues to support clients in their use of alterna- tive sustainability rating tools. And ISI’s noncompetitive approach, predicated on the belief that “a rising tide lifts all ships,” has been refreshing and progressive. We fully expect that our engagement with ISI and Envision® will demonstrate that what’s good for the planet, what reflects the values of our professionals, what resonates with the culture of our organization, and what both serves and stretches the aspirations and expectations of our clients are also important to the viability of our enterprise from a business perspective.

Hal Kassoff is senior advisor and principal professional associate at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff. COURTESY OF STANTEC

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 45 Guest Column BY TIM ATHEY

Engineer as Executive

aving spent the bulk of my Business Architect professional career working Emerging executives also must learn to be: with science, technology and l V alue Integrators—assem- A/E/C firms, I’ve discovered bling the organization’s people/ Tim Athey that all of these organizations resources to create new value. rely on engineering expertise l Boundar y Busters—removing l Change Leaders—speaking legacy barriers to collaboration the truth about what must to fuel the innovation, product/service design that prevent value creation. change and leading from the Hand market growth for their respective firms. l T alent Builders—getting the front. right people with the right Another common thread for l FROM avoiding mistakes and skills in the right positions. Enterprise Leader these firms is the challenge they minimizing risk TO learning The five leadership roles face in identifying and devel- from mistakes and taking bold People Mobilizer described above define the oping senior leadership talent action. Urge emerging executives to “what” of executive leadership. required to carry the organiza- l FROM creating the best tech- become: To achieve these things, emerg- tion into the future. nical solution TO creating the l P ersonal Engagers—staying ing executives must possess the The question of whether or environment for innovative close to the people and sensing following attributes: not engineers make good execu- ideas. the mood of the team. l H umble Confidence—a tives is moot. Some of the best l FROM taking pride in their l P riority Lenses—keeping strong sense of self tempered CEOs I’ve worked with are engi- own achievements TO tak- focused on both short-term by a keen awareness of blind neers. Some of the worst were ing pride in achieving results priorities and long-term vision. spots. engineers as well. What makes through others. l E nergy Infusers—bringing l R ealistic Optimism—keeping the difference? Based on a benchmark of insight, optimism and hope to a positive and forward-looking competency models for techni- their interactions with others. attitude despite difficulties. Steps to Executive cal/engineering leadership, as l S ystems View—seeing the Leadership well as my own experience, the Force Multiplier organization as a unified whole People who choose science, following are six key roles that Challenge emerging leaders to and not a collection of parts. technology and engineering as executives must play in today’s become: The unique strengths that a profession bring distinctive world: l P erpetual Simplifiers—driv- science, technology and engi- strengths to their craft. Some ing process complexity and neering professionals bring to a of these strengths, such as intel- Strategic Catalyst gridlock out of the business. leadership role far outweigh the ligence and analytical ability, Emerging executives must l W ork Innovators—creating potential blind spots. However, are inherent to the individual. go beyond simply thinking a fearless environment that the success of these individuals Other strengths, such as prob- strategically to quickly empowers people to innovate. in moving from a traditional lem solving and project manage- translating strategic insights l T ension Balancers—creating management role to a senior ment skills, are learned. into action faster than the the right tension between the leadership position is tied to The key challenges for emerg- competition. The best possible and the achievable. their ability to let go of many of ing executive leaders in science, engineering executives are: the things that made them suc- technology and engineering l Lateral Thinkers—seeing Culture Builder cessful technical and engineering companies include the follow- linkages between unrelated Emerging executives must learn managers. ing personal transformations: ideas and business to be: l FROM analyst and problem opportunities. l V alues Translators—reinforc- Tim Athey, Ph.D., is an executive solver TO strategist and deci- l Rapid Responders—making ing the core values while evolv- coach and consultant based in sion maker. good decisions quickly with- ing the culture to compete. Fort Collins, Colo., who works l FR OM being the smartest out all the data or analysis. l T rust Builders—effectively extensively with engineering person in the room TO being l Intelligent Listeners—listen- winning the hearts/minds firms on strategy, leadership and the best communicator in the ing, understanding and valu- of an increasingly diverse organizational efforts. He can be room. ing the ideas of others. workforce. reached at [email protected].

46 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE

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ACEC’s New Amazon Portal rate audits, and provide oversight of contracts and costs. Mark Connects to More Education Resources your calendar for January 11–14, 2016, in San Diego. Expanding our mission to provide members with preeminent Review the full agenda and registration information: business education, ACEC’s new Amazon Portal now delivers the COURSE 1: www.acec.org/calendar/calendar-seminar/ entire Amazon catalog—books, mysteries-of-the-far-revealed-using-the-aashto-audit-guide- gifts, resources and more—to site course-one-san-diego-2016/ visitors. While not a replacement COURSE 2: www.acec.org/calendar/calendar-seminar/ for ACEC’s traditional bookstore, mysteries-of-the-far-revealed-using-the-aashto-audit-guide- the Portal makes it easier for members to find even more A/E course-two-san-diego-ca-2016/ business and related publications—and every sale helps support ACEC’s ongoing educational programming. Browse the store at Business of Design Consulting www.acec.org/publications/amazon/. Navigating the intricacies of staff dynamics, managing client relationships and expectations, and linking financial performance Small Firm Council Winter Meeting to overall organizational value are not intuitive skills for most A/E The 2016 Small Firm Council Winter Meeting will feature the firm managers. They must be learned. seminar Next Stage Financials: Valuation and Exit Strategy for ACEC’s Business of Design Consulting (BDC) promotes effective Small Firms, presented by Matt Fultz of Matheson Financial leadership and firm management with a strong multidisciplinary Advisors. This 1½-day program, to be held February 12–13, perspective. Taught by an experienced faculty of industry practitio- will help attendees understand and ners, this 3½-day course highlights current strategies and best prac- apply the key financial metrics that tices on several critical areas to help firms thrive despite a churning drive value in an engineering firm. business environment. Topics include how to manage change and Attendees will explore the impact build success in performance management; strategic planning and a volatile economy has on financial growth; finance; leadership; ownership transition; contracts and management beyond revenue, risk management; and marketing. A/E professionals new to firm profits, backlog and staff size, while management will find BDC particularly valuable. broadening their understanding of Business of Design Consulting is offered March 23–26, 2016, engineering firm valuation and its relationship to ownership in Denver, Colo. The program agenda and registration informa- transition. To register, go to www.acec.org/calendar/ tion can be found at www.acec.org/calendar/calendar-seminar/ calendar-seminar/2016-small-firm-council-winter-seminar/. business-of-design-consulting-denver-2016/.

Mysteries of the FAR Revealed: Using the AASHTO Audit Guide This two-day program details how to apply the AASHTO Audit Guide in the development and administration of A/E consultant FOR MORE BUSINESS INSIGHTS direct and indirect costs and rates. Presented by Dan Purvine, president of A/E Clarity Consulting & Training, and Diana I Better Business Planning DeWitt, CPA, CCIFP, at Mendelsohn & Associates, P.A., the program is composed of two I Factoring Executive Compensation mini-courses: Developing I Cyberattacks and Data Security SAN DIEGO, CA • JANUARY 11-14, 2016 Indirect Cost Rates and Auditing Comprehensive FAR Compliance I High-Impact Proposal Writing and Oversight Training for and Oversight of A/E Consultant State DOTs and A/E Firms: A special 2-part program developed by the FHWA National Highway Institute Indirect Cost Rates. Go to: www.acec.org/education/webinars/ Mysteries of the FAR Revealed: This program will be of Using the AASHTO Audit Guide particular value to Departments ACEC’s Business Resources and Education of Transportation personnel, Department provides comprehensive and online- along with A/E firm leaders accessible business management education. who administer/manage Visit ACEC’s online educational events calendar at contracts, develop/review RFPs www.acec.org/calendar/index.cfm or bookstore at and contracts for government www.acec.org/bookstore, or call 202-347-7474, ext. COURSE PARTNERS procurement, build/review cost 324, for further information. proposals, perform indirect cost

48 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 Members in the News On The Move

Jacksonville, Fla.-based RS&H Partners, Founding Principal named David T. Sweeney CEO. Robert Halvorson was named FIND He joined the firm in 1998 and executive vice president. He will YOUR NEXT has served as executive vice presi- continue to lead the Chicago dent and COO since 2014. office and work with WSP | ENGINEER on ACEC’s Parsons Brinckerhoff’s leadership. Urban Engineers of New York, D.P.C., finalized an ownership W. Troy Rudd was appointed Job Board . . . transition of the company to an executive vice president and Since the ACEC Job Board’s inception internal management group. Cur- CFO of Los Angeles-based in August of 2005, over 2,923 member rent President Edward M. D’Alba AECOM. He formerly served as firms have posted job openings and more and Executive Vice President senior vice president, treasurer than 27,000 job seekers have posted Joseph P. McAtee sold their and COO of design consulting resumes. Find your next new hire at: ownership to William Thom- services Americas and CFO of sen, Kenneth Fulmer, Bernard global design consulting. Rudd www.acec.org/jobs Carolan, Mark Kinnee, Matthew assumes the CFO role held by Marquardt and Gerald O’Neill. Stephen M. Kadenacy, who Where today’s engineering job Thomsen will serve as president. remains AECOM president. seekers go to find their next jobs. Keenan Driscoll, corporate vice The RBA Group promoted David president and assistant treasurer, Lapping to president. He formerly will succeed Rudd as treasurer. served as senior vice president and Statement of Ownership, director of New York, Connecticut West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Management, and Circulation and Philadelphia operations. Wantman Group Inc. named Engineering Inc. (USPS 0007395) is published (bi-monthly) Mario Echagarrua COO. He six times a year by the American Council of Engineering Following WSP | Parsons previously served as vice presi- Companies. Brinckerhoff’s acquisition of dent and office manager of URS The mailing address of the publication is 1015 15th Street, Chicago-based Halvorson and Corporation’s Boca Raton office. NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005. The mailing address of the publisher is 1129 20th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washing- ton, D.C. 20036. The publisher is Manifest LLC, the editor is Andrea Keeney, and the managing editor is Christopher Bran- don. The owner of the publication is the American Council of Engineering Companies. There were 30,662 copies of Engineering Inc. published for September/October 2015 issue; the average for the preceding 12 months was 29,582. The paid/requested outside county mail subscriptions for the September/October 2015 issue were 29,389; the average for the preceding 12 months was 28,776. The other classes mailed through USPS for the September/ David T. Sweeney William Thomsen David Lapping October 2015 issue were 486; the average for the preceding 12 months was 223. Total distribution for the September/October 2015 issue was 30,201; the average for the preceding 12 months was 29,247. Copies of Engineering Inc. that were not distributed during the September/October 2015 issue (office use, leftovers) was 461 and the average number of copies not distributed dur- ing the preceding 12 months (office use, leftovers) was 335. The percent paid/requested circulation for the September/October 2015 issue was 97%. The average percent paid/requested circu- lation for the preceding 12 months was 98%. Robert Halvorson W. Troy Rudd Mario Echagarrua

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 49 Members in the News

On The Move

Pasadena, Calif.-based Jacobs Engi- Muscatine, Iowa-based Stanley Con- Glen Allen, Va.-based Schnabel Engi- neering Group, Inc., reorganized its sultants appointed Ken Cable as chief neering, Inc., promoted Charles Smith leadership structure and promoted the strategy officer and vice president. He to senior vice president/senior associate. following to president of four global previously served in a number of senior- He is based in Blacksburg, Va. lines of business: J. Gary Mandel will level positions at CH2M and is based in head petroleum & chemicals; Phillip J. the firm’s Denver office. Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons Stassi will lead buildings & infrastruc- announced the following appointments: ture; Terence D. Hagen will head aero- Kansas City, Mo.-based HNTB Corpo- Rick Henderson was appointed senior space & technology; and Andrew ration appointed Art Hadnett as senior vice president and Middle East Africa F. Kremer will lead the industrial global vice president and president of the firm’s (MEA) finance director. He’s based in Par- business line. As part of the industrial West Division, where he will oversee sons’ MEA regional headquarters in Abu business line, Robert G. Norfleet will infrastructure programs, including rail/ Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Kenneth J. become senior vice president and gen- transit, tolling and aviation. He previ- Murray joined the firm as senior vice pres- eral manager of a life sciences global ously served as vice president and prac- ident of its environment and infrastructure business unit. tice leader of Stantec’s transportation business unit. He is based in Calgary, division. He is based in Los Angeles. Alberta. Ashay Dalvi was promoted to Raleigh, N.C.-based McKim & Creed, vice president and corporate controller and Inc., named Christopher Nelson CFO. New York City-based STV appointed is based at the firm’s corporate headquar- He previously served as partner/divi- John Kuprenas as senior vice presi- ters. Stephen W. Roth joined the firm as sional CFO of Environmental Resources dent and deputy director of the firm’s vice president of business development for Management, a London-based environ- construction management division. He its environment and infrastructure business mental sustainability consulting firm. is based in the firm’s headquarters. Gus unit. Roth is based in Calgary, Alberta. Maimis was also promoted to senior William K. Harnagel has joined San vice president. Maimis, who joined the New York City-based Thornton Toma- Francisco-based T.Y. Lin International firm in 2008, will also serve as Northeast setti appointed John Viise as a vice Group (TYLI) as chief financial officer. territory manager for the firm’s construc- president in the firm’s structural engi- He recently served as vice president and tion management division, overseeing its neering practice. He is based in the firm’s corporate controller for AECOM. New York tri-state project teams. Chicago office.

Christopher Nelson William K. Harnagel Ken Cable Art Hadnett John Kuprenas Gus Maimis

Charles Smith Rick Henderson Kenneth J. Murray Ashay Dalvi John Viise

50 ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 Members in the News

Welcome New Member Firms Calendar of Events DECEMBER 1 Clean Power Plan ACEC/Alabama ACEC/Kentucky ACEC/New York Implementation: How Electricity Mims Engineering, Huntsville Russell Environmental KLG Engineering, PLLC, Generation, Transmission, ACEC/Arizona Consulting, LLC, Georgetown Jamesville and Distribution Will Change EPG, LLC, Phoenix ACEC/Maryland ACEC/North Carolina (webinar) Alban Engineering, Phoenix Hydrostructures, P.A., ACEC/Arkansas 2 Industry Economic Overview: Clear Creek Engineers, Elmech Industrial Services, Pittsboro 2015 Year in Review and a Look Little Rock LLC, Finksburg ACEC/South Carolina Ahead (webinar) GarNat Engineering, LLC, J.K. Datta Consultants, Inc., MEI, LLC, Beaufort Baltimore Benton ACEC/Texas Rossi Transportation Group, 3 Outlook 2013: Time-Saving ACEC/California Cockeysville Baird & Gilroy, LLC, Richmond Shortcuts and Productivity American Rail Engineers D&S Engineering Labs, LLC, ACEC/Massachusetts Boosters for Busy People Corporation, San Juan Denton (webinar) Capistrano CX Consulting, Inc., Salisbury Fergusson Engineering Coachella Valley Engineers, ACEC/Michigan Services, Rockwall 8 Mitigate Risk with Effective Palm Desert Tourney Consulting Group, H & H Resources, Inc., Contract Language (webinar) Frank M. Booth, Inc., LLC, Kalamazoo Houston Marysville ACEC/Mississippi Kirkman Engineering, 9 Sell Without Selling! Bolster JD2, Inc., Auburn Dennis Stieffel & Associates, Grapevine Your Firm’s Business John Labib & Associates, Inc., Biloxi LandDev Consulting, LLC, Development with Content El Segundo Austin ACEC/Nebraska Marketing (webinar) ACEC/Florida Davis Design, Lincoln ACEC/Wisconsin jehle-halstead, inc., Milton Toki & Associates, Inc., 10 The Seven Secrets of Super ACEC/Nevada Milwaukee Successful Project Managers Angle Engineering, Las Vegas (webinar)

15 From Project Manager to 10 0-Yea r-Old New Member Spotlight: Project Leader (webinar) Tourney Consulting Group Member Firms JANUARY 11–12 Mysteries of the FAR Revealed: n the July/August issue of ourney Consulting Group (TCG), Using the AASHTO Audit Engineering Inc., the cover headquartered in Kalamazoo, Guide—Course One, San Diego feature, “Secrets of the Cen- Mich., specializes in quantifying I T 12 Best Practices for Highly tenarians,” highlighted ACEC concrete durability and developing Effective Boards (webinar) Member Firms that cost-effective, service-life solutions July/August 2015 inc. www.acec.org 13 Mobile and Field Technologies

coMPAnies have been in busi- engineering ericAn council of l PuB lished By AM for concrete structures. It evaluates zine engineering AwA rd-winning Business MAgA >> Member Firm for Engineers (webinar) Innovations in Urban Renewal ness for at least 100 parking, bridge, marine and other >>Buyer’s Market Grows for PLI yeAr-old firMs 100- >> Author Promotes 13–14 Mysteries of the FAR Revealed: Engineering to years. Since the structures. SecretS Grade-School SucceSS Girls Using the AASHTO Audit of story was published, Established in 2000, TCG maintains Guide—Course Two, San Diego members continue an in-house, state-of-the-art materials to contact ACEC to laboratory for concrete mix testing and 14 Three Ways to Increase Your Fees Now (webinar) inform us that their detailed forensic analysis. firm is at least 100 years old. The The firm is currently providing 20 Condos—Why Do They Continue most recent are: concrete evaluation services for to Be the Most Litigious Project Type? (webinar) the new Tappan Zee Bridge and the ARCADIS Goethals Bridge in New York state; the 21 World Bank Procurement Highlands Ranch, Colo. Al Shindagha Tunnel in Dubai, United Reforms Benefit Engineers Founded: 1895 (webinar) Arab Emirates; and the Sakonnet River MUESER RUTLEDGE Bridge in Rhode Island. To sign up for ACEC webinars, go to CONSULTING ENGINEERS For more information, visit TCG’s web- www.acec.org/education/webinars. New York, N.Y. site at www.tourneyconsulting.com. Additional information on ACEC activities Founded: 1910 is available at www.acec.org.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 ENGINEERING INC. 51 Mergers and Acquisitions BY NEIL CHURMAN Three Things Every First-Time Buyer Should Do

hile some industry negotiating the deal is only I To view the most up-to-date and “live” versions of the firms have made half the battle. For many M&A heat maps, and to see the buyers and sellers in each mergers and acquisi- buyers, the real work comes W state, go to www.morrisseygoodale.com. tions (M&A) a regular part of during integration. First-time their growth strategy, the major- buyers should consider their I Watch the M&A Takeaway video that accompanies ity of firms largely remain on the own operations and systems this article, presented by Mick Morrissey, at M&A sidelines. At some point, and how prepared they are to www.morrisseygoodale.com/ACECMergers/NovDec2015. though, many firms will decide combine them with a poten- to take the plunge and pursue tial acquisition. Issues such as an acquisition. project management, human We’ve seen more than 100 resources and information firms strike their first deal so technology can often be the far in 2015. It’s important to most challenging components remember that even the firms of the initial integration. that are the most experienced The list of things first-time and successful at M&A were buyers need to consider is long, once first-time buyers. If your but if firms ready to embark on (Charleston, S.C.), a natural and water engineering firm. firm is considering growing their first deal keep these critical resources consulting firm. ACEC Member WSP Global through acquisition, here items in mind, they’ll be better The acoustics team of Wright (Montreal, Canada) entered are three critical things you positioned to make their deal a Consulting Associates (India- into an agreement to acquire should do. success. napolis, Ind.) joined ACEC 2,000-person MMM Group G Start with strategy. Firms Member KJWW Engineering (Thornhill, Canada), which spe- pursue M&A for a multitude Recent ACEC Deal-Makers Consultants (Rock Island, Ill.), cializes in transportation, infra- of reasons. Some are seeking to OCTOBER 2015 an engineering consulting firm structure and the environment. capitalize on market growth, ACEC Member KJWW Engi- specializing in the health care, ACEC Members Alfred some are seeking to shore up neering Consultants (Rock education and industrial building Benesch & Company (Chi- capabilities and resources, Island, Ill.) and TTG Engineers markets. cago), a transportation and and some join up to be more (Pasadena, Calif.) have merged ACEC Member SvR Design infrastructure firm, and competitive in their current to create a 900-employee work- Company (Seattle) joined multi- Tucker, Young, Jackson, Tull markets. Firms need to have a force spread across 25 national disciplinary planning and design (Detroit), an environmental clearly defined strategic ratio- and five international locations. firm MIG (Berkeley, Calif.). SvR’s and civil engineering firm, have nale for pursuing M&A, with 32-person staff will become the merged. buy-in for that strategy among SEPTEMBER 2015 Seattle office of MIG. ACEC Member Black & the firm’s leadership team. ACEC Member Weidlinger ACEC Member Independent Veatch (Overland Park, Kan.) G Stay grounded. For many Associates (New York City), Mapping Consultants (Char- acquired RCC Consultants first-time buyers, rosy projec- which specializes in structural lotte, N.C.) acquired Carolina (Woodbridge, N.J.), a global tions and ambitious growth engineering, merged with ACEC Resource Mapping (Wilming- telecommunications firm. goals can cloud judgment, Member Thornton Tomasetti ton, N.C.), which specializes in ACEC Members David which can lead to overpaying (New York City), a provider of mapping services for transporta- Evans and Associates (Port- and subsequent results fall- engineering design, investigation tion and public sector clients. land, Ore.) and Triad (Woodin- ing short of expectations. All and analysis. The combined firm ville, Wash.), a multidisciplinary buyers, especially first-timers, will have 1,200 employees. AUGUST 2015 design firm, have merged. need to establish a support- ACEC Member WSP | Par- Stantec (Edmonton, Canada) able financial model for the sons Brinckerhoff (Montreal, signed a letter of intent to Neil Churman is principal deal that includes some degree Canada) acquired structural acquire Fay, Spofford & consultant of Morrissey Goodale of contingency should things engineering firm Halvorson and Thorndike (Burlington, Mass.), LLC—a strategy, M&A and not go as planned. Moreover, Partners (Chicago). an engineering, planning and human capital solutions firm buyers need to set their “walk ACEC Member Johnson, environmental firm. Both are serving the A/E/C industry. away” point for the deal, which Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT) ACEC members. Stantec Churman, who is based in is the maximum price they are (Sparks, Md.) signed a letter also acquired VA Consulting the firm’s Houston office, can willing to pay. of intent to acquire Tidewa- (Irvine, Calif.), a community be reached at nchurman@ G Set the table. Identifying and ter Environmental Services development, transportation morrisseygoodale.com.

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1Network statistic based on GeoAccess information and UnitedHealthcare standard network access mileage criteria, 2013. 2Renewal rate based on average year-over-year ACEC Life/Health Trust persistency metrics. The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the ACEC Life/Health Insurance Trust and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company are three separate legal operating entities and, as such, the organizations are governed and function independently. UnitedHealthcare’s services are provided with the authorization of the ACEC Life/Health Trust. Questions related to health bene ts offered through the Life/Health Trust should be directed to 1-800-573-0415. Must be UnitedHealthcare insurance license products; and HMO products do not apply. ACEC membership quali cation is determined by the association. Insurance coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or its af liates. © 2015 United HealthCare Services, Inc. UHCEW733974-000