1164

BUSINESS NEWS AECOM WINS DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’S NEW PROGRAM MANAGEMENT/CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT CONTRACT AECOM , a premier, fully integrated global infrastructure firm, announced that it has been awarded a new five-year contract to provide program management and construction management services at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, recognized internationally as one of the most frequently visited super-hub airports in the world. The contract covers a variety of potential projects, including both federally- and non-federally-funded airfield improvements, building projects and landside improvements. Under the new contract, worth an estimated US$100 million, AECOM will provide full project life cycle services to DFW’s Design, Code and Construction Department. The scope of services includes program, project,

design and construction management; contract administration; program and project controls; public outreach; and technical, third- party support. In keeping with AECOM’s and DFW’s long-time commitment to promote participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, it is expected that 40 percent of the contract’s total dollar value will be subcontracted by AECOM to qualified DBEs. AECOM has served as a consultant to DFW for more than 30 years, beginning with assistance on the airport’s first Master Development Plan in the 1980s. AECOM has and will continue to lead a joint venture team responsible for design and design management services for the renovations currently in progress at DFW Terminal B and Terminal E, as part of the airport’s US$2.7-billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program.

“We are very proud of our long history of workingwith the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and being a part of their most important and iconic programs,” said Michael S. Burke, AECOM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The confidence shown by DFW in selecting AECOM as their PM/CM partner for the next five years reflects the collaborative relationship we’ve worked hard to build together and AECOM’s in-house strengths in aviation architecture and engineering.” DFW is the fourth busiest airport in the U.S., serving more than 64 million passengers annually. Centered between its owner cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW also serves as a major economic generator for the North Texas region, producing over US$37 billion in economic impact each year by connecting people through business and leisure travel.

JAVIER SUAREZ, from page 11

(growing plants using only water, nutrients, and a grow- ing medium), were met, as many other innovations, with skepticism. Ultimately, this technique has been proven to be extremely successful. As we present “our case” in a proposal, we should not shy away from presenting a unique approach and be creative in the way the document is laid out. You need to be mindful of what will work in a particular situation, so think about the audience, its personalities, and the competi- tion, and how their documents look and feel. Do not go over- board for the sake of being different; if you have fertile soil, use it. Hydroponics is not your best-case scenario. ❚ SWOT. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Farmers use this effective business tool in their hard, hands- on work. They need to thoroughly understand their land’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as their farm’s labor force and equipment. Similarly, they need to take into account ex- ternal situations that present opportunities or pose threats to their livelihood; including a growing demand for certain vegetables (i.e., kale), emerging pests, and the effects of cli- mate change. When leading a team through the discussions that will lead to the development of a winning proposal, it is imperative to perform a SWOT analysis. No matter how many similar proposals you have developed, the effort does not get easier. This is the nature of the business if you are doing it right. David Bly said, “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” Going after a project without having cultivated the client’s relationship, without planning your strategy and team beforehand, without customizing your content specifically speaking to the audience, without offering any type of innovation to stand out from the crowd, and without thoroughly understanding all the key elements surrounding the project, is like trying to set up a home garden by just digging a hole and dropping some seeds into it. This “proposal” land is your land. Take charge of each venture. Own it. JAVIER SUAREZ is the central marketing and sales support manager with Geosyntec Consultants. Contact him at jsuarez@geosyntec.com.

the majority welcomes it because it pushes them to think about the issues from the client’s perspective. Also, at every step of the way, you must ask why – why are we including this sample project, why is this the best way to organize the team, why is this task relevant, why would the client select us? Remember that you should “plant the seed” for this line of questioning and thinking at the proposal kick-off meeting and in your regular marketing meetings. “As farmers plough the soil in preparation for sowing seed, marketers need to be invested in the business development processes in anticipation of solicitations that will hit the street.” Let’s look at some of the cues we can take from farming applied to the submittal process: ❚ Planning. As farmers plough the soil in preparation for sow- ing seed, marketers need to be invested in the business devel- opment processes in anticipation of solicitations that will hit the street. In an ideal world, the key members of a proposal team are aware of the client’s needs and preliminary strategies and action plans can be developed before the official Request for Proposal is released. ❚ Customization. No two pieces of land are the same, even the ones close to each other. They may share several characteris- tics, but each farmer is the only one that truly understand his plot of land. Every project (and every proposal), is different and it should be addressed as such. General guidelines and some boilerplate are useful tools, but only as a starting point in the proposal development process. Content should be ed- ited to specifically speak the client’s language and should go straight to the point. The use of “fluff” does not contribute anything positive to the proposal and it actually hurts the overall document, just like over-fertilizing the soil. ❚ Innovation. The first mentions of hydroponic farming

THE ZWEIG LETTER August 15, 2016, ISSUE 1164

Made with FlippingBook Annual report