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ON THE MOVE SME’S INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES TEAM ADDS DYNAMIC LEADER As infrastructure needs continue to change, whether from aging or the changing needs of a new economy, SME is making strides to enhance the services we office clients facing these challenges. As the firm continue to grow, SME is pleased to welcome Jeff Evans, P.S., to its Infrastructure Services group. He is working with the firm’s civil engineering and surveying teams to develop strong client relationships. SME’s infrastructure services team specializes in the design of infrastructure projects including pavements, utilities and site layout. The firm’s staff of civil engineers, land surveyors, and field technicians evaluate and provide project specific design alternatives that address complex site requirements. Evans is a dynamic leader with more than 25
years of building client relationships based on trust. Evans is known for empowering his team, guiding strategic planning and business development efforts. He has traveled the country speaking about survey technologies and sharing case studies, and is passionate about energy related projects including pipeline, solar wind farms and transmission and distribution. A professional surveyor in 12 states, Evans has served as a project manager, crew chief and group leader for survey in infrastructure improvement projects across the Midwest. Evans has performed a wide range of survey services include ALTA, boundary surveys, route surveys, pipeline surveys, aerial photo control, GPS coordinator, construction layout. In 2009, he started his own consulting company providing land surveying, civil engineering, GIS, land management and
ecological services to energy clients. Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cleary University. For more than 50 years, SME has provided engineering and scientific services for more than 90,000 projects in the Great Lakes Mega region and beyond. Whether developing a new site or redeveloping an existing brownfield site; constructing or rehabilitating infrastructure including roads and bridges and other utilities; or acquiring, rehabilitating or managing existing facilities, SME can help. SME specializes in geotechnical, environmental, pavement, building and construction materials, building enclosures and metals and coatings consulting and design services. The tougher the challenge, the more SME can help.
GOING BEYOND, from page 7
students as summer interns in our civil, mechanical, and electrical departments. While we are not always able to hire them full-time, we at least get to introduce them to our industry which is good for our profession overall. TZL: In addition to being COO, you’re also known as a “solutions-oriented” electrical engineer. Can you give me a specific example of what that means by illustrating with a scenario? KR: BHB’s “solutions oriented” approach to projects starts with user meetings to completely understand their goal or problem. This often involves working within budget constraints in addition to offering a remedy. For example, a school district client wanted to add new classrooms to an existing building but was told by another engineer the load added would require replacement of their main switchboard at significant cost. I met on-site with the switchboard manufacturer and an electrician to review the existing equipment. We deenergized the equipment and removed all dead front covers to expose the interior components. This allowed us to identify a means to add mounting hardware for a new circuit breaker needed for the proposed addition at a much lower cost and significantly reduced downtime to the school. “Serving as COO has required learning a different skill set from those I use as an engineering lead. The most difficult of these, and one I am constantly trying to improve, is personal relations. Keeping 100 folks happy is much harder than the 20 in our electrical department.” TZL: Research shows that PMs are overworked, understaffed, and that many firms do not have formal
BHB staff enjoying time together in the office before COVID.
training programs for PMs. What is your firm doing to support its PMs? KR: We recognize the need for training our PMs and we encourage them to enroll in the TSPE Professional Engineer Leadership Institute. Our eight graduates from this program have each remarked on how much they learned and the skills they acquired during the four weekend sessions. We are also developing an expanded in-house program offering a wider range of project management and technical skills. Our company leadership maintains active participation in projects and in guiding our younger staff’s career progress. TZL: A firm’s longevity is valuable. What are you doing to encourage your staff to stick around? KR: We are fortunate that 25 percent of our staff has been with BHB for 10 years or more. We attribute this to our mentorship program and to providing paths for growth within the company.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 5, 2020, ISSUE 1362
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