10
ON THE MOVE WGI ANNOUNCES GEOSPATIAL SCIENTIST AND INDUSTRY EXPERT ROBERT HANSON JOINS FIRM Robert Hanson is joining national design firm WGI as vice president – geospatial. Hanson’s hire is a move identified in the company’s stra- tegic growth plan, and Wantman and WGI’s President, Gregory Sauter, are putting the best person in place to meet aggressive goals for creating divisional growth through the applica- tion of a wide array of geospatial technologies. “Bob has spent his entire career leading the evolution of the geospatial profession, from U.S. Army Topographic School in the 1970s and NOAA National Ocean Survey Bathymet- ric Compilation Training in 1980, through close to four decades of the application of every new technology, up to his last position as chief sci- entist and industry expert for a large, interna- tional firm,” says David Wantman, CEO. As a chief scientist and industry expert, Han- son was charged with the examination of ap- plications developed in-house for a specific purpose using geospatial technology. Working with teams of professionals and subject-matter
experts, he assessed the business potential beyond the project-level for application/tech- nology innovation, based on its uniqueness, applicability as a technical solution within the marketplace, feasibility of scaling the innova- tion to national markets, and the ROI analysis with development and investment stages. It is this level of operative expertise and de- velopment of future revenue streams that at- tracted WGI. In addition, Hanson led the firm’s capital investment in sensor-based technolo- gies and formed a LiDAR Center of Excellence for operation/delivery of projects using Mobile LiDAR, LCMS for pavement distress, and UAS. He led work on notable large and com- plex transportation and infrastructure projects across the nation. “WGI’s strategic goals for its Geospatial Divi- sion are ambitious, and its investment in le- veraging ‘Tomorrow’s Technology Today’ is very exciting to me. The combination of my experience, and WGI’s similar commitment to efficiency and technology will rapidly increase WGI’s presence as a national leader in geo-
spatial services,” says Robert Hanson. “And I am ready to relocate back to Florida after so many years in Pennsylvania.” Noted Gregory Sauter, “We’re absolutely com- mitted to advancing the cutting-edge tech- nologies that are transforming how we envi- sion, design, and deliver infrastructure. That provides WGI with a special opportunity to fol- low the example and experience of someone highly qualified to assist in the execution of our 2025 vision of market leadership and revenue derived from innovation and technology. We welcome Bob and his commitment to evolu- tionary thinking.” As a multidisciplinary solutions-providing con- sulting firm, WGI has 18 offices in six states, serving an active client base in more than 30 states, specializing in land development/ municipal engineering, traffic and transporta- tion engineering, parking solutions, geospatial services, subsurface utility engineering, struc- tures, landscape architecture, environmental sciences, architecture, land planning, MEP engineering, and creative services.
DAVID COYNE, from page 9
to adhere to older models that ignore key concepts such as skill specialization or speed of deliverables. And to be fair, we’re not exactly dealing with French fries and chocolate shakes. But we should ask ourselves some hard questions: ❚ ❚ Are we determining which processes result in the fewest con- flicts and collisions? When and how do we get in each others’ way, impeding our work? ❚ ❚ Do we understand where our materials, labor and expenses really go, and how they combine to form the products or de- liverables we create? Can those elements be quantified and controlled, like ketchup and pickles on a bun? ❚ ❚ Are the concepts of high quality and speed of deliverables re- ally mutually exclusive? Or do we simply need to adopt the right modern technology to accomplish both? ❚ ❚ Are we making sure our ideas are carried out by the right people, with the right training and tools? Do we assign writ- ing tasks to skilled writers, graphics to designers, and client relationships to our best communicators? I’ll admit that applying concepts associated with McDonald’s to an AEC firm could be viewed by some as undesirable; or at the very least, reflecting a diminished value of service through a soulless mechanical process. But from an operational viewpoint, I propose the contrary – that all professional services firms can embody these efficiency models to their own business, just as the McDonald brothers did more than 70 years ago. Those that do are poised for profits and growth, regardless of what anyone wants to say about them. Simply put, if striving for these ideals means that I’m a “McDonald’s man,” then I’m in. Or, perhaps more appropriately: I’ll have the combo meal, please. DAVID COYNE is a principal and the COO of Liberty Environmental, Inc., which provides environmental consulting and engineering services to clients across the United States. Coyne can be reached at dcoyne@ libertyenviro.com.
is a recollected vignette depicting the footprint of the planned restaurant being drawn to scale in chalk on a tennis court. Then, like dancers taking the stage at the direction of Dick McDonald, the staff executes a ballet of food preparation. A pivot here, a swing there, precisely measured and adjusted to avoid collisions and maximize speed. Everything is composed and arranged, down to the exact number of pickles per burger (it’s two, if you’re wondering). When an early layout results in bumps and crashes, the whole thing is erased and redrawn with improvements informed by the rehearsal. It’s more than just choreography; it’s the mechanical design of an operational process, albeit in human movement. Through all of Kroc’s single-minded deal-making in the years that followed, the core of the brand’s success remained its efficient process model, as established on that humble tennis court. Nobody thought to apply mechanical process efficiency to a burger stand until the McDonald brothers thought to do so in the 1940s, and the resulting benefits couldn’t have been clearer. But yet, 70-plus years on, we in the AEC and professional services fields tend to strongly resist the notion that operational efficiencies can improve our business. For some reason, we shy away from business models that encourage profits or cost control, preferring “For some reason, we shy away from business models that encourage profits or cost control, preferring to adhere to older models that ignore key concepts such as skill specialization or speed of deliverables.”
© Copyright 2019. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
THE ZWEIG LETTER March 11, 2019, ISSUE 1287
Made with FlippingBook Annual report