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ON THE MOVE MILLER JOINS WSP USA AS NATIONAL TOLL PRACTICE CONSULTANT Philip Miller, a toll industry leader with more than three decades of experience in highway transportation, has joined WSP USA , a leading engineering and professional services consultancy, as a national toll practice consultant. Miller will collaborate with Jeff Heilstedt, national director of tolling services at WSP, to enhance and reinforce the firm’s growing range of toll industry services to new and existing clients, with new tools and toll history experience. His arrival will help toll agencies across the nation plan or prepare to convert to all electronic toll technology. Currently in the U.S. there are about 336 toll highways, bridges, and tunnels, of which 114 operate without toll plazas. They were either built using AET technology, or have been converted to AET. “Phil is a veteran of the North American toll industry’s adoption of electronic tolling, non-stop tolling and the gradual conversion to AET technology,” Heilstedt said. “With his experience and expertise, he will be at
home collaborating with toll authorities, state departments of transportation, regional toll and mobility authorities, and the concessionaire toll industry.” Throughout much of his 36-year career, Miller has been at the forefront of cutting-edge tolling innovations including the industry conversion to non-stop tolling. He has worked with more than 30 toll clients in the U.S., Canada, and beyond on their toll engineering and system needs, which are often driven by owner considerations of toll operations, finance, and policy. In the 1990s Miller led the introduction of electronic tolls to the Illinois Tollway and managed the introduction of integrated tolls to the Transportation Corridor Agencies in California. In the 2000s Miller led the development of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority open road tolling master plan, as well as the procurement of North Carolina’s first toll system – the first AET system for a start-up toll road in the U.S. Since 2010, Miller has co-authored a concept
plan for conversion of the Massachusetts Turnpike to AET and has directed other major multi-discipline programs in Maryland and Florida. Miller is a graduate of Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Miller received his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association. WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, WSP USA is made up of engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 9,500 employees in 150 offices across the U.S., WSP USA partners with its clients to help communities prosper.
GREG MARCONNET & JEFF JANIS, from page 9
why it failed, and corrections may need to be designed to support the door properly. As a consultant, not only do you need to have that more in-depth understanding, but you need to make sure the client understands as well. ❚ ❚ Step into the clients’ shoes. Picture this: You just had a great conversation with a client, and they promised to set up a meeting. A week goes by, two weeks go by, and still, no word. What’s going on? You’ve been ghosted! As a consultant, you need to prepare for this very real circumstance. While on the consultant side it is easy to feel slighted, when you reflect on this from the client’s perspective, it becomes more understandable. Of course, not all clients behave this way, but clients often have extremely busy schedules with many shifting priorities. It is not uncommon for the follow- up with the consultant to fall to the back burner. You need to realize following up with a consultant is not a client’s first priority. Be patient and don’t take it personally. Learning how long to wait and how to reconnect is a skill you will absolutely need. Our success on the consultant side of the business has been measured by our ability to shift paradigms to adjust to the needs of being a consultant. If you can master the art of placing yourself in the client’s shoes, you will be far more successful as a consultant. When it comes to successful, mutually beneficial client interactions, a shift in perspective can really make all the difference. GREG MARCONNET’s 39-year career in the food processing industry includes working in and supporting food processing plants with facility design, maintenance practices, equipment design, sanitation and sanitary design. He leads Mead & Hunt’s Food and Beverage Group to deliver valuable engineering solutions to clients. JEFF JANIS is a project management discipline lead with Mead & Hunt’s Food and Beverage Group. He has a comprehensive understanding of all client needs. He uses his depth of experience to anticipate project challenges and surpass client needs at every step of the way. They can be reached at greg.marconnet@meadhunt.com and jeff.janis@meadhunt.com.
pages for an engineer – clients work with folks they know, trust, and like. Therefore, investing in relationships is vital. Relationships are built on frequency of contact over time. As a consultant, you don’t always get as much time or frequency as you may want to build relationships with clients, so it is very important to make the most of the time you have. Be a friend, have those conversations, and maintain a human connection. It will pay off. “If you can master the art of placing yourself in the client’s shoes, you will be far more successful as a consultant. When it comes to successful, mutually beneficial client interactions, a shift in perspective can really make all the difference.” ❚ ❚ The devil is in the details. When moving from the client side to the consultant side, it’s necessary to shift your perspective: The client typically has a macro view of the project, but as a consultant, you need to have the micro view. This means understanding all the small details. The client will not be focused on every tiny technical detail – you were hired to be the expert and understand the little things to help the client get the right project outcome. For instance, we once had a client who had a fork truck door that was damaged. The client’s thought was to simply replace the door. However, as the consultant there is a responsibility to provide a higher level of care so that the new door is the right door. This includes conducting an analysis to ascertain what exactly went wrong. The old door may have been installed without proper engineering, hence
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THE ZWEIG LETTER December 2, 2019, ISSUE 1322
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