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BUSINESS NEWS NJDOT APPOINTS JACOBS FOR NEW INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ON ROUTE 18: TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM CONTRACT INCLUDES CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION AND INSPECTION SERVICES Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has received a contract from the New Jersey Department of Transportation to provide construction administration and inspection services for the Route 18 Traffic Signal System project in East Brunswick and New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Route 18 project consists of the installation of new Intelligent Transportation Systems equipment and upgrades to the existing traffic signal system.

Jacobs’ construction administration and inspection services include the installation of image and radar detectors, Controlled Traffic Signal System cameras and fiber optic cable at 23 locations along the Route 18 corridor. The project is scheduled for completion by November 2017. Jacobs will oversee a traffic study to be conducted prior to the start of any work to determine daily volumes at each traffic signal, average corridor travel time, and average intersection delay. The findings will be compared with the information obtained when the system is integrated and operational. Once

the equipment is installed and integrated into the NJDOT Statewide System, a verification and validation plan will be executed and testing performed. “Jacobs has worked alongside NJDOT on many projects over the past 60 years,” said Jacobs Senior Vice President Buildings and Infrastructure Randy Pierce. “This experience, combined with our proven capability in transport engineering services including ITS, positions us well to help NJDOT meet the challenges and opportunities of this rapidly changing technological landscape.”

TZL: What’s your preferred strategy for growth, M&A or organic? Give us a synopsis of how your firm effected growth in the recent past. DA: I’m a fan of organic growth. We have three strategies, but No. 2 below is our preferred one: 1)Cold start. Send someone into a region you want to be in and set up shop. You have to be patient with this one. 2)Warm start. You find a market where you already have estab- lished client relationships and resources. You send in senior “We don’t just give opportunities to people who have been here for years and have tons of experience. We don’t subscribe to that. We recently had a 27-year-old employee open a new office in Denver.”

CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7

focused on reaching out to that 70 percent. We’ve had a huge success ratio. As for retention, a 14 percent attrition is expected. All of our peers have the same issue, too. Last year, we did a study of people who left over the last three years. We learned the top reasons were:

❚ ❚ They had the wrong manager ❚ ❚ They were in the wrong roles ❚ ❚ They were not being engaged

We’re working on those items.

TZL: What’s the key benefit you give to your employees? Flex schedule, incentive compensation, 401(k), etc.? DA: Our benefits are pretty traditional. We’re not doing things like pet insurance. We provide excellent medical in- surance, generous PTO, dental insurance, and disability. We have healthy profit sharing. For example, a starting employ- ee will typically get an average distribution that equals 20 percent of their salary. That’s not bad for someone who is just starting out. Culture is also important. We’re engaged in the community and staff likes to know that. We have an open culture and we’re accessible and flexible. As CEO, I have no door. I have a glass wall. Anyone can come in at any time. I circulate around a lot and also visit our other of- fices on a regular basis. I ensure that staff has opportuni- ties to grow, too. For example, we don’t just give opportu- nities to people who have been here for years and have tons of experience. We don’t subscribe to that. We recently had a 27-year-old employee open a new office in Denver. “As CEO, I have no door. I have a glass wall. Anyone can come in at any time. I circulate around a lot and also visit our other offices on a regular basis.” TZL: How do you raise capital? DA: We’ve never had to. We’re financially healthy. I hate debt. Every so often we dip into a line of credit, but pay it back right away. Cash is king.

leadership to really understand the local market. 3)M&As. We’ve only done one – it was my firm.

TZL: What’s the role of entrepreneurship in your firm?

DA: There needs to be more of it. Entrepreneurship is em- braced. Right now we have a 32-year-old woman who is put- ting together a business plan to open a new office in Texas. (Entrepreneurship is not a standard genetic of architects, so it’s something that has to be nurtured.)

TZL: What’s the greatest challenge presented by growth?

DA: People, people, people. When you grow, it’s difficult to get to really know everyone. Do I know who has a dog or what their kids’ names are? Probably not. TZL: What’s your prediction for 2017 and for the next five years? DA: CR is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. I’m bullish on where things are till mid-2019. Then, I think we’ll see a small recession – similar to 1991. Our business mod- el is buffered by being in eight different segments, so when one is down, another is often up. Diversification is key.

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 5, 2017, ISSUE 1203

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