Psomas

Source: Construction Digital

Date :11/04/2008 03:48:18

Psomas already boasts a host of successful projects and associated accolades – but there’s every sign that its ‘vision for growth’ is set to deliver even more engineering triumph

Written by Ben O’Hanlon and Produced by Sean Bakke

Established in Los Angeles in 1946 as a surveying company, Psomas has grown to become one of Engineering News-Record’s Top 100 Engineering Firms in the US. The company primarily offers consulting services in the land development, water/wastewater and transportation markets. Today it employs approximately 800 people in 18 offices throughout western America, all generating annual revenue in excess of $130 million.

Company President Jacob Lipa says that recent success has been the product of a strategic focus on growth: “In a world of consolidation we are continually competing against larger and larger companies – so we wanted to think big, to operate on a bigger scale. We tried to put systems in place that would enable us to do that.”

Jacob joined Psomas around thirty years ago as an engineer and has since worked his way through the company, managing projects and becoming Group Leader of the Land Development service unit. Today he is one half of a “two at the top” duo, alongside CEO Blake Murillo. It’s a philosophy of shared responsibility, explains Jacob: “The projects we work on are all about teamwork and communication, so we like to set a good example.”

Ready, Set, Grow!

Since Jacob became President in 2002 the strategic drive for growth has set Psomas’ key goals: diversification and strengthening the workforce. This has not only seen it expand its capability across more markets, but also its geographical presence by opening offices in new locations. In an attempt to recruit and retain top quality staff, the company is keen to provide opportunities for people to grow within it, either vertically into more senior positions, or horizontally into new areas of work. These measures have enabled Psomas to secure larger projects and, subsequently, increase the company’s share value.

This increase in capability, coupled with shifting market trends, has seen a greater focus on the transportation and water markets. As with land development, the services provided to these markets involve planning, design and construction management of engineering projects. This has included designing the Slate Canyon Water Pipeline in Provo, UT – which reaches across 20,000 feet of steep mountainous terrain to supply a local state hospital with water.

The company also undertook a project to deliver safety improvements along Gates Pass mountain road in Tucson, AZ – awarded Third Best Road Project in the country for 2006 by Roads and Bridges magazine. It was also acknowledged to be the “most complex” of all the Top 10 – the list of accolades and the portfolio of work that precedes them makes impressive reading.

Accessible Systems

Jacob explains that its goals have placed high demands on the capability of Psomas’ IT systems: “Part of our vision has been to do an excellent job for our clients so that they can feel confident giving us projects to work on. But we realized that we’re not always going to have the work where the people are or, necessarily, the people where the work is. So we tried to put systems in place that enable us to do work from any part of the company.”

This philosophy means that the company has a very robust intranet, where anybody involved can access project details at any time. This includes details of the people working on it, financial information and, so as to remain open and objective, any problems that have been encountered. “Without information you cannot behave responsibly, with it you cannot but behave responsibly,” says Jacob. And, naturally, this information feeds into a managerial program that analyzes project details, enabling the best decisions to be taken as early as possible.

Project details on the intranet are also summarized under ‘project at a glance’ and ‘invoice at a glance’ sections so that client queries can be answered quickly from any place in the world and at the first point of contact, rather than be passed between departments.

Customer service is clearly high on the agenda, but Psomas follows the innovative philosophy that “people”, rather than “clients”, come first. “That doesn’t mean we value clients below staff,” explains Jacob. “We just recognize that by taking care of ourselves we will be in an excellent position to take care of our clients.” Profit, it seems, will follow: “We don’t talk about profit as a driver – it’s an outcome, not a goal. If you take care of your clients, take care of your people, and manage your projects in an efficient way then you’ll get profit.”

This has been a successful approach, helping to develop an enviable reputation among a host of public and private sector organizations. On an operational level, though, taking care of your clients means understanding their individual needs. Jacob says that although the engineering is the same for public and private sector clients alike, the process is typically very different: “Private sector clients tend to be more focused on the outcome of a project than the means of achieving it. Public sector clients have different responsibilities, particularly in terms of finance, so we have to make sure we manage individual needs effectively.”

Managing Your Impact

But, inevitably, operating a ‘responsive’ business is as much about taking care of the external environment as it is about internal staff and client needs – and Psomas is aware of its corporate responsibilities. Each office runs an annual ‘volunteer day’ where its’ staff give back to their local community. Past projects have included cleaning the beach in Santa Monica, CA and cleaning the Jordan River in Utah.

All staff are encouraged to be actively involved in community projects and, in their professional work, 36 are LEED-accredited. This is the US Green Building Council certification, used to grade buildings on their level of environmental sustainability. “We’ve always emphasized the importance of the balance between the natural and built environment,” says Jacob.

With such strong environmental and community commitment, robust systems and clear business philosophies, it appears that Psomas is well rooted to continue growing; the current strategic vision is set to 2015. Continuous improvement is a “daily conversation” and the next phase should see the company expanding its international presence. With growth, of course, comes change, but Psomas remains committed to its core values and seems well placed to deal with the challenges ahead.