BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1 - (Page 47)

Tech Trends new late trains. It seems that late-night riders have often been drinkand Design has an excellent national reputation, having won muling and it is hard for one conductor to manage them. It’s something tiple awards competing against much larger ﬁrms. I would never have thought of, but it will make a big difference and Trafﬁc Planning and Design’s work is 75 percent private and 25 show that we’re listening. We need feedback from everybody.” percent public, so Johnson knows how to work with government agencies to get projects approved and knows what it is like to work with government agencies to get projects accomFIRM MOVES UP TO 16TH BEST CIVIL plished. In fact, Trafﬁc Planning and E N G I N E E R I N G F I R M I N T H E N AT I O N Design has worked twice as a SEPTA consultant. Both perspectives are valuThe 2008 judges for the annual CE News magazine Best able to SEPTA as it seeks to expand Civil Engineering Firms To Work For competition ranked services and improve existing facilities. Trafﬁc Planning and Design as the No. 16 ﬁrm—up one Johnson’s help will be invaluable as spot from No. 17 in 2007—on its prestigious list of the SEPTA negotiates with county and city Top 50 Best Firms To Work For in the United States. This is commissioners and improves relations the ﬁfth consecutive year Trafﬁc Planning and Design has with contractors. ranked among the Top 25 ﬁrms nationwide. Johnson explained, “I know the Operating in ﬁve locations, Trafﬁc Planning and Design L Kevin Johnson is a ﬁrm relationship from the consultant’s perprides itself on working seamlessly as one company with believer that the rewards spective and I believe it can be a partmultiple locations as a way to leverage the considerable outweigh the difﬁculties nership, not adversarial. If we have expertise of its professional staff and to achieve project of largely unrecognized better relationships with the engineersuccess. Trafﬁc Planning and Design’s strategically located public service ing community, we’ll have more and network of ofﬁces, progressive management structure, better ﬁrms pursuing projects and we’re aggressive investment in technology, and priority on individual accountability enable the bound to get better results.” Johnson ﬁrm to provide high-quality service, responsiveness, and local knowledge for the beneﬁt concedes that SEPTA can be perceived of clients, teaming partners, and ultimately the traveling public. as being demanding in terms of workIn addition, Trafﬁc Planning and Design’s philosophy effectively addresses the two ing relationships, but he is certain that leading causes for employee turnover, namely proximity to family and commuter travel will change. To that end, he has intertime. As such, Trafﬁc Planning and Design’s employee retention rate is among the best in viewed over a dozen active SEPTA conthe nation, averaging better than 99 percent over the past two years. The direct beneﬁts sultants, and as a board member, he to Trafﬁc Planning and Design’s clients, teaming partners, and vendors include a cumulative vows to improve the relations between knowledge base that grows long-term relationships with Trafﬁc Planning and Design’s SEPTA and the contractors it needs to project managers and stability in every aspect of the organization, from engineering and get projects accomplished. business operations staff through to the management and ownership structure. While building his business, Johnson kept his eye on the SEPTA board and positioned himself for that post by establishing a record of public Some of the response to his willingness to listen, however, was unexpected: “The only thing that surprised me was the amount of conservice. He started with Board of Directors positions at the YMCA stituent services. People will call me about expediting things like a and his local chamber of commerce. He was then appointed by the railroad crossing or to resolve an encroachment. I like these calls, and Chester County Commissioners to the Chester County Planning as an engineer it’s always fun to solve problems. But it was a surprise.” Commission, which later appointed him for the SEPTArole. “I highly recommend getting involved the sooner the better,” he emphasized. “It’s like anything else. You start at entry level, and if you like it SEPTA in a time of change and are good at it, you move up.” Johnson says that a perfect storm of positive factors makes this a As head of a business that is consistently selected as one of good time to be a SEPTA board member. Pennsylvania’s Act 44 Pennsylvania’s top 10 places to work, Johnson is also good at sowas passed in 2007 and combines a number of statewide sources liciting and applying feedback. In other words, he’s a good lisinto a steady funding pool that greatly eases SEPTA’s annual tener—and that’s a valuable skill for a member of any board. He scramble to cover its operating budget. Increased fuel costs have believes that everyone needs to be part of the team. In addition to driven new commuters into the system. And political attitudes interviewing SEPTA consultants, he also reaches out to employees seem to be changing as well, noticeably easing tensions between at every level of the transportation system. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, and between SEPTA and conFor example, “One of the best responses I ever received was from sultants and employees. Green initiatives are catching hold, and a conductor who said that we needed extra conductors on SEPTA’s the authority will be adding hybrid buses to its ﬂeet by 2011. Volume 6 Issue 1 | Be Magazine 47

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1

BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1 Contents Anticipation’s Name Is V8i Be Awards of Excellence Kicks Off Competition Bentley Launches the Most Comprehensive SoftwarePortfolio for Infrastructure Ever Assembled in a Single Release MicroStation V8i Up Close & Personal Is Water the New Oil? How Does Intent Become Reality? Does Performance Create Sustainability? Renewing Confidence in Public Highway Infrastructure Enterprisewide System Manages International Airport Standardized CAD/GIS Platform Streamlines Infrastructure Engineering 3D Modeling Refines Reusable Design for Plant Prototype Lean Teams Deliver Automotive Assembly Plants Through Innovative Use of BIM Integrated 3DModels Enable Compact and Safe Plant Design Sustainable Development Supports Thriving Community Terminal Pumps Natural Gas Through Longest Subsea Pipeline Large UtilityWorks To Reduce SO2 Emissions Aging Power Station Boosts Engineering Productivity Hydropower Dam To Fuel Growing Economy Collaboration Tools Accelerate Chinese Railway Electrification System Design Rapid Rail Link To Meet Socio-Economic Development Goals High-CapacityWastewater Treatment Facility ReclaimsWater Resources City ExpandsWater SupplyWithout Deploying AdditionalWater Resources Private Calling Meets Public Service Learning Paths Map Skill Development for Infrastructure Professionals A Contemporary Approach to Site Design The Art of Visualization Special Feature: Be Communities Physical + Digital Investments = Intelligent Infrastructure

BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1

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