Any number of factors can drive a project: quality, technology, cost savings, etc. Beyond the construction documents that any number of firms could provide, a good consultant identifies what is driving a specific project and adjusts its traditional approach to ensure your priorities are met.
Case in point. When two wireless companies merged, they needed to add high-speed data capabilities to their southeastern U.S. network. With fierce competition already in place, this needed to happen almost as fast as the computer signals fly over the system. Obviously speed was the driving factor, and a traditional 9 to 5 approach wouldn’t cut it. Instead, we assigned a geographically diverse team in different time zones to make around the clock progress possible on a project spanning from Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi to China. “This project required speed as well as engineering details,” notes Floyd White, PE, senior electrical engineer and technical leader on this project. “SSOE’s Shanghai office helped produce 450 sets of drawings in four months.” Using data gathered locally and a predeveloped set of five prototype designs, engineers in SSOE’s Shanghai office helped create the drawings to kick off each location’s work.
“This client doesn’t usually single-source work to one engineering firm because typically one firm just can’t keep up,” continues Floyd. “Working with multiple engineering firms isn’t efficient because it takes more time to manage them. We came up with a better solution. By distributing the work to staff in different time zones, we eliminated the need for multiple firms and took on the additional role of allocating resources instead of just delivering a set of drawings.”
Keeping things moving at a fast pace is possible through a full-service approach that spans the globe to SSOE’s China office where Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) is the prevalent delivery process. This method allows us to compress a project schedule because construction can commence before design is complete and bids are sent out. Having a single source handling the project from design through construction simplifies it. That’s even more important when doing work in a foreign culture and business climate.
SSOE is adept at the trans-global team approach. While our Shanghai office is assisting on projects in the southeastern U.S., engineers from SSOE’s U.S. offices are helping with EPCM contracts for Owens Corning and ITG (International Textiles Group) in China.
In addition to improving project execution, our global approach is also being recognized for promoting exporting. SSOE was presented with the 2010 Governor’s Excellence in Exporting Award (“E” Award) which recognizes companies in Ohio that have increased sales and employment as a result of export activity, or have implemented a strategy to expand international sales. The award, which SSOE also earned in 2006 and 2002, was presented recently in Columbus, Ohio by Governor Bob Taft.
