Pacific Connection - Honolulu District - U.S. Army

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8 The Pacific Connection December 2001Spotlight on HEDEngineering andConstruction DivisionSpotlighting an office that is helping to make the Honolulu Engineer District“The Best Place for the Best People to Work.”Interview and photoby Michelle CainThis month I talked with JimBersson, HED’s Chief of Engineeringand Construction, to find outhow his organization contributes to theoverall mission of the District.Pacific Connection (PC): What is E&C?Jim Bersson (JB): Engineering andConstruction Division (E&C) is the largestdivision in HED, comprised of approximately230 engineers, architects, scientists,technicians, and administrativepersonnel. We are divided into sevenbranches: Design; Cost Engineering; CivilWorks Technical; Engineering Services;Environmental Technical; Regulatory; andConstruction, which is our largest branchand includes four resident offices. Theyare located at Ft. Shafter, SchofieldBarracks, Kwajalein, and Palau.PC: What are some of the responsibilitiesthat fall under the E&C umbrella?JB: E&C’s responsibilities are many anddiverse. They include virtually all theservices the District provides its customers.To put it another way, E&C providesservices necessary to plan, design,construct, and (in some cases) maintainmilitary, civil works, environmental, andsupport of other agency projects throughoutthe Pacific region. E&C also providesengineering services for other PODdistricts, operates a Regional Visitor’sCenter at Ft. DeRussy, and administers theDepartment of the Army (DA) RegulatoryProgram in Hawaii and U.S. possessionsin the Pacific.Humor:PC: What is the DA Regulatory Program?JB: Department of the Army permits arerequired for all construction and dredgingin navigable waters of the United States;for projects discharging fill into jurisdictionalwaters of the United States, includingwetlands; and for transportation ofdredged material for the purpose of oceandisposal. The program is unlike anything“ First and foremost ismaintaining the capabilityto provide superiorservices to our customers.”— Jim Berssonelse we do in that we are acting in aregulatory capacity, as opposed to as aproject proponent. It is also highly visibleto the public and can be quite controversial.PC: Who does E&C deal with outside ofHED?JB: E&C deals with many organizationsand entities outside of HED. Theseinclude: customers, local and foreigngovernment officials, the general public,architect-engineer firms, constructioncontractors, the media, Pacific OceanDivision(POD) and other POD districts,and USACE Headquarters, laboratories,and centers of expertise such as theProtective Design Center in Omaha. E&Calso maintains close ties with localindustry organizations to include theAmerican Institute of Architects, theConsulting Engineers Council of Hawaii,the General Contractors Association, theBuilding Industry Association, theAssociated Builders and Contractors, andothers. We hold an annual workshop withthese organizations where we provideinformation and exchange ideas.PC: What engineering services doesE&C provide other POD districts?JB: In the past year we provided design,technical review, cost engineering, claimssupport, contract negotiations, andenvironmental support services to theother POD districts. HED has beendesignated a regional technical reviewcenter within POD, which the otherdistricts use to augment their own capabilitiesin this area.PC: What is E&C’s role in the ProjectManagement Businesss Process(PMBP)?JB: E&C folks perform technical servicesand form the bulk of project deliveryteams, or PDT’s. Most of our PDT’sinclude environmental specialists, costengineers, designers, design reviewers,negotiators, and construction managers.These and other PDT members are criticalto the success of our projects. In somecases, E&C folks serve as the projectmanager in addition to their technical role,particularly for projects with a narrowscope, such as an environmental study.PC: How do you ensure that everyone inyour division is trained and current intheir professional qualifications?JB: Obtaining professional registration forfolks in job series such as engineering orarchitecture is highly encouraged. ThereHumor: The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed. —Nicholas-Sebastian Chamfort
December 2001 The Pacific Connection 9has been an increased emphasis on this inUSACE. Some positions require registrationas a prerequisite for selection.Everyone is required to maintain anindividual development plan which isgeared toward accomplishing the missionrequirements of each branch in E&C.Supervisors and employees reviewtraining needs annually and programneeded training. They also take advantageof unscheduled training that is relevant tomission areas. An example of the latter isunscheduled training we sent key peopleto in anti-terrorism/force protection, whichhas received increased emphasis in theaftermath of September 11th. We also holdmonthly technical seminars for our folks.PC: What role do the field offices playin accomplishing the E&C mission?JB: Our construction resident offices arekey to the accomplishment of not just theE&C mission, but the District’s mission asa whole. The resident office folks administerand manage construction projects,negotiate modifications, and ensure theprojects are constructed in accordancewith the contract documents. As ourrepresentatives at installations and projectlocations, they have frequent contact withcustomers and perform a myriad ofcooordination activities to facilitateconstruction. An example occurred duringthe high threatcon levels in the aftermathof September 11th, when our folks spentcountless hours assisting contractors gainaccess to military installations, thusminimizing delays to projects. Our projectengineers are also responsible for ensuringthat contractors adhere to the safetyrequirements in their contracts.We also maintain a small regulatoryfield office in Guam. Its primary missionis to administer the DA regulatoryprogram in Guam and the CNMI, but theoffice also acts as the District’s forwardpresence in that part of the world andassists the District Headquarters in anumber of ways, such as by facilitatingcontact with local governmnent officials.PC: What are some of the challengesthat face E&C?JB: First and foremost is maintaining thecapability to provide superior services toour customers. Continuing to do this willrequire us to shape the workforce toPararenting:accomplish our current and futuremissions. This is critical in view of theincreases we foresee in our program, interms of both dollars and missions; andour mature workforce. Many of our peoplewill be eligible for retirement in the nextseveral years. We want to make sure wehave sufficient numbers of trained folks toreplace them and capture the benefits oftheir knowledge and experience. To thatend, we have been hiring. We filled 39positions since Oct. 1, 2000 and arecurrently recruiting for 10 additionalpositions. E&C also has the lead on aFY02 OPLAN initiative to develop acomprehensive human resource plan forthe District, which will focus on this issuefor the long and near term.Another challenge is to continue toleverage technology. We rely heavily onautomation, such as Computer AssistedDrawing and Design (CADD) andDrChecks (an automated design reviewand lessons learned system), to increaseour productivity and accomplish our work.We need to continue to stay abreast oftechnological advances and ensure arepeople are trained. We are implementing aTechnology Integration Group withinE&C to help us do that.Improving our business process is acontinuing challenge. The District hascome a long way with implementation ofthe PMBP; we are now involved in theISO 9001 implementation process, whichis being lead by PPM. E&C is leading ateam working on a FY02 OPLAN initiativerelating to our business process - howto improve our small and routine projectexecution. It is difficult for an organizationthat manages projects in the $100 millionrange to be efficient managing projectsunder $100 thousand. The team willaddress how we can better achieve that.There are also potential challengesover which we have minimal or nocontrol, such as mandates requiringincreased use of design-build contractingand privatization. For those, all we can dois stay informed, participate in thedialogue, and adjust our plans andprocedures accordingly.PC: Do you have any final comments?JB: E&C is involved in just abouteverything the District does, but we don’tdo it alone. We’re part of a team - manyteams, in fact. It would take a lot moretime to go into much detail on the wonderfulthings the individual branches do but Iwould like to close by saying that ourbiggest asset is our people. They arededicated and extremely capable. Theservice they provide to our customers andto the nation is invaluable.Lolly Silva, regulatory branch, takes soil samples to determine if this possiblewetland falls within HED’s jurisdiction.Good parents give their children roots and wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly awayenting:and exercise what’s been taught them. —Jonas Salk
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