Engineering Influence from ACEC

A Conversation with Rodney Chester - Chair of ACEC's new Workforce Committee

We sat down with Gresham Smith's Rodney Chester, Chair of the ACEC Workforce Committee, to discuss his plans for the new group.

Introducing 2024-2026 Vice-Chair James Hoffman

James P. Hoffman, PE, LEED AP O+M, CEM – Metropolitan Washington President, Summer Consultants, Inc. Vice Chair (2024-2026)
Jim Hoffman is President of Summer Consultants, Inc., a small business providing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering and commissioning services for designing government, institutional, and historic facility projects. Jim is a mechanical engineer with nearly 35 years of experience including heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, steam, plumbing, and automatic temperature control systems.
He holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a Masters of Engineering Management from The George Washington University.
Before joining Summer Consultants, Jim served as a combat engineer officer in the U.S. Army with the 317th Engineer Battalion from 1989 to 1992. In addition to his engineering credentials, Jim is a LEED accredited professional and a certified energy manager.
He served as Chair of the ACEC Federal Agencies & Procurement Advocacy Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee of the ACEC Small Firm Coalition. He is also the Immediate Past Chair of ACEC Metropolitan Washington.

An Introduction to Gary Raba, ACEC Chair-Elect

Gary W. Raba. leads organic and inorganic growth for Raba Kistner, Inc. (RK).
Before taking this responsibility, Gary served as CEO of Raba Kistner, Inc. He has also served as COO of Raba-Kistner, Inc., and COO of a new startup division, Raba-Kistner Infrastructure, Inc. Gary was CEO during the 2018 sale of RK to private equity firm Crescent Capital of Brisbane, Australia, and served on the RK Executive Committee during the subsequent transaction to the Family Office of KIWA, Rijswijk, the Netherlands, in 2020. Gary has served in multiple board, committee, and volunteer roles for ACEC-Texas and ACEC National. Gary has been in engineering for 35 years and is licensed in several states.

An Introduction to 2024-2026 ACECVice-Chair, Sean McCone

Sean McCone, PE, CCM – MarylandExecutive Vice President and Board Member at Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc.Vice Chair (2024-2026)
Sean McCone is an Executive Vice President and Board Member at Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. (JMT), an employee-owned firm, that provides a full range of multi-disciplined engineering, architectural, and related services. Sean serves as the Chief Strategy Officer, focusing on corporate strategy, particularly around technology, innovation, change management, and company-wide process improvement. He has over 27 years of experience in the industry.
Sean received his Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
An active member of ACEC/MD, he has served on several committees, chairing the Legislative and CEPAC committees. In 2015, Sean was appointed by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to serve on the Task Force to Study Small and Minority Design Firm Participation in State Procurement. He is the current vice chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Committee for ACEC National. His numerous publications include an article in ASCE’s Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, and a textbook published by Prentice Hall on construction dispute resolution techniques.
Outside of the engineering industry, he has held philanthropic volunteer and leadership positions at the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund, the 21St Century Education Foundation, ACE Mentor Program, Boy Scouts of America, Lake Shore Youth Baseball, March of Dimes, and GBMC Foundation

Introducing 2024-2026 ExCom Vice-Chair Peter Moore

Peter Moore, PE, FACEC, F.ASCE, F.FES, LEED AP, ENV SP – Florida President and CEO of Chen Moore and Associates, Inc. Vice Chair (2024-2026) Peter Moore is the President and CEO of Chen Moore and Associates, Inc, a multi-disciplinary engineering firm headquartered in Florida. Peter started in the firm as a project engineer, and has served as President for 16 years, currently leading over 125 professionals. He has been the President or Board Chair of eight organizations, ranging from local leadership non-profits to service on the Executive Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Peter has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Engineering from the University of Florida. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Florida and holds certifications as a LEEP AP and ENV SP. Peter has been elected as a Fellow of ACEC, ASCE, and the Florida Engineering Society. Peter lives with his wife Karolynn and daughter Sofia in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Introducing 2024-2026 Vice Chair, Erica Jensen

Erica Jensen is the Vice President of CRW Engineering Group, based out of Anchorage, Alaska. CRW is a 100-employee, multi-discipline engineering and land surveying firm serving clients throughout Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
Erica previously served as Executive Director for ACEC Alaska and various board and national positions for professional and technical engineering organizations.
Erica graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a BS in Civil Engineering, followed by an MS in Engineering Management.

ACEC Market Insights: What’s Driving the Industry

Recently, the US Census released the results of its monthly Value of Construction Put in Place Survey. The survey provides estimates of the total dollar value of construction work done in the U.S. This data includes design and construction spending for public and private projects.  
With an estimate of $2.05 trillion (seasonally adjusted) for November 2023, this is the 11th consecutive month where construction spending rose, beginning in December 2022. 
Total Construction spending growth continues to be strong. Nominal values are still at all-time highs with 11.3% growth (seasonally adjusted). 
MoM growth is 0.4%, a decrease from last month’s revised 1.2% 
Spending growth continues to vary by project classification 
Year to Date spending growth on Public Construction projects is significantly higher at 14.6% compared to Private Construction at 3.9% 
Source: US Census Value of Construction Put in Place Survey January 2, 2024, release 
 
Nonresidential spending continues to have larger share of total construction spending since crossover in September 2022 though is plateauing 
Nonresidential project classifications grew at 18.1% YOY, a decrease from last month’s 20.0% 
Total nonresidential saw a decline in MoM growth at -0.1% compared to last month’s 0.1% 
 
Residential spending continues upward growth from April 2023 low 
November was the second month in 2023 with positive YoY growth at 3.7% 
7th consecutive positive MoM growth at 1.2% 
Source: US Census Value of Construction Put in Place Survey, January 2, 2024, release 
We can point to fiscal policy and subsequent private investment in sectors like manufacturing, and wastewater as supporting these high growth levels, while the residential sector continues its rebound. Compared to previous month’s, the Total Power (up 10.2% YTD) & Total Public Safety (up 11.3% YTD) sectors continue to grow and are no longer “bottom” growth categories, spurred by increased Government spending in this category. 

Reduced-Carbon Concrete Solutions and Opportunities in Paving and Construction

We were joined on the podcast by experts in low carbon concrete including Dr. Peter Taylor P.E. (IL), FACI, Director, National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, Thomas Van Dam, Ph.D., P.E., FACI, Principal, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., and Eric Ferrebee, Senior Director of Technical Services at the American Concrete Pavement Association to preview their new upcoming online class on the applications of reduced carbon concrete.
Construction project specifications are changing because of client requirements for low-carbon materials. Understanding and accepting the differences in materials is imperative to quality construction and engineering practices. These trends provide an opportunity for firms to provide expertise and consultation to achieve sustainable, resilient, and long-lasting results.
To facilitate the transition, the Inflation Reduction Act provides over $5 billion in grant funding to be used for three new Federal Highway Administration programs, including Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Grants. An anticipated $2 billion in funding is expected to be announced to support transportation programs.
The online course begins on January 31st.  Registration information can be found here.