For many years, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) built culverts under roadways to direct streams. That effort may have been great for vehicle traffic, but it turned out it was harmful to native salmon, which see the dark tunnels as places where predators might lurk. Consequently, salmon were being cut off from their spawning spots, and their population was in decline.
Indigenous tribes, which held the fishing rights, sued Washington State. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the tribes. Washington State had to open access to the fish habitats. Since then, the state has incorporated a major program to replace the culverts. ACEC Washington member firm GeoEngineers answered the call to help. (In fact, GeoEngineers’ projects were national finalists in ACEC Washington’s Engineering Excellence Awards in 2020.)
The efforts emphasize the importance of engineers, says Van Collins, president and CEO of ACEC Washington. “But for engineers, we would have no civilization,” he says. “It sounds over the top, but it’s not. Who can live without water, heat, a sewer system?”
It’s Collins’ job, along with Meetings and Membership Manager Claire Inslee and a 10-member board, to make sure that the state’s engineering professionals can do their part to keep the world spinning, and do so profitably and smartly—through legislative efforts, education, and/or collaboration with other organizations.
Begun in 1966, ACEC Washington now has a total of 145 firms that perform professional engineering and scientific services. Those companies bring over 8,500 employees to participate in the organization’s 25 different committees, subcommittees, task forces, and business practice forums and in myriad networking and educational opportunities. At the helm are Board Chair Crystal Donner, Board Chair-Elect Vince Loftus, and President and CEO Van Collins.
ACEC Washington is a big tent that includes three membership categories. Regular members hold a professional engineer license; affiliates support the industry and have access to key decision-makers; and associates work on engineering projects that don’t require a license, such as environmental or scientific work. Connections between members are all part of the cohesive and caring nature that runs through the entire organization.
Ask Sherry Harris, director of ACEC Washington and CEO of Ergosync Engineering, about the culture of the Washington Member Organization. “If everybody wins, then I win, and I want to create a business climate where we all get to win,” Harris says. “ACEC is an organization built to embrace the interests of all engineering companies.”
Ben Upsall, director of ACEC Washington and principal geotechnical engineer with GeoEngineers, emphasizes the spirit of collaboration among ACEC Washington members. “We’ll have competitors go at each other’s throats for a project, but they will share how they deal with a client with arduous contract terms,” Upsall says. “The leadership and the board have worked hard for decades to build this in, and it’s effective for members.”
In addition, Collins has made a point to collaborate with outside groups to work on government affairs and lobbying efforts. “We have a natural affinity with a lot of others in the A/E/C community,” he says.
This attitude funnels into the Member Organization’s purpose, which is to promote the value the engineering profession brings to society and to advance the business interests of ACEC Washington members.
“If everybody wins, then I win, and I want to create a business climate where we all get to win. ACEC is an organization built to embrace the interests of all engineering companies.”
SHERRY HARRIS
DIRECTOR
ACEC WASHINGTON
ACEC Washington achieved a big win in 2021, successfully lobbying the state government to raise additional revenues through the gas tax to fund transportation improvements—even as the state already had one of the highest gas tax rates in the nation, Collins says. The Member Organization partnered with other trade groups, including the American Institute of Architects, Associated General Contractors, the American Trucking Associations, and the Association of Washington Business, to push for the provision in the state’s Climate Commitment Act.
While state law limits gas tax revenue to use for the highways and ferry service, ACEC Washington’s history as a force at the capital propelled it along to address multimodal transportation solutions. “We had consistent, coherent talking points and the support of the transportation chairs. We didn’t do anything flashy,” says Collins, whose background as an engineer and as a lawyer helped him lay out the plan’s vision.
He knew the issue wasn’t just about commuters. “Alfalfa growers in Eastern Washington have to get their products to the ports to ship to Asia, one of their largest markets,” Collins says. “There’s a lot of money tied up in that kind of economic development. At the same time, concerns of the environmental community needed to be addressed by providing incentives and monies for transit and buses. We had a full-dimensional transportation solution.”
These considerations influenced a “vision of what we were trying to accomplish in terms of the build-out, in terms of the maintenance and the economic development, and how transportation helps that while maintaining a robust quality of life,” Collins says.
In more recent times, the Member Organization has been working on various contract issues such as Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) and indemnity clauses.
ACEC Washington is providing QBS education for owners and agencies in the state. Operating on a QBS basis is not a state requirement, so agencies must choose to adopt the standards. “Van Collins has gotten through to several clients, public and private, to explain the virtues of the process,” Upsall says.
“Contractors are being choosy. Engineers are having to say ‘no go,’ sometimes for the first time in their lives.”
BEN UPSALLDIRECTORACEC WASHINGTON
“But for engineers, we would have no civilization. It sounds over the top, but it’s not. Who can live without water, heat, a sewer system?”
VAN COLLINSPRESIDENT AND CEOACEC WASHINGTON
To tackle the anti-indemnification statute, ACEC Washington created a task force to push forward the effort to standardize and clarify it. The goal is to amend the current statute to eliminate ambiguous language and to replace it with a standard indemnification provision that all public entities will be required to use.
“This is similar to what has already been accomplished in Arizona through ACEC’s leadership in that state,” Collins says. “It will be a two- to three-year effort of getting our members to engage with their local districts and legislators to convey the message on how projects are procured and delivered. We’re researching real-world examples that show why the anti-indemnification statute as it stands is a problem.”
There are several other issues ACEC Washington is researching and educating its members about:
With many new and large projects being funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, ACEC Washington’s efforts may be more important than ever as the marketplace for engineers continues to grow. The most daunting challenge for members and for the state may be managing growth.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Upsall says. “It’s a great time for the A/E/C industry, particularly in the transportation market, but WSDOT is seeing issues in the reduction in competitive bidding.”
He cites some examples: Some nearly billion-dollar projects have only two bidders instead of the traditional three. There’s a large project that has only one bidder because there’s a contractor who is well aligned for it, and other firms don’t want to waste their time chasing a project they won’t win.
“Contractors are being choosy,” Upsall says. “Engineers are having to say ‘no go,’ sometimes for the first time in their lives.”
Combine the increasing project load in the Pacific Northwest with the labor shortage, and ACEC Washington has its work cut out for it. To address these issues, the Member Organization is building up the industry’s bench through a variety of initiatives, such as the ACE Mentor Program for high schoolers and a young professionals’ program. It’s also addressing barriers that exist for engineering companies in the design-build delivery model through initiatives to bring more small companies onto the playing field through the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging committee chaired by Harris. There’s also a class in core competencies for professionals each month.
Says Collins: “The thing about the membership of ACEC is that the quality of the people involved is incredibly high. They’re delightful to work with.”
Stacey Freed is a writer based in Pittsford, New York, who has contributed to This Old House, Professional Builder, and USA Today.