The ASCE Public Agency Peer Review Committee is basking in a little bit of history these days.
The committee recently conducted a review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah (Georgia) District office. Not only was it the 104th peer review conducted by PAPRC, but the Savannah visit marked a return to the same agency where it all began for the committee. The USACE Savannah District was the ASCE public agencies peer review program’s first review more than three decades ago.
“It was kind of a return to our origins,” said Dennis Randolph, P.E., M.ASCE, chair of the Public Agency Peer Review Committee. “We’re really excited that we’re passing a couple of milestones here.
“The organizations we deal with are very good organizations to start with. And I think because they are good organizations, they’re constantly searching for ways to be even better. They aren’t afraid to have folks come in with a different eye to take a look at them and their processes. That’s what we’ve found with the agencies we’ve visited over the years.”
The ASCE public agencies peer review program provides a customized evaluation process of management practices and operational procedures for government engineering agencies or their subdivisions, regardless of size, mission, discipline, responsibility, or location. Reviewers are licensed engineers with senior management experience in public agencies. All review feedback is confidential.
“When we go to an organization, our main function is looking at how that organization operates to get its work done,” Randolph said. “In many cases, it’s a look to see if we can help strengthen leadership within organizations. Often, we talk with the project managers and ask how we can help them get projects done more efficiently.”
Randolph, himself, is a lifer in the public sector with 54 years of experience as a practicing civil engineer for several different cities and counties. His current role is as public works manager for the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. So he understands firsthand the challenges and needs of government engineers.
“We look for opportunities that an organization might be overlooking,” Randolph said. “We give them ideas that maybe they can try. But the other thing is often you need, especially in the government sector, is validation. We can come and look at an organization, and often we’ll tell the director, ‘You’re on the right track.’
“You don’t often hear validation in the public sector, because there’s no profit sharing and that type of thing to tell you you’re doing things the right way. You often just hear the complaints. So we’re able to say, ‘You are headed on the right path,’ but also, ‘Here are some things that you might do to make your operation even better.’”
The committee continues to update its review model. The most recent reviews – of the USACE office and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Columbus, Ohio – adopted a new format. They started with a full-staff, in-person kickoff meeting to establish more comfort with the process and then closed with a post-review follow-up virtual meeting.
“I’ve been a civil engineer now over 50 years, so I’ve seen the business change,” Randolph said. “It’s a lot different than when I was in school in in the 1960s. So of course, we recognize that we want to keep up with the times.
“Our committee is always evolving what a peer review should be. So this has been a nice opportunity to switch gears in some ways and continue to fine tune our program.”
Learn more about seeking a review from the ASCE public agency peer review program.
Dennis Randolph
