I certainly don't claim to be an expert on the situation and I'm still researching what I can about it.  Maybe soem of this will ease your fears a little, or maybe not.  Here's what I've found out so far:

As you probably know, this is historically a slow time of year (Christmas to Valentine's Day) where projects slowly start hitting the ground.  Our teams (PB) have even noticed a reduction in pursuits, although they seem to be picking up in the last week.  My guess is that most DOTs and transit agencies are waiting to see what kind of financial assistance the Infrastructure Stimulus will bring to the table.  Obama would like to have a bill ready to sign by mid February.  Cross your fingers.

So what's the Infrastructure Stimulus plan all about?  Obama's plan to follow suit with Roosevelt's "New Deal" seems like it could have positive impacts for our industry.  The exact dollar amount of the stimulus has yet to be determined, but the idea is to jumpstart the backlog of projects that have primarily been under basic maintenance for the several decades.  Most of these projects are not considered "shovel ready" and will most likely take some time to get started.  Those of you who have been around the industry know this and wouldn't expect anything different (the only exception that I've seen was the quick turnaround of the I-35 bridge replacement in Minneapolis).  Experts say that small projects have the best chance of funding with the quickest result in getting money back to taxpayers (and the economy) through jobs created with the projects.

Interestingly enough, the US isn't the only country planning a recovery plan like this.  China is reported to have a $586 billion spending package earmarked for new housing, roads, railways, airports, and to rebuild the devestated areas of the earthquake last May (USA Today).

So, what can we do in the meantime?  Now is the time to be proactive and market your groups or self.  I've been trying to focus interenally to PB with a soft-sell approach.  I'll send recent sample work to my contacts in those areas.  For example: I just wrapped up a bridge project in New York, so I'll send the final renderings/animations to other structural engineers across the country that I know or have worked with before.  They like to keep tabs on similar projects that the company is working on and it saves them a request down the road to use sample work to submit with Qual Statements.  Even if marketing is not your forte, it's better than just hanging out at pbviz.com waiting for projects to come to you.  The approach can be a simple "Hey, thought you'd be interested in seeing this..."  Out of sight, out of mind is very prevelant, so stay in sight. 

If you find yourself with no work and don't have something to keep you busy, perhaps you can try expanding the portfolio to include renewable energy type projects.  That market will continue to be moving forward and your company may see the benefit of moving into or assisting in it.

Feel free to add your comments, but please try not to use this as a political soapbox.

The work will come so hang in there!

Glen Loyd

Lead Design Visualization Specialist  | Parsons Brinckerhoff
www.pbprojectviz.com

http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2009/index.html

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