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Section 3 — Understanding of Need <br />Significant Local Resources. W&A has over 40 staff local to Southern California. Being centrally based in <br />Corona enables us to provide excellent access to Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. Many larger <br />companies with local offices cannot offer our depth of local resources of construction services staff. They are <br />based outside the area and/or consist primarily of design staff. With our commitment to providing exclusively <br />project management and construction phase services, we are able to provide our resources with training and <br />equipment specific to our field services. This allows W&A to provide our clients with trained and qualified field <br />staff who are a perfect match to implement the construction phase of their capital program. Also, all our project <br />management, construction management, inspection, administration and labor compliance staff are internal <br />employees. In compliance with AB 5, we do not use any independent contractors. W&A has been fortunate in <br />that over two-thirds of our staff have been with us for over six of our ten years. We typically only use <br />subconsultants for geotechnical and materials testing, large scale public relations, surveying and some types <br />of specialty inspection. An added benefit to complying with this new law helps us to maintain continuity in all of <br />our services, thereby eliminating costly retraining or the time required to get sporadic staff up to speed. <br />Recent Relevant Experience and Training. Our W&A team members have previously worked for years within <br />local City Public Works Departments, Water Departments, Utility Agencies, engineering consulting firms and <br />even as contractors. The majority have a minimum of 20 years of professional CM and/or inspection <br />experience. All have been successfully vetted and confirmed by the rigors of the municipal and/or State Public <br />Agency System and bring that specific knowledge of the process and system to each project. Many possess <br />relevant, specialized certifications. This background ensures that every member of our project team <br />understands that all work must be constructed in accordance with the City's, local and regional standards. <br />Knowing and being familiar with these standards is the foundation for ensuring high quality. Our Construction <br />Managers and Inspectors routinely serve as a reference and resource pertaining to questions regarding <br />construction management and inspection principles, policies and practices. <br />Proactive Management and Communication Plan. W&A is very proactive in our approach to project delivery. At <br />the beginning of each project we prepare a project management action plan which outlines the roles and <br />responsibilities of our staff and the client team, including third parties and other stakeholders. This document <br />allows us to clarify, document and stack hands in agreement of the expectations for each team member. <br />A key aspect of our approach is teamwork and effective, regular communication with both clients and <br />stakeholders. We rigorously interview and hire staff with excellent communication and verbal skills. This sets <br />the bar very high, but we have found these skills lead to the best possible outcomes for our clients. We pride <br />ourselves in maintaining a professional and smooth operation throughout projects. <br />Prior to starting work our Project/Construction Manager will facilitate the collaboration with the Project <br />Manager/Engineer for the City. Typical items to communicate, depending on the type of work, include review of <br />all plans, special provisions, construction and materials manual, and specifications that apply to the assigned <br />project, review the day to day project responsibilities, review the content and format of the daily inspection <br />reports for the project, review the required testing procedures and forms, and discuss roles and responsibilities <br />regarding the City's procedures for notifications, changes, corrections, delays, rejections and tolerances. <br />For example, for an Inspection assignment, our staff will coordinate with the City's management each day and <br />review the known activities and their anticipated times. We will develop a work progress plan and schedule for <br />their activities and progression of where they need to be throughout the day. As activities pick up we can plan <br />for additional part time or day-to-day support if needed, as well as coordinate with the City staff that may have <br />availability at times to assist in covering the work. Prioritizing the work is also important, placing inspection of <br />structures and buried infrastructure ahead of lesser important items of work. The key to dealing with multiple <br />project locations is proactive planning, coordination and constant communication with the field staff. <br />Commitment to Problem Solving. We have a deliberate business strategy to attract and hire professional <br />individuals with a very high level of personal commitment to problem solving. While commitment is not a true <br />technical ability, it is certainly an interpersonal trait that is oftentimes the main driver to achieve our success. A <br />great example of commitment to problem solving involves the recent experience of one of our Construction <br />Managers for a mass grading project. During his first week on a job, he could not figure out why the contractor <br />was using potable water for the draw pond in support of the mass grading operation when there was nearby <br />available recycled water. When he asked about it, the contractor they said that they could not use it because <br />there was always a conflict with the adjacent park, parkways and median landscape watering schedule. <br />C7a11ue.cnssoclases City of Santa Ana I Water Resources Construction Management and Inspection Services No. 19-11 S <br />