Learning How to Manage a Business Benefits Clients Too

A successful business model directly relates to happy clients.  It helps us to take a deeper look into what our values are, what our strengths and weaknesses are, how we can work more efficiently, and how we communicate to each other and to our clients.  To learn more about managing and operating a business John Buerkle enrolled in the Urban Power to Prosper certificate course offered by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. The course follows the Interise StreetWise MBA™ Curriculum.  The nine-month program included four modules:

1. Business and Leadership
2. Financial Management
3. Sales & Marketing
4. Resource Management

By the end of the program John had developed a Strategic Growth Action Plan, specific to Pashek Associates, to guide us over the next three years.  Through the class John learned how to:

1. Develop a value proposition, identifying and sharing with clients how we bring value to them.
2. Identify and monitor appropriate financial indicators to monitor the financial health of the firm.
3. Expand marketing and business development opportunities through social media.
4. Identify strengths and weaknesses in his management style and identify what steps are necessary to improve his leadership skills.

The valuable information John learned through the course will help us better connect with and serve our clients.  He highly recommends the program to business owners who want to gain a better understanding of the components that go into running a successful business.  If you are interested in learning more about the program, contact Rhonda Carson Leach, rcleach@katz.pitt.edu, Director of the Urban Entrepreneurship Program, at the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.

The challenges of rock excavation when developing a tournament quality softball complex

The Centre Region Parks and Recreation Authority is developing several new regional parks near State College.  The first to be constructed is a park that includes four tournament quality softball fields.  There have been a number of challenges related to the existing terrain including slopes that appear to be fairly level until one tries to design 10 acres of public facilities, resulting in multiple terraces.  The shallow depth to bedrock was a challenge and we had to entertain blasting versus hoe ram excavation during the bidding process.  With the limestone geology, we have to worry about limestone sink holes although we have not run into one yet.  We also had to find an area that did not have rock in the soil on the site to accommodate a septic field for the restroom/concessions building.

Leonard S. Fiore is the site general contractor and has agreed to do the excavation without blasting.  They have made great progress in constructing the fields this spring.  They have cut into the rock and after two months of excavation, you can see the four fields emerging from the ground.  Working with the contractor and client, we have found suitable locations to bury rock the size of Volkswagons and ways to insure that water could drain through a rock subgrade under the sports fields.  We have worked to integrate a surprising amount of topsoil to the benefit of the project while retaining the balance of cut and fill.

Excavation in rock can be a challenge but a good contractor, geotechnical consultant and a little bit of imagination can lead to a quality outcome that serves the recreation needs of the community while minimizing environmental disturbance.

Breathing Our Air: What We Can do to Improve the Worst Air Quality in the Nation

Route 28 Traffic

Pittsburgh has some of the worst air pollution in the country.  Even more troubling, while other cities with bad air pollution are improving their air quality, Pittsburgh is not advancing nearly as quickly.  These were just some of the alarming statistics that announce loud and clear that we need to change the way we live.  

Marily Nixon, Breathe Project Coordinator for the Heinz Endowments presented some sobering news at the launch of the Pittsburgh Green Workplace Challenge at the Pittsburgh Zoo on Wednesday, June 26.  She touched on ways each of us can make a difference as we work together to turn the tide and begin reducing toxic particles in our air.    

Her presentation got us thinking about our efforts at Pashek Associates and in our homes to reduce our reliance on energy that pollutes our air.  Many of us can break our well entrenched habits and try to walk or bike to an errand nearby, to commute by bike or to carpool to work, and for some of us, consider a hybrid or all electric car the next time we buy an auto.  But all of us can unplug our computers when we do not us them, turn off the lights when we are not in the room, plant a tree and buy locally grown products.  Less demand on energy means less pollution.  It is as simple as that and we need to begin now in doing our part.  If we all do, we will breathe easier.

 To learn more about the Breathe Project and what steps you can take to improve our air quality go to their website at www.breatheproject.org.

Site Accessibility: Trying to Follow Conflicting Regulations

Testing the firm, stable, and slip resistance of a paving surface

Some of the most interesting work we do in site development is making sure that the entire site is accessible to those that have physical or mental challenges.  With the Baby boomers entering their 60’s, this rapidly growing population needs to have full access to our sites.

We have run up against conflicting rules and regulations and navigating those sometime conflicting requirements is difficult.  Add in a challenging topography in this part of the country and we find ourselves trying to accommodate everyone without compromising the overall project goals.

On a recent project in central Pennsylvania, we found it almost impossible to meet the Township’s requirements for pedestrian access from the public right of way, regardless of the grade and the International Building Code requiring an accessible route from the “public way.”  Further, the interrelationship between the IBC, 2010 Standards for Accessible Design, and proposed Outdoor Developed Area Guidelines can be very difficult to interpret.  In this instance, the Federal guidelines for ADA were very reasonable and provided for instances when an accessible route up a very steep grade is simply not feasible without negatively altering the natural area of the site.

As new rules and regulations become law, we must be vigilant to incorporate those requirements in our design of sites.  This week, many of us at Pashek Associates attended a webinar on accessibility and plan to continue this dialogue.  We look forward to applying what we have learned on the next site development project.