It is a little-known fact in the A/E/C industry that DRMP has one of the largest and most comprehensive Structural Engineering Divisions in the Southeastern United States.
The strategic formula to their success for nearly 40 years: Newer and seasoned engineering staff working alongside each other to create a hands-on training and mentoring pipeline that establishes the group’s next generation of technical professionals and project managers.
With over 30 staff – a mix of emerging and established engineering talent – DRMP’s Structures group has amassed a wide-ranging portfolio of design projects in Florida and North Carolina. A benefit for the team and their clients.
Amanda Woods, PE, DRMP Vice President and Structures Division Manager said the aim is to add value to clients’ projects while helping her staff grow professionally.
“We have younger staff that are eager to learn while the senior staff is there to mentor them and help them along. That balance provides the best value for our clients immediately and in the long term,” said Woods. “Then you have mid-level staff that are running their own design teams of younger staff and they’re being mentored on the next level of their careers. We are working to set our team up for where they’ll be in the next five years.”
Tenure plays an important role in the group’s success at project delivery and long-term client relationships.
“Tenure is the differentiator not just for our group but for DRMP in general. We have people who started with DRMP right out of college and have now been here 20 to 30 years. Not a lot of firms can say that nowadays,” said Woods. “So, many times, the staff member that pursued the project is the one at the design phase and construction phase and building those long-term client relationships throughout the life of the project.”
Now the group is looking to replicate that model and deepen its base in South and Southwest Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina.
What drew DRMP Senior Structural Engineer Leo Rodriguez, PE, to DRMP was knowing that the firm had a great track record of investing in its people and its diverse project portfolio.
“In the past 10 years, DRMP has delivered over 150 new traditional and complex bridges, countless bridge repairs/rehabilitations and miscellaneous structures all over Florida. This vast project experience has allowed us to develop a great production model that not only has benefitted our staff in their career growth but also our clients by providing them unmatched value and knowledge,” said Rodriguez. “We have such a great presence throughout Florida and I feel potential clients in South and Southwest Florida could benefit. There is no learning curve and that is a part of the appeal of working at DRMP.
Not only has collaboration between staff benefitted the structures group in Florida, but it has led to the success of the structures teams in North Carolina and Georgia as well.
Since it was established 20 years ago, DRMP’s North Carolina office has been able to build a strong client relationship with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and other local municipalities.
One of their many opportunities includes a major North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) project. The North Carolina structures team provided bridge design services for an $83-million design-build NCDOT project that widens a 9.2-mile section of I-485, one of the most congested roadways in North Carolina. The project will significantly reduce traffic congestion.
“We’ve been work sharing with the group seamlessly in Florida. The Florida group has the opportunity to work on advanced projects because of their complex transportation systems and we benefit by learning and their support – which results in us becoming a stronger team here in North Carolina,” said Peter. “I wanted to work with a close-knit group of people that I liked working with, not a conglomerate where I’d become a number. I think I made a wise choice.”
DRMP’s office in Atlanta, Ga., established in 2018, is the newest location for the firm that started with structural and transportation engineering services. Founded around the critical hires of professional veterans in the industry and associated veteran staff, DRMP secured established relationships with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Class I Railroads and local municipalities. This enabled the firm to win several bridge replacement projects for GDOT along with numerous public improvement projects for Norfolk Southern Railroad. DRMP was also awarded the design of a high profile, 0.5-mile multi-use boardwalk along the Georgia coast for the City of Brunswick that will serve as the critical connection between Overlook Park and the F. J. Torras Causeway to St. Simons Island.
“We employed a three-legged approach for the opening of our first office in Georgia. We wanted to capture a sustainable market share of DOT, Railroad and Municipal work,” said DRMP Vice President Mike Albano, PE, the former leader of the Structures Division who helped lead the opening effort for our Georgia office. “We are proud to say we’ve landed work in all three disciplines.”
Through collaboration and creating a peer-to-peer training pipeline, DRMP’s structures group has created an impactful and wide-ranging portfolio of experience. Find out more here:
Florida:
A. Max Brewer Bridge Replacement
Wekiva Parkway Section 206 (Contract 429-206)
Center Fixed & South Fixed Bridge Replacements
Lake Mary Pedestrian Bridges
State Road 528 (Beachline) Widening from Florida’s Turnpike to McCoy Road
North Carolina:
I-485 Widening from I-77 to Rea Road
About DRMP
DRMP is a multi-discipline firm serving clients in the public, private and industrial sectors in the development of infrastructure for the community-at-large and has been in business since 1977. DRMP currently employs 500 professionals in 19 office locations spread strategically across our service areas. Today, DRMP is ranked among Engineering News-Record’s “Top 500 Design Firms” in the United States. For more information, please visit www.drmp.com.
