Executive Corner: A Peek Inside the Latest Data-Valuation Trends
The latest valuation statistics from the recently released “A/E Business Valuation and M&A Transactions Study” reveals some interesting trends, including significantly higher valuation multiples for larger firms and higher equity values across the board due to improved profitability and stronger balance sheets. Table 1 illustrates overall enterprise values as a multiple of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in 2021. The “minority interest valuation multipl...
Thoughts From Engineers: On Shaky Ground: The Effect of Human Activity on Drinking Water
The results of a study examining the relationship between land use and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) contamination were published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology in February 2022 (bit.ly/PFAS2022). The expansive study, based mostly in the Eastern United States, showed a strong relationship among certain hydrologic metrics, specific types of human activity such as landfills and fire-fighting test sites, and the presence of PFAS compounds. PFAS compound...
Labor Outlook: ACEC Research Institute: Industry Has Rebounded; Tight Labor Market, Lack of Qualified Workers Remain Barriers to Growth
The Engineering and Design Services industry is showing encouraging signs according to new reports recently released by the ACEC Research Institute. The reports provide an economic assessment of the Engineering and Design Services industry in 2021 as well as an engineering business sentiment report for the first quarter of 2022. Notably, data show the industry has rebounded from project postponements due to COVID-19, although firms identify a tight labor market and lack of qualified workers a...
Infrastructure Outlook: Bipartisan Infrastructure Spending Bill Presents Opportunities and Challenges for AEC Firms
On Nov. 11, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“Infrastructure Act”), which the White House touts as a historic federal investment in infrastructure for transportation and public transit, the national energy grid, broadband internet, and drinking and wastewater. The prospect of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal infrastructure spending merits the attention of construction contractors. Funding Breakdown...
Future Infrastructure: Heavy Construction: Six Trends Being Observed in 2022
Although digitalization and automation have brought significant change to the construction industry in the last decade, some companies still are hesitant to embrace a fully fledged digital strategy. With increasingly scarce resources, there’s an increased necessity to create more with less, while government and stakeholder pressure means the construction industry will need to operate sustainably. The following technology trends are driving the heavy construction industry in 2022, showing the ben...
From the Editor: The Future (of Engineering At Least) Seems To Be In Good Hands
If you’ve read this column before, you know I teach senior civil engineering college students in their Senior Project Design class. These students are only months away from graduation and the start of their careers, so while they’re relieved to be close to completing their studies, they also realize they’re about to start a whole new phase of life. We’ve talked about this in class, both seriously and in humorous ways. Some Concerns Relatively Constant One day my students were complaining a...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Tips to Survive While Professionally Underwater
My brother, sister and I spent a lot of time at the beach when we were younger. We lived about 5 miles from the east coast of New Jersey, so it was very convenient. Although there were several public beaches in the area—Sandy Hook, Long Branch and Asbury Park—there was also a string of private beach clubs sandwiched between those. For whatever reason, we belonged to one of the private clubs. Sink or Swim I have a lot of fond memories from that time, but my earliest memory from the beach pr...
Executive Corner: Considering M&A? Don’t Leave Out Firms that Have an ESOP
2021 was one of the hottest years for M&A activities we have ever seen. The trend is expected to continue through 2022 as more A/E firms explore M&A to meet their strategic objectives for growth, market share and talent acquisition to improve scalability. Historically, firms weren’t keen on acquiring companies that sponsor an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). That trend now is changing as the demand for good firms exceeds the supply. During the last few years, an increasing number of ESO...
Thoughts From Engineers: Cybersecurity: More at Risk Than Meets the Eye
As an indicator of how quickly events are evolving lately, by the time this column goes to print, the geopolitical circumstances in which we find ourselves today could be radically changed. What seemed unlikely to occur a few months ago—namely the invasion of Ukraine by Russia—now plays out horrifically before our eyes. The world suddenly is rocked by a senseless humanitarian crisis few could have predicted. As global norms undergo a seismic shift and tensions rise, risks to a variety of asse...
Future Forward: GIS and Digital Twins are Crucial Building Blocks for Renewing U.S. Infrastructure
It’s no longer outside the realm of possibility to see through the ground itself. Augmented reality is bringing utilities and other companies with underground assets closer to realizing that age-old wish via a digital twin of their infrastructure. These replicas exist to display what physically sits mostly “out of sight and out of mind” as well as create a new and ideal reality. The digital twin monitors assets and activities in real time and also can explore and predict future conditions throug...
Video: Crashes Drop Measurably After Rural Road Safety Improvement Project on US 521 in Lancaster County
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June Issue 2026
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