Fall 2007

Save Time and Money on your

Survey during Cold Weather Months

Okay...so it doesn't get that cold here, but you and your clients can still take advantage of the winter months. The weather conditions during December, January and February are perfect for field work. It may be a little cooler, but the visual conditions out-weigh the temperature. In the spring, summer and fall months, the foliage is thick and our field crews have to cut brush by hand in order to see between their control points. This can lengthen all projects by weeks, not just days. You should also know that having a site cleared of underbrush decreases the cost of a survey by hundreds of dollars because it shortens the number of days in the field. Ward Edwards does provide bushwacking services to those who do not want to clear their own site.

At Ward Edwards, we know that there is always room for improvement. One of our goals for 2007 is to improve client satisfaction. We have been working to better understand your needs and to improve our service to you. So, we wanted to give you an update on our progress.

To begin, we have been gathering data from internal and external sources. Each step below is aimed at better understanding your business and your development needs. We invite you to participate in helping us to acheive our goal.

We surveyed each of our 58 employees, asking them to rate Ward Edwards on our "responsiveness to clients' needs and interests".
We followed that survey by asking all employees to come up with one way that we could better respond to your needs.
We have randomly selected 150 clients to participate in a four-question Perception Survey aimed at better understanding the needs of our clients. As you know, we can only give the best service if we truly understand your business. If you would also like to take this survey, click the following link. It should take five minutes or less to complete. Perception Survey
We have developed an electronic project-specific client satisfaction survey. If we are currently working on a project for you and you would like to give us some feedback, please click on the following link: Client Satisfaction Survey

After gathering this information, we found a reoccurring themeŠCOMMUNICATION. Here are some of the initiatives that the feedback has inspired.

Standardization of deliverables (Everything that you receive from Ward Edwards with have a standard appearance and consistent language)
Regular progress reports
An improved ftp site designed for automatic notification when a file is uploaded to your secure log-in
Better coordination between proposals, invoices ann deliverables
Expanded use of MS Project to better communicate schedules
Copies of your invoices via email
More education regarding the civil engineering process and requirements (especially permitting requirements) so that you can better serve your clients and investors

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, we would like to hear from you. kseipel-parks@wardedwards.com

Benefits of LEED

Accreditation

Paul Moore, PE recently passed his exam and is now a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) Accredited Professional. The accreditation gives Paul the knowledge to support the integrated design and certification process for LEED projects.

"I was excited about becoming a LEED AP because I'm a firm believer in environmental stewardship and the principles behind green building," says Paul. "In addition to helping the environment, green building will benefit our clients too, by helping their projects stand out in this uncertain development market. It's a positive situation for the developer, tenant, and the community."

LEED is the benchmark for the design, construction and operation of "green" buildings. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability in five key areas of human and environmental health:

sustainable site development
water savings
energy efficiency
materials selection
indoor environmental quality

www.usgbc.org

*** Reminder ***

We are nearing the application deadline for the Healthy Community Grant. The first step in the application process is to submit by email a one-page project description due September 25th. There is still time to apply!

How can you get involved?

You can help organizations in your community by letting them know about these available funds. Please forward this information to anyone that you think may be interested in applying.

For more information, click: Grant.

Congratulations to Adam Ormsbee!!!

Adam has passed his exam to become a Registered Landscape Architect. He works in our Pooler office on Project Manager Pat Livingston's team.

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