In 1988, when geotechnical engineer Henry Lucas formed Engineering Consulting Services inside a Chantilly, Va., construction-site trailer, the firm’s managers designated its first job—a mixed-use development in Washington, D.C.—as project number 1,000. That numerical jump-start, Lucas explains, was meant to illustrate that though the firm was brand new, its 11-person staff had extensive experience with geotechnical testing, analysis and design.

Three decades and about 600,000 projects later, such steps to boost the firm’s profile are no longer necessary. ECS is firmly established as a leading geotechnical and environmental design firm in its home region, and beyond.

The gains continued last year, as the firm’s MidAtlantic division recorded $91.6 million in regional revenue, up 6% from 2016. The firm ranks 17th on the ENR MidAtlantic Top Design Firm list, compared with No. 14 last year. ECS’s total revenue of $203.1 million placed it 75th among ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms this year. The firm ranked 81st on the 2017 Top 500.

除了增加收入外，ECS还是对电子现场报告等创新的早期采用者，并将其运作的社区还给了。该公司制定了一项名为“促进中大西洋地区女性优势”的新计划，以帮助女性领导人成长和分享想法。ECS办公室赞助事件和支持的原因接近员工居住和工作的地方，包括Avon Walk to End乳腺癌，幼儿园STEM计划和Builders Foundation，这是一个致力于协助可能需要特殊帮助的儿童和家庭的非营利组织。

These are some of the reasons why ENR MidAtlantic has named the company its Design Firm of the Year.

从工地现场拖车30年前,ECS交货panded to more than 60 offices. Much of the growth has been in its existing markets. But ECS also has stretched its horizon westward, with San Antonio and Oklahoma City among the latest new locations. ECS has also made occasional strategic acquisitions. Its latest deals include acquiring River Valley Testing Corp., in central Wisconsin, last December and Louisville-based GEM Engineering Inc. earlier this year.

ECS总裁卢卡斯（Lucas）表示，扩张中的一个好处是，它“为年轻员工创造了机会，因此他们希望与我们在一起。”

Even as ECS has extended its geographical presence, it continues to win a steady stream of design work close to home. Leo Titus, a 21-year ECS employee who heads the firm’s MidAtlantic subsidiary, says the company’s success is a credit to its ability to diversify from its commercial office and residential roots into other sectors.

For example, ECS’s design- and construction-phase geotechnical services on the I-495 Capital Beltway Express Lanes in northern Virginia provided the entrée for participating in other major transportation projects. Among them are design-phase geotechnical services and construction support for the $2.6-billion, 16-mile Purple Line light rail project in Washington’s Maryland suburbs and the $1-billion South Capitol Street Corridor in the District of Columbia, which will include a replacement for the Frederick Douglass Bridge over the Anacostia River.

泰特斯说：“我们的基金会一直是私营部门，但即使到那时，费城到巴尔的摩和华盛顿特区，然后到达里士满。”

泰特斯（Titus）承担着复杂，备受瞩目的努力，例如紫色线，使EC受益于公司的底线。

他解释说：“由于它的大小，紫色线路只有一个办公室很难处理。”泰特斯说：“到目前为止，有11个ECS Midatlantic办事处为该项目做出了贡献，“这是我们工程师从事大型项目并分享技能和资源的绝佳机会。”

ECS has also augmented its core geotechnical focus with other services such as facilities inspections, permitting assistance, environmental site assessments, construction monitoring and materials testing.

“即使有难以解决的问题，他们知道获得许可证和项目需要什么，”总部位于弗吉尼亚州维也纳的摄18luck官网政中心项目管理副总裁约翰·菲茨帕特里克（John Fitzpatrick）说，该中心开发和经营400多家零售业。centers across the U.S. An ECS client for 19 years for new construction and renovations, Fitzpatrick adds that ECS’s well-structured, thorough and concise reporting “is the best there is. They get the program, and it helps us with making decisions.”

现代化方法

另一个区别是ECS范围内对新技术的拥抱。在1990年代，卢卡斯（Lucas）是将现场报告纳入电子格式的早期支持者，可以通过电子邮件与承包商和所有者分享。他还鼓励使用压力表测试土壤以制定强度和稳定性计算，与常规标准穿透测试（SPT）相比提供了更高的准确性。

“That helped us build a region-wide database with soil properties which, in turn, helps us understand how they’ll behave for various foundation options,” explains Michael Rayl, a senior project engineer and head of ECS’s special projects group, which focuses primarily on infrastructure work. He adds, “Knowing what to expect results in less-conservative foundation designs that can help reduce project costs.”

Rayl说，利用这些和其他技术工具已证明有价值，因为南部国会大厦街走廊等密集的城市地区有多少个项目。18luck官网

“We’re working around fragile sewer infrastructure that dates back to the late 1800s,” he says. “With little information about their condition or even what they’re made up of, we have to be prepared with a variety of protection and foundation plans. And with so many stakeholders involved in these projects, communication as new data arrives and designs are refined is critical.”

卢卡斯说,尽管ECS一直试图是forward-thinking, having a well-trained staff has been the biggest factor distinguishing it from competitors. .

“We’ve invested a lot in encouraging [employees] to pursue master’s degrees and add to their skills,” he says. That includes in-house training in project management and leadership skills that help workers prepare for future promotions or another “head start” into a new market. “It we’re looking to open a new office somewhere, we likely have employees originally from that area who are interested in going back and helping it get started,” Lucas says, adding that the MidAtlantic market still has a promising outlook.

他说：“在大多数情况下，现在的情况与我们开始时相同，但是[数据中心]已经为该地区提供了没有它没有的工业组成部分，我们在那里看到了很多潜力。”

Titus agrees, even though he admits the region’s current 10-year economic growth trend could become frayed at some point. “Getting through the Great Recession wasn’t fun, but we remained profitable and came out of it with a team of veterans managing our offices,” he says. “They know what to look for.”

展望未来，提图斯提醒人们，基础设施，高层和其他项目从根本上讲都是相似的。18luck官网他说：“他们都使用相同的钢，混凝土和土壤。”“这只是知道所有者想要建造什么以及我们如何帮助他们做到这一点的问题。”