Matrix consultants have extensive extensive providing analysis on public works and utilities agencies, having conducted studies for over 150 agencies throughout the country.
Click on a subject area below to learn more about the services we provide and view a sample of our work:
Organizational assessments – roads, fleets, facilities, parks, water, and wastewater
Determine the most efficient organizational structure to promote effective communications, resource utilization, and managerial control
Ensuring that a public works organization’s management skills are maximized requires a combination of effective communications, staff expertise, reporting capabilities, and continual assessment of service level appropriateness.
The Matrix Consulting Group has worked with dozens of public works departments by taking a systematic approach in effectively organizing component functions to optimizing spans of control, determining appropriate staff skills, and using metrics to ensure accountability for results.
Case Study: Northampton, MA
Staffing analysis
Ensure that staffing levels reflect both targeted levels of service and a cost-effective approach to public works
Staffing levels are driven by developing targeted service levels, which are in turn driven by the needs and desires of each community.
The approach used by the Matrix Consulting Group determines appropriate staffing levels from the viewpoint that service levels are unique to each community, and that the determination of optimum staffing levels is a product of several factors, including use of appropriate crew sizes, attaining adequate productivity levels, work planning and scheduling, usage of current technology, and a number of other considerations.
Case Study: Sunnyvale, CA
Infrastructure assessments
Continual assessment of the condition of public works assets is critical in applying appropriate maintenance regimens
Public Works organizations are responsible for maintaining what are among the largest investments that municipalities make.
Whether it is a cyclical pavement condition assessment, a continual evaluation of fleet operability, or a structural condition assessment of facilities, it is critical that public works organizations routinely assess the condition of assets under its management. Doing optimizes the public’s use of these assets, and ensures that the assets’ economic lives are maximized.
The Matrix Consulting Group analyzes the methods employed by public works organizations to assess the infrastructure they are responsible for in order to minimize overall maintenance costs and maximize useful lives.
Case Study: White Plains, NY
Preventive maintenance needs
Public works organizations can maximize the useful lives of assets through routine preventive maintenance
Numerous studies have demonstrated that the performance of routine preventive maintenance not only extends assets’ useful lives, but also avoids unnecessary costs associated with unscheduled repairs.
The Matrix Consulting Group analyzes the preventive maintenance programs of our clients and assesses their effectiveness at maximizing asset economic lives and minimizing financial costs.
Case Study: Brookline, MA
Fleet management
Most public works functions and activities cannot be performed without vehicles and equipment. Thus, ensuring that fleet programs are providing a high level of performance at a reasonable cost is an important initiative for public works directors.
The Matrix Consulting Group provides a full-range of fleet management consulting services, including:
- • Program assessment and operational analysis
- • Fleet replacement planning
- • Fleet size and composition
- • Fleet maintenance
- • Contract feasibility analysis and compliance audits
- • Technology and management reporting
>> Learn more about our Fleet expertise here.
Engineering analysis
Whether designing and inspecting infrastructure or ensuring regulatory and statutory compliance, an organization’s engineers provide direction for staff and are a vital resource for the managers of a jurisdiction
The Matrix Consulting Group has vast experience in analyzing engineering functions, including within the civil, hydraulic, and traffic disciplines. Our studies determine optimum staffing levels, sharpen planning and scheduling skills, optimize plan review and permitting cycles, as well as provide analysis on other facets of operations.
Case Study: San Luis Obispo, CA
Asset and maintenance management
Ensuring that assets are properly managed to maximize their economic lives requires much more than simply responding to immediate maintenance needs
Effective asset management requires that your public works department maintain accurate inventories and locations of the infrastructure it is responsible for. Additionally, this requires defining proper service levels, the staffing levels required to achieve these targets, examining the regimens used and frequency of maintenance, and assessing the risks associated with failing to properly maintain assets, in addition to other elements.
The Matrix Consulting Group has vast experience in assessing the degree of asset management and planning used in public works organizations, and providing recommendations to enhance these practices in order to ensure that jurisdictions achieve the maximum useful lives from their valuable assets.
Case Study: Oakland, CA