Best Firm winners announced and celebrated at summit in San Diego

 FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Best Firms To Work For Summit, an annual event held by ZweigWhite, publisher of CE News, was held Sept. 28-30 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. This event celebrates the winners of The Best Firms To Work For ranking and is a place for firms to share strategies, success stories and industry news.

This prestigious ranking is based on comprehensive evaluations of firm culture, workplace practices, employee benefits, employee retention rates, professional development and more — both from the management and staff’s perspectives. All firms that apply are evaluated against each other, not a set standard. The top three overall winners in each discipline are ranked according to a panel of three judges. Firms are also ranked in size categories objectively according to a numerical system based on survey results.

The top winners are as follows:

Civil Engineering firms
1. Bowers + Kubota Consulting (Waipahu, Hawaii)
2. J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc. (Orange, Calif.)
3. Delta Airport Consultants, Inc. (Blacksburg, Va.)

Top small: J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc. (Orange, Calif.) 92 employees
Top medium: Tighe & Bond, Inc. (Westfield, Mass.) 194 employees
Top large: Freese and Nichols (Fort Worth, Texas) 472 employees

Environmental Service firms
1. Barr Engineering Co. (Minneapolis)
2. All4 Inc. (Kimberton, Pa.)
3. Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (Marlborough, Mass.)

Top small: All4 Inc. (Kimberton, Pa.) 26 employees
Top medium: A-C-T Environmental & Infrastructure 64 employees
Top large: Barr Engineering Company 523 employees

Multidiscipline A/E Services firms
1. MBP, Inc (Fairfax, Va.)
2. GATE, LLC (Houston)
3. Smith Seckman Reid, Inc (Nashville, Tenn.)

Top small: GATE, LLC (Houston) 27 employees
Top medium: MBP, Inc (Fairfax, Va.) 293 employees
Top large: Smith Seckman Reid, Inc (Nashville, Tenn.) 467 employees

Structural Engineering firms
1. ARW Engineers (Ogden, Utah)
2. Barrish Pelham & Associates, Inc. (Sacramento, Calif.)
3. Bracken Engineering, Inc. (Tampa, Fla.)

Top small: Bracken Engineering, Inc. (Tampa, Fla.) 15 employees
Top medium: Degenkolb Engineers (San Francisco) 159 employees
Top large: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (Waltham, Mass.) 395 employees

Architecture firms
1. Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture (Denver)
2. Corgan Associates, Inc. (Dallas)
3. BLRB Architects (Tacoma, Wash.)

Top small: Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture (Denver) 22 employees
Top medium: BLRB Architects (Tacoma, Wash.) 53 employees
Top large: Corgan Associates, Inc. (Dallas) 282 employees

Conference emcee Ed Friedrichs, FAIA, Chairman of ZweigWhite, opened this year’s conference with a special presentation on Leadership and Culture in the Best Workplace Environments. For more information about this event visit hotfirm.com.