Hartsfield-Jackson Partnership Creates Diversity in Projects

A new partnership in Atlanta is helping small construction companies get a leg up when bidding on city projects, including the $6 billion ATLNext underway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Atlanta’s Small Business Development Program, created in 2007, is the brainchild of the city’s Department of Watershed Management. For the first time, that department has partnered with the Department of Aviation to create a 15-week program that offers intensive construction management training for small, minority and female-owned companies seeking business opportunities.

More than 150 attendees participated in the Dec. 13, 2017, kick-off event and 45 firms were selected to participate in the training.

Valerie Nesbitt is the business diversity manager at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and helped spearhead the partnership with the Department of Watershed Management. “The program it had in place is very intense and we were impressed with the detail it offered. So it made sense for us to partner with them,” she said. “It helps the airport maximize our resources. It also accomplished what both departments want to do — develop and grow small businesses in the city. I can’t say that any other agency in the city that is doing something of this magnitude.”

The Department of Aviation wanted to target construction primarily because of the ATLNext capital improvement program, which started in 2016, said Nexbitt. “We have a lot of work that will occur in next several years, so we need to grow the talent with small businesses,” she stated. “There’s a lot of work to be done here, so we need best of the best. We want capable small businesses that can help us build and improve the airport’s infrastructure.”

After the December kick-off, the airport ended up with 40 students after going through more than 100 applications for the 15-week program, said Nesbitt. “We hired a consultant who helped us put together a matrix to choose participants. We looked at things like experience, financials and the ability to get bonded,” she said. You also had to have been in business for at least a year. And they had to be a small business based on the Small Business Administration’s size standards.”

The classes are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Department of Watershed Management’s headquarters. “Participants had to pay $500 for the course, so that shows they were serious,” said Nesbitt. “We want to make it easy and comfortable for them, so we offer a light meal and snacks for attendees.”

Courses include trenchless sewer techniques, Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) overhead development, scheduling, construction accounting and estimating and human resources management. “Another big part is planning and scheduling, which is a huge piece of the work with construction contracts,” said Nesbitt. “We also have a module coming up where attendees will get a live example of a project and they will bid on it,” she said.

The course takes students behind the scenes, showing them the dos and don’ts when it comes to bidding on airport contracts, said Nesbitt. “The program is for the Aviation and Watershed departments, but it’s something that will help students even if they don’t do business with us. This is all about growth and development.”

The last — and most important module of the program, on May 24, is how to do business with the city, said Nesbitt. “Being in this program doesn’t guarantee that they’ll get city or airport contracts, but it gives them the tools needed to make a successful bid,” she said. “They are learning things that others who also want to do business with us don’t know.”

On June 7, a graduation ceremony will be held at city hall with leaders to recognize the students, said Nesbitt. “We also plan to have prime contractors at the ceremony so we can showcase this graduating class and allow them both to connect,” she said. “Of the 40 people in the class, I’d like to have at least a third of them signed up to do business at the airport.”