Why do critical projects need client-side support from planning and engineering specialists?

How leveraging integrated resources can be a better solution for both the public and private sectors

Malcolm Griffin – Managing Director at PSA Consulting

For 20 years, PSA Consulting has provided client-side planning and engineering services. While we routinely deliver projects in a traditional consulting role, we’ve found that many of our clients (in both the public and private sectors) benefit immensely from having an integrated in-house team.

What started as a service for clients in South-East Queensland has expanded over the years to include Regional Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

What is client-side support in planning and engineering?

Client-side support means taking a hands-on approach from within the client’s team – providing an integrated service that ensures an entire project comes together.

PSA Consulting has a long history of embedding within public sector teams that are delivering crucial projects, like infrastructure. This has included providing:

• In-person and remote specialist guidance to support project delivery.
• Program and project management to ensure operational readiness.
• Experienced senior professionals who mentor and develop client teams.
• Additional resources for client teams during periods of high workloads.
• Independent and pragmatic advice to help brief stakeholders clearly.
• Access to personnel with a broad range of expertise to fill capability gaps.

What makes PSA Consulting different?

Our approach is defined by partnering with our clients to:

• Address project deliverables,
• Deliver confidence in outcomes, and
• Build critical capacity and capability.

In practice, we achieve this by:

• Operationalising projects, with a focus on establishing organisational clarity.
• Responding flexibly to the client’s changing needs and the demands placed upon them.
• Building a strong and cohesive team culture, while prioritising project outcomes.
• Leaving internal teams with increased technical and project delivery capacity.
• Creating governance frameworks that clarify structures, roles and responsibilities.
• Ensuring that progress always aligns with established goals and policies.

What about client-side support for the private sector?

Although we do provide client-side support for the private sector, we typically deliver it in a different format – using the same approach and values.?

We don’t often sit ‘in-house’ with private sector clients. Instead, our integrated planning and engineering support takes the form of:

• Being available and responsive to requests,
• Managing development applications and assessment processes, and
• Committing not just to the approval, but to the development as well.

Why does client-side support matter for organisations?

Securing skilled and experienced team members to meet capability requirements is a challenge for both the public and private sectors. Projects are becoming more complex and will continue to demand flexible and rapid responses to resourcing.

At the same time, town planning professionals and engineers are in increasingly short supply. Many local councils and State Government agencies are finding it difficult to attract and retain talent.

By helping organisations to fill those talent gaps, while also building capacity within their teams, client-side support ensures that important projects across Australia can continue to be delivered.

How does client-side support improve PSA’s service?

While offering client-side services creates high resourcing demands within PSA Consulting, we’ve always seen its value in growing the experience of our team. It:

• Improves our understanding of the demands and expectations on our clients.
• Builds our skills in teamwork and our flexibility to work within other teams.
• Gives insight into different team cultures and work environments.
• Opens opportunities to contribute to large and diverse projects.

What are our clients saying?

“Our project was meant to be finished within a certain timeframe and, of course, being government, it did not. PSA was understanding about that and was flexible and willing to work with us. Their communication with us as a team was excellent. Each time I’ve worked with them, it’s been really good”.

?“PSA is known for being extremely trusted. My personal view is that they do deliver what they say they’re going to deliver and what the client wants as well.”

Learn more about PSA’s integrated services in land use and transport planning, traffic engineering and operational readiness.