David Feuer and Bob Leitch are the most recent members of the firm to be named to an International Organization for Standardization committee or group.
DENVER (July 2, 2020) — Woolpert Vice President David Feuer and Senior Strategic Consultant Bob Leitch have been named to the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (US TAG) for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 251. ISO/TC 251 is dedicated to refining and advancing the ISO 55000 standards, which provide asset management structure, requirements, best practices and guidance for organizations around the world.
Feuer and Leitch will join Woolpert Strategic Asset Management Subject Matter Expert Shiv Iyer, who was elected vice chair of the US TAG for ISO/TC 251 in 2019. Iyer said the advisory group of more than 40 members pursues experts like Feuer and Leitch to continually improve asset management standards worldwide.
“Each member brings different expertise to the group and takes away a different understanding of the development but a unified propagation of these standards on this global platform,” Iyer said. “Usually there is only one member from each company, or two at most. The fact that Woolpert will have three on this committee will help us share the workload, provide a more comprehensive deliverable and exponentially increase the benefits to our clients.”
Feuer has helped lead and implement asset management and IT management consulting strategies at Woolpert for close to 14 years. He said he is honored to contribute to this committee and to gain knowledge that will ensure his many government clients see measurable change leveraging the international standard. He said he has seen the benefits of global asset management practices firsthand.
“When I worked with a client in Australia approximately 10 years ago, I became more familiar with how asset management standards can be successfully applied on a daily basis,” Feuer said. “It amazed me that we weren’t doing more in the U.S. to determine and implement asset management standards. But by participating in these international committees, we can bring these best practices home. That’s where I’d like to play in the long term; helping refine the standards, creating synergies and delivering proven solutions in the United States.”
Prior to joining Woolpert’s strategic consulting team in 2019, Leitch developed and implemented an enterprise asset management effort for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works program. His strategic lifecycle investment strategy positively impacted the program’s $3 billion Operations and Maintenance budget, affecting navigation, flood-risk management, hydropower, recreation and environmental projects across the U.S.
Leitch said investment planning should be strategically woven into an asset management program at the outset instead of bringing in technology at the end to try to solve problems that could have been avoided, as is too often done in the U.S.
“Asset management is just a structured approach to managing your investments, and those include anything of value to an organization—equipment, people, knowledge, time. If you have a good plan in place, you can most effectively spend your money,” Leitch said. “Since each government and organization operates differently, it helps to hire people who help draft the international asset management rules because they are the ones who truly understand the reasons behind the rules.”
Feuer and Leitch join the dozens of Woolpert employees who serve on national and international standards committees across the firm’s architecture, engineering, geospatial and strategic consulting markets.
“The firm is focused on strategically supporting the built environment, and the best way to do that is to be at the forefront of the industry as it devises its standards,” Leitch said. “We are looking forward to expanding our knowledge, collaborating with colleagues and clients, and continuing to support and advance that mission.”
About Woolpert
Woolpert is committed to a vision to become the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, and one of the best companies in the world. It’s a vision we’ve been fine-tuning for decades. It guides our decisions and investments, provides our clients with optimal solutions and offers our employees unrivaled opportunities. Woolpert is recognized as a Great Place to Work by its employees and is America’s fastest-growing AEG firm. With more than a century of experience, close to 1,000 employees and 30 offices, Woolpert supports public, private, federal, and U.S. military clients nationally and around the globe. For more information, visit woolpert.com