Ken Macumber at WSP
Macumber Article at WSP
Passion for Engineering Drives Ken Macumber
13 Jan, 2017 21:54 UTC
By the time Ken Macumber was 9 years old, he already knew he wanted to be an engineer.
“I wanted to be a civil engineer, attend the University of California-Berkeley, and most importantly, learn how the Golden Gate Bridge was built,” Macumber said.
He met all of those goals—and much more—in a career that led him to WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2001 as a consultant, which eventually turned into a full-time position as a mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) design production manager and workflow manager.
“As a senior at Berkeley, I had two professors who worked on the Golden Gate Bridge, and in 1977 as part of an ASCE field trip, we actually went to the top of the south tower, some 750 feet above the water,” Macumber said. “It was a thrilling experience to say the least, and I still have those photos.”
Following graduation, a five-year stint in South Africa gave him his first experience with something then relatively new in the engineering world: design-build construction.
“I was 26 years old and running a project for the largest bakery company in Africa. Every day we were designing and building something amazing. The client, the contractor and the designer—we were all sharing a common goal of creating something special, and we strived to reinforce that every day. It was exciting to be on the cutting edge of design-build.”
Passion and Confidence
Based in the Boston office, Macumber has been involved with a number of high-profile projects for WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, including the Consolidated Rental Car Facility at Logan International Airport in Boston, where he was responsible for the production of over 800 drawings for the garage, support buildings and customer service center. He also managed the computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) workflow and staff for the Elizabeth River Tunnels in Hampton Road, Virginia, which included three tunnel rehabilitations and one new tunnel.
He worked with the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority to provide engineering input for a design-build project that included the development of architectural and mechanical/electrical/plumbing criteria for a layover services building and train layover building in Brunswick, Maine.
Since 2015, Macumber has been managing project workflow and submittal documents for the design-build project to build a new terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.
“One thing I love about my job is driving through Boston and seeing a tunnel or a building where I was involved in the design,” Macumber said. “It really makes you feel like you’ve made a difference for people and the city. I can drive through a tunnel, look at the lights and the cameras, and say to myself, ‘I helped make that work.’”
Macumber is never at a loss for sharing a motivational quote or story of a past experience to inspire younger engineers on his projects.
“That’s what engineering is all about for me; it’s selling feelings,” he said. “You have to share your passion and your confidence with every client; show them that you are as invested into their project as they are and that you are in it for the long haul.”
A Fresh Opportunity
Macumber anticipates new opportunities from the firm’s name change to WSP, which is set to take place in May.
“I think the new name is going to have some positive impacts on our firm moving forward,” Macumber said. “I think it’s going to unify our identity and create even better teamwork opportunities between our many offices. It creates a fresh opportunity for us to redefine for the public who we are and what we do for the community and for our clients.”
Clients will ultimately build their relationships with the people in the firm, he said, regardless of the name. “If you can share your passion and confidence with clients, then you are way ahead of the curve.”