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John Robinson of Strategic Value Solutions: Opening Possibilities Through Value Engineering
SVS's value engineering process brings together a team of subject-matter experts for a high-intensity workshop lasting anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
T
he discipline of value engineering applies a resultsoriented methodology to find cost savings and optimized solutions to infrastructure project designs. In this interview, Municipal Water Leader speaks with Strategic Value Solutions (SVS) Principal and Executive Vice President John Robinson about what an independent dream team of experts can bring to the project design process. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
14 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | June 2022
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about the history of SVS and the services you offer. municipalwaterleader.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF SVS.
John Robinson: I got into the value engineering business about 35 years ago. I joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers here in Kansas City as an engineering intern, but within a few months, I was offered a permanent position in the district’s value engineering office. This was a fantastic experience, and I quickly gained a passion for what can be
accomplished through the value engineering process. I stayed with the Army Corps for about 7 years before joining a municipal engineering design firm headquartered in Seattle. I served as a value engineering project manager and team leader for the firm for 5 years before starting a new value engineering consulting firm with two of my close friends and mentors. Our firm, Robinson, Stafford & Rude, became one of the top value engineering consulting firms in the United States. After several great years in this partnership, my wife and I became fully dedicated to growing SVS into a worldclass value consulting firm. As you can see, my whole career has been dedicated to the value industry and helping project owners maximize the value of their infrastructure projects by offering them alternatives to achieving the required functions at the lowest capital and life cycle cost.
