The San Diego Unified Port District Engineering‐Construction Department is the first port agency to be awarded the American Public Works Association (APWA) Accreditation designation. The APWA Accreditation program recognizes public works agencies that go beyond the requirements of the management practices established nationally in the public works industry, as contained in the APWA Public Works Management Practices Manual. The San Diego Unified Port District initially applied for Accreditation in October 2016 and was awarded in June, 2017.
The San Diego Unified Port District Engineering‐Construction Department will receive the Accreditation award from APWA President, Ron Calkins, PE, PWLF from Ventura, CA, at a presentation ceremony during the Port Board meeting on September 12, 2017 at 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Port Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101.
The Accreditation of the Port’s Engineering‐Construction Department indicates the department met all applicable Accreditation documentation and practices. “The awarding of the APWA Accreditation shows we have dedicated ourselves to concepts of improvement and in‐depth self‐assessment of department policies, procedures and practices. The heroes of this prestigious APWA award are the public works staff whose mission is to provide public works services and programs that contribute to making the Port of San Diego a great organization,” said Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer, Karen Porteous.
“It gives me pride as the Chief Engineer of the department to know that we are operating at the level within the industry and are consistent with national practices that specifically address the design and construction of our projects. Accreditation will benefit the department and the Port for years to come,” said Ernesto Medina, San Diego Unified Port District.The San Diego Unified Port District becomes the 125th agency in North America to be awarded Accreditation, the 18th agency in California and the first port nationwide.
In addition to the San Diego Port, the accredited agencies in California include Alameda County, City of Alameda, Berkeley, Contra Costa County, Encinitas, Fresno, Oakland, Orange County, Palmdale, Palo Alto, Bakersfield, SanFrancisco, Thousand Oaks, Ventura, Vallejo, and Santa Monica. For the San Diego Port review, a team of public works professionals from Victoria, BC, Lincoln, NE and Kansas City, MO completed a thorough evaluation of operations during their June 2017 site visit.
