PBN checked in with Wesley Wong, principal and founder of Laulea Engineering LLC, to see what new technologies the company has invested in to complete its projects and combat delays in the last year. Laulea is a new addition to PBN’s Engineering Firms list at No. 26 (see the complete list online), reporting $820,000 in 2021 Hawaii engineering billings; it was also among Hawaii’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2020.
What project are you most excited for this year?
[It’s] hard to name just one. We are entering construction for a couple wastewater treatment plants for residential condominium buildings and hoping to do a couple more this year. We are also excited at the prospect of more project sites applying greener and better sustainable practices, such as the reuse of wastewater and waste-to-energy (W2E) productions.
If I had to choose one project we’re most excited about, it’s the design and development, and fabrication and field-testing of a new individual wastewater system (IWS) we invented, currently in progress. The system is for residential application, and so far we’ve estimated it to be more cost-effective than others to be installed, cost is based on construction labor and materials to install the residential IWS, and better wastewater treatment than a conventional septic tank and leachfield.
What trends or changes are happening in the industry locally, and how have you adapted?
It’s been a challenge to find capable and quality staff. We’re currently in another hiring round and most of the resumes we are receiving don’t have the qualifications we prefer and/or are presently located in the Mainland or internationally. I believe our team currently constructed is an optimal version, and we hope to add another quality employee or two this year.
Effects from Covid-19 are also prevalent, with staff contracting the virus and taking time off work, which has contributed to the delays and extreme delays in the materials supply chain, equipment fabrication, and shipping, which then trickles down to the delays in project and construction schedules. Everyone’s hoping that this is solved sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we do our best to factor in these delays with extra due diligence to provide our clients with realistic project timelines and expectations.
What investments in technology have you made in the last year?
We’ve purchased items that will enhance and increase the quality of our deliverables, I believe. For field equipment, we’ve invested in items such as a handheld laser geosystems device that takes measurements to the accuracy of one-hundredths of an inch and can perform some land survey capabilities, and some electric powered field equipment, such as a one-person auger, which normally relies on petroleum.
Software and subscription-based services such as accounting, communications, and project tracking were also implemented to ensure efficient and effective operations and promote our firm’s continued growth and improvement.
