Robert S. Bright, the founder and CEO of Talson Solutions LLC, is proud that his company played a significant role over an eight-year stretch in the $5.2 billion expansion of the Panama Canal.
Talson provided auditing and consulting services for the third set of locks to the Panama Canal Authority, which marked the opening of the improved shipping channel on June 26. The project aimed to double the nearly 50-mile canal’s capacity to accommodate the massive modern-day cargo ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The original waterway was opened in 1914 after 10 years of construction, and the PCA took control from the United States in 1999. The authority began work on the $3.2 billion newer locks in August 2009.
Bright said serving as the construction auditor on such as historic project enabled Talson to expand its brand.
“Quite naturally, it’s a proud moment for the firm,” said the CEO, who established Talson in 2001.
He said many people didn’t know about the Philadelphia-based minority-owned boutique firm or its abilities.
“Not many people believe a firm such as this is capable of performing services on such a large international project,” Bright said.
“Some individuals are very surprised of our support for this type of project but at the same time we were able to support it because we had a client that was very respectful of the firm’s capabilities, both financial as well as technical capabilities and our understanding of major projects,” he added.
Bright founded Talson Solutions after 20 years of experience in construction management, engineering, finance and litigation support. He is a former director in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s construction consulting practice and held project management positions with four Exxon affiliates.
Even though Talson is a small firm that doesn’t have a major brand name, Bright said the Panama Canal Authority was drawn to its expertise.
“The Canal Authority was looking for individuals that had a combination of audit and technical backgrounds,” he said. “Many of our competitors can only speak to the financial aspect of the project. They cannot speak to the technical side of the project. The Panama Canal Authority was not looking for the brand, they were looking for the expertise.”
Talson’s contract with the PCA was up for approval on a yearly basis. The company was involved in every facet of the canal project, from financial controls to reporting to subcontractor management. Throughout the years, Bright’s team and PCA staff often visited Europe, China and South Korea because various elements of the project were being constructed in those countries.
As a construction auditor, Talson focuses on identifying aspects that could prevent cost overruns and delays in the schedule. It also did assessments of project management teams, contractors activities as well as the performance of vendors and contractors.
“We’re an independent assessor of contractor and project performance,” Bright explained. “Our job at times is to help find those elements that is not properly executed – that is going to be a risk to the project and prevent its successful completion.”
Talson has grown since it started working on the Panama Canal project. The firm, which has 24 employees, has expanded from a small office in Philadelphia to establish offices in New York, Atlanta and Panama City, Panama.
Bright established a subsidiary, Talson International S.A., to explore other Panama-based projects.
“The company is taking advantage of new opportunities,” he said. “One of the opportunities that we are taking advantage of is, we are exploring performing project management services.”
Locally, Talson partnered with Liberty Property Trust to provide project management services on the $1.5 billion, 60-story Comcast Innovation and Technology Center. Scheduled to open in 2017, the 1,121-foot tower along with the neighboring Comcast Center will house the company’s growing technology workforce and the operations of NBC10.
Talson has also worked on other projects in Philadelphia including the sports stadiums for the Phillies and Eagles, the Pennsylvania Convention Center expansion, Drexel University’s LeBow School of Business, the FMC Tower and the city’s Public Safety Building. The firm provides an array of services including compliance monitoring, grant oversight and litigation support.
“As a result of our performance on the canal and with other local clients, clients want us to continue to build the relationship by giving us new opportunities,” Bright said. “Probably 70 to 80 percent of our business is repeat business because we keep producing and meeting clients needs. People are looking to us to perform services related to the entire project and not just pure audits.”