JTOM Consulting

Can you answer “Yes” to any of these questions?

Could your project management tools and processes be improved to face today's digital world challenges?

Could you benefit from outside expertise in conceptual planning for future infrastructure needs?

Do you want Capital Infrastructure Program advice?

Could you use assistance with your alternate delivery procurement and project management?

Is your Project Management staff shorthanded?

Is your Project Management staff less experienced than you would like?

Do you have a project that is not going well and could use some experienced help to get it on track?

Does your Capital Improvement Program management team need some experienced assistance?

Are you unsure about a recommendation provided by an engineering consultant?

Could you benefit from a 3rd Party review before proceeding with a project or program?

Company Objective

Coach and support organizations to effectively and efficiently manage capital infrastructure projects and programs and help in adjusting organizational processes and procedures to improve performance and take advantage of today's digital technology.

Many organizations, in particular public utilities, are challenged with implementing capital improvement programs within budgets and schedules. Situations such as limited staff, inexperienced staff, or unrealistic expectations cause these capital improvement programs to under perform. JTOM Consulting, LLC. is specifically devoted to assisting these organizations in effectively and efficiently implementing these programs through focused training and coaching services as well as performing project and program management duties and services to augment an organization's staff.

Unique features of Company

JTOM offers the unique combination of knowledge with private business and engineering practice ideas and procedures coupled with public utility management experience.

• Objective Advice: JTOM Consulting does not provide design engineering, construction management, or contract operations services. Therefore, we are not motivated to direct our clients toward a direction that would ultimately require these services. Our only motivation is to provide our clients with the advise and assistance that is in the best interest of the public utility and its customers.
• Broad Knowledge: JTOM's key principal, Tom Jacobs, has gained project management experience with public utilities in 14 States (Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, So. Dakota, Texas, California, Hawaii, Missouri, and Florida). Tom has worked in both private industry and in the public sector. He has successfully managed projects for public water and wastewater utilities worth $500 million. He has also served on program management teams and as a consultant to program teams for water and wastewater infrastructure programs with a total value of $11.0 billion.
• Business Expertise: Tom Jacobs successfully managed consulting engineering offices in Utah and Colorado for national engineering consulting firms. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration as well as being a registered Professional Engineer. He provides the unique combination of bringing private business and engineering practice ideas and procedures to public utilities and public utility owner perspectives to private consulting firms.

Company History

JTOM Consulting, LLC. is a small business with an with extensive planning, management and business experience with public water and wastewater utilities. Tom Jacobs, the principal of JTOM Consulting, brings years of project and program management experience to your aid. JTOM Consulting, LLC is a restart of JTOM, Inc. which was formed in 2002 and which operated until 2007.

JTOM Consulting, LLC. was formed by Tom Jacobs in 2014 after a successful career in the consulting engineering business. The business in headquartered in Mansfield, Texas located in the Dallas- Fort Worth metroplex.

Management Tip

A good manager is flexible, innovative, visionary, enthusiastic, and respectful.

Services

JTOM, Inc can provide a wide variety of owner representative, project management, and program management assistance that can be tailored to meet your needs. These services are provided solely by Tom Jacobs. When you retain JTOM Consulting, LLC you are retaining Tom Jacobs to provide the following:

Infrastructure Management Consulting: Tom is experienced in a number of management structures used to implement capital infrastructure programs. Tom has structured programs using various management models. He can help an organization evaluate the models and select the model that best fits their needs and culture and then assist in the set-up and mobilization of this program structure.

Program Manager/Owner's Representative: Tom can manage your project or program, including coordination with designers, equipment vendors, contractors, financial institutions, attorneys, regulatory agencies, and other public utilities.

Owner's Advisor: Tom can help with procurement and management of designers and contractors associated with alternate delivery contracts. He can assist with preparation of project definitions to competitive procurement documents to dispute resolution and everything in between. After over 30 years in the engineering consulting industry, Tom understands how consultants and contractors think and perform their services. He can objectively review contract and management documents to provide a “reality check” to ensure that the public utility's interests are being best served.

Digital Information Management: Tom is well versed in the planning, design, and configuration of digital information management systems for document and record management, cost and schedule management, permit tracking, land acquisition, risk management, and construction management. He has served in a number of roles as a consultant and “super user” of these information management systems. He can guide a utility organization through the wide variety of off-the-shelf and custom systems available and provide the assistance in deploying a system that best fits the utility's needs.

Owner's Representative/Program Management: Serve as your owner's representative for any capital infrastructure effort for conventional or alternate delivery procurement methods. Tom can also manage, or assist you in managing, your project or program, including coordination with designers, equipment vendors, contractors, financial institutions, attorneys, regulatory agencies, and other public utilities.

Project Management Coaching: Tom can provide on-going consultation and advisory services to assist your staff in the implementation of capital projects. Tom will devote a regular time commitment to be available to your staff to answer questions, develop recommendations, review documents, resolve design and/or construction disputes, and make decisions regarding project scope, budget and schedule.

Project Management Training: Tom offers both formal and informal training for your staff in the areas of project management that really make a difference. This training would not attempt to sell scheduling software, cost estimating models, or budget tracking systems. Tom's training will deal with what to do with these tools and how to interpret their outputs and make decisions to move projects to completion.

Conceptual Planning: Tom can provide input to, or actually prepare, conceptual plans for capital improvement programs including financial plans, regulatory compliance plans, and engineering implementation plans. The key to a good conceptual plan is having objective resources with the appropriate level of project experience available to prepare the plan. Since there is usually little definition of the project scope at the early stages of project development, having experienced individuals, with a clearly objective position, are paramount to a good plan.

Design Consultant Management: Tom can help with management of design consultants ranging from preparation of project definitions to consultant procurement to dispute resolution and everything in between. After many years in the engineering consulting industry, Tom understands how consultants think and perform their services. He can objectively review contract and management documents to provide a “reality check” to ensure that the public utility's interests are being best served.

3rd Party Management Review: If you have a situation regarding capital expenditures,organizational structure, or process modifications that requires an independent, objective point-of-view before you proceed, Tom can provide this perspective.

Experience

Company names

JTOM Consulting, LLC

JTOM, Inc.

The following represents some highlights of previous business activities of JTOM. This information provides examples of the types of services JTOM Consulting can bring to its clients.

February 2002: Brown and Caldwell retained JTOM, Inc. to assist with the development of an Executive Summary for a 30 Percent Design Report. The project had several sensitive environmental and public issues and a concise and accurate Executive Summary was needed to communicate the project elements.

March 2002: The Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities asked JTOM, Inc. to assist with consultant fee negotiations associated with a water treatment plant project the City was embarking on. JTOM, Inc. reviewed proposed fees by the selected consultant and assisted the City during negotiation sessions with the consultant.

April 2002: The consulting firm of Bowen, Collins and Associates asked JTOM, Inc. to assist them with the development of a water reuse plan for St. George City.

April 2002: The Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy retained JTOM, Inc. to manage several projects associated with the District's $250 million capital improvement program. Projects to be managed include construction of an Interim Fluoridation Facility, construction of solids upgrades at the Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant, development of an Instrumentation and Telemetry Master Plan for all of the District facilities, and design of surface restoration improvements along the Salt Lake Aqueduct. JTOM also advised the District on various program control tools being used on the program by the program manager.

May 2002: The Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility retained JTOM, Inc. to manage a water reuse marketing study project to investigate expansion of the agency's water reuse program. JTOM, Inc. assisted with consultant procurement, consultant management, quality control, and overall direction of the project.

June 2002: JTOM, Inc. assisted the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities with the review of plans and specifications associated with a major large diameter pipeline project the City was undertaking. JTOM, Inc. provided both bidding and constructability review of the proposed contract documents and provided the Department with written comments to be used with the design consultant.

June 2002: Brown and Caldwell asked JTOM, Inc. to review a draft wastewater facilities plan document and provide comments to improve the technical quality of the plan.

August 2002: The law firm of Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough retained JTOM, Inc. to assist with the technical evaluation of a wastewater treatment plant expansion in preparation for possible legal action.

October 2002: JTOM, Inc. conducted project management training for 25 people with the Cheyenne, Wyoming Board of Public Utilities.

December 2002: The City of Aurora, Colorado Utilities Department requests assistance from JTOM, Inc. to initiate planning for the City's 10 year, $750 million water capital improvement program.

March 2003: The Public Works & Utilities Department of Lincoln, Nebraska retains JTOM, Inc. to provide project management training to water, wastewater, and transportation staff. JTOM, Inc. also conducted an assessment of the Department's capital improvement program planning process.

May 2003: JTOM, Inc. has joined with HDR Engineering to provide senior management level assistance to the City of Lincoln, Nebraska for the Theresa Street Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion project. This $30 million project involves extensive upgrades and capacity expansion to the City's oldest wastewater treatment facility. The upgrades are to be constructed on an accelerated schedule to meet growth demands in the City.

July 2003: JTOM, Inc. teamed with MWH to provide sewer system evaluation and design assistance services to the Central Weber Sewer Improvement District. This agency, which serves over 200,000 people in northern Utah has had a long-term infiltration/inflow situation that creates problems at the District's 44.5 mgd treatment facility at certain times of the year.

December 2003: JTOM, Inc. discontinued provided services so that Tom Jacobs could assist Aurora Water initiate the implementation of a capital projects group and start assembling and leading a team to prepare planning, design, and construction documents for the $800 million Prairie Waters Project to provide a new water supply to the City of Aurora, Colorado.

August 2006: JTOM, Inc. restarts the business with a contract with Aurora Water to provide program management support services for the Prairie Waters Project.

October 2006: JTOM, Inc. is retained by RW Beck to provide strategic planning support for the Kauai Department of Water.

October 2014: JTOM Consulting is re-formed in Mansfield, Texas to continue serving the water and wastewater utility industry with capital program management related services.

December 2014: JTOM Consulting is retained by Alan Plummer Associates to assist in the pursuit of program management assignments with various utilities.

February 2015: JTOM Consulting enters into agreement with Integrity Solutions to provide consulting assistance on program management collaboration websites for various agencies in California, Hawaii, and Nebraska.

April 2015: JTOM Consulting is retained by Toeroek Associates to identify and pursue program/project management support services with public water and wastewater utilities and assist in providing those services.

July 2015: Tom Jacobs named Owner's Representative for $240 million Solids Management Improvements Program at Trinity River Authority's Central Regional Wastewater Plant. Project is being implemented using a variety of procurement methods including Design-Bid-Build, Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR), and Competitive Sealed proposal. The new Solids Handling Facility will make use of the Thermal Hydrolysis Process to produce Class A biosolids.

April 2016: JTOM Consulting selected by City of Vallejo to assist in developing digital management information systems to aid the City in the management of capital projects for the water utility.

November 2018: JTOM Consulting is engaged by Plus Six Engineering to provide Owner Representative consulting services for a $45 million wastewater treatment plant project in Pflugerville, Texas.

March 2019: JTOM Consulting is hired by AEC Portals to provide consulting services associated with developing a new web portal for the $2.3 billion Omaha CSO Program. The Program Manager for this program is Jacobs, Inc.

January 2020: JTOM Consulting is engaged by Harris & Associates to provide oversight and QA/QC services for a Water Master Planning project for the Hawaii Department of Water.

February 2020: Harris & Associates hires JTOM Consulting to provide support for the preparation of the Strategic Plan for the Maui Department of Water. The Plan will guide the Department's operations and business practices for the next 25 years. JTOM Consulting also developed a web portal to assist in tracking implementation progress for the Plan.

July 2022: JTOM Consulting was hired by the Dominion Water and Sanitation District, Colorado to provide a variety of services including updating the District's Service Plan, assisting with strategic planning, and supporting professional services procurements.

January 2025: JTOM Consulting is engaged by BENJAMIN, VANA, MARTINEZ & CANO as an expert witness in various construction claim lawsuits related to water and wastewater facilities throughout Texas.

Presentations

Tom Jacobs has presented several papers at professional organization conferences on topics related to captial program management. These presentations are listed below. If you are interested in any of these presentations or would like Tom to make a presentation to your organization, please contact him.

Program Management Lessons Learned, Presentation, Construction Management Association of America, November 7, 2011, Washington, D.C.

An Owner's Guide to Program / Construction Management on Large Programs, Webinar, Construction Management Association of America, June 21, 2012

So You Think You Want to Hire a Program Manager?, Presentation, Intermountain Section of American Waterworks Association, September 12, 2012, Logan, Utah

So You Think You Want to Hire a Program Manager?, Presentation, WEFTEC, October 1, 2012, New Orleans, Louisiana.

So You Think You Want to Hire a Program Manager?, Presentation, AWWA/WEF Joint Management Conference, March 12, 2013, , Glendale, Arizona

What is Program Management?, Presentation, Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association, October 24, 2013, Boise, Idaho.

Is Program Management Right For You?, Presentation, Water Environment Association of Utah, April 30, 2015, St. George, Utah.

Trinity River Authority of Texas - Solids Management Program Update, Presentation, Texas Water Conference, Austin, Texas, April 11, 2017

Trinity River Authority Of Texas Starts Move from Lime Treatment to Thermal Hydrolysis And Anerobic Digestion, Presentation, Residuals and Biosolids Conference, Water Environment Federation, May 16, 2018, Phoenix, Arizona.

Bioenergy Modeling to Evaluate Economic Scenarios and Risks of Biogas-to-RNG Production for WRRFs, Presentation, Texas Water Conference, April 3, 2019, Houston, Texas

TRA's Solids Management Improvement Program Status Report, Presentation, Residuals Conference, Water Environment Association of Texas, July 31, 2019, San Marcos, Texas

Present, Future, and What Construction Managers Must Provide To Excel with Major Capital Projects, Panel Discussion, Construction Management Association of America Conference, October 10, 2022, San Diego, California