Trish Hatley Featured in PE Magazine: IT Investment Crucial

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In the May issue of PE magazine, Oklahoma Division Manager Tricia Hatley says IT investment, including accelerating some planned improvements, has been crucial for enabling our 900 staff members to work remotely during stay-at-home orders because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trish, who is president-elect of the National Society of Professional Engineers, was among industry leaders quoted on how firms have responded to the upheaval the national health emergency has caused.

While firms across the country have tried to ensure their business stability and their employees juggle work and family duties, the story reported, previously planned professional activities and competitions such as MATHCOUNTS have been disrupted. Instead, events have been replaced with webinars and information sessions to share information about important resources needed now and fast-developing changes in the law that impact the profession.

Here’s what PE magazine wrote about Freese and Nichols’ adaptation to the challenges:

While following local government orders, the company transitioned its more than 900 employees to working from home gradually to allow time to add bandwidth, virtual machines, and a second VPN, the NSPE president-elect explains. 

Although engineering is considered an essential business in all states where Freese and Nichols operates, Hatley says, “we decided that in order to best protect public health as well as our employees and their families, we need to be responsible and utilize the technology we have in place to keep our staff in their homes as much as is reasonably possible.”

Read “Pandemic Shakes the Profession.”