On the verge of 25 years in business, Chaves & Associates (C&A) is a small minority, woman-owned firm that has enjoyed much well-documented success.

Arlene Chaves founded the company in San Francisco in 1994. C&A has since provided professional services, including document control, for airports and many other entities around the world, including all three airports within the Houston Airport System. C&A is a member of the Parsons-H.J. Russell Joint Venture Program Management Support Services (PMSS) team that serves the IAH Terminal Redevelopment Program (ITRP) at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Nicole Hanes is a C&A staff member and the on-site Document Control Manager for the program.

From program inception, Chaves and Hanes have worked closely with the ITRP Program team to assess the Program’s system requirements and system implementation. “As part of the project controls and document control system endeavors,” Chaves said, “it was imperative to gain system confidence and built trust from our ITRP end-users. Nicole has worked closely and diligently with everyone in forging that strong trust, crucial to document control, which is at the heart of so much of the work.”

C&A’s professional relationship with HAS begun in 2006 with the comprehensive Houston Airport Security Project that included IAH, William P. Hobby Airport, and Ellington Airport. The company provided extensive document control and project administrative support services for airport security enhancements which included six Baggage Handling System (BHS) installations and passenger screening upgrades. This project helped C&A understand how to do business in Houston and understand the intrinsic value of making strong, lasting local connections. “It was a great experience,” Chaves said, “and we benefited greatly from it and continue to do so.”

“Our role with introducing electronic records dissemination and cutting-edge systems is innovative,” she said. “Our goal is to put ITRP on the project map of utilizing cutting-edge tools to manage a $1.23 billion-dollar program. Our end results - save time, money, and contribute first- hand to Houston’s footprint by reducing the amount of paper a normal construction project would need to manage a project.”

Since 1994, C&A has successfully attained extensive expertise in document control, project management support services, project controls, office engineering, and records management specific to the construction industry. C&A has the requisite tools available to successfully address multifaceted projects such as ITRP.

“It’s actually quite simple at its core,” Chaves said. “We look to successfully increase project efficiency by reducing the resources necessary to effectively manage construction projects.

She recalled one of the company’s greatest success stories, the $10 billion Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority’s Dulles International Airport Program where the Program Management Team had operated in a hard-copy environment for over 20 years. Chaves implemented a long-overdue electronic document control system and saved the program millions of dollars.

She credited the major influences of David A. Brown and Bruce Swanson, senior leaders at Parsons who “believed in my services, my firm, and me as a person, and took me across the world…to implement cutting edge systems and make projects more efficient.”

“We take great pride in assisting in ITRP, a ground-breaking program that will genuinely impact the aviation industry for good. We appreciate the City of Houston and have a great interest in its continuing growth and success.”

Upon completion of the current implementation for ITRP, Hanes and C&A will continue to work closely with software developers to modify the system to meet ITRP’s growing needs and offer extensive support to end-users.

If the company’s well-documented successes of the past are any indication, ITRP is in good hands with C&A.