John W. Morris
sitting on his front porch in a rocking chair. Well, that did it. Right there the attitude of the
meeting became friendly.
Q.. Did you introduce any innovative programs while you were district engineer?
A:
Yes, value engineering. I believed it had a place, so we had had a group of people from Harbridge
House put on a seminar on cost reduction for Tulsa District. That was the beginning that led to
the first application of value engineering in the Corps. I became known as the "father of value
engineering" in the Corps of Engineers. That may or may not be true, but I know we were
certainly one of the early ones. I received a nice letter from General Wilson and later a
management award from the president of the United States, President Johnson, for that plus other
things.
Also we inaugurated an environmental program of sorts long before the environmental laws. We
had begun to realize that our new lakes were public places and should be well kept. We started
a beautification program that was very successful. For those project operators who didn't do too
well, we gave them a hoe and a shovel at the annual picnic. The others were complimented. That
program preceded "Keep America Beautiful."
I felt also that the public should have a safe and pleasant experience at their projects, so we began
to erect information signs and to build places and special facilities for handicapped people, long
before there was a handicapped program. A study group looked for similar improvements not
only for the people but also for fish, wildlife, et cetera.
We insisted that the chief of the Operations Division, Bob Hunter, a Normandy Invasion veteran,
be present during construction inspections. I wanted him to discuss with the construction and the
engineering people how the building looked in light of his having to operate it. After all, that's
what counts. Well, it took a little while, but we managed to integrate operational considerations
into engineering and construction planning and execution. This approach was a small example
of today's "partnering" between the owner and the engineer and the builder.
Along this line, we soon learned we had to be more selective in appointing project operation
managers. The fellow who supervised the construction would often become the project manager
when the product became operational. We soon learned that often did not work too well. The
reason was simple. Some people can do both, but too often the construction manager's main
occupation and concerns dealt with the engineering and construction mentality. The man that
operates a project, besides keeping everything working and maintained, has a day-to-day need for
meeting and dealing with the public, so he has to have a different philosophy than the builder has.
The growing need to pay considerable attention to the operational phase was not peculiar to Tulsa
District. It was a Corpswide requirement as many projects became operational.
Another lesson learned from a highly visible public works program was the impact of personal
interaction with the public, both officially and as part of your personal family's lifestyle. Doesn't
have to be, but should be. My children, both John and Susan, went to school in the public schools
in Oklahoma at Tulsa.
Susan became very much interested in her riding. She worked at a stable with the children of
some of the community leaders. I became chairman of the building committee for a new church
and served on the Indian Nations Council for the Boy Scouts. We became part of the city of
Tulsa, Oklahoma. We were given honorary membership in Southern Hills Country Club, which
meant that, although we paid our expenses, we were allowed to use the facilities.
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