Accreditation in Public Works: Much More than Meets the Eye

In today’s episode of Public Works Radio, the official podcast of the American Public Works Association, we’re talking all things accreditation with our guest Troy Shaw, PE, the Director of Public Works and City/County Engineer for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas. We’re also joined by Jeanette Klamm, the Associate Director of Credentialing with APWA. A structured documentation framework is essential in public works. It’s the backbone of risk management, capturing institutional knowledge, leadership continuity, community outreach, and much more. Accreditation checks the boxes on compliance with some of the most critical—literally life-sustaining—responsibilities an agency is tasked with, things you might not think about until it’s unfortunately too late. When it comes to accreditation in public works, you might not be thinking about the cultural impact. As Troy describes, accreditation can make your team feel happier and more confident about what they do and where they work. It also builds credibility and confidence. While the evaluation and nationally recognized practice review process formally verifies agencies for compliance with the recommended practices set forth in the Public Works Management Practices Manual, it also serves as a means for ensuring continuous self-improvement. For a public works department like Wyandotte County’s, that’s a crucial component of their culture. Along with the boost in workplace culture, Troy has also noticed significant gains in confidence and credibility. We dive into the stories behind all those rich benefits of accreditation and what they actually mean in practice in this week’s episode of Public Works Radio. Public Works Radio is hosted by Bailey Dickman, Senior Digital Marketing Specialist with APWA. Each episode dives into a wide range of topics designed to educate and inspire, making public works more visible to everyone—from the general public and elected officials to industry peers and the media. If you haven’t already, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, rate and review the show, forward it to a friend, and drop us a note at [email protected] so we can hear your feedback directly! More Show Notes and Links APWA Accreditation: https://www.apwa.org/resources/accreditation/ APWA Accreditation questions? Send an email: [email protected] Unified Government of Wyandotte County Public Works Department: https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Public-Works