What Quality Engineering Solutions does

Quality Engineering Solutions (QES), founded in 1997 and headquartered in Wexford, Pennsylvania, is a professional engineering services firm specializing in pavement engineering and construction inspection for transportation infrastructure. The company's service portfolio spans pavement design, pavement management, construction inspection, materials investigation, and technology transfer/training, delivered to state departments of transportation, airports, municipalities, military installations, and port/terminal operators. QES has completed projects across 25 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and inspects approximately $30 million of construction value annually while supporting documentation programs valued at $400 million per year.

QES operates specialized equipment for non-destructive pavement evaluation, including two Dynatest 8000 Falling Weight Deflectometers (up to 23,500 lb load capacity) and a Dynatest 8082 Heavy Weight Deflectometer (6,500-77,000 lb range), alongside core drilling rigs and a proprietary tablet-based rating system with cloud-based real-time reporting. The firm employs 9 specialized pavement engineers holding P.E. certifications across 14 states, supported by 40+ inspectors on-site annually, and has produced 150+ published research papers drawing on 60+ years of federal pavement research engagement. Data quality is delivered at a 95% confidence level with statistical reproducibility verification across data collectors and time periods, evidenced by 65,000 miles of automated distress ratings reviewed annually and 18,000 hours of plant inspection work.

The company generates revenue through fee-for-service professional engineering engagements with government agencies and private clients, pursuing business through direct relationships with state DOTs, metropolitan transportation commissions, airport operators, and federal/military entities. Long-tenured contracts include 24+ years with Virginia DOT, 8 consecutive years with San Francisco Bay Area MTC covering 34 cities, and recurring PennDOT construction inspection work. Leadership is headed by President & CEO Lydia Kennard (Harvard Law, MIT MCP, Stanford Urban Planning; former LAWA Executive Director), with COO Kurt Keifer (Ph.D., ex-USACE PAVER/WHARFER program manager) appointed in July 2024 to scale a national platform. QES operates as a sister company to KDG Construction Consulting under shared ownership and acquired T.W. Consultants and T.W. Engineering on November 1, 2024, consolidating construction inspection and civil engineering/survey services in the Mid-Atlantic.

Name

Quality Engineering Solutions

Legal name

Quality Engineering Services, Inc.

Website

https://qespavements.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Quality Engineering Solutions is a pavement engineering and construction inspection firm founded in 1997, serving state DOTs, airports, military bases, ports, and municipalities across 25+ states with non-destructive testing equipment, proprietary data collection software, and specialized P.E.-credentialed engineers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Conneaut Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Engineering Services: Fee-for-service professional engineering consulting including pavement design, pavement management, materials investigation, and construction inspection. Revenue is project-based and varies by scope, duration, and complexity of engagements with government agencies and private clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Quality Engineering Solutions (QES) is a professional engineering firm that provides pavement engineering, pavement management, construction inspection, materials investigation, and technology transfer/training services to state departments of transportation, airports, municipalities, military installations, and port operators. Services are delivered by P.E.-certified field engineers and inspectors using specialized non-destructive testing equipment (FWD and HWD), core drilling rigs, and a proprietary tablet-based rating system with cloud-based data delivery.

Product overview

Quality Engineering Solutions (QES) is a pavement engineering and construction inspection services company offering a portfolio of services rather than a unified software product. Core services include Pavement Design, Pavement Management, Construction Inspection, Materials Investigation, and Technology Transfer/Training. These services are supported by specialized proprietary equipment including Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD) and Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) for non-destructive pavement evaluation, core drilling and sampling equipment, and a proprietary Tablet-based Rating System for field distress data collection with cloud-based upload capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pavement Management Network-level pavement condition assessment, long-term performance prediction, and maintenance strategy development for transportation and aviation agencies. Includes road network inspection, pavement management plan development, independent validation and verification, quality control/assurance, and pavement performance research.
• Pavement Design Structural and materials design for new pavements and rehabilitation projects using expert analysis. Includes design-build, design evaluation, finite element analysis, traffic count/monitoring, and quality control/quality assurance for highways, interstates, and airfields.
• Construction Inspection Verification of contractor work on paving and bridge projects through visual observation and material testing to ensure construction meets specifications, is completed on time, and stays within budget for state DOTs, airports, and infrastructure clients.
• Materials Investigation Forensic investigations of failed pavements and structural analyses of new and rehabilitation pavements using current research and testing techniques, including materials testing, test design, forensic analysis, traffic forecasting, and backcasting.
• Technology Transfer/Training Training and seminars on pavement management system uses, paving best practices, and new data collection and processing methods, including technology transfer, training course development, and software training instruction for transportation agencies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Saves clients millions on construction projects through optimized pavement design and maintenance processes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KDG Construction ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024KDG Construction Consulting is a sister company under the same parent ownership (Lydia Kennard, President & CEO). KDG provides project and construction management services in aviation, transportation, water and power infrastructure sectors. Both companies operate as part of the KDG/QES family of companies with shared leadership and strategic direction.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with broad pavement design, construction inspection, and program management capabilities across transportation and aviation clients — a key incumbent that often sub-consults specialists like QES.
• Stantec: International design and engineering firm with transportation infrastructure and pavement practices competing across DOT, municipal, and aviation engagements where QES also bids.
• WSP USA: Global professional services firm with a large U.S. transportation practice that competes with QES on state DOT and airport pavement assignments, typically as a prime contractor bundling pavement into larger program management deals.

Direct peers

• S&ME: Employee-owned engineering, environmental, and construction services firm with strong construction materials testing, geotechnical, and pavement practices competing for similar DOT and private clients.
• CTL Engineering: Midwest-based engineering, testing, and inspection firm with construction materials testing and geotechnical practices that directly overlap QES's materials investigation and construction inspection services.
• Applied Pavement Technology: Urbana, IL-based pavement engineering consultancy specializing in pavement management, design, and research for state DOTs and airports — the closest direct peer to QES in scope, customer base, and federal research orientation.
• Braun Intertec: Engineering and testing firm with pavement design, materials testing, and construction observation services serving DOTs and private clients in overlapping geographies.
• IMS Infrastructure Management Services: Pavement engineering and asset management firm providing similar pavement management, design, and inspection services; notably, QES EVP Kurt Keifer previously served as President and Principal Engineer at IMS, underscoring direct competitive overlap.
• Terracon Consultants: Large national geotechnical and construction materials testing firm with pavement evaluation services; competes with QES for state DOT and airport pavement testing and inspection work at a much larger scale.

Others

• Dynatest: Manufacturer of FWD/HWD equipment and adjacent pavement evaluation software that supplies QES's core testing tools and competes indirectly through its own pavement engineering services in some markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qes-engineering-inspection

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quality Engineering Solutions