Talk:Parsons Corporation

Neutrality
Article is very one sided. For example, "Hailed as the most important runway in America" &mdash; by who? - Francis Tyers · 16:08, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Frankly, I've never heard of Parsons Corp until today. But if they're going to be like Halliburton or Bechtel, might as well start keeping tabs on them from now. Seems this company was awarded a billion dollar worth of Iraqi reconstruction contracts, so it's a big player. --Fshafique 19:29, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Article reads as an advertisement. Uses several self-references like "We" and "Our." Hadn't heard about this company until a segment on Countdown alleging shoddy workmanship in Iraq. Looked it up on a whim and found what I believe is a rather biased article. Marked as POV-Check. Kyouryuu 05:53, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

My particular problem with the article's one sided tone, is that it could possibly make it difficult for any criticism/controversy information to appear honest and fact based. Since the current article is a bit biased, any new articles about current investigations into Parsons' $2.2 billion Rebuilding Iraq Oil (RIO) contract, could possibly come off as combative in nature, despite being public information. IvanxDurham 11:38am, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Revision
It seems like the Parsons Corporation deleted a big chunk of criticism back on June 26th. Admittedly what they deleted is written with a distinct POV but if there's any truth behind it, it's definitely worth rewording and putting back in:

"== Parsons' Role in "Rebuilding" Iraq == - 	Parsons was awarded a contract to rebuild a maternity hospital in Najef Iraq following (or during, depending on your view) the 2003 Iraq War. But the 8 million dollar project was plagued by failure to meet any of its objectives. Another 243 million dollar project to build 150 health care centers resulted in six constructed over two years with a total of two clinics operational by August 2006. [] - 		 - 	Another 75 million taxpayer dollars was paid Parsons to build an Iraqi police academy which, upon completion of Parsons subcontractor's work was so "badly built that feces and urine leak from the ceilings in the student barracks" []"

Whaddaya make of it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.201.130.62 (talk) 17:22, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

That criticism was my contribution. See the movie "Iraq - No End In Sight" featuring scores of former high-ranking military personnel. It included a couple of Marines who were stationed in Iraq who told of building forts in 1/4 the time at 1/10 the cost Parsons did. That was erased pretty quickly. Parsons has been involved in many other wastes of taxpayer dollars like the construction of a launch facility for the space shuttle that was declared unusable just after completion. They're right in line with Haliburton as far as the pentagon gravy train is concerned. Someone is obviously sensitive enough of the issue to constantly delete any uncomplimentary information from the entry. Lately I've not been able to keep listed the fact that Parsons Corporation was founded in 1941 as the "Ralph M. Parsons Company." Someone keeps deleting the quoted text, probably because they disagree with the view of some that the company underwent a fundamental change for the worse during the Reagan years when the pentagon coffers flooded into corporations and RMP became "Parsons Corporation." To me the massive, abandoned white elephant of the misguided space shuttle facility at Vandengurgh AF base in California symbolizes the whole Reagan-corporate-pentagon era's excesses. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.110.68.228 (talk) 04:45, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

They will probably delete this too then: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_vacant_prison 24.18.249.168 (talk)

Slight Overhaul
Hope I did you guys justice with the new paragraphs and bringing back some old ones, I also added the new company box and logo. I did find a good company history over at Funding Universe but by that time had enough of editing. I'm going to watch this and hopefully we can keep it acurate and unbiasd, hope you can help us build this up! Whistler (talk) 02:43, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Its turning back into an advertisement
Flagged page because the language basically reads like a press release at this point. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.171.131.189 (talk) 20:34, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

Article Changes Request - 11 Aug 2019
SpaceHist65 (talk) 02:45, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

Information to be added or removed: See below for updated History section (complete replace). Recommending removal of Founder Legacy section in favor of including paragraph in the History material. Also proposing a more substantial Representative Projects section that would replace Notable Projects section. I am also proposing to add a People section where specific individuals can be highlighted based on contribution or based on historical records/news.

Explanation of issue: Information contained in prior version was very basic. The proposed updates add factual information with public references (none of the new references are linked to Parsons corporation web site materials).

References supporting change: 48 References/citations embedded in proposed update. Most existing references are used/re-used with this expanded content.

Ralph M. Parsons founded the Ralph M. Parsons Company in June 1944.

Emerging at the end of World War II, Parsons' location in Los Angeles and proximity to organizations such as the Air Force Western Development Division (WDD) and Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) were likely a factor in enabling it to acquire early developmental projects supporting defense, missile, and space activities being undertaken by the U.S. Government. Given expansion of Government budgets in these areas with the onset of the Cold War, Parsons growth was fueled by multiple projects delivering process engineering, facilities design, construction services, and facility operations in support of numerous aerospace, nuclear, chemical, and heavy fuels programs. It also delivered electronics, instrumentation, and ground checkout systems design and engineering for aircraft, missiles and rockets.

In 1961, Parsons founded the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. The foundation is a charitable organization that awards grants focusing on the areas of higher education, social-impact programs, health, and civic and cultural endeavors. It became entirely independent from the company in 1976.

In 1974, Parsons opened the first part of its Pasadena headquarters building complex in support of efforts by the Pasadena Redevelopment Agency to redevelop parts of the city.

In October 2011, Parsons initiated the acquisition of Sparta, Inc. from Cobham PLC for $350M. The acquisition added approximately 1,100 employees working in 15 primary offices across the U.S., with the largest facilities operating in Arlington, VA, and Huntsville, AL.

In May 2014, Parsons acquired Secure Mission Solutions, a cybersecurity and critical asset protection services firm based in Reston, VA. The acquisition added more than 550 employees to Parsons team.

In May 2018, Parsons acquired Polaris Alpha, a provider of mission solutions for defense, intelligence, and security customers, and other U.S. federal government customers. The acquisition added more than 1,300 employees and major office locations in Colorado Springs, CO; Columbia, MD; Aberdeen, MD; and Fredericksburg, VA; to the Parsons organization.

On 8 January 2019, Parsons acquired geospatial intelligence firm OG Systems. The acquisition expanded the company’s organizational footprint in Virginia, Missouri, Oregon, and California.

In late February 2019, Parsons announced the move of its headquarters from Pasadena, California to Centreville, Virginia in part to support the company’s sizable workforce in the National Capitol Region. At the time of the announcement, the firm stated it employed almost 500 in Pasadena and 1,400 in California overall and that it managed about 2,400 employees in the Washington area and 16,000 worldwide.

On 8 May 2019, Parsons executed an Initial Public Offering of approximately $500M on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PSN. With the transaction, Parsons returned to the publicly traded market, having left it in 1984 to become an employed owned company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

In July 2019, Parsons acquired QRC Technologies, a Fredericksburg, VA-based company focused on products for the radio frequency and signals intelligence market, for $215 million in cash.

The projects summarized below are indicative of the lines of business and evolution of the company over its history. Included with each is the start year of the effort.


 * 1952. Design and construction of laboratory and test facilities at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, United States.
 * 1954. Design of Test Stand 1A and Edwards Field Laboratory (now Edwards Air Force Base), California, United States.
 * 1957. Design of Launch Complex 1 at Point Arguello, California, United States to support launch of Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS) and Satellite and Missile Observation System (SAMOS) programs using Atlas missiles. The facility was renamed Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base when the Air Force assumed control of the launch base from the U.S. Navy.
 * 1958. Fabrication of electronics and instrumentation including miss-distance indicators for the Pershing Medium Range Ballistic Missile
 * 1961. Architect and Engineer for the Saturn V F-1 Engine Test Stands 1C, 1D, and 1E at Edwards.
 * 1961. Design of the Minuteman ICBM Missile site and silos (together with another California-based contractor- Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall).
 * 1962. Architect-Engineer for the Titan III Integrate, Transfer, and Launch (ITL) launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Upon completion, became known as Launch Complex 40 and Launch Complex 41. Features of the ITL design included the Vertical Integration Building (VIB) and Solid Rocket Motor Assembly Building (SMAB).
 * 1977. Design and construction of the MX Missile (Peacekeeper) Buried Trench Construction and Test Project at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, United States.
 * 1984. Design and construction of the Titan IV Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade test stand facility. The test stand facility was originally designed by Parsons in the early 1960s to support Saturn V engine testing . Parsons rebuilt the facility again after a 1991 test failure of a Titan IV SRMU motor that caused significant facility damage.
 * 1990. Design of Arnold Engineering Development Complex J6 Large Rocket Test Facility (with DMJM in a Joint Venture).
 * 2010. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Engineering and Support Services (MiDAESS).
 * 2016. Weapons and missile systems engineering services under the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Technical Engineering Analytical and Management (TEAMS) contract structure.
 * 2017. Systems Engineering Advisory and Assistance Services for Ballistic Missile Defense System supporting the Missile Defense Agency.
 * 2018. Modeling, Simulation and Analysis of integrated forces and exploitation of command, control, communications and computer systems for Missile & Space Intelligence Center.
 * 2019. System integrator delivering small space vehicle multi-manifest launch integration for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center under the Launch Manifest System Integrator program.


 * 1974. Management of oil and gas facilities for the Atlantic Richfield (now BP) and Exxon (now ExxonMobil) portion of the east side of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
 * 1976. Master plan, design, and construction management for Yanbu Industrial City, Saudi Arabia
 * 1995. Design, engineering, and construction management for the National Ignition Facility in California, United States.
 * 2002. Design, build, and commissioning of the Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, United States.
 * 2008. Construction management for South Cobb Water Tunnel, Georgia, United States; construction was completed in 2014.
 * 2018. Construction lead under Leidos to revitalize the McMurdo Station for the National Science Foundation United States Antarctic Program


 * 1968. Design and construction of the Honolulu Airport, Hawaii, United States.
 * 1977. Four-year design build of the Jeddah Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
 * 2001. Technical Support Services to upgrade and sustain the National Airspace System for the Federal Aviation Administration
 * 2002. Bridge design and engineer of record for the New Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Parsons HNTB Joint Venture).
 * 2012. Lead Designer for Fore River Bridge replacement supporting the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
 * 2017. Construction of the Çanakkale 1915 Bridge Malkara-Çanakkale Motorway across the Dardanelles Strait, Turkey in a joint venture with Tekfen Engineering
 * 2018. Project and Construction management for the multibillion-dollar Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)
 * 2018. Design-build for Newark Liberty Airport New Terminal 1 (JV with Tutor Perini)

Ralph M. Parsons (22 June 1896 – 20 December 1974). Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board, and then Founder Chairman of the Ralph M. Parsons Company (now Parsons Corporation) from its formation until his death. Early in his career, Mr. Parsons was a U.S. Navy veteran having enlisted as a machinist’s mate. During World War II, Mr. Parsons formed a partnership with Stephen D. Bechtel, who later became his chief rival, and John A. McCone, who later headed the Central Intelligence Agency. The three partners elected to end their relationship in 1944 with Mr. Parsons using the proceeds from the transaction to start the Ralph M. Parsons Company. Mr. Parsons and his company’s pioneering role in the development of missile, space vehicle launch facility, and nuclear plants provided a foundation for the growth of his business through the 1970s.

Leonard J. Pieroni (1939 – 3 April 1996). Chief Executive Officer of Parsons Corporation from May 1990 until his death. Pieroni, 57, was killed in the crash of a U.S. Air Force plane in the Balkans. He was among several executives traveling with U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown when their airplane crashed on a hillside in Croatia while on a tour of Bosnia and Croatia to promote U.S. goods and services. Pieroni was a 24-year veteran of Parsons and had become its chairman and chief executive in May 1990.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by SpaceHist65 (talk • contribs) 02:45, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

Reply 12-AUG-2019
Regards, Spintendo  14:53, 12 August 2019 (UTC)
 * 1) Portions of text from the proposal were found to be insufficiently paraphrased from the source material. Additions to an article need to be placed using an editor's own words and phrases, per WP:CLOSEPARAPHRASE.
 * 2) The COI editor is invited to re-write those portions where text was copied and pasted from the sources, taking care to ensure that these additions are placed using their own words and phrases, and to resubmit that request at their earliest convenience.
 * 3) The editor is asked to use the  parameter for all drafts placed onto the talk page — so as not to spoil the talk page's table of contents — which uses those headings to divide the talk page's editor posts into separate threads.
 * 4) The editor is also asked to please sign all posts on talk pages using four tildes ( x4) and to place this signature at the end of their post rather than the beginning.

Article Changes Request - responses to 11 Aug 2019 reply/commments
Information to be added or removed: See below for updated History section (complete replace). Recommending removal of Founder Legacy section in favor of including paragraph in the History material. Also proposing a more substantial Representative Projects section that would replace Notable Projects section. I am also proposing to add a People section where specific individuals can be highlighted based on contribution or based on historical records/news.

Explanation of issue: Responded to Spintendo recommendations; re-wrote several passages; fake headers included. Note that the Representative Projects section uses industry specific words like design, build, construction management, systems integration, etc. If there are any close paraphrase issues here, it is not intended but by desire to be specific about the type of work that was performed by the company. The proposed updates add factual information with public references (none of the new references are linked to Parsons corporation web site materials).

References supporting change: 48 References/citations embedded in proposed update. Most existing references are used/re-used with this expanded content.

Ralph M. Parsons founded the Ralph M. Parsons Company in June 1944.

Emerging at the end of World War II, Parsons' location in Los Angeles and proximity to organizations such as the Air Force Western Development Division (WDD) and Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) were likely a factor in enabling it to acquire early developmental projects supporting defense, missile, and space activities being undertaken by the U.S. Government. Given expansion of Government budgets in these areas with the onset of the Cold War and Parsons' relationships with companies like Aerojet and Martin Marietta, the company fueled its growth with multiple projects delivering process engineering, facilities design, construction services, and facility operations in support of numerous aerospace, nuclear, chemical, and heavy fuels programs. It also delivered electronics, instrumentation, and ground checkout systems design and engineering for aircraft, missiles and rockets.

In 1961, Parsons founded the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. The foundation performs charitable work in Southern California region and became entirely independent from the company in 1976.

In 1974, Parsons opened the first part of its Pasadena headquarters building complex in Pasadena; the complex supported efforts by the Pasadena Redevelopment Agency to redevelop parts of the city.

In October 2011, Parsons initiated the acquisition of Sparta, Inc. from Cobham PLC for $350M. The acquisition added about 1,100 employees from 15 U.S. offices and resulted in large Parsons office facilities in Arlington, VA, and Huntsville, AL.

In May 2014, Parsons acquired Secure Mission Solutions, a cybersecurity and critical asset protection services firm based in Reston, VA. The acquisition added more than 550 employees to Parsons team.

In May 2018, Parsons acquired Polaris Alpha, a provider of mission solutions for defense, intelligence, and security customers. . The acquisition added more than 1,300 employees and major office locations in Colorado Springs, CO; Columbia, MD; Aberdeen, MD; and Fredericksburg, VA; to the Parsons organization.

On 8 January 2019, Parsons acquired geospatial intelligence firm OG Systems. The acquisition expanded the company’s organizational footprint in Virginia, Missouri, Oregon, and California.

In late February 2019, Parsons announced the move of its headquarters from Pasadena, California to Centreville, Virginia. The company stated the move was designed to support both the sizable employee base in teh National Capitol Region and the growing business base there. At the time of the announcement, the firm included almost 500 employees in Pasadena and 1,400 in California overall with an additional 2,400 employees in the Washington area and 16,000 worldwide.

On 8 May 2019, Parsons executed an Initial Public Offering of approximately $500M on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PSN. With the transaction, Parsons returned to the publicly traded market, having left it in 1984 to become an employed owned company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

In July 2019, Parsons acquired QRC Technologies, a technology company with a portfolio of radio frequency and signals intelligence products. The Fredericksburg, VA-based company was acquired for $215M in cash.

The projects summarized below are indicative of the lines of business and evolution of the company over its history. Included with each is the start year of the effort.


 * 1952. Design and construction of laboratory and test facilities at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, United States.
 * 1954. Design of Test Stand 1A and Edwards Field Laboratory (now Edwards Air Force Base), California, United States.
 * 1957. Design of Launch Complex 1 (PALC-1) at Point Arguello, California, United States to support launch of Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS) and Satellite and Missile Observation System (SAMOS) programs using Atlas missiles. The facility was renamed Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base when the Air Force assumed control of the launch base from the U.S. Navy.
 * 1958. Fabrication of electronics and instrumentation including miss-distance indicators for the Pershing Medium Range Ballistic Missile
 * 1961. Architect and Engineer for the Saturn V F-1 Engine Test Stands 1C, 1D, and 1E at Edwards.
 * 1961. Design of the Minuteman ICBM Missile site and silos (together with another California-based contractor- Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall).
 * 1962. Architect-Engineer for the Titan III Integrate, Transfer, and Launch (ITL) launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Upon completion, became known as Launch Complex 40 and Launch Complex 41. Features of the ITL design included the Vertical Integration Building (VIB) and Solid Rocket Motor Assembly Building (SMAB).
 * 1977. Design and construction of the MX Missile (Peacekeeper) Buried Trench Construction and Test Project at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, United States.
 * 1984. Design and construction of the Titan IV Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade test stand facility. The test stand facility was originally designed by Parsons in the early 1960s to support Saturn V engine testing . Parsons rebuilt the facility again after a 1991 test failure of a Titan IV SRMU motor that caused significant facility damage.
 * 1990. Design of Arnold Engineering Development Complex J6 Large Rocket Test Facility (with DMJM in a Joint Venture).
 * 2010. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Engineering and Support Services (MiDAESS).
 * 2016. Weapons and missile systems engineering services under the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Technical Engineering Analytical and Management (TEAMS) contract structure.
 * 2017. Systems Engineering Advisory and Assistance Services for Ballistic Missile Defense System supporting the Missile Defense Agency.
 * 2018. Modeling, Simulation and Analysis of integrated forces and exploitation of command, control, communications and computer systems for Missile & Space Intelligence Center.
 * 2019. System integrator delivering small space vehicle multi-manifest launch integration for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center under the Launch Manifest System Integrator program.


 * 1974. Management of oil and gas facilities for the Atlantic Richfield (now BP) and Exxon (now ExxonMobil) portion of the east side of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
 * 1976. Master plan, design, and construction management for Yanbu Industrial City, Saudi Arabia
 * 1995. Design, engineering, and construction management for the National Ignition Facility in California, United States.
 * 2002. Design, build, and commissioning of the Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, United States.
 * 2008. Construction management for South Cobb Water Tunnel, Georgia, United States; construction was completed in 2014.
 * 2018. Construction lead under Leidos to revitalize the McMurdo Station for the National Science Foundation United States Antarctic Program


 * 1968. Design and construction of the Honolulu Airport, Hawaii, United States.
 * 1977. Four-year design build of the Jeddah Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
 * 2001. Technical Support Services to upgrade and sustain the National Airspace System for the Federal Aviation Administration
 * 2002. Bridge design and engineer of record for the New Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Parsons HNTB Joint Venture).
 * 2012. Lead Designer for Fore River Bridge replacement supporting the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
 * 2017. Construction of the Çanakkale 1915 Bridge Malkara-Çanakkale Motorway across the Dardanelles Strait, Turkey in a joint venture with Tekfen Engineering
 * 2018. Project and Construction management for the multibillion-dollar Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)
 * 2018. Design-build for Newark Liberty Airport New Terminal 1 (JV with Tutor Perini)

Ralph M. Parsons (22 June 1896 – 20 December 1974). Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board, and then Founder Chairman of the Ralph M. Parsons Company (now Parsons Corporation) from its formation until his death. Ralph Parsons grew up in Amagansett, Long Island, New York and joined the Navy in his early 20s enlisting as a machinist's mate. After separating, he worked for a period of time as an Aeronautical Engineer. In the late 1930s, Parsons formed an architecture and engineering business partnership with Stephen D. Bechtel and John A. McCone. The partners decided to end the business relationship in 1943 with Bechetel and McCone buying out Parsons; Parsons used the proceeds from the transaction to start the Ralph M. Parsons company. Bechtel and his company would become one of Parsons chief rivals; McCone would become the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Mr. Parsons and his company’s pioneering role in the development of missile, space vehicle launch facilities, and nuclear plants provided a material foundation for the growth of his business through the 1970s.

Leonard J. Pieroni (1939 – 3 April 1996). Chief Executive Officer of Parsons Corporation from May 1990 until his death. In April 1996, Pieroni was traveling with U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown and a group of executives when their U.S. Air Force plane crashed on a hillside in Croatia. The group was touring Bosnia and Croatia to promote U.S. business interests at the time of the crash. Leonard Pieroni was 57 years old and had worked for Parsons for 24-years; he become the Chief Executive Officer of Parsons in May of 1990.

SpaceHist65 (talk) 04:38, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

Reply 14-AUG-2019
Regards, Spintendo  08:46, 14 August 2019 (UTC)
 * 1) Ref tags #3, 15, 21, 26, 33 and 35 contain 415, 46, 130, 36, 132 and 48 pages respectively. Please indicate which page the source information is located upon by activating the page parameter of the citation template in all six instances except ref tag #3 (see below).
 * 2) As ref tag #3 appears four times, instead of using the page parameter please utilize the  template in all four instances.
 * 3) Ref tag #16 does not verify the proposed claims.
 * 4) Ref tag #42 does not verify the proposed claim (as engineer of record).
 * Please note that if these changes are made to the text in the edit request above, be sure to follow the guidelines at WP:REDACTED.
 * Also note that a connected contributor template has already been applied to the top of this talk page, and is not necessary in each successive posting.
 * When ready to proceed with the requested information, kindly change the  template's answer parameter to read from yes to no. Thank you!

SpaceHist65 Reply 14-AUG-2019

 * 1) addition of page references for citations listed
 * 2) noted request to use RP feature. All of the references in this citation align to page 49; elected to use "|page=49" in lieu of RP feature.
 * 3) corrected Ref Tag #16 (correct title, etc; bad URL)
 * 4) deleted "engineer of record" for new tacoma narrow bridge (not because untrue; will separately research for public record citation and request update later)

SpaceHist65 (talk) 17:17, 14 August 2019 (UTC)


 * Thank you for fixing this last round of changes, it's much appreciated. There may be more as I work my way through the request. I'll let you know. Regards, Spintendo  23:47, 14 August 2019 (UTC)


 * ❌ edit request is unclear. SportsFan007 (talk) 20:58, 15 August 2019 (UTC)
 * It's OK SportsFan, I'm still in the process of reviewing this request so we can go ahead and leave it open for now. But thank you for the input. Regards,  Spintendo  02:29, 16 August 2019 (UTC)

Reply 31-AUG-2019
Below you will see where proposals from your request have been quoted with reviewer decisions and feedback inserted underneath, either accepting, declining or otherwise commenting upon your proposal(s). Please read the enclosed notes within the proposal review section below for information on each request. Spintendo 17:02, 31 August 2019 (UTC)

Reply 1-SEP-2019 (SpaceHist65)
Appreciate the edit efforts and recommendations to complete this. A couple of comments/requests. Regards, SpaceHist65 (talk) 17:32, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
 * 1) with regard to the charity foundation item (note 4), my intent was two fold. The foundation was already included in the current article with its own major subheading (level 2). Proposing to reduce the emphasis by including in the History section instead of level 2 entry. The additional reference (over what is in the current article) was designed to solve the "citation needed" issue in the current article. As the events of the foundation (1961, 1974/6) are all 40+ years old, I didn't see the purpose of the high level of emphasis created with the level 2 header given that the foundation is not the focus of the article. Also noting that the only reference to the "independence of the foundation" date identifies 1976 not 1974 as in current article. No issue if you elect to use the language from the original article unaltered.
 * 2) I will propose/complete a table. appreciate advice on table structure.
 * 3) Will propose updates regarding Notes #10, #12, and #13.

Update company acquisitions
Information to be added or removed: See below for updated Acquisitions section (additions) on Parsons Corporation wiki page. Minor formatting change and addition of number of acquisitions at various times. Addition of two sentence introduction to section. Each item is cited to a non-Parsons corporation source.

Explanation of issue: update for accuracy, add a few missing acquisitions and addition of several additional acquisitions after last major edit in 2019 (with changes, current to 2022). I supported creation of original clade entry (with Spintendo assistance) in 2019.

References supporting change: citations aligned to each identified acquisition.

Acquisitions
Parsons has evolved from its founding through government and commercial organic contract growth and via mergers and acquisitions. Since 2000, the company has acquired the businesses identified below.

SpaceHist65 (talk) 02:30, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

Move to talk page
Hi Space Hist! Could you either move this to the relevant talk page or, if you think it isn't yet ready to be reviewed, remove the requested edit template? I'd move it myself but I'm not sure which you'd prefer. Rusalkii (talk) 04:32, 24 September 2022 (UTC) SpaceHist65 (talk) 00:27, 25 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done Aaron Liu  (talk) 00:36, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

Parsons Corporation Wikipedia Page a Massive Makeover Ignoring Recent History
What happened from 1974 through 2004? The Wikipedia page skips through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s of its spotted history. Parsons was once a top ENR firm with projects and clients in the Oil and Gas industry including ARAMCO (multi billion dollar program for Saudi Arabia government owned Petroleum Industry giant and OPEC member). Parsons was heavily involved and criticized for its handling of the Los Angeles area Metro Line project which suffered significant budget overruns and many delays to commissioning and startup. Parsons also handled clients such as the Mobil refinery, and ARCO Alaskan slopes infrastructure projects for Atlantic Richfield Company, which was acquired by BP plc in the late 1990s. Parsons went on an acquisition spree in the 1990s acquiring several engineering firms such as Chas T. Main, a group known for their power and energy recovery engineering services but it seems a large number of their acquisitions (which became operating divisions such Parsons Main Inc.) were divested or sold off before the company reshaped itself into a high-tech technology (digital and cybersecurity infrastructure firm) centric design and consulting firm. But there is none of the transformation details, as others have mentioned in the talk section, the Wikipedia page reads like a polished and carefully edited corporate sales brochure from the new Parsons Corporation. The Wikipedia page for Parsons has been heavily overhauled and details from its previous life at the Pasadena HQ have been deleted and cleaned out.

FALSE CREDIT FOR "SIGNATURE PROJECTS"

At least two of the signature projects credited to Parsons for bridge design belong to firms who completed these designs and the bridges were built long before Parsons acquired the design firms and thus labelling them as Parsons "signature projects" is misleading. Case in point is the acquistion in 1988 of Steinman Boynton Gronquist & Birdsall (Steinman, SBGB). Both the Mackinac Bridge (inauguration in 1957) and 25 de Abril Bridge (inauguration in 1966) are Steinman designs and Parsons was not in the picture or involved in any way in their up-front concept, design, construction or commissioning.

2603:8000:5903:A7D5:AB22:57AB:BD39:B2D9 (talk) 12:55, 3 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Sir, Agree with a number of your sentiments. The edit proposed below is a partial fix but there are still gaps in years (part of the issue is finding independent sources on the internet to validate the narrative). In addition, there is a history of past edits that used Parsons website references that were removed by prior editors given lack of independence of the citations. Also some biased (against) editing that had taken its toll on the breadth of information available in the article. I hope to find additional references that will defend more of the history. As I have an association with the subject of the article, using the correct process to recommend edits. Suspect it will take a few months before the COI edit request is reviewed and adjudicated but wanted to identify interest and furnish information to correct some of the company history. SpaceHist65 (talk) 04:16, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

Request edit of Signature Project section on 5 May 2023
Editor has potential conflict of interest (employed by subject company but not in a role where public affairs is part of responsibility. Personal interest in history in technology arena).

Proposing to replace the "Signature Projects" section with the "Major Projects" section provided below. Each entry is tied to a citation/source. purpose to provide a more representative set of projects over the decades that Parsons Corporation has delivered.

(The above requested edit was made by clicking on a link in an automatically added notice.)

Lvl. 1 Heading: Major Projects
The following major projects represent Parsons business actvity over time aligned to representative market segments.

Lvl. 2 Subheading: Complex infrastructure
SpaceHist65 (talk) 04:04, 5 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: For such a list to be included in the article, you will need to demonstrate noteworthiness of each individual project to be mentionied. My concern for this is mainly due to the fact that the article is quite short, and it would be inappropriate to have such an extensive list of projects when there is so little information about other aspects, even if the sourcing for each one is appropriate in a vacuum. For example, 'The Saturn V F-1 Engine: Powering Apollo into History' mentions Parsons only in passing, and its not clear that the companies involvement in this program was noteworthy. The program itself might be, but that does not mean every contractor's involvement was noteworthy.


 * It is also highly inappropriate to determine inclusion in this list through what "represents Parsons' business activity" and in accordance with "representative market segments", and even more so to include such a statement in the article text. This creates the impression that the purpose of the list is primarily promotional and not encyclopedic. Remember that Wikipedia is not a space for advertising or promotion per WP:PROMO. Actualcpscm (talk) 14:10, 27 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I am struggling with your reply as it appears constructed about a circular argument. "Because the article is very short, there is no way to include materials when there is so little information about other aspects." The purpose of this addition is to incorporate the material elements of the 75+ year history of the company without using primary sources (information from the company) or circular references (back to the article itself). I believe the tables are built on factual statements as opposed to promotion oriented language. Each of these projects is appropriately referenced and is indicative of factual infrastructure, defense, space, etc. activities that were underway at the time. Happy to address each item especially if you do not feel they meet a notability criteria but hard to do that with a generalized conclusion. Let me know if you are open to addressing the items either individually or by representative market segment.SpaceHist65 (talk) 16:34, 27 May 2023 (UTC)
 * My concern is not, as you phrased it, that the article should not be expanded at all. My concern is that including an extensive list of projects when there is so little other substance will give the appearance of a professional portfolio, rather than an encyclopedic entry.
 * To illustrate what I mean, let me provide some examples. Parsons' involvement in the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is suitable for inclusion, as it was directly reported on by a secondary source. The article you provided as a citation there is about the involvement of Parsons. On the other hand, the program you labelled "North Slope Oil and Gas" is not suitable. The source provided does support the factual claim that Parsons was involved in the project, but it only mentions the firm twice and only in passing. The source also describes Parsons' involvement very differently from your description: "Most of the production modules and buildings were designed by BP and Ralph M. Parsons Inc. of Pasadena[...]" It does not mention the facility management you attribute to Parsons. It would be excessive to include this project; the fact that it is true and verifiable (with a different description) does not per se mean it needs to be included (see WP:INDISCRIMINATE). I hope this illustrates the distinction I am referring to. Feel free to ask for clarification on the relevant policies at any time. On that note, it might be better to call this entire section "Notable projects".
 * Regarding promotional tone, I don't think the content of the table itself is affected. As per my original comment, the problem lies in the stated reasoning just under the Major Projects heading. While it is great (in terms of encyclopedic value) when Wikipedia articles about companies give a full picture of their activities, the goal is to represent what has been reliably reported on accurately. Wikipedia is not a place for original research, nor is it concerned with the business interests of the companies that happen to be article subjects. It seeks to represent reliable reporting, not "business actvity aligned to representative market segments".
 * The phrasing of that sentence also indicates a kind of backwards reasoning; as if a portfolio of projects was chosen based on some irrelevant criterion ("alignment with market segments") and then someone just looked for citations to support this content. Usually, when writing content for Wikipedia, it is much better to compile your sources and then extract from them what should actually be written here. This last bit is not a policy or guideline; take it as a piece of personal advice from me, as I have found that it leads to much improved suggestions and edit requests.
 * On a side note, I see that you reopened the edit request. Usually, edit requests should only be open when they are uncontroversial (see WP:EDITXY). Edit requests are not a good way to attract additional attention to a controversial matter. While there is ongoing discussion, like in our case, it is better to discuss and wait until a consensus develops. Accordingly, I am closing the request for the time being.
 * Thanks, and happy editing! Actualcpscm (talk) 08:45, 28 May 2023 (UTC)
 * For your records, I did not re-open the edit request. I simply responded to your post. If "original research" is being able to tell the difference between a bridge, an airport, a nuclear facility, and/or a space launch facility, and providing a categorization to simplify communication of information, I am guilty as charged. I will submit a new request with a shorter chronologically aligned table without categorization. This table will be a significant improvement on the largely unreferenced and misinterpreted list of projects that is included in the live article. Constraining the list to ~10 projects will under-represent the 75 years of the company but if it scratches the itch, I will provide it. I will also include an update of the front matter to eliminate duplication of information and bring the article current to 2023.SpaceHist65 (talk) 01:29, 29 May 2023 (UTC)
 * In that case there must have been a technical issue on my end, sorry about that. Your plan sounds good, feel free to ping me with your new request when it's ready. Actualcpscm (talk) 06:57, 29 May 2023 (UTC)

Disappearing Controversial Projects section
Someone has, for a second time, deleted the Controversial Projects section from the article wholesale. The previous time someone else reverted the change. This time I reverted it. I would request to discuss this change on the talk page, rather than deleting the section wholesale. 0xacf (talk) 00:54, 24 June 2023 (UTC)