A professional services corporation specializing in civil engineering, traffic engineering, land surveying, and planning: SANDIS

We continually mold and shape the way we operate to reflect the growing and changing demands of our clients.

Headquartered in Campbell, California, Sandis Civil Engineers, Surveyors, and Planners have over 52 years of experience in civil engineering, traffic engineering, land surveying, and planning. The company serves private and public clients in the public works, corporate, commercial, residential, academic, healthcare, hospitality, civic, and justice sectors. SANDIS’ design achieves economic, social and ecological sustainability. With over 100 registered/certified LEED projects, SANDIS’ team is proactive in its design approach and actively embraces environmental stewardship.

Genesis of SANDIS

After coming to the US from his native Greece and graduating from Stanford University with a Masters in Civil Engineering, Tim Sandis worked with several regional firms. At the heart, Tim was a civil engineer, therefore, in 1965, Tim founded Sandis & Associates, Inc. in downtown Mountain View. In 1973 John Humber became a part owner with Tim and served as the Vice President for the new Salinas office, known as Sandis, Humber & Associates. The firm transitioned to Sandis Humber Jones when Jerome Jones became the firm’s President, following Tim’s retirement in 1997.

The firm’s leadership continued to expand when Ken Olcott assumed the role of President and Jeff Setera assumed the role of Vice President in 2004 when Jerome Jones relocated.  Ken & Jeff changed the firm’s name to its present day name of SANDIS Civil Engineers Surveyors Planners. In keeping with Tim’s original vision of engineering excellence, SANDIS has grown to be one of the largest engineering and surveying firms in California with over 165 employees.

“At SANDIS, we ask questions, listen attentively, and respond expediently.”

Client engagement represents a constructive, value-creating relationship between SANDIS organization and its clients throughout their career journey. The demand for consistency and transparency is increasing alongside the demand for work. SANDIS looks for innovative ways to save time and money and to provide added value to each project. The company collaborates extensively with its clients, consultants, and design team member to ensure that design solutions are thoughtfully explored and evaluated. The firm’s strives to exceed its clients’ expectations at every stage of a project.

Sandis: Where Precision Takes Priority

SANDIS offers its clients a variety of technical approaches allowing for them to achieve their goals through unified communications, innovative solutions, and consistent productivity. The company’s approaches represent the promise to strengthen its relationship with each individual client by supplying proficiency throughout the entire process. Timing and efficiency are top priorities in the construction industry and the company helps its clients achieve those priorities through informed decision making and engaged solutions. It is SANDIS’ philosophy that quality assurance is not only a technical concern but also a management responsibility. Its policy commits Principals and key personnel to an active role in quality control and project management. Quality assurance serves not only as an error catching mechanism but also as an error prevention tool. Each one of Sandis’ project team members pays close attention to project scope and delivery dates in addition to technical details.

SANDIS takes great pride in delivering plans, specification, and estimates of the highest quality, free of technical and grammatical errors. Error avoidance and prevention is achieved through thoughtful project planning, research, analysis, and detailed design review.

The company maintains a formal quality control program. This program includes: a resource library of current local, state and federal code regulations; a detailed design and quality control checklist; daily design review and team meetings; extensive coordination with sub-consultants; weekly management and scheduling meetings; weekly project budgeting updates; formal third-party internal design review; and formal project filing and documentation procedures.

An Innovative Approach for an Impressive Future

SANDIS understands that technology and innovation are driving factors in this Industry’s future. Adopting new technologies has been a slow process creating more of an urgency to initiate the transformation of the 2D world into 3D solution. Digitalization is the key to construction moving forward. Progressively construction projects are incorporating new systems of digital data, increasing the challenge for all industry players to step up and adapt alongside it. SANDIS understands and embraces the challenge to be informed and educated in all new technological developments. The firm not only wants to supply knowledge and training to its staff, but also educate its clients on the latest technology.

The Men behind the Brand

Ken Olcott, CEO and Jeff Setera, COO: Ken Olcott is the President and Chief Executive Officer and Jeff Setera is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SANDIS Civil Engineers, Surveyors, and Planners. Ken and Jeff assumed the role of President in 2004 after the former President relocated. Ken and Jeff changed the firm’s name to its present day name of SANDIS and has continued to grow to be one of the largest engineering and surveying firms in California with over 150 employees. Ken and Jeff have several years of experience in the engineering industry. They have worked extensively on academics, healthcare, corporate campuses and public works projects including additions, modernizations, and detailed utility infrastructure upgrades. As Principals-in-Charge, Ken and Jeff provide design overview, technical review, quality assurance, budget and schedule review, and contract review. They work closely with the district staff, the district’s program and construction managers and design consultants to ensure that improvements are designed to meet the short and long-term project goals.

“We’ve been known for over 50 years as expert civil engineers and surveyors. While we’re proud of that, we offer more than just those two services. With multiple specialized departments, we can assist with your project from the initial planning to close-out.”