Torrance – October 12, 2026 -- Twelve architecture and engineering firms have won BQE Software's 2026 Operational Excellence Awards, and 24 more earned honorable mentions. Rankings come from actual performance data in the BQE CORE platform, not from nominations, subjective judging or a popular vote.
Awards rank firms on platform data, not nominations
Every honoree runs its business on BQE CORE and opted in to be evaluated on its in-platform data. The benchmarking metrics cover profitability, efficiency, financial strength, client value and employee productivity.
Architecture and engineering firms were evaluated separately. Each of the six categories has one winner and two honorable mentions per industry, which yields the 12 winners and 24 honorable mentions.
Profit per FTE, realization rate and backlog drive the scoring
Each category weighs several metrics in combination. The datapoints include profit per FTE, profit margin, multiplier achieved, realization rate, utilization, collection period and backlog. According to BQE, the strongest firms manage these factors together, which lets them see what is happening across projects and make timely decisions.
"These firms know their numbers, they act on them early, and the results show up for their clients and their teams," said CEO Matt Cooper.
Butler Armsden Architects and Mbroh Engineering lead Profitability & Growth
Butler Armsden Architects won the architecture award, with ID & Design International and Alloy Architecture as honorable mentions. Mbroh Engineering took the engineering award, ahead of honorable mentions Trotter and Associates and PRVN Consultants.
STITCH Design Shop and Clark Land Resources top Operational Efficiency
STITCH Design Shop won for architecture, with ARKO Architecture and Evergreen Design Group recognized. Clark Land Resources won for engineering, with Edwin Hancock Engineering Co. and Kurt Fischer Structural Engineering as honorable mentions.
JP Architecture and Design and QSPEC Solutions win Financial Health
JP Architecture and Design won the architecture award; Summerour Architects and Meier Architects earned mentions. QSPEC Solutions won for engineering, with Avalon Mechanical Consultants and C-P Systems Corporation as honorable mentions.
Hereford Dooley Architects and Arc Surveying & Mapping win Client Value
Hereford Dooley Architects won for architecture, with ADM Group Inc and Risepointe recognized. Arc Surveying & Mapping Inc. won for engineering, with Edison Engineers Inc. and VP Engineering as honorable mentions.
Brandstetter Carroll and Shear Structural take Talent Productivity
Brandstetter Carroll won the architecture award, with Abacus Architects and Forge Craft Architecture + Design as honorable mentions. Shear Structural won for engineering, ahead of Contour Engineering and Arrow Consulting Group.
DMS design and Northeast Infrastructure win Balanced Excellence
DMS design, llc. won for architecture, with Webber + Studio, Inc. and Collaborative Design Architects as honorable mentions. Northeast Infrastructure won for engineering, with Dynotec Inc and Globex Corporation recognized.