Sam Thurber, PMP, Senior Project Manager, and Jens Ebert, PE, PMP, Division Manager at SSOE Group, were recently featured in this article in Food Engineering magazine. Based on the publication’s annual survey, expansion and renovation projects in 2017 far surpassed the number of new construction projects—accounting for 73.8% of all food and beverage projects reported. Many in the industry attribute this to companies wanting to meet regulatory requirements, get products to market more quickly, and meet production demand. Continue Reading →

So many different activities occur in the construction industry, and with those activities come risk; at times, high risk. In 2014, 20% of workplace fatalities occurred in the construction industry, totaling 874 deaths. The Bureau of Labor Statistics identified four causes of death that were responsible for over half of those construction worker fatalities. Continue Reading →

Defining VDC has been a particularly difficult task, both at SSOE and throughout our industry. Is it simply enhanced 3D or BIM? (No; we’ll talk more about that in an upcoming post.) How can we say Project X and Y are both VDC projects when they were executed so differently? (The answer has to do with VDC being a delivery system that tailors a strategy for each project rather than a list of deliverables or technologies employed. We’ll talk a little bit about this next week as well.) The term “virtual” may be what is causing some of this confusion. Many hear “virtual” and think of a fancy new software. Perhaps we need more focus on “design and construction.” The true shift is that the divide between these two groups is blurring which is enhancing the approaches we can use to deliver projects. To help clarify the distinction between VDC and the components that make it up, we’ve developed this Venn diagram, and the corresponding definition in the center. You’ll see that the technologies, teams, and strategies employed by VDC can each exist outside of VDC. VDC “happens” when the technological tools (many that are well-established at SSOE, some that are relatively new to the industry, and some that are still in development) are utilized to bring together teams and  project strategies that have always been ideal—but never possible—because of barriers that existed. At its core, VDC means developing the project strategy that makes the most sense for each project and leveraging technology that makes that approach possible. Think of VDC as an all-encompassing umbrella made up of many components—some technology based and some strategy based. We will talk specifics about these components in coming posts, for now it’s enough to say that VDC is an integrated project delivery system with much more to offer than technology. Continue Reading →

One goal of SSOE's Working Well Program is to raise employee health awareness. We have chosen to promote the highest risk areas in our company during National Health Awareness months. The first one recognized in 2014 was Colon Cancer Awareness Month. In late 2013, we lost a dear colleague, Dave DiPofi, to Colon Cancer. As part of the awareness campaign, we posted informational articles on Colon Cancer Awareness and asked for donations to the Colon Cancer Alliance in memory of Dave and others who have had, or are currently suffering from, colon cancer. During our first awareness campaign we were able to raise $2,780; it is great to know that colleagues are willing to donate their hard earned money to help raise awareness. Continue Reading →

In September, SSOE acknowledged service milestones for employees who have been with the firm 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, or 45 years! For the first time, SSOE also celebrated 50 years of service for recent retiree, Tom Thompson. In all, 75 Service Award recipients were recognized. SSOE also celebrates its own milestone this year---our 65th birthday on August 8th! Continue Reading →

Kenneth will manage the Civil, Structural, and Architecture (CSA) and MEP (HVAC / Plumbing, Electrical, and Process) sections of SSOE's business in Shanghai, China and will play an active role in projects in progress. Continue Reading →