People involved in project development will tell you that diligent planning is critical to project success. That seems obvious. But if you ask if most of their projects meet their target in terms of cost, schedule, scope, and business goals, they would have to admit they don’t. The studies back that up. The Standish Group’s 2009 Chaos Report “shows a marked decrease in project success rates, with 32% of all projects…delivered on time, on budget, with required features and functions” says Jim Johnson, the Group’s chairman. “44%…are late, over budget, and/or with less than the required features and functions, and 24% failed which are cancelled prior to completion, or delivered and never used.” Why the dismal report? Dan Vining, Business Leader for SSOE’s Project and Construction Management Group at SSOE and an expert in project planning, cites three key reasons why total project success is so elusive...and they all point to planning deficiencies. Spending too much time or effort on the wrong kinds of planning activities. Not spending enough time understanding the owner’s business purpose and perspective. Not enough integration of services between project phases. Continue Reading →

SSOE announced recently that it has acquired EOM Ltd., a 60 year old multi-disciplined engineering firm that provides a broad range of technical services to the glass, power generation, and manufacturing industries. EOM has become part of SSOE's Industrial Process strategic business unit. The acquisition will result in increased technical resources and services, and will allow the newly expanded team to provide more robust in-house expertise to current glass and power industry clients such as Owens Corning, St. Gobain Containers, Johns Manville, Pilkington, American Electric Power, Consumers Energy, and First Energy. Tony Damon, CEO of SSOE stated, "In January, SSOE acquired Orbital Technical Solutions (OTS), a firm widely known for its work in the power industry. That acquisition expanded our capabilities in the power market. The EOM acquisition will not only bring additional expertise to that market, but our glass industry clients will also benefit from the increased furnace design capabilities that EOM brings to the table." Damon describes both acquisitions as further evidence of SSOE's growth and commitment to the glass and power industries as well as to the State of Ohio. EOM's two Ohio locations will bring SSOE's total number of offices in its home state to six. Continue Reading →

SSOE recently announced the first phase of construction for American Snuff Company's (formerly known as Conwood Company, LLC) manufacturing facilities in Clarksville, Tennessee has been completed. The manufacturing facilities are situated on a 193- acre brownfield site. The new facilities will allow American Snuff to increase capacity and achieve FDA compliance—a new requirement for its products. Originally designed by SSOE in the 1970s, Union Carbide operated the existing facility for nearly thirty years, producing large carbon electrodes for the steel industry. In 2009, American Snuff purchased the site, with the plan of converting it into new processing facilities. The facility will accommodate immediate and future manufacturing needs while transforming an idle general manufacturing environment to one that satisfies new FDA regulations for the industry. Continue Reading →

Phycal LLC, an algae fuel company, recently announced that it has selected SSOE Group to perform preliminary engineering design for the company's new 40-acre pilot algae farm in Central Oahu, Hawaii. The project, funded through Department of Energy (DOE) grants as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will seek to capture CO2 gas and recycle it in an algal oil production process in an open raceway pond. Phycal was competitively selected by the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to receive $3 million in funding in Phase One to complete its feasibility plan, obtain the necessary Federal, State and County permitting, and to perform necessary environmental reviews. The award is part of the DOE's Innovative Concepts for Beneficial Reuse of Carbon Dioxide Program to capture carbon dioxide from industrial sources. Phycal will then be eligible for Phase Two of the program for the design, construction, and testing of their pilot system, scheduled to break ground in fall 2010. The total project is expected to cost about $65 million over 4 years. When the pilot farm is fully operational by 2011, Phycal expects to employ about 30 scientists, engineers, and workers at the facility and produce 100,000-plus gallons of algal biocrude oil per year. "SSOE is very excited to be working with Phycal to bring their patented technology into pilot production. We have been active throughout the evolution of the biofuels industry for the past five years and are proud to work with Phycal on this project Continue Reading →

SSOE Group recently announced the launch of our new sustainability blog. This blog provides expert views on sustainable practices and products from a variety of LEED Accredited Professionals serving various industries and representing numerous disciplines. Future entries will address a variety of topics ranging from the basics, to trends, tools, legislation, and much more. A recent post on the blog site from Tony Damon, AIA, PS, LEED AP, Chief Executive Officer, who last year earned his LEED accreditation, states, "This blog will be another opportunity for us to share our knowledge and expertise to further the constantly evolving conversation of what it means to be 'green.' Our 'sustainable' perspective at SSOE tends to be fairly pragmatic. We have a LEED resume that we're proud of, but some of our most sustainable work would never seek that recognition—things like helping an industrial client reclaim the heat that is lost in their process or a healthcare client select the right type of lighting to accommodate their needs and also save on their energy bill. The line between sustainability and simple best practices is becoming more blurred—which is probably a good thing. We hope our perspective on the front line of this evolving shift will be interesting even to those of you who might not be a traditional 'environmentalist'." Continue Reading →