DECCO Receives ABC's Excellence in Construction Award and Chairman's Award for Keene State Project
DECCO once again rises to the challenge! DECCO has been named a recipient of an "Excellence in Construction Award" by the New Hampshire/Vermont Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) for our work on the Central Heating Plant Upgrades at Keene State College in New Hampshire.
In addition, and recognizing our work as the "best of the best," we also received the "Chairman's Award"—which is awarded to the premier contractor of all the award recipients. The winner was determined through an extensive process by independent judges and based on execution of design, craftsmanship, attention to detail, and safety.The Keene State College Central Heating Plant Upgrades proposed many challenges from the start—including the critical need to supply heat during construction to a 4000+ student campus, its location in the middle of the campus, and having the DECCO jobsite serve as an OSHA classroom. The installation, start-up, and commissioning of the steam turbine generator will reduce the school's carbon footprint by 538 tons! The crew assigned to this project met every deadline in the installation of more than 4200 feet of carbon steel pipe, 1600 feet of copper tubing, and 600 feet of stainless steel and PVC pipe.
Keene State was a dream client; they were very knowledgeable, and the Supervisor of Plumbing and Heating Plant Operations, Bill Rymes, knew exactly what he wanted both in design and benefits of the new construction. There were no mid-course changes. DECCO's proprietary "Project Control System" was crucial in the pre-project planning, the execution of the work, and the successful closeout.
Logistics were a major challenge. Scheduling deliveries of large equipment (including the two 700 HP boilers and the steam turbine generator) and coordinating with other contractors on the site needed to be executed with no disruption to campus activities. Special considerations were also needed for a college setting as opposed to an industrial facility, where normal equipment operating noise is expected. Due to this, the steam turbine generator was moved to the back of the plant and seated on a specially prepared pad and support structure in the building's basement. Another challenge was the demolition of the original heating plant. DECCO had to extricate an existing boiler from the basement in order to provide temporary heating throughout the course of construction. When the new structure was in place, DECCO was able to run one of the new boilers for a few months at low pressure to keep winter heating in operation. The team then re-piped and switched to high pressure for turbine use. Engelberth Construction, Project Manager Brad Walker noted, "This was a really tight site and logistics were difficult. DECCO was great at handling all of it."
Mr. Rymes proudly gives tours of the facility to students and visitors, highlighting the complex piping and equipment installations which benefit not only Keene State's operating budget, but the quality of the environment. He was not short on praise for DECCO's crew, supervised by Chris MacMaster. "They were easy to work with, responsive, and efficient. It was a challenging endeavor, but this was a fun project!"
This award represents DECCO's 26th "Excellence in Construction" award. That is almost twice as many as any other contractor in New England.
Kevin Shield Named President of DECCO
BROOKLINE, NH—DECCO, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Shield to the position of President of the company. Shield will replace Roy F. Greenwald, who has served in that capacity for 28 years.
For more than 75 years, the mechanical contractor has served New England companies in the pharmaceutical, power, high tech, and food and beverage industries. In Shield's 17-year tenure at the company, he has overseen almost every aspect of the operations, from work acquisition through fabrication and work processes, while maintaining a project management role.
He noted, "We remain committed to being at the forefront of our industry's trends, focusing on quality, safety and leading-edge project management tools in order to ensure the success of our clients. And we are particularly proud of being able to do this in a work environment where each of our employees can personally grow and advance his or her career."
Greenwald said, "I'm excited for both DECCO and Kevin as he moves into the key leadership role for the organization. He's proven himself time and again to be the right person both to plot the path forward for DECCO and to take the company where it needs to go."
Shield's enthusiasm for maintaining DECCO's commitment to leading edge technology and capabilities is evidenced by the company's recently completed integration of BIM project execution and a large expansion of their fabrication facility. Under his leadership, DECCO has also expanded its client-focused embedded services group to a more varied and broader client base.
