Providing high quality, cost effective construction solutions since 1948.
- 8-time Diamond Safety Award Winner - 2004-2011
- 2011 Associated Builders & Contractors Award of Excellence, Julka Hall/College of Education & Human Services, Cleveland State University
- 2010 Silver STEP Award
- 2009 Associated Builders & Contractors Award of Excellence, Physician's Choice Hospitals
- 2009 Associated Builders & Contractors Award of Excellence, Nestle Professional Customer Innovation Campus
News & Events
BAY WINS 2012 NORTERN OHIO CHAPTER AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
NORTHEAST OHIO REGIONAL SEWER DISTRICT
SOUTHERLY WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
CONTRACT SSR-1
SUBSTATION REPLACEMENT PROJECT
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) was experiencing electrical difficulties on the primary power distribution system at the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant (SWWTP). After commissioning a study to analyze the current system it was determined that the entire primary distribution system had reached its useful life expectancy and was in need of replacement.
In October of 2009 the NEORSD Board of Directors accepted bids on project Contract SSR-1, the complete replacement of the existing substations at the Southerly Wastewater Plant. Bay Mechanical and Electrical Corp. (Bay) was low bidder and in December of 2009 NEORSD awarded the project to Bay.
The original project duration of 32 months was very aggressive considering all of the new equipment replacing the existing needed to be custom built to accommodate existing conditions and re-use existing underground cable where possible. Through good pre-planning and excellent cooperation from the district staff, Bay was able to complete the project 3 months early.
From the onset of the project, Bay’s project team in collaboration with the district operations team conducted an extensive investigation of all of the existing equipment and conditions. This required multiple scheduled shutdowns of all of the individual substations for field measurements prior to manufacture of the new equipment.
After the investigative work was complete, shop drawings were developed and the equipment was released for manufacture.
As part of Bay’s contracted scope we were required to develop and maintain a critical path schedule for the entire project. Each substation was considered a separate project on the critical path and each one had its own challenging aspects.
Each substation served a different plant process and all of the processes were dependent on each other or had an effect on other portions of the plant.
A major upgrade on this project was to change the existing switchgear from weatherproof outdoor gear to indoor gear. The existing outdoor gear had lost its weatherproof integrity from years of severe Cleveland weather. To accomplish this, the project scope called for the construction of (10) split-faced block buildings to house the new equipment.
Foundations for these new buildings proved to be a challenge. Excavating the foundations in the middle of a forty-year old operating plant, led to some un-foreseen piping and systems being discovered. With the cooperation and knowledge of the district operations people and the timely reaction from the engineer, we were able to make adjustments that didn’t affect the schedule or the budget.
The challenge to the schedule that was more of a concern was the fact that these buildings were masonry and was being built over two winters. This was addressed early and with the combination of a mild winter and excellent planning by our management team, there was no negative impact to the schedule.
“From an owner’s perspective it is always a pleasure dealing with firms such as Bay Mechanical and Electrical Corporation where “Safety First” is not just a saying, but is actively part of their daily activities” -Thomas Vasel, P.E. Plant Construction Manager, NEORSD
“Bay (and their subcontractors) met all the project constraints throughout the entire construction process. Bay was professional and efficient in the approach to the work, and addressed the needs of the NEORSD to successfully complete the project scope on-time and within the construction budget” -Doug Reed P.E., Vice President
“The key to replacing these substations was planning and coordination with the facilities operation and maintenance staff. Bay was always pro-active and thorough in planning these shutdowns” -Dan Wiglusz P.E.,Construction Supervisor, NEORSD
CONTRACTED SCOPE
Electrical more than $10 Million
Project Name: Contract SSR-1 Substation Replacement Project
Owner: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Kellie Rotunno, P.E. Director of Engineering and Construction
NEORSD Plant Construction Manager: Tom Vasel P.E.
NEORSD Project Manager: Dan Wiglusz, P.E.
Design Engineer: Montgomery Watson Harza
Dog Reed, P.E. Project Engineer
Bay Mechanical & Electrical Project Manager: Scott Dockrill
Bay Mechanical and Electrical Superintendent: Keith Gardner
Southerly WWTP: 400 MGD full treatment Waste Water Treatment Plant. Primary Electrical Infrastructure Rehabilitation
Contract Amount: Prime Electrical Contract $16.7 Million
Length of Project: 29 months 1/10/2010 to 5/30/2012
Percentage of labor self-performed: 80%
The contracted scope included:
Furnish and install (10) new split faced block masonry buildings to house (10) new unit substations.
Install (5) additional unit substations in existing Buildings
Demolish and remove from the site (15) existing unit substations
Install new branch electrical power and lighting in the new buildings
Perform over (450) new 5KV and 15KV medium voltage terminations, splices and testing
Perform cable discharge testing on over (225) 5KV and 15KV medium voltage cables
Supply and install (17) remote switchgear operating panels
Supply and install (17) Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)
Supply and install a new plant wide fiber optic loop to serve new PLCs
Supply and install over 38,000 feet of rigid aluminum conduit 3/4” to 5”
Supply and install over 330,000 feet of power distribution and control cable
Perform over 4,500 low voltage wire terminations
Supply install and test new grounding grid at each substation
Supply and install new heating and ventilating systems in each of the new buildings
Substation commissioning and owner training
Site landscaping and pavement restoration
BAY BRINGS HOME NINTH DIAMOND SAFETY AWARD
Heather Aschemeier – Safety Director
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) have awarded their prestigious “Diamond Safety Award” to Bay Mechanical and Electrical Corporation. Bay has accomplished a major feat, having won the award for the ninth consecutive year. The award was presented at the 700 BETA Banquet and Conference Center on October 25th 2012. Safety Director Heather Aschemeier accepted the award on behalf of all the employees at Bay.
The Diamond Safety Award recognizes one general contractor and one specialty contractor that best exemplifies a commitment to providing a safe working environment for its employees and customers. “Such recognition encourages us to continue our efforts and reinforces our safety culture at Bay Mechanical and Electrical Corporation. Having won this award for the ninth time signifies a real commitment from everyone, it shows commitment to working safely and embracing the safety programs,” said Heather.
Bay Expands Estimating Department
Bay welcomes Matthew Kweiecien to our estimating department. Matt will be doing electrical takeoffs and assisting in putting together estimates.
Matt is a graduate of The University of Toledo with a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering Technology. Prior to joining Bay he was working as a Field Engineering Technician establishing specifications for pre-construction.
He is currently residing in Akron and is looking forward to utilizing his strong math and computer skills to help expand our estimating department
We know Matt is going to be a great asset in this critical position for Bay. Welcome, Matt!
Bay Mechanical Welcomes New Staff
BMEC is pleased to announce the addition of Robin Hunt to our office staff. Robin will assume the role of office manager and oversee the daily office functions. Robin brings over 15 years of office experience to Bay and her background includes working in both the manufacturing and construction industries.
Robin is a graduate of Lorain Catholic High School, attended Kent State University and is currently completing her accounting degree.
Robin recently relocated from the Akron area and now resides in Amherst. Robin enjoys bowling, the outdoors and spending time with her family.
All of us here at Bay are pleased with the addition of Robin to our staff and are looking forward to her contribution. Welcome Robin!
BMEC is also excited to announce the addition of Roger Frazer to our project management staff. Roger wasted no time in getting up to speed in his new role as project manager here at Bay. Roger brings with him over 27 years of experience. Roger has served as project manager for several area companies and comes to us after leading his own construction and maintenance company – R W Frazer and Associates, Inc.
Roger graduated from Cleveland State University where he majored in Business Management. Roger resides in Strongsville with his wife Patricia and their two children. In his free time, Roger enjoys boating and skiing with family and friends.
Welcome Roger!
Gardner Named Finalist for the 2012 National Craft Professional of the Year Award
Associated Builders and Contractors announced on March 28, 2012 that Bay’s very own Keith Gardner was named as one of five finalists for the 2012 Craft Professional of the Year Award. The Craft Professional of the Year Award is a national award presented each year to an individual who exhibits outstanding skills and leadership in his or her construction craft.
The five finalists will complete an interview process and one of the finalists will be chosen as ABC’s Craft Professional of the Year on April 27 at ABC’s Education Conference & Expo in San Antonio, Texas. These finalists are the best of the best craft professionals from all over the United States. The winner will receive a 2012 full size truck.
Keith has been with Bay since 1992 and has been superintendent on a number of high profile projects including Cleveland State University’s College of Education and currently the $17 million dollar NEORSD Substation Rehabilitation project. Keith was the recipient of the 2009 BMEC Award of Continuing Excellence (Employee of the Year).
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 74 chapters representing 22,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with nearly two million employees. For more information about ABC and to see the official press release, go to www.abc.org.
Bay Sweeps Excellence in Construction Awards
Bay Mechanical & Electrical swept the ABC Excellence In Construction Awards on Thursday, October 11, 2011. The Awards banquet was held at the 700 BETA Banquet & Conference Center in Mayfield Village, Ohio.
Bay’s entry for Cleveland State University’s Julka Hall won the top Award of Excellence in (2) two categories; Mechanical Commercial $2-10 million & Electrical Commercial $2-10 million. The project completed the sweep by winning the coveted Chairman’s Cup “Project of the Year” for the mechanical entry. Bay concluded the evening by becoming the first 8-time winner of the Diamond Safety Award.
Julka Hall is CSU’s new College of Education & Human Services. The recently completed project is part of the University’s Master Plan. This is the second CSU project that has won the project of the year. In 2008, Bay won the Chairman’s Cup for the CSU Main Classroom project.
Bay Captures 8th Consecutive Diamond Safety Award
At the annual Associated Builders and Contractors awards celebration held on October 13, 2011 at the 700 BETA Banquet and Conference Center, Bay Mechanical & Electrical was once again awarded the coveted “Diamond Safety Award.” This is an unprecedented eighth time for a contractor to win this prestigious award. The award is presented to the contractor that best exemplifies a commitment to providing a safe work environment for its employees and customers. To win this award the contractor must submit to a lengthy application and reporting process. The award is given to one general contractor and four specialty contractors. “Winning this award for the eighth time is a remarkable accomplishment and something we are all very proud of here at Bay Mechanical & Electrical.” stated Heather Aschemeier Director of Human Resources at Bay upon receiving this award.
Keystone Set to Build New Middle School
Fresh off the construction of a new high school, the Keystone Board of Education has moved forward with plans to construct a new middle school. At their September 28, 2011 special board meeting, the board members voted to award BMEC a contract totaling $2,474,500 for the HVAC and electrical portion of the project.
The 2–story, 57,000 square-foot building will be located on Opportunity Way just north of the existing Keystone High School in Lagrange, Ohio. The new school with state-of-the-art technology will serve sixth through eighth grade with the future addition of an elementary school as part of the master plan.
The new facility is designed to blend in with the high school and offers the community a campus setting.
The ground breaking ceremony for the project took place on May 11, 2011 and the school is scheduled to open in the late fall of 2012
Lorain County Community College
As part of the Lorain County Community College (LCCC) Vision2015 Plan developed in 2007, LCCC set a goal of reaching out to the underserved areas of the county with satellite campuses.
While already completing a satellite campus in Wellington that serves the southern portions of Lorain County, LCCC took another step toward their goal by awarding contracts for the University Center Ridge Campus project in North Ridgeville. On September 22, 2011 the LCCC board of directors awarded contracts totaling $2,757,700 to BMEC for the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection portions of the new project.
The new, 46,000 –square foot, three-story educational outreach center will be located at the intersection of Interstate 480 and Lorain Road in North Ridgeville. The building will be constructed using Green Technology and will seek a LEED Silver Certification.
The new facility is set to open in the fall of 2012 and will offer general education courses with an emphasis on information technology.
Lorain Community College was founded in 1964 and is one of the top 15 fastest growing community colleges in the nation with the main campus now serving more than 16,000 per semester.
Employee of the Year: Nelson Colon
It’s that time of year again when the management team of Bay Mechanical & Electrical Corp. selects an employee that best exemplifies our corporate mission to provide the best quality, service, and craftsmanship to our customers. The chosen employee is presented with the Award of Continuing Excellence.
This year’s recipient – Nelson Colon- has been with BMEC for 27 years. Nelson graduated from Admiral King High School in Lorain. After graduation, Nelson went to work for U.S. Steel as a plumber / pipefitter where he worked for 10 years. In May of 1984 Nelson joined Bay and added sheet metal worker to his list of skills.
Nelson worked his way through the ranks as a journeyman, a foreman and is now one of our leading superintendents. As with a number of our superintendents, Nelson’s experience and knowledge of all facets of the construction industry allows him to supervise multi-trade projects. Nelson communicates well not only with his fellow employees but also with our customers and the other project team members. His ability to oversee and complete the tough projects makes Nelson a valuable asset.
Recent projects that Nelson has supervised include the Terra Technical College, Nestle Innovation Campus, Bellevue Hospital, and Elyria Municipal Courthouse.
“The projects Nelson has been in charge of have consistently come in on time and under budget. The recent Terra Tech project had an extremely aggressive schedule, but Nelson brought the job in on time with a steady crew size through planning and coordination. Nelson takes ownership of his projects and represents the best interests of BMEC in a very professional manner” said Mark Huston project manager on a number of Nelson’s projects.
At the completion of the Terra Technical College project, Nelson earned praise from the owner’s representative. “This is the first project I have done with Nelson and he has been an excellent representative for your company. He asks intelligent questions, is cooperative, and his team’s workmanship was exceptional” stated Tom Stuckey, Project Representative from Poggemeyer Design Group.
Nelson and his wife of 28 years Sherri reside in Lorain and have a daughter Casey who will be entering her junior year at the University of Dayton this fall. Congratulations to Nelson Colon for being presented with this year’s Award of Continuing Excellence!
NEORSD Contract SSR-1 on Track
In our winter 2009 issue of the PIPELINE, we reported that we were awarded our largest single contract to date. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) Contract SSR-1 is a $17 million project that includes replacing all the unit substations at the district’s Southerly plant. The project also includes constructing new buildings to house a number of the substations that were situated outside. As part of this project, the district is adding state-of-the-art switching capabilities to improve employee safety and equipment reliability.
COO and project manager Scott Dockrill reports that the project is on track for completion in August of 2012. “We certainly had our challenges earlier in the year due to the substantial amount of rain we had, but we were able to hold the schedule. When you work in an existing operating facility, you need a back-up to the back-up plan when a weather event occurs. A scheduled process can be put on hold at a moment’s notice by the owner. Through excellent planning, Keith Gardner has done a great job maintaining continuity on the project and keeping our field staff productive.” Scott says.
Bay has successfully completed a number of major projects for NEORSD. This project is part of NEORSD’s Major Capital Improvement Program. The District is responsible for wastewater treatment facilities and interceptor sewers in the greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area. This service area encompasses the City of Cleveland and all or portions of 61 suburban municipalities in Cuyahoga, Summit and Lorain Counties.
Bay Starts Wellness Program
The safety and well-being of all the employees here at BMEC has always been our top priority. As part of this continuing effort, BMEC created a wellness committee to promote an overall safe and healthy life style both on the job and at home.
One of the committee’s goals is to help assess and improve worksite policies and procedures regarding physical activity, healthy eating, tobacco-use, exposure and prevention, and safety policies and programs.
The committee applied for and was awarded a LIVE HEALTHY LORAIN COUNTY MINI GRANT .This money was used to start the 10K a day challenge. Every employee who participated was given a pedometer to track their daily steps and were encouraged to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Prizes were awarded on a weekly and monthly basis. “As usual, the employees here at Bay embraced this challenge and we have had a very high rate of participation” stated Heather Aschemeier, Director of Human Resources at BMEC. Heather is also chairperson of the committee and promises more wellness programs in the near future.
Bay Awarded Design Build Generator Contract with Avon Lake Municipal Utilities
Avon Lake Municipal Utilities (ALMU) has 2 critical pump Stations. The Eastern Transmission Line 1 (ETL 1) and Eastern Transmission Line 2 (ETL 2). In an effort to provide continuous flow to their customers on these lines, ALMU issued request for proposals to design and install a back-up generator system for their Moore road pump stations. The installation of a standby generator system would allow ALMU total pumping capacity in the event of a total utility outage.
BMEC submitted the successful proposal and has been awarded the contract. The project will kick-off in April and the system will be on-line in August 2011.
This is one of several major projects that BMEC has been involved in with the city of Avon Lake Utilities. Bay’s most recent contract with ALMU was the completion of the Center Road Pump Station renovation and rehabilitation project which was completed in 2009.
Bay Lands High Service Pump Station in Elyria
At the October City Council Meeting, city officials in Elyria voted to award the construction of their new $6 million High Service Pump Station building project to Bay Mechanical and Electrical. From the existing High Service Pump Station built in 1904, Elyria is believed to be the first inland city in the United States to pump fresh water from the Great Lakes. As the result of a number of expansion projects the current plant currently has 22 million gallons per day (22-mgd) capacity. Although the existing station has served Elyria well, it has outlived its life expectancy. The new state-of-the-art facility includes (4) vertical turbine pumps and (1) vertical turbine backwash pump. This project will increase the plant capacity to 30-mgd. Bay has successfully completed a number of projects for the City of Elyria at both their waste and water treatment plants. This project will kick off in the early spring of 2011 and be completed in June 2012.
A New Alliance is Born
Double D Crane Service has joined Bay Mechanical & Electrical family through an asset purchase. Now, through our operating divisions, this brings a rigging solution to our business. In an effort to provide total construction services to our clients, Bay Mechanical & Electrical can now receive, store, deliver, & set in place equipment up to 20,000 lbs. Our goal is to provide rigging, concrete or steel support bases, electrical & mechanical service for a truly “one-stop” shop experience.
NEORSD Brings Bay Mechanical & Electrical on Board for IR-13B Proejct
Work on the IR-13B project began in early September 2010. This $6.1 million project involves the cleaning & refurbishing of 8 incinerators, electrical upgrades to all 3 plants, a complete remodel of the Westerly control room building, and the installation of multiple new rooftop units & exhaust fans. Completion of this project is scheduled for May of 2012. This $6.1 million project brings Bay’s total current NEORSD working portfolio to over $25 million.
