Recognition

(Excerpts reprinted and updated from the September 1996 issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine)

J.M. Electrical Co., Inc., located in Boston, partners with its customers to select and install the most cost-effective systems.

Cleaning Up Boston Harbor
Take A Drive Around Boston
Having A Philosophy Builds Vision
Watching Industry Trends Through Customers

Specializing in low voltage systems, such as building automation controls, energy management, fire alarms, instrumentation wiring, plus all other types of control systems. J.M. Electrical (JME) takes great pains to provide high-quality work and dependable on-time installations.

JME is a medium-sized company with an office staff of eight, including company president Paul A. Guarracino. At any one time, they employ up to 100 highly trained electricians working in about 130 jobs. Three project managers, Stephen Guarracino, Rudy Cavallo, and Steve Mair, spend most of their time at JME's various job sites, seeing that the work is being done right, on time, and on budget. With more than 100 years of total experience in field operations, JME's management team is dedicated to providing the customer with the highest possible level of quality from start to finish.

Guarracino started J.M. Electrical in 1985. With a degree in mechanical engineering, completion of the NJATC apprenticeship program, and 13 years experience with a large electrical contractor, he thought the time was right to strike out on his own.

"When you own the company," says Guarracino, "you can be more creative and follow your own vision. We've always specialized in instrumentation and controls because in today's economy, you have to specialize in order to succeed. Our goal is to be the best at what we do. And our reputation ensures that, at the very least, we get a look at every major project being considered in the area." JME's reputation has been earned by maintaining a high level of excellence. Quality control is managed through instilling the management team's high standards into the project managers and consequently the foremen and workers.

"We have never had a complaint for shoddy workmanship," says company CFO Robert Crespi.

Cleaning Up Boston Harbor
One of those major projects is the Deer Island Boston Harbor Clean Up Project. With a budget of approximately $6.4 billion, it was the largest public works project in the United States. The project consisted of treating the waste water for a number of Massachusetts communities through the construction of state-of-the-art treatment facilities using numerous buildings housing specific processes. Waste water is pumped into the facility, treated, and then released through a nine-mile outflow tunnel into the Atlantic Ocean. The project was completed in the year 2000. Once just home to a small sewage treatment facility and a prison, the new facility not only treats waste water, but aids in the clean up of Boston Harbor, which has suffered at the hands of environmental apathy for years.

"Our contract called for performing 90% of the controls and process instrumentation work for both water and odor treatment at Deer Island," says Guarracino. "Eighty percent of our work is located in Boston, and we're proud to contribute to improving the area's environment." Deer Island is, in fact, an island, which proved to be the greatest problem JME encountered on the project. Just getting the material and equipment across the water was a logistical nightmare. Crespi jokes, "It's not like you could run out and bring back what you forgot." They solved the problem by concentrating their efforts with the general contractor and the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (which oversees the whole project). "Scheduling was the key," Crespi says.

Deer Island Boston Harbor Waste Water Treatment Plant

To administer a job the size and scope of the Deer Island project also means having a project manager on site full time. That responsibility fell to Rudy Cavallo. Several years ago, JME outfitted Rudy, as well as the other project managers, with a laptop computer. Since key personnel were already familiar with computers, the transition to working with them on the job site went smoothly.

Guarracino attributes much of his company's success to computerization. "We've found that giving the project managers computers on site gives them the ability to control costs, track project schedules and budgets, and manage the project more efficiently, which translates into a healthier bottom line," he says.

Crespi adds, "The computers give us concrete ways to control costs because we can look at the project on a real-time basis, instead of waiting for monthly reports and the like."


Take A Drive Around Boston
Guarracino himself can best treat you to his enthusiastic tour of buildings and facilities that his company has been involved with.

"Over there," he says, pointing to the New England Medical Center, "we installed the environmental automation controls that allow the Center to maintain acceptable and efficient levels of heating and cooling for the entire complex."

At the Phillips Academy, one of the oldest schools in the country, JME is installing all the instrumentation wiring for the new boiler plant, which will allow the school to better control utility costs campuswide. And prior to working on the boiler plant, JME partnered with a mechanical contractor to wire the monitoring instrumentation for the school's new chiller. "We've been partnering with other contractors since I started the business in 1985, and we've been able to develop some wonderful working relationships," says Guarracino.

The biggest benefit to come out of partnering is that JME people are involved with the entire project from the very beginning, including its engineering. They can make suggestions to their partner, or partners, which may not only make the project easier for them, but more profitable for everyone. Every benefit, though, has a downside. "Major corporations have a tendency to be inflexible," Crespi explains. "They have to be because of their size, but sometimes the inflexibility makes it a little more difficult for us to persuade them." JME has made partnering work for them by constant communication with all the parties involved.

Other contracts completed by JME include the Prudential Center, where the company installed all the network wiring and fiber optics, the new U.S. Federal Courthouse situated by Boston Harbor, and the new Ted Williams Tunnel, which connects Logan International Airport with the south end of Boston, for which JME wired the entire operation control center for the large fans that are located on each end of the tunnel.

JME did not win these contracts by chance, but with marketing and management skills, along with the company's reputation. JME markets its services through its customer base, using only the best-known systems. Engineers in the Boston area have learned this. "The more you can offer a customer, the better chance your company has of getting the contract, and that's exactly what we do. Because we have the ability to provide whatever service the customer needs, except writing or integrating software, we have flourished in a very competitive industry," explains Guarracino.

Having A Philosophy Builds Vision
JME takes a farsighted view of every aspect of the business. For instance, training, beyond NJATC apprenticeship programs, is something the company takes very seriously. In addition to sending its employees to training classes presented by its customers on the specific systems they'll be working on, JME invests a lot of time and effort to onsite training of employees.

"We look at our employees as an investment," explains Crespi. "The better they can perform their jobs, the better it is for our company, and the better it is for the employee." It is because of this attitude that JME has a very low turnover rate; some people on staff today have been with the company since the very beginning. Crespi adds, "One foreman in particular, Dennis Rezendes, has been with JME for over ten years. He started his NJATC training after we hired him. We've stuck by each other, and he's moved up the ranks quickly."

The benefits of training are exhibited in other areas, such as safety, as well. JME has safety and hazmat programs in place, which manifest themselves in workers' comp costs 15% lower than the area's average. And the company adheres to the theory that too much overtime leads to reduced productivity and increased accidents. "Of course, sometimes overtime is necessary to satisfy the customers' needs, but we do our best to keep it to a minimum," says Guarracino.

Because JME's management team knows exactly how competitive the electrical contracting industry is, they work hard to sell their personnel to prospective customers and to build their qualifications. They try to show their customers that the best bid is not necessarily the low bid, and the quality of their work has helped them do that.

One of the tools that JME uses to help market itself is the World Wide Web. Working with Tahan Advertising, Inc., a Marketing and Communications firm, JME has had its website online for several years now. "A Home Page gives the company a lot of exposure," explains Guarracino. "For the small investment it takes to get a good website up and running, it opens you up to a whole new world of potential customers."

JME provides its customers with project management techniques and technical services using state-of-the-art construction scheduling, estimating, and planning systems. JME uses estimating software that was designed specifically for the company by the management consulting firm of Santoro Associates, Boston. Once JME is awarded a contract, a budget is set up and followed as closely as possible. Crespi, who runs the financial end of the business, checks the job schedule against actual progress once a week and reviews manpower requirements. Hourly rates are tracked quarterly, and cash requirements are projected two months ahead. It's all computerized, enabling company management to track trends and adjust spending needs accordingly.

"Organization and cost control are just as important to a business's success as highly skilled workers," says Crespi. "We're always looking toward the future," he adds.

Also weekly, Guarracino, Crespi, and the three project managers meet to review job progress and make recommendations. "JME is a team effort. I believe that if you operate your business on a level playing field, the people that work with you feel freer to be more creative and to speak more openly because they feel they have more of a vested interest in the company's success. And they do," says Guarracino.


Watching Industry Trends Through Customers
Through partnering with industry leaders, JME receives a lot of information on the systems and equipment that are being used in the Boston area. Because the company is close to its customers, management is able to spot industry trends and use them to their advantage. Downsizing and outsourcing are two of those trends that JME is following closely. Presently, JME is looking to expand into managing other companies' projects, something that complements what they already do.

"To succeed, you've got to change with the times," says Crespi. "But that's not all. You need people with skills, people who can communicate on all levels. And you must understand cash flows and control the company's growth," he adds.

Guarracino's key to success lies in always looking ahead, always planning for the future. "It's important to know who you are, to know what you want to accomplish, but you also need to have the necessary marketing and management plans to fulfill your vision," he says.

JME's dedication to using modern management techniques has given the company many years of prosperity, and the outlook for the future is just as bright.