:: OEST Associates, Inc ::

archived stories

OEST Opens a Florida Office

OEST is pleased to announce the opening of a Florida office in the Greater Orlando area. The Florida office will be an extension of OEST’s architectural, engineering, survey and construction management services.

Don M. Dyer, R.A., will lead the Florida office and he brings 30 years of architectural design and programming experience on a variety of building types including hospitals, nursing homes, schools, cafeterias, office buildings, housing projects, municipal projects, and research and production laboratories.

Don will begin work immediately on multiple projects at the James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa, Florida. These projects include Signage & Wayfinding for the interior and exterior of the entire hospital’s campus and ADA upgrade designs for 11 buildings on the campus. The James A. Haley is one of only four VA polytrauma centers in the United States.

Don will also continue his relationships with current clients such as the U.S. Corps of Engineers, U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard and he will be supported by the entire OEST staff in his efforts.

OEST has active projects in Florida including work with multiple Whole Foods Markets and the City of West Palm Beach.

OEST Engineer speaks at coast guard conference

Calen Colby, P.E. and OEST Building Services Manager, spoke about Sustainable Design at the Design Team One Engineering Officer’s Conference in Warwick, Rhode Island in February. Currently, the USCG adheres to the executive orders that have recently been enacted which require government building projects to meet the LEED certification criteria. The objective of Calen’s presentation was to address the practical challenges associated with implementing sustainable designs into USCG projects. He focused on issues such as when does sustainable design make sense, how does sustainable design change the design process and how to maintain sustainable systems.

This conference was organized by U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Civil Engineering Unit (CEU) Providence. The USCG is comprised of 17 districts serving the entire United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. The First District includes operations from Maine to Northern New Jersey consisting of 14 diverse major programs areas (e.g. search and rescue, homeland security, maritime law enforcement, environmental protection, ice breaking, aids to navigation, etc.), 89 diverse units (stations, sectors, air stations, etc.), over 10,000 active, reserve, civilian, and auxiliary personnel and over 2,000 buildings used by the Coast Guard throughout the First District with a replacement value of $493M (source www.uscg.mil/d1/dx).

OEST currently holds an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with the USCG First District for Architectural and Engineering Services. Under this contract, OEST has been awarded over 20 tasks orders for design of new buildings, demolition and renovation projects. These projects have ranged in location from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York to Texas.

OEST Chilli Cook-off: a Conversation with Roger pience

The Friday before the SuperBowl, OEST employees participated in a chili cook-off organized by Roger Pience. The following is a conversation with Roger about the event:

What made you decide to organize a chili cook-off? “The Souper-bowl! It was really a team effort. I have done this sort of thing over the past 20 years or so. It’s always a crowd pleaser and it started at first as a way to create bridges between different work-groups I managed at a previous company. OEST & company needed a winter boost and adjunct to the summer picnics & I decided to go for it."

How many people participated in the chili cook-off? “We had 12 chili chefs and about six others provided condiments, sides & deserts. Oh, yes and there were two decorators as well.”

How many people attended the event? “I stopped counting after 40 people. That’s pretty good participation for a first-time event. Several people asked to have a repeat event again next year. And one or two didn’t want to wait that long.”

What types of chili were submitted? “Soup to nuts - everything from a white chili, which was very good by the way, to venison, to some very spicy concoctions. We have some very good chili chefs here.”

I understand that there wasn’t a “winner”, were there any clear favorites? “Absolutely! Richard McSherry’s chili called “Afterburner” was favored as well as the vegetarian. Really, they were all good: I don’t think enough chili remained in any of the crock-pots to provide another serving.”

Are you known for your chili-making abilities and do you have a favorite type you like to cook? “Am I known for … well I do all the cooking, baking and canning /preserving at home. My favorite chili is very, very spicy. Some call it “killer” others refer to it as paint remover. I cannot serve this recipe very often because of let us say ‘more delicate palates’.”

Who were you rooting for in the Superbowl? "I’m not a sports fan, really, but my allegiance is to the Patriot’s. The chili cook-off allows me to avoid sports yet participate in a theme party."

OEST Engineers work on hurricane barrier project

The citizens of New Bedford and surrounding areas enjoy a safe harbor thanks to a marvel of modern engineering. Built in the 1960s this immense barrier consists of three dikes: a 9,100 feet long Harbor Barrier Dike, a 5,800 feet long Clark Cove Dike and a 3,100 feet long Fairhaven Dike. The dikes are constructed of steel and stone and are accommodated with features such as conduit gates, street gates, drainage utilities, sewer valves and a pumping station. The Harbor Barrier Dike consists of two 60 feet high, 440-ton steel sector gates which allow for 150 feet of clear passage to and from New Bedford Harbor. These gates can be closed to protect the inner harbor during strong storms and tidal surges. The two sides of the Harbor Barrier Dike are also connected by a tunnel which is located 52 feet below mean sea level.

OEST Associates was tasked by the U.S. Corps of Engineers (USACE) with designing and preparing plans and specifications to upgrade both the electrical systems at the navigation gate structure and operating and control systems for the sector gates. The specific items of work for this upgrade consisted of the following:

• Linking the New Bedford and Fairhaven sides with fiber optics, electrical power cable and conduits.
• Replacing existing motors and redesigning the system to add auxiliary backup motors and gearing. Originally each gate was operated by a single 25 horsepower, 480 volt, 3 phase, 2 speed motor with no backup motor.
• Replacing the navigation warning lights. These include three high intensity discharge lights which flash every 20 seconds when the gate is open, and every three seconds when the gate is closing or closed.
• Providing new primary service cable.
• Replacing an oil-filled service switch.
• Replacing electrical switch gear. This includes the main breaker, the emergency generator transfer switch, all breaker panels and all navigation and conduit gate controls.
• Replacing deteriorated wiring.

The OEST Project team consisted of: Don Dyer, R.A. and Project Manager; Bruce Goodwin, Electrical Engineer; Todd Lackey, Mechanical Engineer; and Allen Saucier, Controls Engineer of Results Engineering and the Gannett Fleming Company for Cost Estimating.

OEST’s has held two consecutive Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for Architecture and Engineering services with the USACE since 2003. We have been awarded over 18 task orders under this contract and worked at installations such as Hanscom AFB in Bedford, MA; U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, Natick, MA; and the Defense Intelligence Agency.