SAI Partners with BIP, Inc. on New African American Museum

The new National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is scheduled to open in late 2015 with groundbreaking to take place this week. SAI President, Maury Paslick, advised Allen Kennedy of BIP, Inc., a Woodbridge-based construction company, on best practices for providing temporary power during the construction effort to be led by Clark Construction. After the contract was signed, SAI has continued to collaborate with BIP, Inc. to provide review drawings for each step of the process.

The 374,000 SF NMAAHC, which will be located between the Washington Monument and the National Museum of American History, has been designed as a seven-level structure, with 60% of its square footage located underground and 40% aboveground. Other unique features include the "Corona", an inverse truncated pyramid, a central water feature and a sloped lawn and hedge forming the South Plaza.

SAI's efforts on this project add to a portfolio of museum-related experience, including a condition assessment of various other Smithsonian facilities also located on the Mall and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Congratulations to George Preston, new PE

SAI Engineering Mechanical Engineer George Preston recently passed his Professional Engineering examination. George has been with SAI his entire career since graduating from Virginia Tech in 2005. We are very proud of him and wish him continued success in his career. He and wife Shanna are expecting their first bundle of joy in February. So, it is looking as if 2011 is a banner year for the Prestons!

Thanksgiving Wishes

As we come to the close of another successful year, midway through our 15th year, we are grateful to our many clients some of whom have been with us from the beginning. While expressions of thanks are always welcome and appreciated, we recently received an extra delicious thank you from Georgetown Cupcakes in the form of two boxes of their goodies. We wish them great success with their new bakery in Sterling!

SAI Merits Newspaper Mention

SAI Engineering has been mentioned in the News and Messenger for its assistance in obtaining an energy star for Prince William County's A.J. Ferlazzo building. Maury Paslick is a registered energy star professional who has been called upon by various entities to assist in this endeavor. Ferlazzo is one of only 6,200 buildings nationwide to earn the Energy Star.

SAI Engineering Incorporated is now Woman-Owned

It's official. SAI Engineering has shortened its legal name and is now a certified woman-owned business with the same pride and attention to best practices in mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering design and consulting services that has been the case for the 15 years of its existence. So if your business could benefit from a small, woman-owned engineering firm on your team, you now have a proven choice. Simply put, as our slogan states, "We Make Buildings Work Better"!

SAI Supports Community Non-Profits

SAI has a long-standing practice of supporting community non-profits. Most recently, SAI was a sponsor for the American Red Cross Prince William Chapter Annual Fundraiser, themed this year as "Rockin' the Red". Guests were entertained by a terrific red-clad Elvis impersonator. This benefit is particularly critical for the Prince William community as proceeds are used locally to help victims of fires, floods and other disasters.




On Friday, May 14th, the Prince William Education Foundation, now known as SPARK or Supporting Partnerships and Resources for Kids, held its annual Gala at which heros in education were honored. SAI also served as a sponsor for this event the proceeds of which are used to host a Salute to Student Stars held later in the month. Our firm continues to serve on the Board of this very successful foundation supporting innovative programs in Prince William County Public Schools.

Our firm's CFO, Maria Paslick, has also been asked by the newly formed Prince William Chamber of Commerce's Co-Chair, Todd House of Micron Technology, to serve on its inaugural Board of Directors. Maria has been a long-time member of the Board of Directors of one of the two chambers in the process of merging to form this powerful business organization which is on target to be the largest of its kind in the DC Metro area.

Smart Green Design

While earning LEED® certification on a new building may prove cost prohibitive in both the short and long term, SAI may be able to assist you in obtaining energy star designation for your building, be it old or new, as we have done for one local government.

SAI has recently been engaged by Williams Design out of Clifton, Virginia, to design code-compliant interactive solar electric (photovoltaic) systems in different local jurisdictions, which generate energy and “dump” power back into the electric grid, unlike stand-a-lone solar lighting systems.

We are very proud to have participated in the complex MEP design for several other environmentally-friendly projects—the Canusa Hershman Recycling plant in Manassas, with Loveless Porter Architects, which handles pulp/paper, secondary fiber, and plastics, and Louisa Tire Recycling near Richmond, with Cross Design & Associates, which recycles used tires into crumb rubber. Both designs required coordination with overseas equipment manufacturers in Germany and Asia, and incorporated many energy efficiencies in their plant design as well. Another creative cost-saving project about to go out for bid is a central product delivery system at the Prince William County landfill which will facilitate record-keeping and track fluids for government-owned vehicles, thereby reducing waste associated with small containers and allowing purchasing in bulk.

We are Here for You!

In our almost 15 years of business, SAI Engineering is proud of the fact that our office has never shut down for a snow day. On Friday, February 5th, the onset of the blizzard of 2010, we were open until 5:00 p.m. (taking a call from an Oregon client at 4:50) and opened for regular hours on Monday, February 8th, though the federal government and most businesses remain closed. While not every employee was able to make it in, thanks to VDOT, Dominion Power and our landlord, most of our crew was on board. The next few days may do us in with another major storm headed our way, but rest assured we will be hard at work to the extent possible on projects, including three for Ourisman dealerships, one for West Virginia University, and several regional transit facilities, among others.

14th Annual Employee Holiday Dinner

For the past 14 years SAI Engineering has celebrated the holidays and the close of another successful year in business with an employee/spouse dinner at Montclair Country Club. This year's event held on December 11th continued the tradition of starting out with crackers (an English gift "cracked" open with a "bang" unveiling a trove of small gifts designed to make you laugh, such as a game or trinket, crown and joke to share) and ending with a "real" gift (besides Maury's heartfelt speech of gratitude).

We wind this year down with projects for Ourisman Toyota, the TSA at Reagan Airport, the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Veterans Hospital, to name a few. We are also very excited to be entering the construction phase of a LEED project for Cutler Hammer in Maryland. We would like to thank our many varied clients, both new and repeaters, who have put their faith in us this year. May this holiday season bring out the best in all of us and lead to a happy and prosperous 2010!

WEEC Expo - DC Convention Center

On November 4th and 5th 2009, SAI Employees attended the World Energy Engineering Conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. In conjunction with the Association of Energy Engineers. The Expo was designed to help discover “green” technologies, new product ideas, applications, energy efficiency, and services for project implementation, and operations. We found many interesting products from LED efficient lighting, glow exit signs, heat pipe technology, Daikin’s VRV system, and many other “green” mechanical, electrical, and plumbing products. Hall D at the DC Convention Center was packed with over 200 booths set up, and we were able to come away with new knowledge, and many new manufacturers’ contacts and catalogs.

Young Professional Event

The Prince William Regional Chamber hosted another Young Professional event at Madigan’s on the waterfront in Occoquan on November 5th, in which some SAI Employees attended. The program was hosted by Emily Guerrero, and many young professionals from Prince William County attended. They gathered large amounts of canned goods and non perishable items there at the event for a good cause. Also there was a program director from Volunteer Prince William who gave a wonderful speech about the opportunities to help kids and adults at Christmas time. Raffle tickets were given out, and nice prizes were awarded. Some networking games were also implemented as well. Here is the Regional Chamber blog posting (including pictures)

SAI to Move Ahead with National Gallery of Art Elevator Modernization

The National Gallery of Art received a Halloween treat in the form of the signing by President Obama of the Interior Department appropriations bill. The gallery is receiving long-awaited funds for a major renovation, including of its "vertical transportation facilities" (i.e., elevators) which SAI Engineering will work with Atlantic Consulting out of Millersville, Maryland to complete.

PWC Employees Credit Union Groundbreaking

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new PWC Credit Union branch took place on October 20th in Woodbridge off Hoadly Road. The credit union currently serves 7,500 members and has two other branches. This new, free-standing branch has been seven years in the making, during which time SAI Engineering has teamed with Loveless Porter Architects to complete design with construction scheduled to begin in early 2010. This is the third area credit union facility that SAI Engineering has worked on, the previous ones being for Fairfax Employees Credit Union and Belvoir Federal Credit Union.

The Latest in Lighting Fixtures

This month the SAI Electrical engineering design team attended a demonstration of the latest LED (light emitting diode) products offered by LSI in order to stay current on the latest in energy efficent lighting fixtures. LED technology is a highly efficient lighting alternative to the more traditional high pressure sodium and metal halide lamp technologies.

Last month, Maury Paslick attended an Elliptipar seminar at the company's Connecticut headquarters where he not only earned 3 CEU's but also saw one of SAI's projects, the Loy Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Virginia, featured in the Company's product slide presentation. One day later, Maury and his wife enjoyed a gala event benefitting CASA of Greater Prince William held at the same Pavilion (see SAI's photo gallery).

Thanks to Eric Immediato of Chesapeake Lighting and Ritchie Cox of Commercial Lighting Sales for arranging these two "enlightening" workshops.

Where in the World are former SAI Engineering Interns

SAI Engineering has had a vigorous internship program during the course of its 14-year history. The purpose of the internship is to familiarize both high school and college interns with the engineering field in general and MEP engineering in particular. Some find it is not for them which is a valuable learning experience in itself. Others pursue related careers such as project management. Still others go on to further education or with firms in different parts of the country.

Brian Myhre and Ben Kidd who worked several summers for SAI Engineering have gone on to work on advanced degrees. Brian, a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and MIT, is currently attending Harvard for his MBA after which he plans to return to Texas working for a consulting firm . Ben, a graduate of Hylton High School and the University of Virginia, recently completed his masters in electrical engineering at UVA and is now designing circuits and panelboards for a Charlottesville firm.

Mike Hovanec and Jamie Smith, both Virginia Tech mechanical engineering graduates, are with start-ups/spin-offs firms in California, joining former mechanical engineer and fellow Tech graduate, Andy Kreutzer, who is working in project management for a large construction firm in San Diego.

PWCS Education Foundation

SAI Engineering is a proud sponsor of the Prince William County Schools Education Foundation. The Education Foundation will be having its 9th annual Superintendent's Business Breakfast at the Kelly Leadership Center on October 15th at 8 a.m., with employees of SAI Engineering in attendance.

First Post

This is a test of SAI Engineering's first blog post. Maria Paslick went to a Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce event where they discussed many different ways of communicating online. One was a creating a blog, which we are now implementing.