Spottlight on Thankfulness
During this season of giving, we have so much to be thankful for.
During this season of giving, we have so much to be thankful for. From our clients that trust us to take on their challenges to our communities that rely on us to provide solutions - we are thankful.
But our gratitude extends even further. We are thankful for our people, that get the job done. We are thankful for our founders, that paved the way. And we are thankful for the opportunities, that allow us to make the world a better place.
Today we’re putting the Spottlight on our teams. Because our teams are the people that make everything we do happen. Our teams are the ones that apply both expertise and experience. But also passion and dedication. We are thankful for our teams because they are what separate SSM from other engineering, surveying, and environmental service firms. Our teams defy boundaries, set new standards, exceed expectations, and redefine success. They evaluate, collaborate, and innovate. So when it comes to being grateful - our teams make it easy.
Our Expertise:
Energy and Sustainability Services
Civil and Municipal Engineering
Land Development
Environmental and Field Services
Survey and Data Capture
Water and Wastewater Engineering
Structural Engineering
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
Spottlight on Energy Awareness
Municipal governments as well as industries and corporations engage every year in strategic planning and writing budgets. Our recommendation is to make sure energy efficiency is a top priority on your budget for the next year.
Wondering how to impact the bottom line while also engaging your community and stakeholders in making the world a better place? The answer: start including energy efficiency in your budget. The best time to start? Now.
Municipal governments as well as industries and corporations engage every year in strategic planning and writing budgets. Our recommendation is to make sure energy efficiency is a top priority on your budget for the next year.
IN THIS ISSUE
Spottlight on a Great Place to Work
We are more than a typical engineering firm. If we were just an engineering firm, we’d assess, we’d solve, and then we’d cross it off of our list. But we’re not just an engineering firm; we’re so much more. We’re a firm that believes our people are your people. We’re a firm that believes in innovation; built on a solid foundation. We’re an engineering firm that believes in improving the quality of life for clients, employees, and all of the people touched by the work we do.
Turning the Spottlight on SSM
We are more than a typical engineering firm. If we were just an engineering firm, we’d assess, we’d solve, and then we’d cross it off of our list. But we’re not just an engineering firm; we’re so much more. We’re a firm that believes our people are your people. We’re a firm that believes in innovation; built on a solid foundation. We’re an engineering firm that believes in improving the quality of life for clients, employees, and all of the people touched by the work we do.
Spottlight on Back to School
Back to school is a special time. It reminds us of why we do the things that we do. Our work touches everyday life; from the water you drink, to the air you breathe, to the buildings and communities where you live, work and play.
We believe in making the world a better place today and for future generations by helping clients plan, design, build, operate, and protect their infrastructure, assets, and resources. We believe in constantly growing, in constantly learning so that we can continue to make the world a better place. Why? Because we believe in giving future generations the opportunity to change the world.
Making the World a Better Place
It’s the time of year again where children, parents, and teachers are engulfed in Back to School. This time of year is reserved for that special feeling of entering a new classroom, opening new school supplies, and having that “ready to learn” feeling. But at SSM we believe that learning and education are tools that not only transcend this time of year, but also transcend the school-aged years.
After all, Nelson Mandela wasn’t wrong when he said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” It’s the powerful weapon our team uses everyday.
It is our refined expertise and knowledge that prove the value in learning that we hold. It is our determination to finding solutions for even the most difficult challenges and our passion for finding answers for all unanswered questions. These are what give us the confidence to say we make the world a better place.
It’s our willingness and our enthusiasm to step up to a challenge, our commitment to asking the right questions, and our zeal for learning about each and every client’s needs. These are the arsenal with which we change the world.
Back to school is a special time. It reminds us of why we do the things that we do. Our work touches everyday life; from the water you drink, to the air you breathe, to the buildings and communities where you live, work and play.
We believe in making the world a better place today and for future generations by helping clients plan, design, build, operate, and protect their infrastructure, assets, and resources. We believe in constantly growing, in constantly learning so that we can continue to make the world a better place. Why? Because we believe in giving future generations the opportunity to change the world.
Spottlight on the Dog Days of Summer
We know you’re dealing with rising temperatures and humidity and trying to stay cool - we’re here to help.
Did you know that the reference to the dog days of summer really has nothing to do with dogs? According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the phrase is actually a reference to the period when the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth and part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog. The ancient Romans believed it actually gave off heat and added to the Sun’s warmth, accounting for the long stretch of sultry weather. Today, we know that the stretch from July 3rd to August 11th will be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer. We know you’re dealing with rising temperatures and humidity and trying to stay cool - we’re here to help.
IN THIS ISSUE
Spottlight on the Sun
We’re all about making the world a better place. The summer sun reminds us to enjoy the remarkable nature of the sun outside.
A Sunny State of Mind
There’s plenty to marvel about when it comes to the sun from its enormous size, able to hold 1 million Earths to its near perfect sphere that continues to be a science spectacle. Did you know that the sun rotates on its axis about once every 26 days? It is 93 million miles away from the Earth; but it only takes eight minutes for its light to reach us.
Perhaps one of our favorite extraordinary facts about the sun is its generous offering of energy. The amount of sunlight that strikes the Earth’s surface in just an hour and a half is enough to handle the entire world's energy consumption for a full year. As June comes to an end and we’re all enjoying long sunny days we explore the power and strength of the sun.
IN THIS ISSUE
Spottlight on Public Works
Each year in May we join in celebrating Public Works Week. We celebrate the projects that serve communities and make them a better place, and we celebrate the people that make those projects happen. It is public works teams that believe in the future of their communities and the value of the work ahead. That know that it is not just work ahead, but great work ahead. It is work that improves our infrastructure, provides for our neighbors, and offers longstanding safety for our communities.
Since SSM’s inception almost 90 years ago, we have been a company that strives to make the world a better place. That’s why we have worked with public works employees, officials and administrators to design, manage, oversee, and engineer solutions. We are honored to have worked alongside public works professionals for many years, and to continue to join them in reaching goals, attaining success, and embarking on the work ahead.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Spottlight on Growth
These are the forces that have led to our growth, our resilience, our rooted care and grounded values. These are the forces of SSM.
More than ten years ago, a team at SSM planted these Japanese Cherry Blossom trees. They were mere saplings then. Since then, they’ve rooted. They’ve grown. They’ve bloomed.
Our roots go back to 1932. We were mere saplings then. Just a few team members looking to engineer solutions that make the world a better place. Since then, we’ve also grown. We’ve branched out and expanded our services. We’ve been resilient. We’ve stayed rooted in our values and in our mission. We’ve absorbed and soaked in the nutrients and the resources that our communities have offered us. And- perhaps our favorite- we’ve helped our clients’ visions bloom.
But as James Penny Cash once said, “Growth is never by mere chance. It is the result of forces working together.” SSM is the blooming, beautiful tree that greets you- because of the many forces that have worked together.
It is the Civil Engineering team, that has turned SSM into the resource that communities, institutions, and businesses turn to for forward-thinking solutions to everyday challenges. It is our Facilities team that has taken expertise, and powerful integrative approaches and turned SSM into the best, single-source solution for any facilities engineering challenge, no matter how many facets. Our Environmental team, that blooms by their ability to be a resource for cost-effective, well-engineered solutions whether it’s water and wastewater engineering to water resources. It’s our Survey and Data team that brings the force of not only accuracy, but expertise and care. And it’s our newest branch, our Energy and Sustainability team, that waters the seeds of growth for future generations while breaking down the barriers to our clients’ success and energy challenges.
These are the forces that have led to our growth, our resilience, our rooted care and grounded values. These are the forces of SSM.
Spottlight on the Table
At SSM, we are passionate about bringing not just one thing to the table. We are a multi-disciplinary engineering, environmental, and surveying firm. We bring everything to the table.
We bring everything to the table.
We aren’t like other restaurants. Well, we aren’t a restaurant at all; we’re an engineering firm. But, we do have one thing in common with your favorite local dinner spot: our menu. Have you seen our menu? It’s our carefully curated list of services that is specially designed to not only meet the needs of our clients, our communities, our generation, our environment- but is also specifically designed around the expertise of our team members. It’s the things we do best.
You might know us best for surveying. You come to us every time you have a surveying-need. We get it, stick to what you know will never let you down. (Sort of like that pasta you always order.) Maybe it’s not surveying. Maybe you are hooked on our Municipal Division, or our Electrical Engineering team. But have you ever tried our Structural team? What about our Environmental Group? They’re just as good. And we think- no, we know- you’ll find them to be a reliable go-to as well. Better yet, try all of our teams. After all, what’s better than a full table?
At SSM, we are passionate about bringing not just one thing to the table. We are a multi-disciplinary engineering, environmental, and surveying firm. We bring everything to the table.
But it isn’t just about the menu. Because even a great menu doesn’t mean a great meal. At SSM, we say “what we do best, is what you don’t.” We are the fine chefs and crew that pull it all together in a way that can’t be replicated by others. Tough projects, unique solutions, challenging circumstances- all of these are why clients seek SSM. Because bringing everything to the table isn’t just about the food. It’s about the skills it took to get there. It’s about the craft that led the way. It’s about the expertise that stands out above it all.
At SSM, our purpose is to help you stick to yours. Because when we’re at the table, you get to enjoy the meal.
Webinar:
PA C-PACE for Property Managers
April 8, 2021, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
The webinar will outline what projects qualify for C-PACE, how the loans work and the technical requirements of an application. Learn how to use this financing to make large capital improvements that may lower your utility costs and improve the cash flow of your building.
Spottlight on Engineers
These are our engineers. What they do best, is allow you to do what you do best.
What we do best - is what you don’t.
We aren’t an engineering firm. If we were just an engineering firm, we’d assess, we’d solve, and then we’d cross it off of our list. But we’re not just an engineering firm. We are so much more.
Our engineers are so much more. We’re a firm that believes our people are your people. A firm that believes in innovation; built on a solid foundation. We’re an engineering firm that believes in improving the quality of life for our clients, our employees, and for all of the people touched by the work that we do.
February 21-27 is Engineers Week. This is the week we celebrate the engineers at our firm that make the world a better place. Our engineers. The ones that believe their work is important. Know their clients’ visions are important. And bring to the table the passion to make good work happen. Those are our engineers. Because our engineers don’t believe in just getting the job done. At SSM, we’re here to help. Because our purpose is to help you stick to yours.
This year, our engineers solved problems. They navigated challenges, fulfilled visions, and they created solutions. This year, our engineers:
Cultivated innovative and energy-efficient solutions for indoor growing facilities.
Provided a multi-state, corporate-wide coating booth evaluation for compliance with OSHA, ACGIH, EPA, NFPA, and company standards.
Assisted a food processor in expanding their facilities and innovating their process to provide better ergonomic equipment and increased productivity.
Utilized high-definition scanning data to create a complete point cloud database of a facility in preparation for the retrofit and reuse of the facility.
Designed a laboratory upgrade to include a 20-ton air handling unit for temperature and humidity control for semiconductor research tool.
Applied energy audit data and building simulations to develop and design upgrades for a building that will result in a reduction of energy consumption by 45%.
These are our engineers. What they do best, is allow you to do what you do best.
Spottlight on Getting Ready
Make it a better year by making it a better world. For many, we begin a new year with resolutions to create change, to reach new goals, and to establish new ways of life.
Are you Ready?
Make it a better year by making it a better world. For many, we begin a new year with resolutions to create change, to reach new goals, and to establish new ways of life.
This year, resolve to create lasting change in the world by adopting a resolution focused on reducing energy usage. From your home or workplace, to your community- we challenge you to get ready to deal with your energy consumption. For the sake of the year, but also for the sake of all the years to come.
According to the US EPA, energy efficiency has a positive impact on the environment from lowering green house gas emissions and pollutants to decreasing water usage. But saving energy is also great for decreasing costs associated with operations. There are many steps, big and small, your organization can take to become more energy efficient.