Day 185 - Data Center Fire Protection

Day 185 - Data Center Fire Protection, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

Today's photo shows a Cannistraro sprinklerfitter on-site at the Springfield Data Center project in Western Massachusetts where our team is installing a Vortex system. This mist-based Fire Protection system actually uses minimal amounts of water and instead uses 3,000 psi of nitrogen.

Have a safe and enjoyable Halloween!

Day 184 - Ready for Our Closeup

Day 184 - Ready for Our Closeup, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

In today's Post-Hurricane Sandy photo, we share an inside look at a photo shoot going on at the Cannistraro headquarters in Watertown, MA. As the tropical stormy skies began to dissipate Cannistraro called upon Boston's own Elevin Studios to take some high-quality professional photos of our Service Group. Stay tuned for more of the finished product in the weeks to come.

Day 183 - The Era of Collaboration

Day 183 - The Era of Collaboration, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

JCC President John Cannistraro, Jr. has dubbed the current decade the "Era of Collaboration" in the construction industry. Today we share a great photo of a truly collaborative meeting from a recent Design-Build project meeting here at the Cannistraro Corporate Headquarters. Seated at the table together were specialty contractors, construction managers, engineers and architects.

Day 182 - Renovated Boiler Plant in Danvers

Day 182 - Renovated Boiler Plant in Danvers, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

For today's post we take a trip to the Hogan Regional Center in Danvers, (part of the two-site Energy Upgrade project for DCAM) to look at the fully-installed boiler plant. Today's photo shows the boilers and steam piping located in Building 4's mechanical plant. The upgraded mechanical room consists of 3 new boilers, 2 split case pumps, a deaerator, and variable frequency drives.

Day 181 - Fit out for Fan Pier's Vertex

Day 181 - Fit out for Fan Pier's Vertex, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

As we've documented, the core and shell HVAC and Fire Protection installations performed by the Cannistraro team has moved at a breakneck speed. Prefabrication and installation of the fit-out HVAC piping has since moved forward. In today's post, we share what some of this insulated and installed piping looks like on floors 1 and 2 of the new Vertex Pharmaceuticals facility.

Day 180 - BIM in 2013

Day 180 - BIM in 2013, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

Yesterday the Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts hosted an interesting session called BIM in 2013: Lessons Learned from High Performing BIM Teams. The panel of distinguished experts included Cannistraro's VP of Service and Engineering Michael P. Cannistraro, P.E., as well as close industry colleagues from KlingStubbins and MassPort. So what is in store for BIM in 2013? Collaboration, BIM Execution Plans and more collaboration, just to name a few items.

Day 179 - Greetings from Western MA

Day 179 - Greetings from Western MA, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

We begin this week with a photo sent in from the Cannistraro prefabrication facility located in Deerfield, MA. Much of the Plumbing assemblies and piping components prefabricated at this shop are being installed on the UMASS Amherst campus as part of either the new Science complex or Commonwealth Honors Residences projects. We'll share more from this location in the days and weeks to come.

Day 178 - Modeling a Residential High-Rise

Day 178 - Modeling a Residential High-Rise, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

Earlier this week we discussed how the Boston construction market is seeing a boom in the multifamily residential market sector. We came across an old advertisement that we ran about a year or two before the the "Great Recession," just as the luxury residential complex was being built at 45 Province Street. Much of the industry was still getting to know BIM, but Cannistraro's 3D Coordination efforts were in full swing.

Day 177 - Building Congress Leadership

Day 177 - Building Congress Leadership, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

Last evening the 2012 Hall of Fame Awards Gala was hosted by the Massachusetts Building Congress in Boston's Waterfront District. John Cannistraro, Jr., Past President of the association and President of JCC, addressed the group and was honored for his service and leadership over the past year. A Hall of Fame Contractor ourselves, Cannistraro was extremely proud to nominate and support Darmody, Merlino & Co. as a new inductee to this prestigious organization's Hall of Fame.

Day 176 - Multifamily Expansion in Greater Boston

Day 176 - Multifamily Expansion in Greater Boston, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

In addition to the growth being seen in Boston's Innovation District, another area of growth has emerged: Multifamily Residences. A new multifamily boom has hit Boston and its surrounding cities with projects like the Charlesview Apts. in Cambridge, Watermark II in Cambridge, Waterside Place in Boston, and Assembly Row in Somerville...just to name a few. In today's post we flashback to a major residential project that Cannistraro completed in the past; the Metropolitan Parcel C Project for Suffolk Construction. We'll keep you posted as to the progress of these new multifamily residences as time goes on.

Day 175 - From the Model to the Shop Floor

Day 175 - From the Model to the Shop Floor, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

Anyone who has sat in on a Cannistraro BIM or Prefabrication process presentation might be familiar with the image from today's post. In accordance with the comprehensive Cannistraro QA/QC procedures, this piping assembly reached the fab shop floor after the manufacturing data was spooled directly to the automatic welding machines from the BIM.

Day 174 - In Good Company

Day 174 - In Good Company, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

We are glad start this October week with some good news! Last week Engineering News Record (ENR) Magazine announced its 2012 Top 600 List of Specialty Contractors! Cannistraro is once again on the list; this year ranked nationally at #184. When broken down to strictly mechanical contractors, Cannistraro is proud to be in the country's list of Top 50 mechanical construction firms, coming in at # 36! More about this announcement can be found at our website: http://www.cannistraro.com.

Day 173 - View from the Ground in Mirebalais

Day 173 - View from the Ground in Mirebalais, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

It has been a while since we updated you on the Mirebalais Project in Haiti. Much of Cannistraro's engineering, prefabrication and installation work has been completed to this point. From time to time however, Cannistraro Plumbers travel down to Haiti to provide on-the-ground training to Haitian workers, and to help with any new progress in terms of plumbing and medical gas services. Today's photo was taken by one such Plumber on a Septemer 2012 trip to the Mirebalais hospital site.

Day 172 - FP for FP

Day 172 - FP for FP, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

For today's post we take you back inside the Cannistraro Fire Protection shop for another insider's view of the fabrication process. The next stop for the sprinkler pipe being welded in this photo is the Vertex Pharmaceuticals project on Boston's Fan Pier.

Day 171 - What are we up to?

Day 171 - What are we up to?, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

If you subscribe to the weekly BISNOW email for the latest news from the commercial real estate and building industries, you may have noticed a Cannistraro Service Group ad last week. We share the ad with you today and invite you to find out what we're up to! bit.ly/RDKbLo

Day 170 - BIMForum Sponsors

Day 170 - BIMForum Sponsors, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

We follow up the Columbus Day holiday with a shout out to the BIM Forum being held this week in Tacoma, Washington. Cannistraro is sponsoring this national summit for the movers and shakers of BIM, which is scheduled to cover the popular topic of BIM for Facility Management. Today's post is from Michael Cannistraro's presentation at the BIMForum in Chicago back 2011.

Day 169 - Fab Fixtures

Day 169 - Fab Fixtures, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

As a follow up to yesterday's post, we round out the week with a photo of the gentleman who plays an important role in the Cannistraro manufacturing process: The Prefabrication Manager. The Prefab Manager oversees the manufacturing process for his individual trade and works closely with project coordinators/detailers as well as outside the superintendent and foremen out in the field.

Day 168 - Detail & Quality

Day 168 - Detail & Quality, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

Today's post shows the detail and quality of Cannistraro piping assemblies. The end result of BIM-enabled manufacturing, this particular Plumbing assembly was featured in many of Cannistraro's brochures, proposals and other promotional materials back in 2006 and 2007.

Day 167 - Calling all Service Vans

Day 167 - Calling all Service Vans, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

Today's post provides a bird's eye view of the Cannistraro Corporate Headquarters in Watertown, MA. Taken from the offices of the Cannistraro Service Group, the photo was shot just after a quarterly service meeting with many of the field technicians. With nearly 30 service vehicles on the road in the Greater Boston area, it's rare to see many of them all at one location.

Day 166 - The Next Generation

Day 166 - The Next Generation, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

For many years Cannistraro's robust co-op program has been the launching pad for many successful careers in the construction industry. Many of our own Project Managers, Coordinators and Estimators are former co-op students that moved up the ranks at JCC. Each and every semester, Cannistraro welcomes anywhere from 3 to 6 students from various area colleges, and gives them hands on experience in various roles of the contracting business.

Day 165 - Powering Up

Day 165 - Powering Up, a photo by JC Cannistraro on Flickr.

The bulk of the HVAC infrastructure has been installed at the power plant at DCAM's Wrentham Developmental Center. We've documented much of the progress on this interesting energy upgrade project, and by the looks of things, it won't be long before we recap the project with a few final, impressive photos.