By Evan Thomas COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 0 Comments

Fundraising for Charity 2018

KC is proud to once again have participated in the American Heart Association's Tri-County Heart Walk! The KC Team helped to promote physical activity to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. As a company, we recruited 20 team members and raised a grand total of $6,322, including a generous match of our team donations by KC’s President, Raj Ravilla.

Thank you to everyone who registered to walk with the KC team, helped us spread the word, or donated! Together we really can help make a difference, and we appreciate of all your continued support!

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Gearing Up for the Tri-County Heart Walk

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, but is largely preventable.

In 1924, six cardiologists founded the American Heart Association (AHA) to improve the lives of Americans by advocating for heart health. Their hope, by the year 2020, is to improve “the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent.” According to the AHA, more than one in every three adults has some form of cardiovascular disease, almost half of the U.S. population.

Public health education is the platform for the AHA’s mission. They provide global lifesaving programs like first aid, CPR, and advanced life support training; host national specialty conferences to share scientific knowledge; and educate and encourage the general public to live healthier lives.

At KC Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. (KC), we are dedicated to promoting cardiac awareness both internally and throughout the community. We recognize the severity of heart disease and the importance of education and prevention.

This quarter, KC placed special emphasis on heart health by celebrating American Heart Month in February with Go Red for Women Day, hands-only CPR training in March, and will culminate our events with the annual Tri-County Heart Walk on May 6 at Lake Welch Beach in Stony Point, NY.

So far, the KC Team has raised $2,032 of our $3,000 goal. Raj Ravilla, KC’s President, will generously match donations to our team up to $5,000.

To donate or to join to the KC Team, visit: http://www2.heart.org/site/TR?team_id=385089&fr_id=3019&pg=team.

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • 0 Comments

A Guide to LEED Certifications

LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a credit-based, green building certification program that indicates how environmentally conscious and conservative a building is. Established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in the early 1990s, LEED had since undergone several drastic upgrades, the newest version being the LEED v4 rating system.

At minimum, a building needs only 40 points to become LEED certified, but the more points earned, the more prestigious the certification. LEED certified is the base certification, followed by LEED Silver, LEED Gold, and LEED Platinum certified.

Buildings can become LEED certified if several energy and environmentally friendly actions are taken during construction. Homes, schools, healthcare facilities, and retail stores all have the potential to become LEED certified, but don’t necessarily have to meet the same requirements as one another.

Actions like optimizing energy performance, having good construction waste management practices, and maximizing open spaces during site development earn a building points that have potential to eventually add up to be a LEED certification.

So, the question remains: Why should building owners seek LEED certification?

With principles like green engineering gaining popularity amidst worldwide pollution and climate change concerns, it’d certainly benefit companies to be recognized as a leader in sustainable energy. While companies themselves cannot be LEED certified, the buildings they operate out of can be, setting a standard for others and serving as an example of environmental efficiency in their communities.

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • 0 Comments

Dig Safely This Spring and Summer

Regardless of any lingering chill in the air, spring has officially sprung and most homeowners are happy to trade in their snow blowers for lawn mowers.

This is the time of year when people start to make landscaping and gardening plans. Not only is April the first full month of spring, it is also National Safe Digging Month.

While many homeowners may be thinking about planning gardens, starting home improvement projects, and sprucing up their properties, it’s important to remember to call 811 before ANY dig.

811 is a national hotline that allows property owners, landscapers, and others to find out where they can safely dig.

Whether you’re getting ready to excavate your backyard in order to add an in-ground pool, or want to plant some flowers, no digging project – no matter how small – should be started without first calling 811.

Why? Because utility lines can be buried just a few inches underground, and without ensuring that the spot you’re digging in is free of utility lines, you could unintentionally damage them. In doing so, you could wind up damaging property, inadvertently causing power outages, and incurring costly fines and fees.

So how does calling 811 work?

First, make the call at least a few days before you dig. Let the representative know exactly where you plan to dig. They will then notify your local utilities operators. The utilities workers will come to your property and mark out where any utility lines are buried.

Once any utility line locations have been marked, you can plan to avoid these areas and safely proceed with your project.

Once your project is complete, you can enjoy the results of your hard work!

For more information about safe digging, visit http://call811.com/.

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • 0 Comments

NYSDOT Maintenance Facility Oil Water Separator Project

The NYSDOT Maintenance Facility in Hauppauge, Long Island provides road maintenance and inclement weather service to a large stretch of NYSDOT roadway on Long Island.

KC recently designed a new salt storage building at the facility in an effort to improve functionality. For the main vehicle storage and maintenance garage, KC designed a multitude of improvements to assist with operations. An oil water separator system was designed to assist in the recovery of waste oil during vehicle maintenance and washing.

The system employs floor drains along the building aprons that collect drippings and wash water, and then pass it through an underground oil water separator tank. The separator is equipped with coalescing plates for proper separation, interstitial volume for leak detection, and alarms for full and high levels. KC also modified the building with the addition of new garage doors along one side to allow full passage-through access for vehicles and to improve overall usability of the existing garage space.

In addition to improvements to the existing maintenance facility building, KC designed new pad spaces for three new operations office trailers that will be installed on site. The pads include full footings and tie downs for the trailers, as well as new 100-amp electrical services for the building. KC also added a new vehicle cold weather preparedness area that provides electrical services to run truck engine block heaters during cold weather operations.