Abe Hammond was excited to share his experience working with Mac Electric and helping them succeed through every hurdle that Mac Electric received from OSHPD inspectors. Abe didn't provide excuses. He found a way to get it done.

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I recently had the privilege in working with Mac Electric on the Pomona Valley Hospital Project in Southern California. Mac Electric has been a great supporter of Southwire over the past several years but they had never truly experienced our complete solutions by utilizing our planning tools along with some of the new equipment we have to offer - the SIMpull Solutions Configurator App, SIMpull Stack™ Reel, QWIKrope®, Maxis® Pro-Jax™, Southwire™ Triggers®, etc. Before the project started, I made a visit to Mac Electric’s main office in Brea, CA and sat down with a few of the PM’s. We discussed all of our offerings and where we could apply certain items on certain applications. After presenting to Gabe Serrano (Senior Estimator) and to a few others, Gabe immediately saw the benefits and wanted to set up a meeting between Gene Berdugo (Project Manager for PVH) and myself to discuss feeder solution opportunities for this upcoming project.

After meeting with Gene and his entire crew on the jobsite, we were able to create a game plan on how we would attack his feeder installation schedule in the most safe and efficient way possible. Gene had expressed to me the critical timeline he was given in order to finish each phase of this project and that any suggestions we had in order to help him meet these goals would be most appreciated. On a personal level, I could sense the pressure that Gene was under which made my efforts every bit worth it. This project was being monitored by OSHPD, who in turn have their own set of rules and regulations. Gene had expressed to me some of the various obstacles that they had presented him with throughout the beginning stages of this project.

As we proceeded forward in the planning stages with the help of Ashley Hooper from ElectroRep and Paul Washington with Southwire, we went over involving the configurator app/stacking methods, establishing the releases of wire due to the delivery and storage restrictions, along with discussions about which equipment we would be purchasing and using, the inspector was now requesting that Gene provide printed manufacturer specifications on the wire to be installed. With all of the great resources Southwire is able to provide, we were able to retrieve this information in a timely manner. Gene had mentioned that once we received this information he would then need me to sit down with the lead inspector and discuss the information provided along with our methods of installing. With the inspector, we discussed the importance of making sure we did not exceed the 1k lbs max sidewall pressure along with our plan for method of installation. The inspector was under the impression that when pulling through more than (4) 90’s / 360 degrees “with” or “without” a pull box in place to separate each segment was against code no matter what. After further discussion and highlighting Southwire's almighty low (.14) COF along with the guarantee we provide AND being able to run calculations for some of the more strenuous pulls he was able to grant us the green light to move forward.

Fast forward a few weeks and we had our first portion of reels being delivered for installation. We started out with 10 reels all stacked (2-3 runs on each reel) with a goal to install 10 reels in two days/5 reels each day. Once again, Gene was under a very restricted time schedule to install, terminate, and energize - so every minute counted. Just as we were about to hook up and go, the assistant inspector asked that he be present before the initial run was to enter the conduit. This person then showed up to tell us we would NOT be able to install the wire until we provided pull calculations to show tensions for every wire pulls performed. Gene once again looked to us for help in order to conquer this next obstacle they had thrown his way. This is now where our impossible would become possible.

Southwire was the only manufacturer able to provide a tool that would help this contractor move forward in accomplishing their ultimate installation goal, which was to install the wire on that day. I quickly retrieved my phone, tapped on the SIMpull® 600V Calculator app and asked Gene to walk me through each of the wire pulls segment by segment. About 1.5 hrs later we finished with the requested requirement by the push of an email button for each of these pulls. Having the capability to deliver the information needed to Genes’ email box in the NEC format allowed him to provide several printed pages displaying proof that our installation methods would not exceed manufacturer specs and that our methods of install were 100% safe and efficient. The inspector gave us a thumbs up to proceed and Gene was ecstatic with the service and solution we were able to provide. Genes’ exact words were, “Well, it looks like Southwire will be winning the remaining orders to be had on this project being no one else can provide this type of tool!”

Needless to say this was a unique story in regards to how powerful our SIMpull 600V Calculator can be. When I talked to Gabe as I was writing down my experience, he sent this note to let me know what an impact Contractor Solutions made for him:

"Abe,

Thank you for stopping by and showing us all the new solutions Southwire came out with. You couldn’t of stopped by at a more crucial time to show us how these solutions can help us as a company. Not only did you make up our wire reels to our needs with the new app and help us save time on labor by showing us how to build our reels for all our pulls we did at PVHMC. When it came down to pulling our wire you were there to help us calculate the tension which got us the approval to pull the wire. We couldn’t be more thankful for all the hard work you and your Southwire team put in to help us make these pulls run successfully and smoothly."

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For more information about Contractor Solutions or to bring the Contractor Solutions team to your jobsite, please visit their website contractorsolutions.southwire.com.

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