Tectonic Engineering: Earth Movers

This New York-based firm provides engineering services to a variety of industry sectors. An in-house materials testing lab ensures they will meet environmental and safety standards.

Tectonic Engineering has the important, though sometimes invisible job of building and maintaining the infrastructure that supports and connects the entire country. They provide engineering services to public and private clients in transportation, public works, telecommunications, energy, water resources, land development, healthcare and education. 
Tectonic Engineering remains involved with these projects in a variety of capacities from design development through the construction phase.
“We provide a soup-to-nuts service,” said CEO Donald Benvie.
In the early stages of development, they work with clients to identify design concepts based on specific project needs, costs and technical specifications. Once a feasible design alternate has been identified, Tectonic also helps develop detailed plans and specifications, as well as obtain approval from regulatory agencies.
“Once the project’s been approved and the design is complete, our role is to facilitate construction of the project by being available on a technical advisory basis to assist the developer, owner and contractor with technical oversight,” Benvie said.
Tectonic is unique among engineering firms in having its own materials testing laboratory within the firm. Within that division, engineers oversee the quality assurance testing of materials like soil, concrete, asphalt and steel to ensure that they will meet technical, environmental and safety standards. Because Tectonic’s personnel have strong construction engineering backgrounds, they can maintain a higher level of quality control than what would normally be provided by an independent laboratory business.
“Having the testing lab capabilities has given us the ability to bundle services, to transition beyond the design phase and into the construction phase,” Benvie said. 
Tectonic has shifted its focus in the past few years to concentrate increasingly on the construction engineering and inspection (CEI) segment of the business. Though they are still involved in design, Benvie said that there is now a greater need for oversight during the construction phase.  For this reason, Tectonic is offering expanded construction engineering and inspection services to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget.
This change is due in large part to the struggling economy. With dwindling work available in the private sector, Tectonic, like many other firms, has been working more on government projects. Federal stimulus funds are mostly allocated to projects that are “shovel-ready.” As a result, the public agencies’ needs for professional services focuses more on CEI services. Also, public agencies typically perform planning and engineering with their in-house design staffs, and tend to outsource CEI services.
Today, about two-thirds of Tectonic’s business comes from the public sector. Tectonic has maintained a 10% percent growth rate and a heavy workload through the recession by providing vital maintenance and construction services for public infrastructure. They are currently engaged in upgrading transportation, water and energy facilities in the Northeast.
Much of America’s aging transportation infrastructure is in urgent need of renovation. In 2009, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the US infrastructure an overall grade of D. Less money is allocated to construction of public facilities today than in the past, and most roadways and bridges are now reaching the end of their lifespan.
Outdated transportation systems can have significant effects on the economy, said Benvie.
“For example, the amount of time commuters lose stuck in traffic jams has a big dollar value when you add it up,” Benvie said. “That time spent in traffic is lost productivity.”
Tectonic works on updating and expanding existing bridges, roadway and mass-transit systems to accommodate the increased traffic and bring them up to current standards. Several current projects in New York involve reconstruction on major public facilities. This spring, Tectonic provided support services for the widening of the main runway at JFK Airport. They are also involved in rebuilding the World Trade Center site by providing quality assurance oversight and special inspection services.
Another major infrastructure project Tectonic is involved with is The East Side Access project-- a major commuter rail project that will connect the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Station with a new tunnel and underground station.
“That involves mining and excavating solid rock 50 feet underneath the existing railroad facilities to build a new passenger station,” Benvie said.
The most important new construction that Benvie said he hopes to see in the near future is a high-speed rail system connecting cities throughout the country, similar to the systems in Europe and Japan.
“It’s not a panacea for reducing our use of oil but, it’s one step among many we need to take as a country,” he said. Tectonic is also involved in working with developers of alternative energy facilities to explore other possibilities.
A new rail system and changes to the existing ones will take significant investment from the government, however, and decreased tax revenue has governments at all levels cutting back.
“The hope is that as we come out of the recession, private sector work will pick up again and the tax base will increase so the government will have money to spend on public works projects,” Benvie said.
For now, Benvie said that Tectonic will continue to look for opportunities for growth and make sure they maintain the quality of their work.
“As an engineering company, there’s a public expectation that we deliver our work with not only creativity and technical excellence but also with integrity,” he said. “Our credibility is one of the most important objectives that guides the leadership of the firm.” CLT