About Us
Our Team
Over the course of 43 years, SPEC Services has attracted, developed, and retained a growing group of professionals who have served clients well and developed a good reputation with California operating companies and agencies. Many have chosen to stay and focus on SPEC work; many for over 20 years. These engineers, designers, and support staff have become a highly specialized and effective work force, developing efficient work tools and methods, and enhancing our value to clients through knowledge of their organizations, requirements, and systems.
Our Team includes over 240 people (including 42 registered PEs, 18 PMPs, and 5 ENV SPs) covering a broad range of disciplines, including process, mechanical, electrical, controls, civil/structural, and pipeline engineering and design, procurement, construction management, project controls, survey, and land services, and permits. The development of our people and highly effective project teams is a key factor in our success. Our people provide the energy, enthusiasm, responsiveness, and reliability that are key to the excellent service we provide for our clients.
Training and Development
SPEC Services fosters a learning environment and provides its employees with opportunities for building and developing their career and professional capabilities. Employees are encouraged to pursue opportunities to expand their skills and knowledge by participating in programs offered internally and outside the company, which serve to fulfill business-defined needs and individual employee interests.Continuing education is available to all employees as both an employee benefit and as a business objective to facilitate continuing growth and development. Programs include on the job training and coaching, onsite learning events, tuition assistance, professional licensure, certification, and participation in professional associations and events.
Safety
Safety is of primary importance to SPEC and to our clients, both in the execution of the project and in its safe operability and operation. We provide safety training, execute and monitor safe practices, have comprehensive safety policies and procedures (in addition to site specific and client requirements), and are audited by an independent specialist (ISNetworld). We also recognize our role in assisting in the safety of our clients' personnel and the public. Our managers, engineers and designers are experienced with the operations of our clients, consider safety aspects of construction, operation, and maintenance during design and system reviews, and incorporate safe practices in the execution of our work.Environment
SPEC Services design teams recognize the importance of balancing development with our environment. We strive to incorporate innovative environmental improvements into our design plans and construction packages. We are a member company of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), an organization created to develop and maintain a sustainability rating system for all civil infrastructure. We are one of many sponsors for the development of the next version of the ISI Envision rating system, and have been qualified by ISI to rate projects using the Envision system.We seek to improve our internal company and personal environmental practices through the guidance, training, and actions of our Green Team and Environmental Management Plan. This has included internal education programs and policies for conserving resources relative to the use of office supplies and equipment, vehicle fuel, water, electricity, and gas. Environmental bulletins are developed and distributed to all staff quarterly as part of our education program.
What Does S-P-E-C Mean?
SPEC is an acronym for System Planning, Engineering, and Coordinating. SPEC Services was founded on, and named for, the premise that project success requires the integration of good System Planning (developing and defining the right solution for the project), Engineering (producing an effective and efficient design of the selected system), and Coordinating (getting all the parties contributing and working together well). We continually strive to improve our proficiency in each of these areas. They are all closely related responsibilities and the success of each relies on the others. Our greatest value is provided when we start with system planning and work through them all, but we are good team players and work well with clients or third parties in specialized or supporting roles as well.
SPEC History and Future
In this next phase, several members of our management team have taken on new roles and responsibilities. Kim Henry is President and CEO, focusing on developing the team and future opportunities, with some periodic planning and technical consulting in select projects. Chris Smart is Director, Pipeline Engineering and Design, and serves as Program Director/Manager for large pipeline projects (35 years with SPEC). Nathan VanderBeek is Director of Engineering and Project Execution, managing our facilities engineering and design organization and project execution practices and controls for the company (23 years with SPEC). Other key members of the management team include Peter DiSomma, Energy Utilities Division Manager (20 years with SPEC); Brett Kelley, Midstream Division Manager (18 years with SPEC), and Omar Estrada, Pipelines Manager for Midstream Division (27 years with SPEC).
Project Size
Our effectiveness in completing both large and small projects is one of the keys to our success and longevity. We have developed the staff size, organizational capabilities, and processes to handle large projects, while maintaining the ability to efficiently execute small projects and specialized services. This range of capability has been especially valuable in our continuing service relationships with clients, and the substantial amount of repeat business and referral work we receive from these clients.
SPEC completes about 500 projects a year, with about 125 in progress at the same time. Project fees have averaged approximately $100,000, and the median fee is approximately $27,000. We have completed the design for many projects with total installed cost greater than $50 million, and some much larger. We also complete approximately 55 very small projects, with fees under $5000, each year.
Contracting Relationships
Continuing Service Agreements: A large percentage of our work is done under continuing service agreements with our clients, and most projects follow a design-bid-build contracting process. We may be the sole provider or one of 2-3 that are selected, and act as an extension of the client's internal organization. Depending on the project and the client's internal staff availability, we may do the entire project or a portion of it. For most projects, we either do the system planning and scope development from the beginning, or lead the refinement of the client's feasibility concept, and more fully document the project scope. We discuss the objectives of the project with the client, ask and track down answers to questions, and write a detailed project scope, approach, budget, and schedule for approval. The project is then executed under the overview of the client Project Manager, according to the labor and expense rates in the Master Services Agreement.Response to RFP: Where clients do not have so many projects that they need continuing service agreements, or where they are required to bid their projects individually, specific project qualifications and proposals form the basis of selection and award. These projects may be fixed price, time-and-material with a budget, or, more rarely, cost plus fixed fee.
Subcontractor on Design-Build: We selectively perform engineering and design as a subcontractor to a construction contractor. We also have provided balance-of-plant engineering and design for projects led by major equipment packager/suppliers.
Subcontractor to Prime Contractor: We may provide specialized services in support of a major project as team member under the lead engineering/management firm, such as providing Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) and utility coordination and design services for installation of a bridge, rail yard, freeway, or port reconfiguration.
Prime Contractor with Subcontractors: Although we provide most services in-house, we subcontract some field services, like ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys, aerial mapping/Lidar, and geotechnical investigation, and subcontract to certified SBEs and DBEs for some projects.
Clients
SPEC Services, Inc. has served the oil and gas industries in the Southwestern USA for 43 years, and other industries and agencies for over 28 years. The names of some clients continue to change through mergers and acquisitions, and their project representatives change through promotions, retirements, and hiring. We continue to serve these clients, providing the advantage of our experience with their facilities and systems, and adapting to meet their new requirements.A partial list of the clients we have served includes:
| Pipelines | Oil & Gas Production | Liquid Terminals & Distribution Systems | Refinery & Process Systems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Products and Chemicals BreitBurn Energy California Resources Corporation Calpine Chemoil Corporation Chevron Crimson Pipeline L.P. ExxonMobil Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, LP Long Beach Utilities Department - Gas Engineering & Regulatory Compliance Bureau Marathon Petroleum Corporation Plains All American Pipeline Petro-Diamond Terminals Company Phillips 66 Company San Diego Gas & Electric Shell Pipeline Company Southern California Gas Company Southwest Gas Company Valero Venoco, Inc. Vopak Wickland Pipeline World Energy Paramount |
Beach Oil Minerals Beta Offshore Breitburn Energy CalNRG California Resources Corporation ERG Operating Company Freeport-McMoran Oil & Gas Oxy USA Signal Hill Petroleum Synergy Oil and Gas LLC Tatweer Petroleum - Bahrain Field Dev. Co. THUMS Long Beach Tidelands Oil Production Company Torch Operating Company Venoco, Inc. |
AmeriGas Partners, LP Chemoil Corporation ExxonMobil GATX Great Western Chemical Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, LP Magellan Marathon Petroleum Corporation Petro-Diamond Terminals Company Phillips 66 Company Plains All American Pipeline Plains Marketing L.P. Shell Pipeline Company Valero Vopak Wespac Energy Group Wickland Oil |
Air Products and Chemicals Clean Energy Fuels Demenno/Kerdoon Ineos Group Marathon Petroleum Corporation Phillips 66 Company Torrance Refining Company Valero Wilmington Refinery World Energy Paramount |
| Natural Gas Systems | Water/Wastewater | Subsurface Utilities | Engineering Companies & Construction Contractors |
| Clean Energy Fuels Compressor Systems, Inc. El Paso Natural Gas Long Beach Utilities Department - Gas Engineering & Regulatory Compliance Bureau Pacific Gas & Electric Questar Corporation (now Dominion) San Diego Gas & Electric Shell Global Solutions, Inc. Southern California Gas Company Southwest Gas Company |
California Water Service Golden State Water Eastern Municipal Water District Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power Orange County Sanitation District Orange County Water District Valley County Water District |
Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) Caltrans City of Alhambra Los Angeles County Department of Public Works Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Orange County Sanitation District Orange County Water District |
ARB, Inc. Compressor Systems, Inc. Doty Brothers Construction HDR Engineering, Inc. Jacobs Field Services Moffatt & Nichol Parsons-HNTB JV Stetson Engineers Southwest Contractors WEBB |