James F. Hyatt, co-founder of Maple Ridge Engineering sits as chairman of the board. Known for his "down home" sense of humor and country boy antics, he insists that everyone call him "Jimmy." He is semi-retired, but is in the office frequently.
This division organizes all staff functions except for auditing and legal under one head administrator. The division office consists of the Vice-President, an executive assistant, and two secretaries. Four department directors report to the Vice-President: Fiscal Services, Human Resources, Facilities, and Communication. Kenneth Wright is Executive Vice-President for Administration.
This department provides accounting, bookkeeping, shipping/receiving and data processing services to MRE. Data processing operates a VAX minicomputer that supports an integrated accounting package including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, purchasing and inventory. In support of the Federal Programs division, the VAX is also connected to the Internet. Donna Ingraham is Director of Fiscal Services.
This department supports recruiting, records maintenance, and separation of employees; monitors retirement and medical plans; and maintains employee relations. This department maintains a personnel database on the data processing VAX. Robert Burdick is Director of Human Resources.
This department maintains physical plant, equipment, and grounds. The department arranges all maintenance for equipment, including computers. It installs air conditioning and electrical services, and rearranges office partitions and furniture. An inventory database is maintained on the data processing VAX. Barry Matias is Director of Facilities.
This department includes specialists in public affairs and promotion, marketing, and technical communication. The department is responsible for the photocopy and FAX center, telephone switchboards, reception, advertising, etc. Patricia Bunts is Director of Communications.
The majority of MRE's revenue is generated by this division. The division undertakes civil, electrical, and industrial engineering projects for commercial and non-profit clients, as well as state and local governments. The division office consists of the Vice-President, two executive assistants, one administrative assistant, and four secretaries. Four department directors report to this division: Medical Engineering, Education Engineering, The Webster Design Group, and the Training and Management Systems Department. Daniel Hill is Vice President in charge of Engineering and Systems.
Biomedical Engineering
This is the largest department at MRE, and undertakes the design of medical facilities, including special-purpose buildings and building modification for medical equipment. Frequently, the department is involved in developing and integrated facility, i.e., a hospital wing with specially designed rooms to support large medical equipment such as PET scanners, radiation machinery, and X-Ray devices. Electronics Engineering is frequently required to integrate dissimilar equipment into a single facility. The department reviews, analyzes, and inspects construction projects as required. Barbara Burch is Director of Medical Engineering.
Educational Engineering
This department undertakes the design of educational facilities such as school and university buildings. The department frequently develops integrated facilities, i.e., specially designed rooms to support modern educational equipment like satellite conferencing and group decision rooms. The department reviews, analyzes, and inspects construction projects as required. Tao Chang is Director of Educational Engineering.
The Webster Design Group
This department retains the name of an architecture firm acquired about 15 years ago by MRE. The Webster Design Group undertakes the design of public and private buildings and facilities outside of Federal, Medical, or Education. The group brings much fame to MRE, and holds several international, national, and local design awards. Like other departments, WDG makes important progress in integrating facilities that include large equipment, such as automated warehousing. The department reviews, analyzes, and inspects construction projects as required. Cyril Sabin is Director of The Webster Design Group.
Training and Management Systems
This is the newest department at MRE, formed from the training department and the management systems department. The department is envisioned as a "support" group, undertaking various support tasks relating to engineering and design projects. In practice, however, more than half of the department's work is completely independent of other departments within MRE. Snowden Evans, formerly the manager of the systems department, now heads T&MS.
Environmental Safety and Quality Assurance Division
This division represents the organization's capability in safety review, safety inspection, and safety analysis. The division also provides environmental surveys, technical assistance, and policy review/analysis. The division services specific needs of MRE clients and does not function as the MRE QA department, although the division occasionally provides internal consultants to other divisions. The division has major contracts in the areas of storage and disposal of hazardous waste, safety assessment and improvement in electronic and nuclear equipment, and environmental protection. Jennifer Beckwith is Vice President for Environmental Safety and Quality Assurance.
Federal Programs Division
This division works with Fiscal Services and Communication to formulate and submit proposals on appropriate United States Government Requests for Proposals (RFPs). When successful, the division undertakes the execution of the contract by appointing a Project Director, who then works with Human Resources and Facilities to recruit a project team (both from within and outside MRE), acquire the facilities (utilizing existing MRE facilities, and purchasing or leasing additional facilities), and subcontract as necessary. Project teams are therefore "ad hoc" departments that disband upon contract completion. The lifespan of these teams ranges from one to fifteen years depending on renewals and follow-on work. The teams frequently market themselves as projects are completed by identifying Federal RFPs that require similar work as the team's previous task. In this way the division regenerates itself and usually maintains a constant workload. Ronald Kelech, Jr. is the Vice President for Federal Programs.
Maple Ridge Engineering
Maple Ridge, Tennessee
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