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Prior to initiating a project, some clients require salient information and data about AllWest. Much of this pertinent information can be found here. For more information, please contact Marc Cunningham at 415/391-2510.
Where are your company headquarters?
What are AllWest's primary areas of expertise?
Who is the primary contact person?
Who are the key employees of AllWest?
Is AllWest a subsidiary or franchise or in any other way associated with any other firm?
What types of projects were conducted in 2009?
Name several large projects in the last year and where each project was located.
How many years has your Firm been in Business?
Your office locations have been established how long?
List recent and current major clients.
What insurance coverage do you provide?
How is estimating done in your office? By Whom? Computerized? CAD capacity?
How do you organize your staff to provide Environmental and Property Condition/PML Consulting and ALTA Surveys?
How would you organizationally handle small, quick-response projects?
What is AllWest's capability to perform follow-up physical testing of the property if such testing is recommend?
What is AllWest's intended use of subcontractors or subconsultants in Phase I, Phase II, or engineering projects?
How does AllWest calculate PML values?
What makes AllWest unique, and why do clients retain AllWest to provide engineering and environmental due diligence?
Please list your Firm's memberships in professional/industry organizations.
How does AllWest address Quality Improvement Program issues?
How does your Firm keep track of changes in environmental legislation?
Where are your company headquarters?
Principal office located at:
530 Howard Street, #300, San Francisco CA 94105.
Our Southern California office is located at:
1520 Brookhollow Drive, Suite 30, Santa Ana, CA 92705
What are AllWest's primary areas of expertise?
Environmental Due Diligence, Property Condition/Seismic Reports, Asbestos and Lead-Based Paint Consulting, ALTA Surveys and Remedial Services such as Seismic Upgrades, Asbestos/Mold abatement oversite, Soil and Ground Water remediation.
Who is the primary contact person?
Marc Cunningham, president; 415/391-2510 (San Francisco office);
email:
marc@allwest1.com
Chris Marinescu, vice-president; 714/541-5303 (Santa Ana office);
email:
chris@allwest1.com
Who are the key employees of AllWest?
(see
Staff
)
Is AllWest a subsidiary or franchise or in any other way associated with any other firm?
No
What types of projects were conducted in 2009?
# of
Projects
Environmental Phase I's/Updates
38
Compliance Audits/Peer Reviews
9
Soil & Groundwater Investigations
17
Soil & Groundwater Remediation
1
Seismic PML Assessments
25
Property Condition Assessments
17
Asbestos/ Lead Paint Survey
10
Seismic Design & Technical Support
3
Mildew Assessments/Abatement
10
ALTA Surveys/Updates
3
Name several large projects in the last year and where each project was located.
Dry Cleaner - Remedial Investigation (Orange County)
$123,594
Dry Cleaner Remediation - (Monterey County)
$115,000
Water intrusion monitoring (Los Angeles)
$84,837
Seismic Upgrade, Technical Services (Bay Area
$47,452
Real Estate Disposition Due Diligence (Napa County)
$43,449
How many years has AllWest been in business?
AllWest incorporated in December, 1989.
Your office locations have been established how long?
San Francisco office:
20 years
Santa Ana office:
16 years
List recent and current major clients. For each client, include a reference and that person's telephone number, and briefly describe the services provided, the number, type and scope of projects. Please provide reference letters from a minimum of three of your existing clients.
(see
HIGHLIGHTS
and
REFERENCES
)
What insurance coverage do you provide?
Deductibles
$25,000 for combined E & O/Contractors Policy.
Carriers
Arch Insurance, Fireman's Fund
Carriers rating
AAA
(For a discussion of AllWest's general liability and E & O policies, please see
INSURANCE
.)
How is estimating done in your office? By Whom? Computerized? CAD capacity?
Estimating is a collaborative process at AllWest involving Marc Cunningham, Kevin Reeve, Len Niles, and Chris Marinescu. Kevin is AllWest's primary Asbestos/Lead Consultant. He initially formulates all asbestos estimates for surveys, abatement management and O & M plans. Chris is AllWest's Vice President for engineering and performs Seismic Assessments and designs structural upgrades.
Len Niles oversees AllWest's soil and groundwater consulting practice. Len provides initial estimates for soil and groundwater investigations, etc.. All estimates are further reviewed by Marc Cunningham from a competitive business perspective.
AllWest extensively uses CAD and other computer software in our consulting practice. Adobe Acrobat PDF files are used to forward electronic reports to clients. (See
SAMPLE REPORTS
.)
How do you organize your staff to provide Environmental and Property Condition/PML Consulting services? Who are your key personnel that would be assigned to the account and what are their areas on responsibility within your Firm? Describe how services would be provided and continuity would be maintained for multiple projects and locations. Are computerized report summaries available?
Marc Cunningham is typically AllWest's primary client contact and organizes the project. Senior personnel are assigned to work on various aspects of the project. Kevin Reeve, a California certified asbestos consultant, is our Senior Project Manager for asbestos/lead/water intrusion issues. Len Niles is our Senior Project Manager for soil and groundwater related issues. Chris Marinescu is our Vice President for Engineering/Construction projects.
AllWest has two office locations to serve California and the West Coast. For multiple site projects, work is assigned based on geographical and deadline considerations. Using AllWest's comparative advantage as a small firm, continuity is maintained through frequent communication between AllWest offices and our clients. Client communication is also advanced through our website via our secure
PROJECT STATUS
area.
How would you organizationally handle small, quick-response projects? What are your proposed turnaround times?
Small, quick response projects are AllWest's specialty. We can mobilize within 24 hours to staff any type of Due Diligence project. Fast track assignments can typically be completed within 10 working days. AllWest is committed to providing our clients with the necessary quantitative and qualitative data to complete their underwriting process in a timely manner.
What is AllWest's capability to perform follow-on physical testing of the property if such testing is recommend?
AllWest routinely conducts follow up assessment work such as underground utility searches (for abandoned USTs) soil-gas vapor surveys (to assess human health risk) subsurface investigations via soil borings, grab samples or permanent groundwater monitoring wells.
AllWest also regularly conducts comprehensive asbestos, lead and mold testing as a result of the site assessment's initial findings or as a stand-alone assessment. AllWest can expeditiously mobilize and initiate these projects. Our clients realize however there are other bureaucratic impediments (permits) and subcontractor scheduling issues that must be addressed in follow up work.
Lastly, AllWest has been retained on several occasions to provide engineering solutions to building condition issues such as spalling expansion joints, slab settlement and seismic upgrades.
What is AllWest's intended use of subcontractors or subconsultants in Phase I, Phase II, or engineering projects?
AllWest has a staff of seven professionals between the San Francisco and Santa Ana offices. However, from time to time and predicated on workload AllWest employs professional subcontractors to perform environmental and other engineering assessments. This is an industry standard practice and we reserve the right to use professional subcontractors on all projects. We are not averse to informing our clients prior to the start of a project when an outsourced staff will be employed.
AllWest has long standing relationships with our subcontractors. We utilize our proprietary QA/QC review process on all their submittals, provide all graphics and sign off on the report. All reports are issued on AllWest letterhead and covered by AllWest's insurance policies. On Phase II projects AllWest utilizes subcontractors for utility clearances, laboratory and drilling tasks elements of the project.
How does AllWest calculate PML values?
AllWest provides seismic risk assessments using the ST-RISK computer software developed by RISK Engineering, Inc., Boulder, Colorado and Degenkolb Engineers of San Francisco, CA. The ST-RISK program references information provided by the United States Geological Service (USGS) on the rating and locations of active faults and building structural configuration. ST-RISK incorporates the effects of geologic hazards, such as surface fault rupture, soil liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides in its proprietary algorithim predicated on the FEMA methodology.
The assessed building structural configuration and details are evaluated in accordance with FEMA 310 methodology. In assessing seismic risk AllWest typically performs a Level 3 investigation as defined by ASTM E-2026. AllWest reviews structural drawings (as available), performs a field reconnaissance of the building or structure under investigation, reviews building permits available from Building Departments and contacts the Structural Engineers of Record when necessary. A building's structural condition is evaluated by using true/false statements as well as numerical modifiers with value ranges such as 1 to 5 or 1 to 10, etc.
If a building utilizes one or more lateral force resisting systems in its structural configuration AllWest performs separate risk analyses for each system and estimates a loss value for the building based on the contribution to the loss of each analyzed system using engineering judgment. For properties including more than one building AllWest averages the loss values using appropriate averaging methods as well as engineering judgment.
Prior to 1999 the predicted loss due to earthquakes was commonly expressed as a PML or Probable Maximum Loss value. The PML value was determined for a 475-year ground motion and had a 10% probability of being exceeded or 90% confidence of damage estimate. This is synonymous to saying 9 out of 10 buildings of similar construction exposed to similar ground motion intensity will perform as well as, or better than predicted.
Other loss values such as Mean and Median were estimated along with the PML. Unlike the PML the Mean and Median loss values have lower confidence levels. The Mean loss is an average value while the Median loss has a 50% confidence level or 50% probability of being exceeded. Only 5 out of 10 buildings will perform as well as, or better than predicted by the Median value during an earthquake of similar intensity.
ASTM E 2026-2007, Guide for Estimation of Building Damageability, introduced a new standard for estimating earthquake losses. The three values recommended for expressing damageability are: Probable Loss (PL) and Scenario Loss (SL), the latter being expressed as either Scenario Expected Loss (SEL) or Scenario Upper Loss (SUL). ASTM E-2026 recommends that, when used to measure damageability, the PML indicator should be defined in terms of PL or SL.
Both SEL and SUL are determined based on a ground motion with 10% probability of exceedance over 50 years, which corresponds to the UBC-defined 475-year return period earthquake. SEL is defined as a Mean loss value with 50% probability of exceedance over 50 years, while SUL is defined as loss with 10% probability of being exceeded over 50 years.
The ST-RISK software program yields all three ASTM 2026 values: PL, SEL and SUL. The PML value estimated for a 475-year ground motion and damageability with 10% probability of exceedance over 50 years corresponds to SUL as defined by ASTM 2026-2007.
For the purpose of estimating building damageability (building’s seismic risk exposure) related to a 475-year return period earthquake, AllWest provides SUL values expressed as PML
90
(90% confidence level that corresponds to a 10% probability of exceedance over 50 years) and SEL expressed as PML
50
(50% confidence level corresponding to a 50% probability of exceedance over 50 years). The SEL value is also a measure of damageability when estimated with a 10% probability of exceedance over 20 years (instead of 50 years). The ST-RISK program can provide PL and SL values for other ground motions and other probabilities of exceedance over different periods as they may be specified by the AllWest clients.
What makes AllWest unique, and why do clients retain AllWest to provide engineering and environmental due diligence?
AllWest has a twenty year corporate history providing physical due diligence expertise. This track record, rare in the industry, is a testament to salient advice and focus on client relationships.
AllWest conveniently provides turnkey physical due diligence services including Environmental Assessments, Property Condition/Seismic reports and ALTA surveys.
AllWest's PML assessments incorporate FEMA design element checklists rather than solely rely on base class values.
AllWest has developed proprietary QA/QC review forms for all projects.
AllWest has developed an easy to use Environmental Issues and Property Condition Matrix that is included in each assessment.
AllWest emphasizes client service and focuses on client relationships.
AllWest conducts business with our client's best interest in mind. We have been very successful in reducing scopes of work and tailoring projects to strictly address our client's goals.
AllWest's reports are written in a user friendly format and make recommendations without the proverbial CYA motivation.
AllWest is very responsive toward our client's requirements, on both turnaround time for reports and changing scopes of service.
Due to AllWest's reasonable overhead costs (as compared to national consulting firms and other regional firms) we are able to deliver a high quality product at a much more competitive price, creating better value.
AllWest services are always performed by a senior engineer/geologist to insure optimal quality and accuracy.
(See also,
ADVANTAGES
.)
Please list your Firm's memberships in professional/industry organizations.
AllWest is a member of the:
ASFE/The Association of Engineering Firms Practicing in the Geoscience
National Groundwater Association
Groundwater Resources Association of America
ICBO
How does AllWest address Quality Improvement Program issues?
AllWest technical staff are required to maintain their professional certifications through annual refresher courses as well as attend two additional HAZMAT/Engineering courses during the calendar year.
AllWest utilizes the QA/QC programs on each environmental and building condition assessment. QA/QC review sheets are also utilized for all sites with dry cleaners, where asbestos/lead is a concern and for Phase II projects.
How does your Firm keep track of changes in environmental and building code legislation/regulation?
AllWest tracks changes in environmental laws and building codes, policies and regulation by attending seminars, workshops and through reading various HAZMAT, Engineering and OSHA topic publications and through our membership and participation in professional organizations such as ASFE and SEAOC.
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AllWest Environmental, Inc.
530 Howard Street, #300, San Francisco CA 94105
tel: 415/391-2510; 714/541-5303; fax: 415/391-2008; email:
info@allwest1.com
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