In the short space of nine years, Helix Electric has become firmly invested in metropolitan Washington, D.C., not only as a provider of electrical contracting services, but also as a supporter of employee development and local charitable causes. Some regional observers may be surprised to learn that the company they know from its office in Chantilly, Va., is actually headquartered in San Diego and has most of its other offices in Western states.

Helix副总裁布雷迪·希尔（Brady Hill）表示，这种方法一直是该公司在远离其本国基础上持续成功的核心。他认为，Helix在培训和开发方面的投资将该公司的中部大西洋垂直建筑市场收入增加了三倍以上，预计今年从2019年的2500万美元开始将获得8000万美元。

基于2020年整体地区工作价值9,900万美元，Helix在Enr Midatlantic的分包商排名中排名第8。新利luck去年，Helix在区域收入中也以1.085亿美元的价格排名第八。

希尔说：“我们已经加强了我们的战略，将我们的多样性从专业人士和手工艺人扩大到我们所追求的项目的类型。”18luck官网在各个级别的员工参与度，与客户的互动以及我们如何与业主和开发商共同合作以投资社区外展活动时，变得更加有意。”

Those attributes have also enabled Helix to build long-term collaborative relationships with the region’s top contractors and construction managers, according to Hill.

For Reston Gateway, in northern Virginia, Helix teamed with Clark Construction to build a 1.4-million-sq-ft, twin-tower office core-and-shell complex that will be home to the North American headquarters of Fannie Mae and Volkswagen. More than 100 electricians were involved in building a complete electrical system for the complex. The system includes five 5,500-amp main switchboards that feed all electrical loads for both towers and more than 300 subpanels throughout the buildings’ standard electrical rooms.

Terry Simon, Clark senior vice president, says that Helix’s professionalism and can-do attitude were particularly welcome as the project unfolded in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Everyone from the leadership down contributed to keep the project moving safely,” Simon says. “We also appreciate their solutions-oriented approach, which is important when we encounter a challenge.”

On a 160,000-sq-ft renovation for Children’s National Hospital Research and Innovation Center, Helix teamed with Boston-based contractor Suffolk. The project, located on the former campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in northwest D.C., converted four 80-year-old buildings into modern medical and research space for rare diseases and genetic medicine. The project also includes a conference center with a 300-seat auditorium and an outpatient primary and specialty care services facility. So close was the collaboration that Children’s National Hospital dedicated the renovated facility’s main electrical room in honor of Jim Culver, a Helix construction superintendent who died during the course of the project.

Tools and talent

Helix’s ability to continue carrying out such large projects in the face of industry-wide labor shortages has required the firm to apply the same attention to detail in management and recruitment. Hill says the process starts with attracting and hiring “smart individuals who take pride in their work and have the humility to continuously improve.” He adds that providing them with the equipment, training and incentives for success “empowers them to show up every day as the best version of themselves in order to reach their maximum potential.”

作为一家大型全国性公司的一部分，即使在成为雇员之前，全国范围内为Helix的区域办事处提供了帮助发展这些人的资源。在与几个领域职业和技术学校的合作伙伴关系中，该公司还与全国大学和大学合作，以使其技术课程符合行业需求和期望。全年的合作教育学生和实习生同样为有抱负的专业人员提供了获得经验的机会。

为儿童医院的国家改造Research and Innovation Center, Helix teamed with Boston-based contractor Suffolk. The project converted four 80-year-old buildings into modern medical and research space for rare diseases and genetic medicine.
Photo by John Amodea, Courtesy Helix Electric

Hill对Helix的项目经理计划的项目工程师特别感到自豪，这是一个全国四年的学术和体验学习过程，可以帮助培训项目经理磨练他们的领导能力。该公司采取了其他措施，以保持其人事资源平衡，同时保持竞争力。希尔说，虽然预制在加入公司时已经在Helix中使用了，但传统的节省时间实践已经越来越多地进化，包括消除浪费和增强客户的价值。

“That also includes becoming more lean and leveraging the use of [building information modeling] to develop assemblies utilized in the design and cost estimating process,” Hill adds.

预制补充一个H的安全文化ill says empowers electricians and apprentices to stop work that they perceive to be unsafe.

“Our daily routine is having the discipline to start each shift with a pretask plan reviewing all hazards specific to each task and allowing each electrician to voice their concerns and collectively offer solutions how to best mitigate those potential risks,” he says.

希尔指出了最近在马里兰州劳雷尔（Laurel）的独立电气承包商切萨皮克（Chesapeake）设施举行的安全周六活动，作为公司安全文化的证词。半年度活动提供了多个认证课程，并包括与行业贸易伙伴和制造商的贸易展览。尽管这次活动不是强制性的，但希尔说，有180多名与会者在场，以增强他们对监管和内部安全最佳实践的了解。

“Our cultural safety expectation is that our project teams will set the tone for all trades on every project,” he adds. That includes adapting to work processes that have been drastically reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. “The silver lining is that our antiquated industry was forced to learn communication technologies and accept modified working arrangements in order to stay safe,” Hill observes. “Fortunately, this has made a tremendous improvement in how we interact collaboratively with the design partners, general contractors and other trades to resolve issues virtually with a sense of urgency that has been really impactful.”

奉献的文化

Helix has strived to make a similar impact in its figurative backyard, by building on its nationwide Helping Hands philanthropic initiative that is meant to help build stronger communities. Activities in the MidAtlantic area include an annual blood drive, donations of Thanksgiving food and raising more than $2,500 for skin cancer research. Additionally, the firm sponsored efforts to collect back-to-school supplies for families, local apprenticeship fundraisers, George Washington University sports programs, the IDEA charter school and Youth for Tomorrow.

The firm’s annual blood drive isn’t just for employees; they invite customers and other specialty contractors to donate. Clark Construction’s Simon said he donated in last year’s drive, which coincided with the outset of the pandemic. “We really like to see our major subcontractors be engaged in the community,” Simon says. “Working safety remains the top priority, of course, but it’s also important that firms be partners—not only with us, but also with the areas they serve.”

Helix Electric期待着一个更加重要的2022。除了庆祝其在中大西洋地区的10周年纪念日外，该公司还在搬迁到弗吉尼亚州马纳萨斯的30,000平方英尺的设施。说，将允许其管理人员和区域物流和预制团队在一个屋顶下共关联。

Hill also looks forward to continuing Helix’s existing customer relationships while also working to raise its profile in the region’s burgeoning markets for data centers, underground utility distribution systems and renewable energy projects.

“We expect the D.C. area construction market to continue to remain strong over the next few years and beyond,” he says, adding that contributing to the D.C.-region’s most complicated and challenging projects will provide a foundation for Helix’s further growth in the Eastern U.S.

And as has been the case for the past decade, “our mission, vision and core values will earn us those opportunities,” Hill says.