In today’s fast paced world, reducing and optimizing building energy consumption is a big deal. MAS Construction Services, a mechanical contractor provides innovative energy-efficient, reliable and productive solutions that make facilities usage cost-effective. The comprehensive suite of solutions empowers clients to streamline operations, recover energy savings and enhance overall efficiency.
Sherie Mccarty, CEO of MAS Construction Services is a tenacious women spearheading the projects from design to installation to commissioning. We interacted with her to gain insights into how they are bringing value to clients.
Story of Inception
An exceptional visionary woman, Sherie exudes an unwavering drive and passion to own a business of her own and with her family encouragement and support she ventured out on her journey. Sharing her first entrepreneurial experience, Sherie says, “I had been in the industry and had seen mistakes of others and had a few lessons learned myself. So, I knew the path would be a marathon and took the leap. I had immense satisfaction when I completed a job and the clients called me back to do more work and that was really the driving force in the beginning, do a great job and repeat that process.”
The Slow and Steady Journey to Success
Sherie believes in slow and steady growth. It may not be the most exciting thing for a startup, but it is the most sustainable in the long run. Sherie thinks the most important milestone for Mas Construction Service is the way they managed their growth curve. They could have grown faster and made more profit, but instead they choose to grow steadily, taking on work that they could finish on time and under budget.
“I had to learn to pace myself.” Sherie elaborates, “I started on the sales side in the industry and there was a learning curve of understanding the process sale, I had to make a lot of self-made appointments, ask a lot of questions, so I could understand the client needs. Return to do a site survey to see what type of equipment the client had, put a proposal together make an appointment to submit the proposal and follow up to finally get the sale. The cycle of the sale and work completion could take on average 3 to 4 months per project, and then an average of five years for the ongoing work.”
Comprehensive Suite of Solutions
MAS Construction Services specializes in HVAC/R construction inclusive of plumbing, building automation ATC/BMS controls, and commissioning for commercial buildings. They provide a comprehensive suite for building energy and infrastructure. Using the information developed during an Energy Audit, the team engages engineers and commissioned technicians to recapture the performance of the building through Commissioning. Data centers, healthcare, life sciences, and manufacturing dominate their market.
Sherie holds a Master HVAC License and is a Commissioning Authority (CxA) for mechanical and building automation systems. She oversees projects from design to installation and commissioning. MAS provides HVAC construction in the private sector and have also added more mechanical small service projects to their list. However, the company only does commercial and industrial works and not residential projects.
Approach to Success
With a profound expertise and relentless pursuit of staying ahead of the curve, Mas Construction Services offers a level of project management unique to the industry. This includes contractor coordination, safety training, project scheduling, progress updates and documented communication.
Her staffs see Sherie as persistent, level-headed, and customer focused . Sherie prioritizes her own safety and that of her team. She takes care of what they should aspire to and what they seek to prevent, benefit everyone and improve life quality. She interacts with each team member daily and encourages their feedback. Each team member works on their strengths to become team leaders organically.
I had immense satisfaction ” when I completed a job and the clients called me back to do more work and that was really the driving force in the beginning, do a great job and repeat that process.
Driving Innovation
MAS Construction Services prides on their innovation. They have taken a leap with the IOT Digital Documentation. All their projects are run on a cloud-based system. To make more informed decisions, Sherie shares, “we conduct a thorough search of all relevant files within 5 minutes, have full access to the preceding project, and analyse all lessons learned. We can see how each step of a project is going in real time because our customer project management software, and QuickBooks all work together.”
Adoption of Emerging Technologies
After decades of manual paper work, the team has upgraded their way of working. They have gone paperless and navigate all plans online, utilizing an estimating program that allows to put the plans in the program and work through a complete take off of the mechanical plans. The equipment manufactures provide equipment with a centralized controller that can be picked up by internet access for information gathering, troubleshooting and in some cases repairing the unit. Sherie adds, “I do see older systems that need to be changed out over the next few years as well.”
Navigating Challenges
Currently, supply chain issues have been unreliable in the industry for the last two years. Delivering solutions has caused delays in projects. However, Sherie believes that communication has been the key. She ensures that information is delivered directly from their end to the clients.
“We keep their subcontractors and other vendors continuously updated. We want to be driving the communication; it is imperative to be forthright. Some of the information is difficult, but everyone knows what the current situation is,” explains Sherie.
Work Ethics
MAS Construction Services prioritizes quality over quantity of projects. They work for many of the same clients they started with 13 years back. A good deal of their work is pre-negotiated. The company works with other larger mechanicals on projects for building automation as they value their work ethics. Sherie always keeps her focus on delivering the best result. This enables them to continue their growth trajectory even during the hard times
Road Ahead
In the long run, MAS Construction Services aims to expand their operations by opening two more offices one in Newark NJ and the other in Manhattan, NY. To Sherie, success means dealing with failure.
Advicing the young entrepreneurs, Sherie shares, “Learn to accept the fact that failure is an inevitable part of the path to success. Control your feelings and take note of your sources of information and decision-making processes. The ups and downs of business are like those of a roller coaster ride. There will be adversity but the key to all of this is not what happened, but how you choose to respond. Learn how to manage your finances , this is the most important aspect of your business, if manged well you will have the freedom to work on projects and draw excellent collaborators to join you on your journey.”
