Salas O'Brien

Salas O’Brien is an engineering and technical services firm focused on advancing the human experience through the built environment.

[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Federal facility decisions carry 70-to-100-year consequences. Most planning frameworks are still built around a 10-year lens.

That leaves real people making high-stakes decisions with imperfect information, changing priorities, shifting budgets, and the next continuing resolution always in view.

Chad Brooks and Debra Edwards break down what it takes to build a facilities plan that helps federal leaders make defensible decisions for today’s mission and tomorrow’s unknowns.

https://t.co/Gr5NDbOkIj

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Fredericton is getting a new cultural anchor in the heart of downtown.

Salas O'Brien is partnering with Diamond Schmitt Architects on the Ron and Erma Hawkes Centre for the Arts, delivering mechanical, electrical, lighting, technology, and security design for its two theatres. With a total of 1,150 seats, the venue will host touring Broadway productions, ballet, concerts, and local arts groups, all sharing a unified back-of-house infrastructure designed for flexibility.

The project targets net zero carbon and a projected 18% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Completion is expected in 2027.

Learn more: https://t.co/A0TCivF8T4

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

To further strengthen our local presence in Colorado, we are excited to welcome RMH Group to Salas O’Brien! RMH is known for providing innovative engineering solutions for healthcare, data centers, higher education, advanced manufacturing, industrial, government, science and technology, aviation, and energy sectors for more than 60 years. This talented team aligns seamlessly with our global capabilities, making us more connected and better equipped to serve clients everywhere.

https://t.co/JfYgMwsHtU

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

District leaders and design teams are weighing the desire for forward-looking school design against the realities of bond constraints and operating budgets.

Salas O’Brien experts Misty DuPre, Keith Gassman, Demetrius Scruggs, and Suren Gosine discuss how strategic engineering and design decisions help districts navigate funding challenges while delivering high-performing facilities.

Watch: https://t.co/NAOKOIhLZW

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

The markets that move society forward rely on partners who can deliver at scale. Salas O’Brien’s rankings in Engineering News-Record’s 2026 Sourcebook reflect how we do just that, with strong placements across mission-critical and complex sectors like data centers, pharma, and healthcare.

See the full picture.

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

The future of data centers is being shaped by the decisions we make today.

At Advancing Data Center Design & Engineering West, vice president Byron Taylor will share practical strategies for accelerating deployment and join a panel exploring what's next for mission critical infrastructure.

Byron's sessions will cover power generation equipment selection, the impact of AI, cooling technologies, and emerging energy sources, offering practical insights for owners and developers preparing for the next generation of data centers.

Read more: https://t.co/Bd7i7ZTV3o

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Good teamwork can do more than deliver projects. Team members came together at one of our regional technical conferences for a friendly challenge, competing in timed exercises to earn bike parts and racing to assemble the finished product.

Those bikes are now headed to kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, a reminder that supporting the communities where we live and work matters just as much as what we deliver in them.

Read more: https://t.co/rNVg8qcHGe

#EngineeredForImpact #Community

[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Federal projects carry risk long before construction begins. Changing requirements. Procurement constraints. Aging infrastructure. Security needs. Mission continuity. Stakeholder complexity.

The teams that manage those risks best are the ones that plan for them early and coordinate across disciplines before small issues become expensive problems.

In this Insights video, Salas O’Brien experts, Brian Miller, Jeff Longshore, Chad Brooks, and Mike McGuire discuss how to mitigate risk in federal projects through better planning, clearer coordination, and a stronger understanding of mission needs.

Watch: https://t.co/VwqLkEclcS

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

What if Boston's waterways could heat and cool some of the city's largest campuses and hospitals?

Salas O’Brien has been selected by the Boston Green Ribbon Commission to lead a multidisciplinary team studying exactly that. The Boston-Area Thermal Energy Network (BosTEN) will evaluate whether local waterways can deliver affordable, low-carbon heating and cooling, easing pressure on Boston’s existing gas and electric infrastructure in the process.

Our team brings deep experience in thermal energy networks, district energy, and campus decarbonization. That expertise will shape practical, scalable pathways for a more resilient energy future for Greater Boston.

Salas O’Brien is leading this effort alongside Sherwood Design Engineers, Synapse Energy Economics, Sasaki, GeoSource Energy, and VHB.

Learn more: https://t.co/VAnwIqCE2R

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Backup systems matter. But resilience asks more of hospital infrastructure.

Hospitals are facing more complex disruptions, from extreme weather and aging systems to grid instability, water risk, cyber events, and rising expectations for uninterrupted care.

The goal is not simply to restore power. It is to keep the systems care teams depend on operating together: structure, cooling, ventilation, imaging, sterile processing, elevators, IT, and clinical workflows.

That is why hospital resilience is becoming an infrastructure strategy.

Jeff Cichonski, David McMillan, and Hannah Browning look at what it takes to achieve resilient hospital infrastructure. Read the article: https://t.co/QgoQVOIGgf

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

What does it take to keep care moving at −49°C?

In northeastern British Columbia, the new Dawson Creek & District Hospital is being designed for more than clinical capacity. It has to perform reliably through extreme cold, limited daylight, remote access, and long-term operational change.

That requires integrated thinking across mechanical, electrical, technology, lighting, sustainability, and energy modeling.

The result is a hospital designed to LEED Gold with partners HDR and Graham Construction to support reliable care, reduce energy use, improve comfort, and adapt as healthcare needs evolve.

Read how Salas O’Brien is helping engineer a high-performance healthcare facility for Canada’s northern climate. https://t.co/DiJodhhSBB

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

We're proud to welcome Sigma Engineered Solutions to Salas O'Brien. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, the team brings more than 20 years of MEP/FP and telecommunications engineering expertise serving healthcare, higher education, K–12, and government markets. This merger deepens our east coast presence and expands the integrated local design capabilities we deliver to clients. Our growing team means more resources, more expertise, and more opportunity.

https://t.co/bIZ18dJgCu

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Manufacturing was the most-targeted industry for cyberattacks for the fifth consecutive year, accounting for 27.7% of incidents in 2025, according to IBM’s 2026 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index.

An operational technologies (OT) attack does not just disrupt data. It can disrupt production, safety, uptime, and the physical systems a plant depends on every day.

And AI is making it easier for attackers to move faster.

Salas O’Brien’s new guide, OT operational resilience in an age of AI threats, offers a practical look at:

🔹 How small plant-floor changes quietly create exposure
🔹 Where visibility gaps typically show up
🔹 Why “it’s always worked” can hide real risk
🔹 How to prioritize action without disrupting production

https://t.co/xUlvlrCsb7

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Hospital lighting affects the patient experience, but it also shapes daily operations in ways that are easy to overlook. In this Insights Series video, Kelly Jones, Andy Powell, Steve Duff, and Duc Bui discuss how better lighting strategies can support better hospitals, including the shift from traditional AC-powered systems to DC-powered LED lighting.

https://t.co/mQ53xXMWtf

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

At SUNY Morrisville, clean energy education is built into the facility itself.

The Agricultural and Clean Energy Technology Center gives students hands-on access to the systems shaping the future of energy and agriculture:

🔹 Solar
🔹 Wind
🔹 Hydro-power
🔹 Biofuel
🔹 Thermal combustion
🔹 Diesel and hydraulic systems
🔹 Wind turbine systems

Salas O’Brien provided mechanical and electrical design, including net zero mechanical systems and an 85kW photovoltaic solar array with live energy production displayed in the lobby.

The result is a building that helps students see clean energy in action.

https://t.co/UvX075WHSU

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

With a shared commitment to providing sustainable designs for the built environment, we are excited to welcome DWG Consulting Engineers to Salas O’Brien! DWG brings decades of comprehensive engineering design experience across South Carolina. Their expertise in healthcare, education, government, hospitality, and commercial projects perfectly complements our growing team and international capabilities. Together we’re stronger, more connected, and better positioned to serve clients locally and globally.

https://t.co/19M0vFcJgx

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Pharmaceutical companies often rely on CDMOs, or contract development and manufacturing organizations, to help bring drugs and therapies into production.

For these facilities, speed to market matters. But so does getting commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV) right.

When CQV is treated as a final step, teams can run into problems when there is the least room left to fix them. Jay Tarter and Mike Wright explain how early CQV involvement can help reduce deviations and keep pharmaceutical facility startup timelines moving.

https://t.co/98sm4UhyKI

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Most plants don’t have a current picture of what’s actually on their operational technology (OT) network.

That visibility gap is becoming harder to ignore as manufacturing becomes a higher-priority target for AI-enabled cyber threats.

Join Salas O’Brien on July 14 at 2 p.m. ET for a 45-minute webinar on what we typically find when assessing OT environments—and what a production-safe path forward can look like.

We’ll cover:

🔹 Why OT visibility is now a business risk
🔹 What common gaps show up inside manufacturing environments
🔹 How to move forward without disrupting production
🔹 What leaders should understand before the next incident

Can’t attend live? Register anyway and we’ll send you the replay.

Register here: https://t.co/G842bN9eCm

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[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

This July 4th marks 250 years of a nation built on freedom, opportunity, and the shared work of generations. An important milestone that asks us to honor what came before while staying committed to what comes next.

To our team members, clients, and partners across the United States, happy Fourth of July!

#EngineeredForImpact #IndependenceDay #4thOfJuly #America250

[Salas O'Brien @salasobrien]

Electrification used to be a sustainability conversation. Now it's an infrastructure conversation. Cities are rethinking how essential facilities are powered, and firehouses are emerging as a surprising proof point.

Charlotte just put its first all-electric firehouse into service, home to the city's first all-electric fire engine.

Salas O'Brien delivered the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and geothermal engineering behind a facility built to run without fossil fuels and still meet the demands of 24/7 emergency response.

Our team designed geothermal heat pumps, radiant slab heating in the apparatus bay, and electric unit heaters where needed. The plumbing system runs on a recirculation pump paired with three electric water heaters. Duke Energy provides an estimated 750 kW of electrical service, including a 150 kW charger that brings the electric fire engine to full charge in about two hours. LED fixtures and centralized controls handle facility lighting. Backup power comes from two roll-up generators, one for the building and one for the engine charging system. Rooftop photovoltaic panels offset electrical demand, and the site is designed to support current and future EV charging as the station's all-electric mission expands. The project achieved LEED Gold certification.

https://t.co/ow1QexaysD

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