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We hope you enjoy our monthly newsletter as much as we enjoy making it available to you. We look forward to sharing stories and ideas that promote our customers, their businesses and how we all work together to come up with solutions to the challenges we face together. We also look forward to hearing from you with your comments, feedback or story ideas to make our newsletter more valuable to you.

Barbara Ragsdale, CFO & Editor

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COMMERCIAL
 Tenant Improvements

When the contractor or building owner completes "the shell" of a commercial building they're really only one third of the way home in their venture. Step two is finding the tenant or tenants that will lease the space or spaces the shell will provide. The final step of the project is tenant improvements or T.I. as it is called in the trades. The contractor or owner calls in the subcontractors of choice for the bidding process and the building is completed for the tenant's specific needs.

Knights' Electric tenant improvements for Starbucks in Windsor include this display lighting area.

Knights' Electric tenant improvements for Starbucks in Windsor include this display lighting area.
Knights' Electric is currently working on tenant improvements on the first floor of the Serifem Building, a three-story office building on the square in Healdsburg built by Geary F. Rea & Associates. When the electrical portion of the first floor project was over budget based on the original design, Knights' Electric assisted with value engineering of the electrical system and lighting to meet the owner's budget. 

Knights' Electric often works closely with the architect and the contractor to conceive of a design/build plan that addresses energy efficiency, cost savings and esthetics. Tenant improvement projects represent about 30% of Knights' Electric's commercial and industrial work.
 

RESIDENTIAL
Back-Up Generators

About five years ago, after a winter's worth of heavy storms that repeatedly knocked out power in the North Bay, Matt Sweeny noticed a sudden demand for back-up generators. "Most of the people that wanted generators lived in remote areas where power losses during storms could last 4 or 5 days," remembers Sweeney, Residential Project Manager for Knights' Electric. Since that time Knights' Electric has seen a steady amount of homeowners that want back up power, just in case the power grid fails. With the recent energy crisis and uncertainty about state budgets to provide it there are many people considering generators as a self-sufficient source for emergency power for the home. Knights' Electric is a dealer for Guardian Generators.

Knights' Electric sells and installs Guardian generators.

Knights' Electric sells and installs
Guardian generators.
The two main scenarios for installing generators are: existing homes and new construction. "With new construction you can rough in the wiring to control all of the circuits in-house," explains Sweeney, "then the generator can power the entire home if that's what you want or you can power the essentials like, water, lights and heat. With a retrofit on an existing home you usually have to make choices because of the way it has already been wired, you might end up with less, but you have the essentials until your power is restored."

The cost for powering a typical home with a generator costs around $5000. That price includes the generator, installation and wiring to the unit. Most home generators are powered by natural gas or propane that require a simple plumbing hook-up. The generator can run for a number of days or as long as the gas supply will allow or until power is restored. The generator has a shroud to limit its noise level in regards to its location, which is ideally near the home's electrical power panel and gas hook-up. "The generators we install are about as loud as a lawnmower," say Sweeney, "but the biggest benefit of a back-up generator is peace of mind, when the power goes out ? a few seconds later the generator takes over ? you never even think about it."


TRAINING & CERTIFICATION
The Many Benefits of Safety

Barbara Ragsdale, CFO at Knights' Electric, also serves as Safety Director for the company.

Barbara Ragsdale, CFO at Knights' Electric, also serves as Safety Director for the company.
In the construction industry safety benefits everyone. Because Knights' Electric employees practice safety procedures on the job, they help make a jobsite safer for themselves, other subcontractors and the contractor or customer with whom they are working. Aside from personal injury, lost job time and wages, safety is costly to the bottom line for construction companies that already pay proportionately high Workers compensation premiums. "Because of our safety record we paid a 78% Experience Modification Rate for Workers Comp this year," explains Barbara Ragsdale, CFO at Knights' Electric. In other words, Knights' Electric saved 22% on their premium because of their history of low injury claims.

OSHA requires safety meeting every 10 days, Knights' meets weekly to train and review safety procedures. "Many of our safety meetings cover areas not directly related to electrical safety," says Ragsdale, "we emphasize proper housekeeping procedures on the job site to make a safe work environment, harness requirements when using a lift, personal protective equipment ? like hard hats, ear plugs and eye wear. Driving safety is also covered on a regular basis because of all the travel time we have to and from jobs. We stress cell phone safety by requiring employees to use an ear bud, which allows both hands to remain on the steering wheel while talking on the phone."

During May and June Knights' Electric is holding CPR and First Aid training for employees instructed by Eric Peterson of Mill Creek Safety. The evening classes will help to meet OSHA standards that require one employee per job site to be certified in CPR and First Aid.

"Since we move people from job to job we would like to have as many employees certified as possible," says Ragsdale, "we are always promoting proactive safety." It benefits everyone.