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Pictured above is our new drafting room! It includes a wall-length drafting table, and four desks which are home to a few of our engineers and summer interns.
What's New?
RAN has moved upstairs at 1062 Central Ave! As our team continues to grow, we found that a new space was needed too.
Some new features include:
More offices
A larger draft room - with an 18 foot long drafting table!
Brand new floors
Kitchen space
and more!
We look forward to settling into our space, and continue to add to our team! Keep an eye out for what is coming next at RAN on our LinkedIn and Twitter pages.
TOP TECH 2017: Chris Crivello
Our very own Chris Crivello won by a landslide this year at the 2017 Top Tech competition in Las Vegas, NV.
This May our team took a trip to Las Vegas for the NFSA Annual Seminar and North American Fire Sprinkler Expo® where Chris Crivello participated in the Top Tech tournament. NFSA describes it as “Participants will face each other in an elimination tournament in a game show format, earning points for answering correct questions and losing points for incorrect responses. The competition continues until there is only the Top Tech left standing. They will be crowned "Top Tech for 2017" and will win fabulous prizes as well as the admiration of peers and recognition at the NFSA Annual Seminar and North American Fire Sprinkler Expo® as the best Fire Protection Designer in the country.”
The competition began with over 120 of the top fire protection designers throughout North America taking two written on-site tests. The first test narrowed the group down to 50, and the second test to 18. After the first two rounds, Chris was one of 18 and ready to move onto the live rounds!
The live rounds featured a jeopardy style tournament, with questions ranging from the design of fire pumps to seismic bracing design to the performance of hydraulic calculations. Each round contained 3 categories, 4 questions per category, for 12 questions total. There was one “Extra Hazard” question within each round, which was the equivalent of a daily double.
At the end of the Quarter Finals Chris had won 55 to his opponents' scores of 25 and -10. He had quite a lead going
into the Semi Finals, where he took the win as well with a score of 150 and his opponents' scores of 40 and 20. In the Semi Finals, Chris had to go up against 2 of the 3 past champs!
Next, was the Final round where Chris was able to sweep the competition with an astounding score of 175 to his opponent's 0. As the Top Tech Champion, Chris will be featured in the National Fire Sprinkler Magazine this fall, and will have a live interview on the NFSA website (TBD).
Chris’ final winning was a monetary prize which he will be using to start a new Top Tech tradition*. As a HUGE hockey fan, this tradition will include a Top Tech trophy with a Stanley Cup style engraving of each winner for years to follow, and the company of the winner will be able to hold onto the trophy leading up to the next Top Tech tournament. Chris will debut the trophy later this year.
*pending NFPA approval
Meet our Summer Interns!
As we get to know the guys, we thought you should too. Check out my "quick, get to know them" interview with Jack and Tyler below!
First things first - tell us who you are and what you're studying
J: I am Jack and I am currently studying Civil Engineering (BS) and Fire Protection Engineering (MS) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
T: I am Tyler and I am studying Mechanical Engineering & Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Great! So what drew you to RAN and fire protection?
J: I was drawn to fire protection because I thought it was a fascinating and growing field of study with many opportunities to be on the cutting edge of a field while still getting the opportunities to keep the public safe. I was drawn to RAN because I wanted to learn about the design process of a project. I am sure that the experience I get here will help to guide me as I decide what to pursue as a career while being an invaluable educational experience.
T: Being involved in the Fire Protection Engineering program at WPI, I was interested in finding a company that would allow me to expand my knowledge in this field while offering the opportunity for hands on experience. It looks like you both came here to learn a lot, and I am sure you have already in short amount of time you have been here so far.
With that being said, what are you looking forward to this summer?
J: I am looking forward to all of the learning that there is to do at RAN. I have only taken a few classes in the fire protection field, both of which were rather introductory and focused just on the engineering side. Working at RAN will elaborate on what I learned in those classes and give me a good introduction to the business side of fire protection
engineering, and I am excited to start learning all that RAN has to offer.
T: I’m definitely looking forward to learning as much as I can this summer. The greatest thing is being able to apply classroom knowledge to the real world and I am very excited to start doing that.
The overall consensus here is you both want to soak up as much knowledge as possible! Before we go, what is one unique fact about you that our readers might not know?
J: My lifelong goal is to be on Jeopardy someday.
T: I have been involved with the fire service for over 6 years as a volunteer and achieved my Level 1 Certification in May of 2015. My direct involvement in the other side of fire protection has spurned my interest in the field.
Both of you have some great facts! It looks like we have some intelligent, eager to learn interns on our hands this summer. If you want to learn more about the guys or have any questions about fire protection for them - tweet your questions to @RANfpe and Jack & Tyler will respond.
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
- Anthony J. D'Angelo