While it’s not unusual for security firms to build their mission statement around the themes of “high quality” or “outstanding customer service,” the fact is that saying it and doing it are two different things. Giving legs to its mission statement, MAC Systems, a Canton, Mass.-based systems integrator, has developed a score of best-practice operational procedures, which when functioning together, are a living statement to the company’s purpose. It’s one of the reasonsSDMchose MAC Systems as a 2006 Systems Integrator of the Year Honoree.

The culture at MAC Systems is “Quality first – always take the high road,” describes Thomas Heenan, vice president. “It’s been the underlying philosophy of the McMenimons since they started the company 25 years ago,” Heenan describes of Robert and Catherine McMenimon, founders of this privately held business of which Catherine is president.

Heenan cites MAC Systems’ Quality Control Team as an example of such practices. The team consists of a half-dozen managers that meet weekly to review installations to ensure that the company is performing in the same consistent manner with the same best practices.

“The quality meetings address the engineering process as well as the ordering process,” Heenan explains. Each project, once sold, begins with a job folder that includes the scope of work to be performed, engineering documents, drawings and pictures, bill of materials, and additional documentation.

On a weekly basis, members of MAC Systems' Quality Control Team gather to review project documents, look at photos of installations, and analyze everything from internal processes to field installation techniques. Seated (from left): Catherine McMenimon, president; Steve DeArruda, manager of video services & design; Jerry Quinn, director of operations; and Scott Harwood, manager of technical services. Standing (from left): Stu Benton, vice president finance; Alan Krupp, manager-field customer services; Jeff Pereira, manager-information systems; Glenn Heywood, director of sales; and Bob McMenimon, founder.
The firm employs six project managers who oversee technicians on each job. “We have project managers who are assigned multiple projects at the same time. They are scheduling the jobs, ordering equipment, managing subcontractors when necessary, and certainly managing our own people so that the work is performed in the manner that we like," Heenan says.

MAC Systems concentrates its services in New England on the vertical markets of higher education, biotech/pharmaceutical, financial, and multi-tenant office buildings. Its secondary markets include industrial, utilities, corrections, and gaming.

The company started approximately 300 new projects this year. Its most significant was a $1.2 million project at BJ’s Wholesale Club, a 619,000-square-foot regional distribution center in Massachusetts. The system was installed in 12 weeks and included 239 cameras with digital recording, and 72 card readers.

Less than a year ago, Heenan was given responsibility to develop new business among architects, general contractors, electrical contractors, engineering firms, and security consultants.

The business development process, Heenan says, is geared to “manage strong relationships with strategic partners to develop an understanding of our services and business strategies; to deliver the MAC value proposition to these customers…what we believe we do better than others.”

MAC Systems is a founding member of SecurityNet, and founder Robert McMenimon is currently the president of this group of 21 independent systems integrators.

At a Glance

  • SDM Systems Integrator of the Year Honoree: MAC Systems, Canton, Mass.
  • Number of Employees: 70 full-time
  • Revenue: $13 million (4 percent increase over 2004)
  • Market focus: Education, entertainment, healthcare, industrial, financial/banking, correctional, retail