‘Commissioning is our primary business, so we provide complete third-party independent commissioning’: Monica Mack, Founder & CEO of M3T Cx Authorities LLC

“At M3T, the primary goal is to anticipate the needs of our clients to alleviate snafus.”

Monica Mack founded M3T Cx Authorities LLC in Houston, TX in 2013, as a family-owned business. Monica Mack, who also serves as the CEO of the company, is married to Tarik Mack, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company. Since its founding, most contracts acquired have been by referral from her former colleagues, as well as repeat work. Furthermore, Monica’s knowledge and experience in the commissioning industry and Tarik Mack’s operational and logistical expertise brought M3T to life. The company operates across the US  Gulf region and recently opened an office in Washington, DC.

M3T exemplifies commissioning excellence by developing custom-tailored, commissioning (Cx) programs with the added value of team building, job safety, and proactive/progressive problem solving to bring the customer the best quality service.

The Silicon Review contacted Mrs. Mack, who spoke about how the company is making a difference in this segment and plans to stay at the forefront. Below is an excerpt.

Head-to-Head with Monica Mack, Founder & CEO of M3T Cx Authorities LLC

Q. How do M3T-developed customer-oriented commissioning programs solve problems its customers face?

M3T addresses problems by using clear and concise communication. When speaking with our clients, we get to know their expectations, so we can exceed those expectations.  We encourage the best, to deliver the best to all our clients.

Q. How does M3T Cx Authorities LLC ensure all building systems and equipment work together to deliver the best possible service?  

M3T would conduct integrated testing dictated by industry standard. Integrated testing would include running all commissioned systems and interlocking systems together to create scenarios and system conditions, so we can observe and document the system's response as designed. A great example of integrated testing would include cutting building power to initiate emergency operations for all applicable systems. Sometimes, schedule and budget do not allow for integrated testing, therefore we design our functional test procedure to include checks of all systems that interlock with the systems we are commissioning. For example, you upgrade your HVAC system, during functional testing, we ensure your exhaust, fire alarm and protection, life safety, mass notification and controls systems perform as designed with the new HVAC unit. Adding the functional checks of the interlocking systems does require some coordination, from the project team and client, but it also ensures the systems work as expected, and gives the Operation & Maintenance (O&M) staff a clear understanding of what to expect and exposes anomalies built into the systems.

Q. What’s M3T’s point of differentiation?

M3T’s principles and values, integrated into all our work, is the distinguishing factor. We recently studied an article that gave the “history of commissioning” as starting in the late 1970s or early 1980s, but we found that ambiguous. We found that this article gave no mention of the rich and exhaustive history of the use of commissioning by the Navy. The term commissioning itself has origins at the beginning of naval ships officially being placed in service. I was first exposed to commissioning through her first job out of college. I worked at the Newport News Naval Shipyard, commissioning VIRGINIA Class Submarines, as a part of the test and commissioning engineering group. It was there; I grew an appreciation for the commissioning process and cultivated an understanding, of the responsibility, that comes with being an outstanding commissioning agent.  “We owe all our clients, our best efforts, to make sure that what is designed and built by the project team is safe, efficient, and world-class and the absolute best that can be delivered.”

M3T Cx Authorities LLC provides comprehensive, third-party, custom-tailored commissioning programs to represent your organization during all phases of your project. Our commissioning programs are designed to add risk management to your project by monitoring on-the-job safety, promoting best construction practices, identifying, and documenting installation and functionality issues, as well as documenting the respective solutions through our reporting and testing processes. The reason third-party commissioning is extremely important is that it provides an independent set of eyes to vet the design and construction of your project, without presenting a conflict of interest.

M3T stands out for the following reasons:

• Our primary business is custom-tailored, third-party, technical commissioning, so we can provide unbiased, independent commissioning service.
• M3T has over 15 years in the testing and commissioning field, with formal accredited engineering, and US Navy military-trained commissioning education.
• We specialize in the total building commissioning of hospitals, laboratories, office complexes, educational facilities, mission-critical government facilities, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and military installations.

Q. How responsive is M3T to the changing needs of its clients?

At M3T, the primary goal is to anticipate the needs of our clients to alleviate snafus. We study the changing markets, newly available technology, the environment in which our clients conduct business (i.e., top-secret, commercial, missioning critical) and quickly respond in kind with solutions tailored to the environment. For example, it will be important to control dust and contaminants, minimize noise and disturbances, controls access to work areas, and maintain strict work hours for an operational building undergoing construction.

Q. What new endeavors is M3T currently undertaking?

M3T is currently expanding into new geographical and industrial markets, working to expand our portfolio, expanding our service offerings, and build a prestigious team. We feel encouraged by collaborating with other small business A/E, constructions, and even commissioning teams. We are government certified as Historically Underutilized Business (HUB), Small Business (SBE), Minority Business (MBE), Women-Owned (WBE), and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE). From the outside, these certifications legitimize our business as a legal entity, but from the inside, these certifications constantly remind us of the challenges M3T faces in our society as a business. 

Monica Mack | Founder & CEO

Monica Mack grew up in Washington, DC. She attended Howard University, and then later transferred to Norfolk State University (NSU) where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering. Mrs. Mack has 15 years of direct testing and commissioning experience, with companies including Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, EE&G, and a contractor to the US NAVY VIRGINIA CLASS Submarines. Her first job after graduating from NSU was as a military contractor, commissioning for the US Navy VIRGINIA CLASS Submarine Test & Commissioning Engineering Group, Steam and Electric Plant. She also worked as a Naval Systems Engineering Consultant with the VIRGINIA Class Submarine Program, Communication, Combat, Control, and Intelligence System, C3I.

Mrs. Mack’s commissioning experience includes power generation (including steam, electromagnetic, and nuclear), MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing), Fire and Life Safety, Security and Access Control, Communications and Surveillance, and more. Mrs. Mack’s developed expertise is in the total building commissioning of mission-critical facilities and has worked in industrial, manufacturing, oil and gas, hospitals, laboratories, office complexes, educational, government facilities, and military installations. In 2010, while working as Lead Electrical Commissioning Engineer on the Ft Belvoir Community Hospital project in Alexandria, VA, she received the United State Army Corp Engineer and Turner/Gilbane Excellence Award.

“M3T has over 15 years in the testing and commissioning field, with formal accredited engineering, and US Navy military-trained commissioning education.”