OnePoint Inc.

Houston-based OnePoint Inc. has exemplified itself as a one-stop shop for in-house construction and precise project delivery that meets even the most stringent requirements from the drawing board, to the operating room and on to the assembly line at Toshiba. OnePoint specializes in construction management, design-build delivery, value engineering and construction services, pivotal upon the collective expertise of proficient virtuosos with a combined 120 years in engineering and construction.

“All in-house OnePoint offers a multi-discipline environment complete with engineers, consultants and contractors,” confides Abraham Joseph, founder and president of the Houston-based firm. “On some major jobs we’ll use subcontractors, but we also have about eight employees in-house who can perform various construction activates and deliver efficient project coordination.”

Insider health care experience

OnePoint serves approximately a 200-mile radius of Houston, covering the Austin and Beaumont markets. Within this competitive landscape, the company has carved an inimitable niche in the health care arena, drawing on the owner’s extensive experience. “I founded OnePoint in 2000, but prior to that I was the director of engineering at one of the largest regional health care companies for 19 years,” tells Joseph. “My direct, inside experience lends to better understanding now that we’re working on the outside. As someone who has been on the owners for 19 years, and now on the other side of the fence, I can totally understand and relate to my clients requirements.”

With his in-depth knowledge, Joseph has taken OnePoint and has broadened the realm of possibilities in offering his target health care clientele a range of contracting, engineering and consulting services.

“We do ground-up facilities for medical and doctor’s offices, as well as surgical suites and expansions for existing hospitals adding new services and specialties,” adds Joseph. “In addition to construction, we also make sure the facility is in full compliance with regulatory agencies, something most contractors don’t do, but we can because of my background in health care.”

Even when there’s no construction involved, OnePoint steps in to help clients prepare for rounds of annual inspections that run the gamut from Medicare to Medicaid, helping prepare safety documents and ensuring everything is in order for the inspection. OnePoint also conducts energy management studies to help facilities become more efficient.

Precise project delivery

As a single point contract for clients, OnePoint brings a lot to the table, including more efficient project coordination and fewer miscommunications, driving the best value, proper planning, teamwork and the know-how to produce a quality end product. This precise project delivery is of the utmost importance, especially when it comes to operational hospitals.

“We’re currently in the midst of a $2 million project at Memorial Hermann Southwest,” says Joseph. “We’ve renovated 50 patient rooms on this job. Back in August 2012 we completed a brand new cardiac rehabilitation center on the same campus.”

With months of preparation and dozens of skilled laborers, OnePoint took an old x-ray area, removed all of the lead lined walls, removed the entire ceiling and stripped the flooring for the new area. The spanking new rehabilitation center consists of low impact rubber flooring, floor to ceiling mirrors, showers for the disabled, dressing rooms, office space, a nurse station and a colorful new paint job. The space has been furnished with state-of-the-art rehabilitation exercise equipment that will help facilitate faster healing.

Just 20 miles outside of Houston stands the Sans Methodist Hospital, where OnePoint delivered another completely renovated wing, all within just a few feet of an active birthing center, according to Joseph.

“Within just a few feet of where we were working, the hospital was delivering babies,” he reminisces with a smile. “We shut down one section but there was still one section open for delivery and major OBGYN surgeries.”

In certain situations that may intimidate some construction companies, Joseph says OnePoint is well prepared and willing to tackle challenging projects.

“We take life safety measures and infection control risk assessments prior to starting construction,” he explains. “This is all to ensure there is no contamination from our area to the clean area.”

Mitigating major risk

From human lives to radioactive material, OnePoint is a master in mitigating risk and effectively managing high-pressure projects. At Baylor College of Medicine, home to one of the largest medical research facilities in the U.S., OnePoint was tasked to effectively enhance the security of an X-ray room containing active uranium.

“This project was partially funded by Homeland Security so it included very tight security measures,” tells David Hedrick, vice president of operations of OnePoint. “The scope included installing heavy duty steel doors with one-way screws and hinges, as well as retina readers and other security sensors. The whole time we were working on the four rooms we had to have local security and armed Houston police officers on standby.”

From extreme security precautions to rapid response, OnePoint reacts quickly and effectively. “We completed an emergency restoration project for Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital after it was devastated by Hurricane Ike,” tells Joseph. “We were the first recovery company on site, starting with 10 staff members and by completion we had deployed 200 contractors.”

Within just a few weeks OnePoint restored many lifelines for the hospital – from air conditioning to water supply. “Since the city water supply was cut off, they pumped in lake water to the cooling towers to get the AC running while the hospital was still operating on generator power,” details Joseph.

The company also finished installing a water well for the hospital, making arrangements with the city to allow it to tap into underground water to power the AC system and prevent to prevent similar dire circumstances in future disasters.

After the success at Memorial Hermann Baptist, OnePoint installed two more wells at other area hospitals. “It’s our forward-thinking approach that makes us different from other companies,” adds Joseph.

Aside from the company’s niche medical market, OnePoint is also finishing an $8 million ground-up international manufacturing plant for Toshiba, an addition to the firm’s extensive portfolio. OnePoint Inc. continues to rise to the challenge – be it a highly sensitive medical environment or disaster response- and the company is leading the market as Houston’s all-around specialty contractor.