C&C Consultants

The Company

FAQ

Q: Why is an access code required to visit the web site of C&C Consultants?
A: It is a way to make the site more professional, more efficient, and more secure. Our web site is a working environment because our clients use it to download and upload data, and we want to insure a high degree of efficiency and security. An access code is given with no strings attached to anyone who requests one by email or by calling our toll-free number. It is a way for us to limit access to visitors who have a genuine interest in our services. We do not share any access information with anyone and we do not create callback lists.

Q: So C&C Consultants must be a large firm to limit access to its site. How big is your company?
A: C&C Consultants has a total employee count of two people, so it is not a large firm. C&C Consultants is a micro-company. Dominique Chéenne provides all design, testing, and support services, while long-term business planning and project selection & scheduling decisions involve both Dominique and his wife, Julia.

Q: What is a micro-company?
A: It is a service firm with very few (typically less than four) employees. A company such as ours aims at achieving a productivity output equal to (or greater than) that of other companies with a substantially greater number of employees. The goal is met via a constant reinvestment in four key areas:

Technology: a micro-company should have substantially greater computing power and more current technology than a larger firm engaged in the same business. This is easily achievable because fewer computers are needed, thus better ones can be purchased. Multiple-user licenses are not required for software thus acquisition and updates are more readily affordable; training in state-of-the art design and testing tools is also cheaper and faster. Finally, the purchasing process is totally efficient: technology tools can be acquired without committee or management approval because the tools are assessed, planned, purchased, and used by the same person(s). C&C Consultants constantly maintains a competitive advantage by leveraging technology to improve output and delivery of services.
Client service: a micro-company like C&C Consultants provides its clients with tools to handle requests for proposals (RFP), project query, access to reports and design files, bookkeeping, marketing, and other administrative support. This allows us to spend more time dealing with design-specific issues.
Training: a micro-company aims at constantly upgrading the training of its practitioner(s) and to communicating relevant elements to its clients. For example, C&C Consultants will provide an architectural firm with a no-cost seminar on the design of floating floors so that the architects will be able to plan for such a design on a future project. Alternatively, we may provide an engineering design firm with a no-cost seminar on relevant noise abatement standards for new school projects. Our role during the development and construction phases of the future projects will be to review the designs and to insure that the best and most current solutions have been implemented, and that the standards are being met. This is a very different approach than the 'keep your knowledge to yourself' practices that some large firms tend to develop in order to insure a steady repeat of business.
Knowledge: we provide our clients with access to the most up-to-date guidelines and regulations to insure that the design will meet all applicable (and upcoming) standards. As a rule C&C Consultants thinks globally and applies locally, thus we can remain alert to issues of importance and relevance to our clients. We deliver accountability and reliable design by insuring that current and effective knowledge is made available to all parties involved in the design process.

Q: Why should we hire C&C Consultants for our project?
A: Because we can deliver unparalleled value to our clients and have been doing so for a quarter of a century; consider the following factors that are important issues in any project:

Scheduling: we can accept only a few projects at any given time because a large workload involving too many projects is not feasible or compatible with the goals of a micro-company. C&C Consultants can rapidly inform the client as to when a project start can be scheduled, and how much time will be required for completion. This insures that the firm's participation in the schematic design (SD), design development (DD) and construction documents (CD) phases of the project can be optimized.
Accountability: providing our clients with a single point of contact for testing, design, reporting, and for contract and accounting questions, insures that answers are provided in the fastest and most complete manner.
Delivery: we cannot afford to become complacent in the scope or the quality of our delivery. It is essential to 'get it right the first time' because extra-time spent on a project amounts to zero-billings. We deliver our services on a 'not-to-exceed' basis, thus delivery must be both efficient and timely in order to insure prompt and complete payments from the clients.
Costs: C&C Consultants will usually charge from one-tenth to one-fourth the fees of a larger firm for similar amounts of testing, data analysis, and design services, depending on the project's type and scope. However, the true value of using our company is revealed in the depth and the quality of the services that we offer. For example, some firms are just now starting to provide audible simulations to their clients while we have been offering such a service for more than fifteen years, thanks to our involvement in doctoral-level research in architectural acoustics. The outdoor noise propagation models that we use in-house also include the most up-to-date models because Dr. Chéenne was part of the team that proposed the latest standards to the International Standards Organization (ISO). Similarly, our mechanical noise modeling tools were developed based on years of experience and observations, combined with the most appropriate analytical models.

Q: Lower fees are fine, and being extremely qualified is great, but can C&C Consultants really provide the scope of services offered by a larger firm?
A: Yes, with a caveat. C&C Consultants is very specialized (and very up-to-date) in the expertise that it delivers to its clients, and this means that we cannot provide 'one-stop-shopping' for other services that may be required. For example, we do not provide services in sound system design & commissioning, and we do not provide design services in video, lighting, or telephony systems because we have only limited expertise in these areas. On the other hand, the larger firms must often provide these services because they have no choice since their overhead is high and their growth is often measured in the size of annual billings. The main advantage of using C&C Consultants is that we easily become a component of the design team as selected by the client and/or by the architectural or the mechanical firm that is in charge of the project. An effective design team typically includes a lead architect, a lead mechanical engineer, a structural engineer, a technology consultant, and an acoustician, and each member is selected for his/her specific strengths and abilities. The creation of a team of independent and highly qualified professionals is a perfect example of synergy: the sum of the parts is typically greater than the whole, and the client will benefit from this approach.

Q: How do you bill your services?
A: C&C Consultants derives 100% of its revenues from proposals that are based on a 'not-to-exceed' format. All fees are clearly itemized and presented to the client for approval before the start of the project. No fees or commissions are ever received from manufacturers and/or vendors, and no commissioning or proof-of-performance fees are added. If extra work is required to complete a project to the client's satisfaction and as per the project's original scope, then such work will be provided free of charge. Fees can be billed on a per-hour basis or according to a percentage of project completion based on a pre-agreed set of milestones. Expenses such as travel and phone are itemized and billed at cost plus a 15% markup. If the scheduling of visits with the client (or with other members of the design team) can be arranged to coincide with other projects, then travel costs are discounted accordingly and the savings are passed on to the client. Since its inception in 1979, C&C Consultants has never exceeded a stated contract amount.

Q: If you're that good, why aren't you big?
A: C&C Consultants measures its growth by objective market share (OMS) as defined by how many projects it completes on a yearly basis while factoring coefficients to each project based on scope, difficulty, scheduling, competition, acquisition of new resources, and use of existing assets. Based on a proprietary algorithm that tracks the performance of the firm using these parameters, C&C Consultants has experienced continuous growth in OMS since 1992 and for 26 out of its 28 years in existence, with only two employees.

Q: Are there any projects that are too big for C&C Consultants to undertake?
A: Yes. Some projects are just too large for any micro-company to get involved with since accepting them would damage the ability to maintain service to an existing and returning client base. For example, a very large environmental noise project on a tight and inflexible schedule may require simultaneous testing, data analysis, report writing, and meetings with various constituencies, and there are simply not enough hours in a week to serve all needs equally well. Furthermore, the scheduling may impede the micro-company's ability to serve other clients and to plan for its future workload. On the other hand, if the client is willing to add flexibility to the schedule and to allocate human resources to the project (via a specialized project team), then the option of hiring C&C Consultants should be considered. The quality/price ratio of the services will be very competitive when compared to that offered by a large firm, and a substantial part of our knowledge will be passed on to the client's team. When undertaking any endeavor one of the keys to success is effective scheduling, and we pay great attention to selecting projects that are compatible with our current workload. When large projects are undertaken, we typically 'block-out' the schedule (sometimes for weeks) if the project demands it.

Q: Are there any projects that C&C Consultants will not take?
A: Yes, absolutely. One of the main characteristics of a successful micro-company should be its ability to express the vision of its practitioners in the realm of ethical, environmental, and social choices. The portfolio of the completed projects by C&C Consultants reflects the beliefs of Dominique and Julia Chéenne in the vision of what the company stands for. We have a deep commitment to education, to the arts, to freedom of expression, and to a quieter environment. Over the past 28 years, we have declined some projects upon review of the RFP because the projects' nature would conflict with our philosophy.

Q: What specific services does C&C Consultants offer?
A: C&C Consultants offers expert services in the following areas:

Architectural Acoustics: we provide testing and design services for residential and commercial projects, Houses of Worship, institutional facilities, industrial settings, and performing arts spaces.
Environmental Acoustics: we perform noise control testing and planning services for industrial and commercial applications, governmental projects, and real estate developments. We also perform noise evaluation in the workplace, assessment of regulatory compliance, and design of noise abatement solutions.
Expert review & presentation: we offer expert review and presentation services for architectural construction issues in acoustics, noise pollution assessment, industrial & residential noise regulatory compliance, and intellectual property issues in audio & acoustics. This includes seminar presentations to architects, engineers, and planners, as well as expert testimony prior and during judicial and/or governmental proceedings.
Custom Applications: we provide selected audio equipment review & configuration services, and consulting for selected industrial production environments. We also offer selected technical writing in acoustics & electrical engineering as part of our projects whenever feasible.

Q: What resources does C&C Consultants have?
A: We use a combination of state-of-the art commercially available products, and of custom designed solutions. Our design tools have been developed over the past 25 years and they include algorithms for the evaluation of acoustical parameters in both small and large spaces, for the prediction and assessment of mechanical noise indoors, and for outdoor noise propagation. We can provide audible simulations of various acoustical parameters in a wide range of spaces, including concert hall, churches, and even industrial settings, indoors or outdoors. The test procedures that we follow always exceed any applicable standards, both in terms of protocol and of equipment, and custom solutions are developed whenever required. An important element present in all of our resources is a strict adherence to Best Practices in both design and testing that is fostered by a commitment to a global review of the industry; for example, we often provide a comparative assessment of noise environments using some highly relevant standards, even if they are not yet mandated, to the measurements. This encourages our clients to strive for higher design quality because it places their project in the light of what is considered the current state of the art. It also provides a safety margin to the design because quality standards in the realm of architectural or environmental acoustics are increasing and a good design should always account for this inevitable and positive growth.

Q: Can you provide us with references?
A: Absolutely. Just go to the 'References' tab and feel free to peruse our project list since 1979. You can also go to the 'What People Say' section and see what architects and clients have said about our services. If you want more information, feel free to contact us directly.

Q: What is the time lead for scheduling a project with C&C Consultants?
A: There is no fixed answer to this question because the scheduling of new projects must meet the constraints of the existing workload. Generally, new projects are rarely scheduled to start with less than 15 days notice, but a firm timeline is always given as part of writing the proposal.

Q: Then how long does it take to receive a proposal from C&C Consultants?
A: The delivery of the proposal is influenced by the completeness of the materials that are needed to write it. Architectural acoustics projects require a set of architectural and mechanical plans & sections at either the SD or DD stage, while environmental acoustics studies will also require site plans, a detailed description of the project, and copies of project-specific regulations if applicable. Usually, a detailed proposal for a complex project can be developed and forwarded within 4 to 5 working days, but simpler projects can be quoted with a 24 hours turnover time. To insure promptness clients are prospects are encouraged to upload their documents to the company's intranet and to use the menu driven RFP option.

Q: We want C&C Consultants to look at our project and give us a proposal. What is the next step?
A: The most efficient way is to go to the 'Contact Us' tab, fill out the form in as much details as feasible, and select 'Submit'. The other option is to mail your documents to the address where they will be received and examined in the timeliest fashion; our offices are:

Nebraska: 1636 South 23rd Street, Lincoln NE 68502
Illinois: 3712 N Broadway, #641, Chicago IL 60613

Call (800) 348-9315, or email at dcheenne@earthlink.net or jcheenne@earthlink.net before mailing your documents so we can tell you which address to use.