Pert Point Community Meeting March 13,2012
Who is Ops-Core? We design and make protective equipment for military, law enforcement, and homeland security. Artisent, our affiliate at 15 Channel Center, designs and engineers equipment for Ops-Core, as well as other popular sporting goods companies. Artisent 1 Ops-Core have been tenants of Midway Studios since it opened, and part of the Fort Point community for the last 18 years.
We grew up in Fort Point making hand crafted products just like other neighborhood artists Since our inception, we have been designing, sewing and custom assembling protective products here with our other creative neighbors. Our work is no different than a fashion designer making a line of dresses, a ceramicist making bowls or dishes to sell, or a painter making multiple prints of a popular design. We consider our products to be works of art, and so do our customers. The processes that are required to make our products require the same type of space and creative atmosphere as other artist businesses in the community.
Operations planned for 15 Channel Center Our local operation involves hand customizing shells to meet client specifications, and primarily consist of: Sewing and attaching chin straps Attaching pieces of Velcro and padding Gluing exterior trim Painting shells (approximately 20% need to be painted; the rest maintain the original molded color)
Our office expansion is nothing like a "factory" or a "Moderate Hazard Manufacturing Facility" The space will be used primarily as offices, storage, and to assemble our personal protective products. These are the same activities as those conducted in our prior location at 319A Street which did not create any neighborhood disturbance. ' *, -.
All components of the helmets are manufactured offsite The vast majority of the supplies used for the assembly are stored in an offsite warehouse The painting activities will not be conducted in the space until ventilation plans have been approved by the landlord and City of Boston Inspectional Services Department and the construction of the ventilation system is folly completed and inspected
Only 33% of the space is used for assembly operations Two thirds of our space will be used for typical office activities and inventory of plastic components awaiting final assembly. One-third of the space will be use for activities like sewing, sticking Velcro onto helmet shells, and assembling materials with scrfcws and pressure sensitive adhesive. Only some of the helmet shells are painted, and the rest are used in their natural molded color. LOWER LEVEL
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A few of our operations use chemicals in such small quantities they do not present a hazard Three main products = Primer 1 Paint, Epoxy, Alcohol Ă‚
All of the VOC amounts produced by the paint, epoxy and alcohol we use are signincanuy below the threshold for regulation Primer 1 Paint (water based) will produce 9.53 lbs of VOC 1week Epoxy will produce 0.13 lbs of VOC / week Isopropyl Alcohol will produce 1.64 lbs of VOC I week Any operation that may create a by-product is done in a way that maximizes the healthlsafety of our employees/neighbors. For example all painting will occur only in a properly ventilated paint booth.
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The parts for helmets are manufactured in other locations around the country, and consist primarily of plastic, foam, and fabric. Once they, arrive on site, we assemble them. The assembly process uses paint for certain models, while others remain their natural molded color. EpoXy is used to attach the edge-trim, and rubbing alcohol is used to wipe down certain components before they are stuck together with Velcro. Very small quantities of these chemicals are used (for example, fewer than four gallons of paint a week). n t ^wyJ ^ s* All painting activities will be separately vented by a system th approval of the landlord and the City of Boston Inspectional Services Department. + "
The health and safety of our employees and the surrounding community is of paramount importance to Ops-Core and we have and will follow alkpplicable federal, state and City of Boston environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Ops-Core's use and storage of any regulated materials is significantly below the quantities that trigger any filings or approval requirements. In addition, the landlord has indicated that it will be conducting regular air quality and noise level testing in the building, which will provide additional information to assist compliance efforts.
tive atmosphere for all There will be a separate employee entrance and loading dock in the back of the building Most deliveries are made once a day with our own 10' box truck, UPS, and FedEx We expect to operate a single shift most of the time from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm Our lease requires stringent noise limitations to be maintained at all times Our landlord, Keen Development is hiring EHA to provide air quality monitoring throughout Midway Studios to ensure it meets City requirements.
Should you have any questions, we urge you to contact Cheryl Fabrizi, our corporate community liaison, via e-mail:
We will assure that you are responded to in a timely manner.