• Posted: January 27, 2021
• better careers, better construction, Construction Technology, Integrated Control Technologies, LLC

In 1995, Integrated Control Technologies, LLC (ICT) Vice President Dave D’Amico didn’t know that he would one day lead a company providing electrical contracting services in multiple states. He also couldn’t have expected that the company would be one of the few in metro Chicago employing IBEW members to program complex control systems, or that he’d have a chance to grow the industry by helping the next generation of skilled electricians hone their skills. At that point, D’Amico was just an electrical apprentice with a newfound passion for control work.

“I became an IBEW apprentice in 1995, and I was doing power & lighting electrical work for residential and commercial projects,” D’Amico recalls. “But then I started working on conveyors, and that’s how I got the control bug.”

Meeting Ken Michaels, ICT’s president, around that time was a fortunate break that solidified the direction of D’Amico’s career. He spent the rest of his apprenticeship working with Michaels at K&M Power Control and learning the ropes as he focused on temperature control work. Although D’Amico’s work at the time with control wiring for exhaust fans and thermostats was very specialized, computers were not yet a part of daily life. Sensing the potential that existed for control systems if computers were integrated, Dave took it upon himself to learn how to program — preparing himself for the next wave of technological advancement in the electrical industry.

After working as a foreman under Michaels after completing his apprenticeship and following him to several other companies, D’Amico continued to hone his skills. In 2012, Michaels & D’Amico’s longtime collaboration led to the founding of ICT, a building automation systems integrator that provides installation, engineering design, fabrication, programming and commissioning services for a long list of control systems manufacturers. In the years since, ICT has established itself as a leader in building automation in Chicagoland and beyond.

“Automation has been around for a long time, but it was all pneumatic for a long time,” D’Amico says. “Now, we’re installing computer programs that bring visibility to what the building systems are doing, whether that’s related to HVAC, lighting, metering, pumps or anything else that keeps the facility running. When we put in building automation systems, we’re bringing it all together and allowing the building engineer to control everything in one place and the property manager to monitor the value of their investments for its owners. In a lot of cases, automation is the way to make these properties more energy efficient and definitely more comfortable for tenants.” 

As the pandemic has underscored, building automation is also a way to create safer, healthier environments for occupants. The focus on air quality has increased dramatically in the last year, according to D’Amico, and building automation systems provides a tangible way to ensure that cleaner air is cycling through the building. This can be accomplished with airflow monitoring, by flushing air out of the building when carbon dioxide levels reach a certain point, putting in place automatic controls to regulate humidity, and through ionization, all of which can be monitored and controlled through a single interface like a computer or mobile device that shows data both in real-time and through historical trends.  

One example of how all of that is currently coming together in one place is an office building in Oak Brook, where ICT is retrofitting controls for an antiquated building automation system that has outlived its useful life. With assistance with ComEd’s Smart Ideas® energy efficiency program, ICT is making it possible to automate processes that control the temperature in the facility, carbon dioxide levels, airflow and ventilation, all of which will reduce energy consumption and waste. With newfound awareness of how an airborne virus like COVID-19 can quickly shut down an entire building, ionization is also now being considered.

“Ionization is, essentially, the process of throwing unstable atoms into the HVAC system, which is possible after electricians install low-voltage equipment,” D’Amico explains. “Those atoms then travel through the ductwork and get circulated throughout the property. Anions (negative ions) react with other particles — including viruses in the air — which makes them bigger, and then they get trapped in the filter when they get pulled back into the system. At the same time, positive ions called cations are actually killing the virus in the air.”  

Through the retrofit in Oak Brook and many other building automation system installations throughout metro Chicago, Wisconsin and Indiana, ICT has distinguished itself through its commitment to better construction. The forward-thinking nature of the contractor’s work and commitment to quality has not only provided stable careers for 30 ICT employees, but also allowed D’Amico and ICT to expose the next generation of IBEW Local 134 electricians to the careers opportunities that are possible through specialization in building automation.

D’Amico was instrumental in the creation of a building automation lab at the IBEW/NECA Technical Institute in Alsip, IL, where Local 134 apprentices have the chance to learn the basics of automation. D’Amico helped write the curriculum, which teaches the fundamentals of inputs and outputs, how to wire a panel and hook it up to a controller, create the logic for the system and hook it up to the interface.

“The goal of the lab is to expose the apprentices to one of the paths they can take in the electrical industry,” D’Amico says. “They get the full automation experience, and hopefully they come away from that with a new perspective on what they could do in their careers. The electrical industry is always changing and there are constantly new opportunities to learn more.”

Moving forward, D’Amico sees a strong future for ICT by sticking to the principles that have propelled its success thus far: Staffing the company with skilled union electricians, engineering custom systems that incorporate components that are ‘best of breed’ from a variety of manufacturers, focusing on future expandability and system usability, avoiding complacency and, above all else, continuing to provide personalized for every customer that ensures quality results.

“At our size, every customer is getting the personal touch,” D’Amico says. “When you get too big, it’s harder to continue to provide that. We’ve developed standards in our work that others have adopted, and we want to continue to provide that to our customers in a personalized way on every project.”

To learn more about ICT and the work that they do, visit their website.

To find the right contractor for your project, visit our Find an Electrical Contractor page.