LEADERSHIP

PENTA design professionals are dedicated to finding efficient, effective, and economic solutions to your engineering needs. PENTA is able to assemble a project team that can meet client’s demanding schedules.

The partners who lead the design teams have great depth of experience in the construction and engineering profession.

Click on the images below to find out more about the partners of PENTA.

Christopher M. Everett, PE

President

Areas of Emphasis:

Property Condition Assessments
Safety Anchor Design and Testing
Construction Management Services
Indoor Air Quality Consulting Services

Michael B. Merrick, PE, SE

Secretary – Director of Engineering

Areas of Emphasis:

Structural Engineering Services
Material Testing/Interaction
Waterproofing, Product Development
Building Damage Assessments

Richard “Rick” W. Welsch, PE

Treasurer

Areas of Emphasis:

Lightning Protection
Structural Load Testing
LEED Certified Buildings
Asbestos Consulting Services
Lead Consulting Services
Mold Consulting Services
Indoor Air Quality Consulting Services

Christopher M. Everett, PE President

Direct Dial: (678) 507-1551
Email: [email protected]

Having graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Mr. Everett is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia and along with Mr. Michael Merrick, founded PENTA Engineering Group, LLC. in 1997. He is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) as well as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Mr. Everett has extensive experience in the area of rooftop safety equipment including both rooftop safety anchors for the use in supporting personal fall arrest lifelines and davit systems used in conjunction with suspended scaffold equipment. He has been involved in the inspection, load testing, equipment design, and installation of rooftop safety equipment for over 15 years. Mr. Everett has performed rooftop safety equipment services on hundreds of buildings nationwide providing consulting services for various building types including high-rise office, institutional, hotels and government facilities. He previously served on the International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA) I-14.1 Committee on Window Cleaning Safety which was instrumental in the development of the current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations governing the use of rope descent equipment and the requirements for buildings to provide tie-back safety anchors.

With his extensive knowledge and experience in the area of Property Condition Assessments, Mr. Everett has led his staff to perform such assessments involving many diverse facilities and covering millions of square feet of facility lease area in thousands of facilities. These projects have included multi-family residential, campus style and high rise office, hotels, industrial and warehouse facilities.

Mr. Everett has extensive experience planning and managing various projects regarding heating, ventilating and air condition (HVAC) systems. The projects include but are not limited to campus style and high rise office buildings, institutional buildings, hotel, industrial and warehouse facilities.

As a highly skilled expert in the field of Indoor Air Quality, Mr. Everett has designed remediation specifications and provided construction oversight for projects related to the mitigation of indoor air quality concerns.

Michael B. Merrick, PE, SE Secretary – Director of Engineering

Direct Dial: (678) 507-1552
Email: [email protected]

After completing his Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Rose-Holman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, Mike Merrick has continued to develop his credentials by receiving his Professional Engineering (PE) Registrations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Additionally, he holds his Structural Engineering (SE) Registration in the State of Illinois. Along with Chris Everett, Mr. Merrick founded PENTA Engineering Group, LLC. in 1997.

Mr. Merrick is highly skilled and experienced in the design, inspection and renovation of Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional buildings constructed of diverse types of building materials. He and his team at PENTA Engineering Group provide expert witness consulting, analysis and construction job site management for a variety of materials engineering, failure analysis, site assessment, rehabilitation design and specialized concrete laboratory service. In addition to his vast knowledge and experience in structural engineering, Mr. Merrick has honed his engineering skills and experience to include analysis and design of railroad and interstate highway bridges and pavement evaluations.

Mr. Merrick also has extensive experience with building envelope evaluations. He has performed numerous American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) tests related to building facades and roofing systems. Facades he has evaluated include pre-cast concrete panels, curtainwall, granite, glass and metal framing. Mr. Merrick has extensive experience with many roofing systems including but not limited to, built-up, modified bitumen, EPDM, PVC, shingle systems, standing seam metal and living “green” roofs.

Mr. Merrick has also designed and performed failure analysis for many geotechnical structural systems. These systems include, retaining walls, detention ponds, site drainage systems, dams and building and other structural foundations.

The devastations of hurricanes impacting the Gulf Coast have kept Mr. Merrick very busy during the past several years. He has led a busy structural engineering team to evaluate hurricane impacted structural conditions, prepared remedial design documents and provide remedial repair construction oversight to meet demanding insurance company standards.

Mike Merrick is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Steel Construction and the Roof Consultants Institute.

Richard “Rick” W. Welsch, PE – Treasurer

Direct Dial: (678) 507-1554
Email: [email protected]

As a highly credentialed graduate of the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Mr. Welsch holds Professional Engineering Registrations in Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Illinois and North Carolina. As well as a holder of an NCEES Council Record. His professional accreditations are numerous and include Asbestos Building Inspector, Asbestos Project Designer, Florida Licensed Asbestos Consultant, Lead Risk Assessor, Asbestos Management Planner, Asbestos Project Supervisor, and Lead and Mold Inspector. Mr. Welsch has also led PENTA’s initiative to provide building owners direction with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for existing buildings (EB) and new construction (NC). He joined PENTA Engineering Group in 1999 as a principal engineer and partner with Chris Everett and Mike Merrick.

Expert in the field of Asbestos, Lead and Mold Abatement, and Indoor Air Quality, Mr. Welsch leads a team of professionals highly trained in performing building inspections, surveys and assessments to document the existence of a variety of contaminates in various types of buildings. Along with providing expert witness testimony in Environmental Engineering, Mr. Welsch has prepared demonstration videos for legal cases and industry training purposes. He is also a published author of industry related articles. View Here

Mr. Welsch has been instrumental in developing the structural load testing protocol for rooftop safety anchors and davit systems. With the development of the new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and (IWCA) standard I-14.1, building owners and managers are taking notice to provide a safe point of anchorage and suspension for vendors who perform building façade work. Mr. Welsch has developed a system of testing that is efficient and cost effective. Mr. Welsch has also published a related article. View Here

At PENTA Engineering Group, Mr. Welsch also provides a Principal Engineering role in the area of Property Condition Assessments as well as load testing services for high and mid-rise commercial office facilities, warehouse distribution facilities, multi family residential complexes and institutional facilities. Additionally, Mr. Welsch oversees the financial, human resources, business development and administrative operations for the company.