Table of Content Generally, clients are billed on a time and materials basis, although some work may be performed pursuant to a fixed-price bid. Services are usually performed pursuant to purchase orders issued under written client agreements. While most purchase orders provide for the performance of a single job, some provide for services to be performed on a run-and-maintain basis. Substantially all our agreements and contracts may be terminated by either party on short notice. The agreements generally specify the range of services to be performed and the hourly rates for labor and equipment. While many contracts cover specific plants or locations, we also enter into multiple-site regional or national contracts which cover multiple plants or locations. In general, competition stems from a large number of other outside service contractors. More than 100 different competitors are currently active in our markets. We believe we have a competitive advantage over most service contractors due to the quality, training and experience of our technicians, our rigorous safety training and procedures, our North America and international service capability, the breadth and depth of our services, our ability to provide such services on an integrated, more turnkey basis, and our technical engineered support coupled with our manufacturing capabilities supporting the service network. Seasonality We experience some seasonal fluctuations. Historically, the refining industry has scheduled plant shutdowns (commonly referred to as "turnarounds”) for the fall and spring seasons. The power industry follows a similar seasonal schedule for their plant maintenance. The timing of large turnarounds or outages can significantly impact our revenues. The pipeline industry follows and depends in part on weather conditions where the ability to access pipeline infrastructure for or after inspections may be impeded by more severe cold weather conditions. Compliance with Government Regulations A significant portion of our business activities are subject to foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations. These regulations are administered by various foreign, federal, state and local health and safety and environmental agencies and authorities, including Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA”). Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may involve civil and criminal liability. From time to time, we are also subject to a wide range of reporting requirements, certifications and compliance as prescribed by various federal and state governmental agencies that include, but are not limited to, the EPA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, OSHA, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. Also, many states where we operate regulate health, safety and environmental activities, such as California OSHA and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Expenditures relating to such regulations are made in the normal course of our business and are neither material nor place us at any competitive disadvantage. We do not currently expect that compliance with such laws and regulations will require us to make material expenditures. From time to time, during the operation of our environmental consulting and engineering services, the assets of which were sold in 1996, we handled small quantities of certain hazardous wastes or other substances generated by our clients. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (the "Superfund Act”), the EPA is authorized to take administrative and judicial action to either cause parties who are responsible under the Superfund Act for cleaning up any unauthorized release of hazardous substances to do so, or to clean up such hazardous substances and to seek reimbursement of the costs thereof from the responsible parties, who are jointly and severally liable for such costs under the Superfund Act. The EPA may also bring suit for treble damages from responsible parties who unreasonably refuse to voluntarily participate in such a clean-up or funding thereof. Similarly, private parties who bear the costs of cleanup may seek to recover all or part of their costs from responsible parties in cost recovery or contribution actions. Responsible parties include anyone who owns or operates the facility where the release occurred (either currently and/or at the time such hazardous substances were disposed of), or who by contract arranges for disposal, treatment, transportation for disposal or treatment of a hazardous substance, or who accepts hazardous substances for transport to disposal or treatment facilities selected by such person from which there is a release. We believe that our risk of liability is minimal since our environmental consulting and engineering services consisted solely of maintaining and storing small samples of materials for laboratory analysis that are classified as hazardous. Due to its prohibitive costs, we accordingly do not currently carry insurance to cover any potential liabilities under the Superfund Act or similar environmental statutes. Human Capital Due to the seasonal nature of our business, our employee headcount varies during the year. During 2023, we averaged approximately 5,400 employees, with approximately 4,050 employed in the United States and 1,350 internationally. Human capital management, combined with our core values and talent management initiatives, is a key driver of our employee retention program. We invest in our talent by providing our employees with targeted training, mentoring and career 4