With early planning, work's a breeze at Keane

Why can't every week be like convention week?

Keane Inc. employees had little trouble yesterday arriving at the company's early start time, 7 a.m. during the Democratic National Convention. With 220 of the 320 employees at headquarters either telecommuting or on vacation, elevators were still and many cubicles were empty.

"I've been watching the road all morning," said spokeswoman Margo Nison, who could look out a window and see sporadic traffic on Interstate 93. "It's dead. It's crazy."

Given Keane's location near the Charlestown Navy Yard, near the FleetCenter, the company had braced for the worst. Last week, it issued identification badges, requiring that employees show them to the parking lot attendant. Keane hired additional security to patrol the building's perimeter.

The technology consulting company has 6,000 US employees whose paychecks go out Thursday and a roster of domestic and international clients. Executives felt they could not close headquarters. They planned ahead, to minimize staffing levels and maximize flexibility. Boston meetings and training sessions were canceled.

In early July, Russell Campanello, senior vice president of human resources, said employees were told that anyone who took vacations this week would be charged only four vacation days. About 50 people accepted. Those who came to work were rewarded, too: top executives brought in bagels and doughnuts yesterday. Workers also got to leave at 2 p.m.

With few interruptions from coworkers, employees said this could be a great week to get things done. "I plowed through all that stuff that's been sitting around," said Michael Tirozzi, a technology project manager who walked to work from his North End condominium.

Sreenivas Yarram, a software developer who took the bus from Malden, joked that he wished to "continue the DNC for two weeks."

More than 100 Keane employees are working via computers at home, including chief executive Brian Keane. The tech-support team prepared telecommuters weeks before the convention, distributing CDs with in-house software, installing it for those who brought computers from home, and issuing laptops to others.

"Last week, it was really busy," said John Oliver, who coordinated the telecommuter project. Just three employees called in yesterday with minor requests.

Employees breezed in to work on back roads or highways.

"Piece of cake," said Danielle Wuschke, a sales team member who drove in from Salem, via Route 1. Some commuters got hung up in traffic at the lane closing on Interstate 93 south in Woburn or the I-93-Route 3 bottleneck in Braintree. Once through, they sailed into Boston.

For Nison, the commute home was no more eventful than the drive in. But, she said, there's always today. "My fear now is everyone was checking it out" yesterday, she said, "and it might get worse the rest of the week."

Kimberly Blanton can be reached at blanton@globe.com.