“
We’re sold on ASCO. Love the product, love the service.”
Mike Wiruth Facilities Manager/Director Bryan Health
ASCODNA. At the core of every great facility. Ensuring the operation of 41 power-transfer switches in five buildings across a campus the size of Bryan Health’s is enough to keep a facilities manager up at night. Fortunately for Mike Wiruth, the ASCO PowerQuest® Critical Power Management System lets him rest easy. “It would be a nightmare to conduct manual generator tests without the ASCO system,” said Wiruth. “It’s invaluable to do the tests from one location, from one screen.” The high reliability of the ASCO switches, which have never failed him three-plus decades, is another calming influence for Wiruth. So is the ASCO service team. “They diagnose issues quickly to maintain optimal system performance. “We’re sold on ASCO. Love the product, love the service.” customercare@ascopower.com • 800.800.ASCO ascopower.com © 2019 ASCO Power Technologies. All Rights Reserved. Life Is On Schneider Electric is a trademark and the property of Schneider Electric SE, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies.
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INTEGRATED FAULT DETECTION & DIAGNOSTICS
IFDD FlexTiles in RC-GrafxSet, facilitate the creation of simple, intuitive, and flexible interfaces for Fault Detection and Diagnostic (FDD) applications. IFDD FlexTiles empowers you to identify and resolve faults and sub-optimal performance in your facility, while improving the life-cycle cost of your building equipment, as well as controlling occupant safety and comfort. Contact your Reliable Controls Authorized Dealer today to optimize your performance.
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Vol. 56, Number 9
OCTOBER 2019
BUILDING SOLUTIONS 18 | IPD and VDC can lead to project success
18
ON THE COVER: This snapshot of the Bayhealth Hospital is from a coordinated model created by the integrated project delivery team. Courtesy: CannonDesign
NEWS &BUSINESS 5 | Viewpoint
Digital transformation
7 | Research
Fire, life safety in hospitals, health care facilities
9 | Future of Engineering
How lean construction methods are shaping the future
10 | 2019 Commissioning Giants
The 2019 Commissioning Giants data reports on the top 25 firms
12 | Linking commissioning, TAB to deliver better buildings
When the commissioning authority and the testing, adjusting and balancing contractor collaborate throughout the design and construction phases, it results in improved building construction
14 | The value of building commissioning: current market status
The Building Commissioning Association partnered with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to confirm the value of commissioning for providers, facility owners and building industry stakeholders
Engineers can leverage the integrated project delivery and virtual design and construction processes
24 | Case study: Hospital expansion incorporates IPD
The owner, engineer, architect and contractor all benefited from an integrated lean project delivery approach with specific partner requirements in place and an insightful understanding of crucial team dynamics
28 | Specifying the right electrical raceways, busways, wiring and cabling
Electrical and information cabling pathways are a vital component of any new or existing building
34 | Selecting the proper wiring solutions Learn about the essential properties and applications of different electrical wiring pathway systems
40 | Using demand-controlled ventilation in HVAC
Mechanical engineers should consider the many factors that go into designing buildings for indoor air quality and indoor environmental quality
ENGINEERING INSIGHTS 48 | Learning how to engineer colleges, universities better
Read about emerging trends in college and university buildings, and learn about the emerging trends impacting their design
54 | New Products for Engineers
CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER (ISSN 0892-5046, Vol. 56, No. 9, GST #123397457) is published 11x per year, monthly except in February, by CFE Media, LLC, 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 Downers Grove, IL 60515. Jim Langhenry, Group Publisher/Co-Founder; Steve Rourke CEO/COO/Co-Founder. CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER copyright 2019 by CFE Media, LLC. All rights reserved. CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER is a registered trademark of CFE Media, LLC used under license. Periodicals postage paid at Downers Grove, IL 60515 and additional mailing offices. Circulation records are maintained at CFE Media, LLC, 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 Downers Grove, IL 60515. Telephone: 630-571-4070. E-mail: CSE@omeda.com. Postmaster: send address changes to CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER, PO Box 348, Lincolnshire, IL 60009. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40685520. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: PO Box 348, Lincolnshire, IL 60009. Email: CSE@omeda.com. Rates for non-qualified subscriptions, including all issues: USA, $165/yr; Canada, $200/yr (includes 7% GST, GST#123397457); Mexico, $200/yr; International air delivery $350/yr. Except for special issues where price changes are indicated, single copies are available for $30.00 USA, $35.00 Canada/Mexico and $40.00 Other International. Please address all subscription mail to CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER, PO Box 348, Lincolnshire, IL 60009. Printed in the USA. CFE Media, LLC does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material contained herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever.
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October 2019
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NEWS&BUSINESS VIEWPOINT
CONTENT SPECIALISTS/EDITORIAL AMARA ROZGUS, Editor-in-Chief/Content Strategy Leader 630-571-4070 x2211, ARozgus@CFEMedia.com AMANDA PELLICCIONE, Director of Research APelliccione@CFEMedia.com MICHAEL SMITH, Creative Director MSmith@CFEmedia.com McKENZIE BURNS, Production & Marketing Coordinator 630-571-4070 x2231, MBurns@CFEMedia.com
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD JERRY BAUERS, PE, Vice President, NV5, Kansas City, Mo. MICHAEL CHOW, PE, CEM, CxA, LEED AP BD+C, Principal, Metro CD Engineering LLC, Columbus, Ohio TOM DIVINE, PE, Senior Electrical Engineer, Johnston, LLC, Houston CORY DUGGIN, PE, LEED AP BD+C, BEMP, Energy Modeling Wizard, TLC Engineering Solutions, Brentwood, Tenn. ROBERT J. GARRA JR., PE, CDT, Vice President, Electrical Engineer, CannonDesign, Grand Island, N.Y. JASON GERKE, PE, LEED AP BD+C, Cx A, Mechanical Engineer, GRAEF, Milwaukee JOSHUA D. GREENE, PE, Associate Principal, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Waltham, Mass. RAYMOND GRILL, PE, FSFPE, Principal, Arup, Washington, D.C. DANNA JENSEN, PE, LEED AP BD+C, Principal, Certus, Carrollton, Texas WILLIAM KOFFEL, PE, FSFPE, President, Koffel Associates Inc., Columbia, Md. WILLIAM KOSIK, PE, CEM, LEED AP BD+C, BEMP, Senior Energy Engineer, Oak Park Ill. KENNETH KUTSMEDA, PE, LEED AP, Engineering Manager, Jacobs, Philadelphia SARA LAPPANO, PE, LC, LEED AP, Managing Principal, Integral Group, Washington, D.C. JULIANNE LAUE, PE, LEED AP BD+C, BEMP, Director of Building Performance, Mortenson, Minneapolis DAVID LOWREY, Chief Fire Marshal, Boulder (Colo.) Fire Rescue JASON MAJERUS, PE, CEM, LEED AP, Principal, DLR Group, Cleveland BRIAN MARTIN, PE, Senior Electrical Technologist, Jacobs, Portland, Ore. DWAYNE G. MILLER, PE, RCDD, AEE CPQ, CEO and Co-Founder, UNIFI Labs Inc., Las Vegas FREDDY PADILLA, PE, ATD, Principal/Senior Electrical Engineer, Page, Austin, Texas GREGORY QUINN, PE, NCEES, LEED AP, Principal, Health Care Market Leader, Affiliated Engineers Inc., Madison, Wis. BRIAN A. RENER, PE, LEED AP, Principal, Electrical Discipline Leader, SmithGroup, Chicago SUNONDO ROY, PE, LEED AP BD+C, Vice President, CCJM Engineers Ltd., Chicago RANDY SCHRECENGOST, PE, CEM, Austin Operations Group Manager/Senior Mechanical Engineer, Stanley Consultants, Austin, Texas MATT SHORT, PE, Project Manager/Mechanical Engineer, Smith Seckman Reid, Houston SAAHIL TUMBER, PE, HBDP, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Environmental Systems Design, Chicago MARIO VECCHIARELLO, PE, CEM, GBE, Senior Vice President, CDM Smith Inc., Boston RICHARD VEDVIK, PE, Senior Electrical Engineer and Acoustics Engineer, IMEG Corp., Rock Island, Ill.
Digital transformation New tools are driving the engineering industry toward more digitized design and construction
A
t a recent conference, I pre- ness becomes more digitized and as a sented on the topic of “digital younger workforce brings more knowtransformation.” The entire how and confidence in using these conference program revolved tools. around this topic, with insights from Project delivery methods are movassociations, manufacturers and ing from the traditional design-build thought leaders. option to more collaborative options, While the attendees were primarily like integrated project delivery. The from manufacturing firms, article on page 18 describes such as companies that make it as: control systems for pro“IPD is a process through cessing plants or industrial which people, systems, busiautomation solutions, some ness structures and pracattendees had backgrounds tices are joined together to that were a bit broader. optimize project results, Digital transformation increase efficiencies, reduce in the automation and manwaste and gain insights from Amara Rozgus, ufacturing sector includes all parties involved in the Editor-in-Chief many technologies that, design, fabrication and conwhile not entirely new, have struction phases. The basic not been fully adopted by companies. idea is to identify who or which team is Mixed reality, advanced robotics and best able to complete the task at hand, digital twins have been fully accepted even if it means stepping outside traby some manufacturing companies. ditional roles. The process is built on Others are just learning about it, or continuous improvement and staystarting to use them in select projects. ing focused on achieving the project More relevant to the building indus- objectives outlined at the onset of the try are the topics of virtual reality, project.” drones, virtual design and construction This is not unlike manufacturing, in and 3D printing. While not adopted in which system efficiencies can be found all cases — or in any projects when it at many levels through lean manufaccomes to very small firms — these turing. This is echoed in the case study technologies are digitally transforming on page 24, in which virtual design and the architecture, engineering and con- construction is paired with an integratstruction industry. ed lean project delivery approach. This Other topics of interest to engineers article shows how using digital tools might include building information brings together all of the various team modeling, robotics, cloud comput- members, and incorporates digitized ing and system integration in smart site plans and smart tools and software, buildings. Again, these are not being like tablets and smartphones. adopted at all engineering firms or All of these new tools are driving on all projects, but these technologies the engineering industry toward more are moving to the forefront as busi- digitized design and construction.cse
MIKE WALTERS, PE, LEED AP, Campus Energy Market Leader, MEP Associates, Verona, Wis. APRIL WOODS, PE, LEED AP BD+C, Vice President, WSP USA, Orlando, Fla. JOHN YOON, PE, LEED AP ID+C, Lead Electrical Engineer, McGuire Engineers Inc., Chicago
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consulting-specifying engineer
October 2019
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The Fujitsu J-Series…Premium benefits. Premium profits. input #5 at www.csemag.com/information
Prescriptive electrical, power system specifications Don't know Never
NEWS&BUSINESS
RESEARCH
5%
3%
Always
2019 FIRE & LIFE SAFETY STUDY 17% 19%
56%
Rarely
Frequently
Figure 1: Seventy-three percent of firms always or frequently write prescriptive electrical or power system specifications. Source: ConsultingSpecifying Engineer 2018 Electrical & Power Study
4 in 10
engineers expect to see an increase of metering/submetering technologies and variable refrigerant flow systems in future projects. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2019 HVAC & Building Automation Systems Study
>50%
of engineers specify LEDs, occupancy sensors, multi-level lighting or dimming systems and daylight harvesting systems. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2019 Lighting & Lighting Controls Study
48%
of engineers are specifying water-based, sprinkler fire suppression systems and network and intelligent fire alarm control panels. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2019 Fire & Life Safety Study
More research Consulting-Specifying Engineer covers several research topics each year. All reports are available at www.csemag.com/research.
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Fire, life safety in hospitals, health care facilities
F
ifty-two percent of engineers specify, design or make product selections for hospitals/health care facilities, according to the Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2019 Fire & Life Safety Study — and 90% of these engineers are responsible for determining the requirements/writing the fire and life safety system specifications for these projects. Below are five findings: 1. Design value: Engineering firms are specifying $2.6 million annually, on average, in fire and life safety systems for new and existing hospitals and health care facilities, with 25% specifying more than $3.0 million. 2. Fire, life safety systems: Smoke detection, control systems, dampers, etc. (64%); fire, smoke, heat, linear detection (61%); and network and intelligent fire alarm control panels (52%) are the most common types for fire and life safety systems currently being specified into hospitals and health care facilities. 3. Specifications: For hospitals and health care facilities, performance fire
and life safety systems specifications are written 82% of the time, followed by prescriptive (75%) and open: alternate or substitute (62%). 4. Design factors: When comparing fire and life safety systems for hospitals and health care facilities, engineers heavily weigh product quality (81%), service support (52%), previous experience with the manufacturer (49%) and the manufacturer’s reputation (49%). 5. Recent changes: Over the past 12 to 18 months, engineers have been affected by changes to codes and standards (54%), building information modeling (49%), integration (40%) and wireless devices/ systems (40%) when designing/specifying fire and life safety systems for hospitals and health care facilities. cse
M More RESEARCH
Access more fire and life safety trends at www.csemag.com/research. Amanda Pelliccione is the research director at CFE Media.
Top 5 fire, life safety system challenges in hospitals, health care facilities Definitely a challenge Inadequate budget for good design
31%
Speed of project delivery
30%
Not enough young engineers/ professionals Subjective interpretation of regulations by code authorities Designing for interoperability and integration of systems
Challenging
38% 35%
27%
33%
17% 11%
42% 43%
Figure 2: Inadequate budgets, the speed of project delivery and a lack of young engineers/professionals are the top challenges engineers face when specifying fire and life safety systems for hospitals and health care facilities. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer consulting-specifying engineer
October 2019
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NEWS&BUSINESS
FUTURE OF ENGINEERING
By Erin Miller, PE, Southland Industries, Dulles, Virginia
How lean construction methods are shaping the future There are many ways lean practices will positively impact the future of building engineering and construction overall
L
ean construction methods can have a positive impact for everyone on a project — from consulting engineers, to general contractors, to the client soliciting the work. Adopted as a response to customer and supply chain dissatisfaction with the building industry, lean project delivery methods seek to manage a project through relationships, shared knowledge and common goals in order to break down the traditional silos associated with construction. The results of this approach produce significant improvements in scheduling, in reducing waste and ultimately result in better overall project delivery and increased value to the owner. With lean methods growing in popularity across the world, the future of construction and engineering as we know it will transform substantially.
Better building designs
Traditional methods require multiple iterations of the same program area and various rounds of feedback before the design is considered final. This can delay the process and increases the number of steps needed before a design is ready. That being said, there is value in iterative design. Through lean tools and processes, like Last Planner System for design, the design team can better manage the iterations and improve the quality of information output to the field and owner while still moving the project forward. Lean methods also can help a team break the mold of traditional regimented documentation packages. Current processes can require drawing packages of 200 or more drawings that could often be
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completed in a lesser amount, reducing waste and time. It seems like common knowledge, but if the construction side needs increased detail for a specific area, then the design team should focus on detailing that area to a higher level of detail. The team should focus on what’s valuable to the project as a whole, instead of trying to produce less detailed documents for the entire project to satisfy an arbitrary package deadline.
‘
Respect for people is at the core of the Lean Construction Institute’s tenets for lean
’
design and construction. Enhance communication and collaboration
By increasing communication between end-users, program planners, architects, engineers and builders, the team gathers information from all parties to streamline the design process and make decisions. A common phrase in lean delivery is: “Go slow to go fast.” If we take the time to understand the wants, needs and constraints of everyone involved, we can begin to see the path forward more clearly in less time than traditional iterations. This strategy can eliminate potential flaws and lessens multiple rounds of back and forth feedback from all parties involved. Furthermore, it significantly streamlines workflow processes by reducing time wasted drafting a design that was missing critical components.
Taking the time to create a shared set of goals for the project allows the project team stay focused on generating value for the end user and owner. These goals guide the decision-making process and provide clarity to new parties brought on board during the project life cycle. Expectations of transparency also help create a project team culture of cooperation. This allows team members from all trades and disciplines to pitch in to help solve challenges — even if it’s not directly related to their scope. Since all disciplines interact in one way or another, understanding other trades constraints can help increase overall value for the project as whole.
Exceed client expectations
By working with one another, projects seamlessly come together and people between disciplines help each other to achieve the common goals of the project. Respect for people is at the core of the Lean Construction Institute’s tenets for lean design and construction. People like to work on projects where they feel respected and heard, while owners benefit from projects that are completed faster than traditionally and with increased overall value all the while driving waste out of the project. Clients will continue coming back to high-performing teams for repeat work because of the success of lean-driven projects. cse
Erin Miller is a design engineer for Southland Industries’ mid-Atlantic division, and is responsible for generating innovative solutions for building HVAC systems. Southland Industries is a CFE Media content partner.
consulting-specifying engineer
October 2019
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SPECIAL REPORT By Amara Rozgus, Editor-in-Chief
2019 Commissioning Giants The 2019 Commissioning Giants data reports on the top 25 firms
T ‘
The top 25 companies made $551 million in revenue, more than double that of last year.
’
he Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2019 Commissioning Giants reports the top 25 firms based on whether they chose to be considered in this year’s rankings. The average percentage of commissioning revenue earned by the 2019 Commissioning Giants was approximately 30%, showing that these top 25 firms earn a great deal of their revenue from commissioning, some earning as much as 100% of their revenue solely from commissioning. For the 2019 report, the top 25 companies made $551 million in revenue, more than double that of last year. The majority (52%) of firms are consultingengineering firms with a commissioning division. New to the list this year, in order of ranking, are: • Jacobs • Facility Dynamics Engineering • Tetra Tech’s High Performance Buildings Group (Glumac, NDY, Cosentini) • Engineering Economics Inc. • Hood Patterson & Dewar • SourceOne Inc. • AECOM. The average commissioning fee per project varied. Forty-four percent of companies earned $100,001 to $300,000, 32% earned $25,001 to $50,000 and 16% earned $50,001 to $100,000. Only 8% earned more than $300,000 per project. This data reflects commissioning at all levels: new or existing buildings (46%), retro-commissioning (10%), whole building (9%), emergency power systems (8%), monitoring-based (4%), recommissioning (3%), fire protection systems (3%), building enclosure (envelope, 3%) and communications systems (3%). Of the 25 reporting, 23 firms completed, on average, 239 commissioning
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consulting-specifying engineer
projects (at any level) in 2018, up from 179 in last year’s report. According to survey respondents, these firms were contracted to complete commissioning for a variety of reasons: mandates (codes, standards, benchmarking: 92%), savings (energy efficiency, lower life cycle cost: 88%) and sustainability (long-term materials and performance efficiency: 88%.) Other reasons included resiliency (80%) and marketability of the property (52%).
Commissioning challenges
The 2019 Commissioning Giants study asked for information related directly to challenges for these firms. The top three current challenges for the 2019 Commissioning Giants are: • Staffing: quality of young commissioning professionals: 40%, which is a dramatic increase from 16% last year. • Evolving information technologies for design or project management (8%). • The economy’s impact on the construction market (8%).
Future challenges varied. The No. 1 challenge was the “lack of knowledge about commissioning’s worth,” with 48% respondents saying it was a problem (a sharp drop from 80% last year). Not far behind at 44% was “lack of funding or buy-in (from owners, engineers, etc.) to conduct commissioning.” Moving into third place this year at 40%, “not enough commissioning authorities or agents or commissioning professionals” showed up as a problem. This surpassed “codes and standards changing,” which came in at 20% this year, a drop from 28% in the previous report. cse www.csemag.com
Commissioning firm types Other
Engineering/architectural; architectural/ engineering firm
24% 52%
8% 16%
Commissioning, balancing, etc. only
Consulting engineering firm
Figure 1: The majority of firms are consultingengineering firms with a division committed to commissioning at various levels. Courtesy: Consulting-Specifying Engineer
Table 1: 2019 Commissioning Giants 2019 Rank
Firm name
Total commissioning revenue for fiscal year
2018 Rank
1
Jacobs
$224,760,000
NA
2
Burns & McDonnell
$39,360,000
1
3
Primary Integration Solutions Inc.
$30,000,000
2
4
McKinstry
$26,500,000
3
5
Facility Dynamics Engineering
$25,300,000
NA
6
IPS-Integrated Project Services
$23,832,219
4
7
Tetra Tech’s High Performance Buildings Group (Glumac, NDY, Cosentini)
$20,000,000
NA
8
WSP USA
$13,000,000
5
9
Engineering Economics Inc.
$12,730,735
NA
10
Hood Patterson & Dewar
$12,565,195
NA
11
SSRCx
$12,487,481
7
12
NV5 Global Inc.
$12,400,000
9
13
Horizon Engineering Associates
$11,956,000
6
14
SourceOne Inc.
$10,500,000
NA
15
RMF Engineering Inc.
$9,200,000
8
16
Chinook Systems Inc.
$8,773,000
13
17
Affiliated Engineers Inc.
$7,771,324
11
18
AKF Group
$7,700,000
10
19
AECOM
$7,000,000
NA
20
Bernhard TME
$6,700,000
17
21
Heapy Engineering
$6,485,197
14
22
Sindoni Consulting & Management Services Inc.
$6,001,000
15
23
CBRE | Heery
$5,956,400
12
24
Jaros, Baum & Bolles
$5,294,172
20
25
Salas O’Brien
$4,722,990
22
Table 1: The top 25 firms earned $551 million in the past fiscal year. Nearly all (96%) firms reported having a commissioning engineer or coordinator on staff and 92% indicated they had a business development director. Courtesy: Consulting-Specifying Engineer www.csemag.com
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SPECIAL REPORT By Phil Allen, PE, LEED AP, QCxP, CCP, Peter Basso Associates, Troy, Michigan
Linking commissioning, TAB to deliver better buildings When the commissioning authority and the testing, adjusting and balancing contractor collaborate throughout the design and construction phases, it results in improved building construction
C
ommissioning professionals along with testing, adjusting and balancing contractors provide a quality assurance service during the design and construction of a building. Each group covers a different aspect of the building process. When the two groups work together, the results can greatly benefit not only the owner and end user with a better performing building, but savings and efficiencies also can be realized by the construction team. Commissioning professionals generally grow out of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing design groups, where their expertise and familiarity derives from the engineering and design family. They are well-versed in documenting a client’s needs for the new facility, selecting the appropriate equipment and developing the plans and specifications that can be bid by the contractors and built to meet those needs. CxPs could be considered a relative of the “design family.” Similarly, the TAB contractor can be considered close kin to the sheet metal and piping contractors. They work with the mechanical contractors to test, adjust, measure and validate that the systems perform as the design intends. They also calibrate the control systems to ensure the flow readings are accurate along with damper or modulating valve positions, all of which will
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influence how the building systems react to maintain the desired building environmental conditions. TAB contractors can be considered a relative of the “construction family.” Most organizations like the Building Commissioning Association, ASHRAE and the U.S. Green Building Council all recommend that the CxP be brought into
‘
Commissioning professionals generally grow out of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing design groups.
’
a project early in the design process to take advantage of their knowledge and experience. When the TAB contractor is included in the early system reviews, their practical experience and knowledge compliment the CxP’s design review. They are familiar with what is needed to properly adjust or balance complex systems, along with the necessary volume dampers, flow meters and control devices. It is less costly to modify or make minor revisions before having the project under construction. This is the most efficient use of the commissioning design
consulting-specifying engineer
review process and it provides an additional level of confidence that the design on paper will fulfill the desired intent.
Detailing the workflow
The TAB contractor primarily focuses on measuring and adjusting each individual flow rate of air and/or water through equipment designed and purchased for the project. They adjust the equipment and balance flow rates to meet the design and the flows indicated on the drawings. More often than not, they have a large quantity of elements within a new building that have to be tested, adjusted and reported. Rarely do they have the time built into their contract to review and consider all the sequences of operation, all the components and how the overall building is going to be used. When TAB work is married to commissioning; these considerations are discussed and their respective insights help both groups understand the intention of the overall building operation. Once the project is under contract, as construction progresses, the CxP is responsible for keeping the quality assurance milestones of the project in front of the construction team. This is achieved by dovetailing in the installation verification, system startup, testing and balancing and final commissioning tasks into the construction schedule. www.csemag.com
Figure 1: The operating temperature of a snow melt system serving a paved courtyard is recorded. Courtesy: Camille Sylvain Thompson, Peter Basso Associates Inc.
As with the design review phase, during construction the goal is to discover potential problems, document them and bring them to light for the commissioning team to resolve. The commissioning team includes the owner, engineer of record, construction manager, MEP subcontractors, the controls contractor, TAB contractor and any specialty consultant on the project. The CxP documents and maintains a list of issues. This helps to ensure that they will be addressed including issues discovered during the testing, adjusting and balancing work. More often than not, the resolution of an issue requires several members of the Cx team to coordinate a solution. TAB work is an instrumental step before beginning the systems functional testing that is usually thought of as commissioning. The systems need to be operating and moving air with heating hot or chilled water flowing in order to demonstrate to the CxP that the system actually heats or cools the space when commanded to. If the TAB contractor determines the fan is running at full capacity, but does not move the volume of air the designer specified, then the CxP documents the deficiency and it is then up to the engineer to resolve the issue. Many times, the CxP is viewed by the construction group as someone coming www.csemag.com
onto the site that invades their world to point out everything they can find that is wrong. The CxP does not produce a product, or actually operate equipment. They witness in a systematic forensic approach, the operation of building systems to ensure they work in accordance with the design intent. TAB contractors work closely with the mechanical and controls contractors and are usually the first to identify problems or potential problems with equipment. The TAB work is integral to a successfully commissioned building. A marriage of the TAB and CxP activities come from opposite sides of the design and construction spectrum, and involves working together to fill gaps that may occur between the design process and construction completion. The TAB and CxP both work as an advocate for the owner’s best interest. When the general contractor or mechanical contractor holds the TAB contract, there may be a conflict of interest where some deficiencies may go unreported or are included in the balance report, but unless the engineer received the report and acts to rectify the problem, it goes unnoticed. Together the TAB contractor and CxP partner in checking both theoretical (during design review) and actual operation (during the TAB phase) of the equipment for the building. The building owner
reaps the fruit of this union as the building occupants remain comfortable, while building systems begin their new life in their proper condition. Most buildings eventually get commissioned by testing, adjusting and balancing until the complaints stop. However, there are many benefits to starting the commissioning process early with the TAB contractor onboard, in order to ensure that systems are operating and fully tested before the owner taking occupancy. This will ensure the honeymoon between the owner and building will continue for years to come. cse Phil Allen is a vice president with Peter Basso Associates Inc.
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OBJECTIVES
• Know that early involvement of the CxP improves the reliability that project goals are identified and that the building systems have the ability to meet those objectives. • Learn how the TAB contractor works with the installation contractors and, ultimately, the commissioning team. • Understand that when the TAB contractor and the CxP work together as a team, under the same contract, then the building project is optimized.
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SPECIAL REPORT By Tom Poeling, PE, CEM, CCP, U.S. Engineering Co., Denver
The value of building commissioning: current market status The Building Commissioning Association partnered with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to confirm the value of commissioning for providers, facility owners and building industry stakeholders
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he Building Commissioning Association and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory collaborated to produce an update to the study “Building Commissioning: A Golden Opportunity for Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions,” last revised by Dr. Evan Mills in 2009. The purpose of the current study is to update the metrics and market characteristics that establish the value of the commissioning profession in the building industry. This two-pronged study is composed of separate surveys: a data-based survey produced by LBNL and a marketbased survey conducted by BCxA. This narrative summarizes the results from this market survey and references key results from the data survey. The results of the LBNL and BCxA surveys are intended to provide a scorecard on the value of Cx based on feedback from providers and the building industry now, 10 years later. Defining
“value” does require establishing economic metrics to those who procure Cx services and to those who provide them. However, value also requires definition of the benefits and importance of the Cx process, which helps market stakeholders understand and advocate for Cx services.
surveys. Some of the highlights that are discussed in the study include:
Project purpose/objective
New construction Cx: • NCCx benefits include a strong ability to drive the level of completeness in building construction, which results in meeting aggressive schedules, addressing construction issues earlier, better design and construction team coordination and reducing warranty callbacks.
• Explain current market drivers for procuring commissioning services.
The purpose of this report, the market survey, is to provide feedback on market influences, drivers for procuring Cx services, incorporation of established Cx practices as well as the effectiveness/ persistence of Cx as a best practice. This market survey is intended to complement the results of LBNL’s building data survey. The data survey provides objective results for Cx project economics and factors that drive owners to procure Cx services. The purpose of this market survey is to provide insight to define the factors that drive the value of the Cx process. Two rounds of surveys were sent to BCxA members and relevant stakeholders in 2017 and 2018. A total of 120 subject matter experts responded to this market survey. This background of the respondents, including the type of firm, geographic location and relative size of the firm are described under demographics, below.
• Describe energy savings and payback for commissioning projects.
Key findings
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• Understand the effectiveness/persistence of commissioning as a best practice.
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The value of Cx is defined through the feedback provided by the data and market
consulting-specifying engineer
• Cx certification. More than 70% of respondents indicated that Cx certification was important to business success.
• The data survey results did not provide strong feedback to quantify measurable energy savings due to NCCx. The value of NCCx process can be defined through nonenergy savings benefits, such as improved thermal comfort and indoor air quality, better training for staff and longer equipment service life. Existing building Cx: • EBCx demonstrates its value through energy savings and simple payback. The data survey resulted in median energy savings results of 6%. • Utility-backed EBCx projects produced energy savings in the range of www.csemag.com
three to 10 years, with a simple payback of one to five years and a median of 2.2 years. • EBCx projects are capable of producing additional energy savings (between 10% and 25% was demonstrated) with additional scope. • This market survey’s results confirm that EBCx projects with a simple payback of two years or less are most likely to be implemented by owners. • The top issues discovered during EBCx are related to controls sequence modifications. The top five sequence-related issues accounted for 95% of the reported measures in the data survey. • The top nonenergy benefits associated with EBCx include improving system performance, improved thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Ongoing Cx: • The OCx process resulted in energy savings across a range of 5% to 20%, with a weighted average of 8%. • Simple payback of OCx projects were similar to those reported for EBCx projects, in the one- to five-year range, with a median of 1½ years. • A definition of OCx was not included in the survey, which may have led to confusion over manual versus monitoring-based Cx or continuous versus periodic post-occupancy Cx (which is typically embedded in operations and maintenance). • One purpose of OCx projects is to maintain persistence of building performance by embedding monitoring and fault detection and diagnostics technology into building automation systems. The market is working to drive persistence; however, market survey results indicate that only 10% of OCx projects were renewed past the first term of installation, i.e., past the one-year warranty date.
Drivers and trends
This market survey investigated factors that drove the procurement of Cx services. Some of the major themes included:
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New construction commissioning influence Owner awareness
Building codes Voluntary rating programs
Public policies
Other Less than 10% 10% to 25% 25% to 50% 50% to 75% Greater than 75%
Utility programs
Trade associations 0
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30
40
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Figure 1: This shows respondents’ rating of importance of factors influencing new construction commissioning market. Courtesy: Building Commissioning Association
NCCx: • NCCx market influence: The data suggest that owner awareness and building codes are increasingly influencing the NCCx market, while rating programs may be losing some relevance. • NCCx services are being selected using at least some qualificationsbased selection procedures for approximately 43% of respondents. EBCx: • EBCx. Energy savings is still the No. 1 driver for implementing EBCx services. Other strong drivers include system performance, thermal comfort and indoor air quality. • Secondary EBCx drivers include U.S. Green Building Council LEED rating system requirements, utility incentives, extended equipment life and improved occupant productivity.
OCx: • OCx services are slowly expanding in the marketplace. The majority of respondents indicated that they have offered OCx services for less than five years. Nearly 75% of the firms reported performing the OCx process on fewer than two buildings in the previous year. • OCx is intended as a long-term resilience tool for building performance and energy savings. It is interesting that more than 50% of the projects are not renewed past the initial 12-month term. • OCx processes have not yet become part of the core O&M process in operating facilities. OCx is intended to provide O&M staff with information to help make running their facility easier. There is an opportunity for OCx providers and OCx vendors to educate owners on this value proposition.
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SPECIAL REPORT New construction commissioning Lighting systems/controls
Less than 10% 10% to 25% 25% to 50% 50% to 75% Greater than 75%
Other Electrical systems (beyond generator)
Renewable systems
OCx: • A survey question asked if OCx is being utilized as a tool during NCCx or as a standalone tool for existing buildings. The results are mixed, but they imply that OCx is being used more often as a process for existing buildings. • The use of fault detection and diagnostics is limited in current OCx services. More than 60% of the responses included the FDD scope “rarely” or “never.” • The most common recurrence for reviewing OCx process results is quarterly, with survey results showing review at least quarterly to be nearly 75%. Frequent review of results is considered a best practice for conducting the OCx process.
Fire protection/life safety
IT/communications
Opportunities
The concern about the commoditization of Cx will continue to be debated, especially as the Cx industry matures 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 and the demands of the construction industry evolve. Figure 2: When asked how often systems other than heating, ventilation and One of the purposes of this study air conditioning were included in new construction commissioning scope of was to maintain consistency with the work, lighting controls came out as the clear winner. Courtesy: Building Comdata collected from the 2004 and 2009 missioning Association LBNL studies and to reset the baseline for future studies. This was important in order to maintain consistency in the Scope and constraints data to show trends over the past 15 process. Repairs occur at least Questions in this market survey years. “sometimes” in 87% of the projects. regarding the scope of work for new conThe results of this market study have struction Cx indicated that: helped to determine which questions • Measurement of air and water flow should be carried forward into future rates through test and balance proNCCx: surveys. cedures is a common component • NCCx design phase Cx services of the EBCx scope of work. TAB are included in more than 60% of • Continue to gather data on the is applied at least “sometimes” in requests for proposal. economics of all forms of Cx. Cx more than 75% of EBCx projects. costs are heavily influenced by the • NCCx design review comments number, size and type of buildings • When TAB is applied to an EBCx are incorporated into construction surveyed. More data will improve scope, it is evenly split between perdocuments nearly half of the time. the results, especially for building forming TAB at the air handling types outside of the most common unit level or at the terminal unit • NCCx design phase issues constiones (office and schools). level. tute approximately 25% of all NCCx issues. • The study starts to establish a • Despite energy savings being a baseline of the effect of qualificastrong driver for EBCx services, EBCx: tions-based selection process and utility submetering was not a sig• The survey confirms that upfront that information should continue nificant requirement for projects, repairs are common in the EBCx to be trended over time. according to respondents. Building enclosure
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M More ONLINE
Contribution to owner Completeness/consistency of design
Read the full BCxA market survey report at: www.bcxa.org/knowledge-center/ value-of-cx-project/
Operational concerns Sequence of operation Controls review
• Market influences due to factors beyond owner awareness. • The cost/benefits of EBCx projects managed through utility programs versus those are not influenced by utility incentives.
MEP/controls systems integration Interdisciplinary coordination OPR/BOD coordination System size appropriate for design/loads Codes Building enclosure
• The evolution of the OCx process, including market drivers and scope evolution. One of the goals of the market survey was to provide feedback to Cx providers on process and scope that can be delivered more efficiently. Issues related to early involvement of Cx services, improved communication with Cx stakeholders and persistent influence after construction completion are discussed within this study and should be included in best practices development. cse
System cost-effectiveness 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Figure 3: Completeness/consistency of design documents was deemed the most valuable commissioning contribution to owner. This is based on an aggregation of open-ended responses to question 32 in the market survey. Courtesy: Building Commissioning Association
Tom Poeling is the president of the Building Commissioning Association and director of quality assurance at U.S. Engineering Co., where he influences quality
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BUILDING SOLUTIONS
IPD AND VDC
By Robert J. Garra Jr., PE, CannonDesign, Grand Island, New York; and Brian Skripac, CM-BIM, Assoc. DBIA, LEED AP, CannonDesign, Pittsburgh
IPD and VDC can lead to project success Engineers can leverage the integrated project delivery and virtual design and construction processes
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ntegrated project delivery requires a team approach and buy-in from all players, including the architect, engineer, contractor and owner. Virtual design and construction is a process that fully integrates all elements of a project by openly sharing design and construction models among the team, from design through construction. As more owners consider options to traditional delivery methods, IPD has emerged as an important alternative. IPD is a relatively new method, and is becoming increasingly popular. IPD is a process through which people, systems, business structures and practices are joined together to optimize project results, increase efficiencies, reduce waste and gain insights from all parties involved in the design, fabrication and construction phases. The basic idea is to identify who or which
team is best able to complete the task at hand, even if it means stepping outside traditional roles. The process is built on continuous improvement and staying focused on achieving the project objectives outlined at the onset of the project. One of the most important components of implementing IPD is the roles and behaviors of the team. There is a fundamental shift in mindset that needs to occur from all project team members; instead of being focused solely on their siloed issues, they must focus on what is best for the project. This means the entire team must be committed to engage in the behaviors described below: • Collaboration: Change in mindset from individual contracts to a collective project. • Trust: Demonstrate reliability to build trust among all parties. • Commitment-based management: Focus on system and project performance, not just siloed performance. • Continuous improvement: Learn rapidly from outcomes that do not go as planned.
Figure 1: This shows a snapshot of the Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus from a coordinated model. The integrated project delivery team developed a single model for detailed coordination in a big room setting prior to construction. This level of coordination lead to less rework, adherence to construction schedule, opportunity for pre-fab off-site and certainty of install. Courtesy: CannonDesign
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There are typically five phases outlined to plan the IPD process, and the engineers are key players in each. The following are specific experiences that an engineer can expect to endure during the IPD process. The phases, noted below, are subtly represented in these experiences: • Establishing goals and metrics. • Understanding elements of the design. • Taking time to refine. • Documenting the process. • Execution. www.csemag.com
The team also needs to balance doing the right thing and doing it right. This means focusing on who is best to perform a certain task regardless of company or role. The IPD process is outcome-driven, consensus-based, multidisciplinary and depends on shared accountability. To keep the project progressing in the manner described thus far, there are three groups that comprise the IPD management structure and help determine its success. Each partner is responsible for meeting the agreed-upon cost for the contract, with financial rewards based on total project results, not on individual group results. • Project management team: Acts in a collaborative manner to provide management-level leadership during the design and construction process in a concerted effort to achieve the projective objective. The PMT is responsible for managing the budget, schedule and all administrative aspects of the project. The PMT at a minimum should include representatives from the owner, architect, engineer and construction manager.
Figure 2: This rendering is fully integrated model using Autodesk Revit as part of the virtual design and construction process. Courtesy: CannonDesign
• Senior management team: Tasked with resolving any matters referred to it by the PMT. The SMT comprises executive-level representatives from each party that signs the agreement. • Project implementation team: Leads the execution of the work, spearheading innovation and aiming to drive waste out of the process. PITs include representatives from all members of the team. Common PITs include civil engineer and landscape architect, project architect, architectural designer, architectural planner, structural engineer, interior designer, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, plumbing engineer and low-voltage engineer. In a truly integrated project, the project flow from conceptualization through implementation and closeout differs significantly from a nonintegrated project. IPD will result in greater intensity with increased team involvement in the early phases of design. In the integrated project, design will flow from determining what are the project goals, to what will be built and to how the design will be realized. Conventional terminology, such as schematic design, design development and construction drawings, creates workflow boundaries that do not align with a collaborative process.
Virtual design and construction
VDC is a concept that is commonly associated with construction partners rather than building information modeling, which is referenced more in an architectural and engineering conversation. All too often, the industry uses Autodesk Revit interchangeably with BIM, which is unclear, as Revit is
www.csemag.com
Figure 3: This is the actual installation of what was modeled in Figure 2. As described, the virtual process leads to cleaner construction process. Courtesy: CannonDesign
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Learning
simply one of many technologies that can create a building model. In this context, BIM should be thought of as a noun or an object, i.e., • Understand the definition of integrated project delivery. BIM can be a deliverable for our projects. • Learn about the virtual design With this understanding in place, VDC and construction process. then becomes the process of developing reliable multidisciplinary models to sup- • Review a hospital project that successfully implemented IPD port the design-construct-operate conand VDC. tinuum, which provides an opportunity to be a facilitator for the life cycle of the project, ultimately driving a new standard of care. Technology can only go so far, innovation in team and process is truly what makes BIM successful. This new standard of care leverages opportunities to advance the project management, project delivery and quality standards. We have seen a consulting-specifying engineer
OBJECTIVES
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BUILDING SOLUTIONS
IPD AND VDC
strong focus on the development of these VDC processes to drive bottom-line cost savings and drive new business opportunities. A foundational element to this effort is being able to transform how we define what our deliverables truly are. The need to spend time detailing aspects of the building that will ultimately be overridden during the procurement and shop drawing phases become waste in the process while generating reductant sheets of paper that can cause confusion and result in a lack of clarity of the design and construction process rather than advancing it.
‘
A powerful aspect of BIM in IPD is that shared models reduce redrawing as the virtual design evolves from phase to phase and from player to player within
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the building team.
This is echoed in Barbara White Bryson’s book “The Owner’s Dilemma: Driving Success and Innovation in the Design and Construction Industry,” where she comments that “BIM is the perfect complement to collaborative teams, especially ones that care about the fluidity of information sharing and the coordination rather than the sanctity of drawings.”
Streamlining workflow Leveraging a model-based delivery strategy drives opportunities for a consistent, integrated and collaborative project delivery method of solving constructability issues through the use of object-based virtual representations affording project participants a common language of the built environment. The resulting workflow enables enhanced certainty of outcome, improved coordination (reduced requests for information and cost), adherence to budget and scope and a reduced total cost of operation in accordance with the prescribed level of reliability of our multidisciplinary BIM deliverables achieving our client’s expectations through innovative project delivery methods and service line integrations. New collaborative delivery models — like IPD — allow engineers to leverage a model as a deliverable, which becomes a strategic advantage to how teams collaborate, communicate and drive leaner processes, reducing the redundancy and waste. This ability to properly set expectations of what information is critical to be in a building model, how it should be leveraged in construction and who will model what elements to a certain level of develop-
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ment for what collaborative use cases becomes an extremely important conversation. A powerful aspect of BIM in IPD is that shared models reduce redrawing as the virtual design evolves from phase to phase and from player to player within the building team. For example, mechanical, electrical and plumbing design engineers and MEP trade contractors working concurrently in a shared BIM allows the mechanical contractor to model system components and directly transfer the end design direction into their materials fabrication software. The result is well-coordinated documents and cost savings through minimized labor on rework. BIM enables us to measure the constraints and external conditions relevant to building design in a very methodical, efficient way before construction. U.S Green Building Council LEED analysis, heating and cooling loads and daylighting studies are some of the value-add analyses possible using the BIM. Further, design engineers use BIM as a dynamic tool to generate equipment schedules, as well as air balance and pressurization schedules. The information produced can be helpful to the commissioning agent, balancing contractor and building controls subcontractor, with values used to balance the systems on a room-by-room basis.
Breaking down silos Ask anyone on the Bayhealth Hospital team, and the sentiment is the same: “This has by far been the most collaborative project I’ve ever worked on.” (See “Case study: Using IPD to fast-track a hospital”) A key reason for this successful collaboration was the co-location of the team in a single space. Not just the architect, contractor and client, but also every key trade partner. The team was organized into PITs, with a PIT for each core discipline, such as MEP engineers, project architect, interior designer and medical equipment specialists. At the end of every co-location day, each PIT would stand up in front of the full team and give a report on its progress, ensuring all teammates knew the status of all aspects of the project. When issues or conflicts arose, the team was able to address them immediately as a group. The team subscribed to the “one model” concept. The entire team, including contractors, had access to the BIM via the Autodesk BIM 360 collaboration shared site. The design team developed the design using Revit and the contractors are using the same model for shop drawings, coordination and construction. The entire team uses tablet computers on-site to pull up the model and review field issues in 3D, identify and track issues and punch listing using the BIM 360 program. This method of VDC proved highly effective. For example, when the owner added a linear accelerator vault for radiation oncology to the prowww.csemag.com
CASE STUDY: Using IPD to fast-track a hospital
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ayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus is a 440,000-square-foot replacement hospital serving a rapidly growing population in southern Delaware. The hospital’s previous location was landlocked with no room to grow without disrupting the residential communities that surround it. By moving its main campus to a 165-acre greenfield site, the hospital was able to gain seven times more space than its previous 22-acre location, giving it ample room to grow along with its community. Although every building designed today requires collaboration among partners, Bayhealth Hospital took collaboration to new heights by employing a contractually binding integrated project delivery model. The decision to pursue this method was introduced by Bayhealth Hospital, which, on a previous project, dealt with more than 2,000 change orders. At the start of the project, the client made its expectations clear: no change orders. Key to IPD is the contract, which clearly establishes the expectations for what the team will deliver within a set budget and schedule. In the case of Bayhealth Hospital, the team agreed to a tri-party contract between the architect, construction manager and owner. The subcontractors or trade partners were adjuncts to the tri-party contract and adhered to the provisions within the contract, as well as shared in the risks and incentives. Whereas in a typical delivery model most of the project partners are concerned with their individual success, on this project, the team was focused on each other’s success — recognizing that nobody would succeed unless all of us succeeded. This collaboration paid off. The hospital opened Feb. 5, 2019, five months faster than comparable replacement hospitals delivered via traditional design-bidbuild. The project was delivered on budget with only a few change orders due to client-led scope additions. Some of the strategies employed to make the team’s performance and the project a success were: project team assembly, organizing the project team’s structure, creating a playbook, defining the contract and setting incentives. Once the project team was assembled, a significant amount of time was spent building relationships before designing and building the hospital. Using an outside consultant specializing in IPD collaboration, the first few weeks were focused on organizing the governing structure for the project, creating a project playbook that introduced our agreed-upon processes and standards, developing the contract and determining an incentive plan. The incentive plan was especially critical; it acted as the “rulebook” for how the project team could achieve
www.csemag.com
Figure 4: The Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus is a 440,000-square-foot replacement hospital serving a rapidly growing population in southern Delaware. Courtesy: CannonDesign
Figure 5: By moving the main campus to a 165-acre greenfield site, the Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus was able to gain seven times more space than its previous 22-acre location, giving it ample room to grow along with its community. Courtesy: CannonDesign
increased profit. The only ways to do so were to keep the final project costs below an agreed-upon threshold (dubbed the “neutral zone,” which was anywhere within a $3.5 million band around the project target cost) and to achieve set goals for 10 key performance indicators (related to safety, Delaware labor/material participation, quality control, energy efficiency, schedule, punch list, resolving and avoiding issues and conditions of satisfaction). Success was scored throughout the project, which continually encouraged each firm to find the most costeffective way to complete or purchase work. Whereas at one point during preconstruction project the estimate was trending toward $20 million over target, the team was able to work closely together during preconstruction and construction to drive the costs back down to within the projected neutral zone. consulting-specifying engineer
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BUILDING SOLUTIONS
IPD AND VDC
Another key strategy involved sharing and pooling rental equipment. Traditional projects silo the trades’ responsibilities and rewards, encouraging them to duplicate equipment rentals and not share tools. The IPD incentive plan encouraged the opposite behavior; trade partners shared everything from ladders to lifts to safety gear. Using a “Bang-It,” which is a concrete insert set in place before floors or roof slab concrete is poured, also led to significant savings. After the team coordinated the plenum-hung equipment, each trade installed more than 40,000 color-coded Bang-Its into the formwork before pouring concrete. This allowed each trade to hang ducts, pipes and electrical conduits without drilling or shooting into the structure; the connections were cast ahead of time. This resulted in 15 minutes of saved labor per connection point and more than $800,000 in savings for the project. Figure 6: The integrated project delivery team meets in the big room design session. Courtesy: CannonDesign
gram — a change that could have significantly challenged the schedule and budget — the entire team was brought together to develop a strategy that didn’t derail the project. The solution was harnessing prefabrication; instead of framing and pouring highstrength concrete for the vault, the agreed upon solution provided for a precast concrete contractor to fabricate high-strength solid concrete blocks and assemble them in place and on-site immediately after the foundation was cured.
Getting to market faster
In the world of health care where things change rapidly, bringing completed projects to market as quickly as possible is essential. It’s also key to keeping costs down. The team harnessed extensive prefabrication as a strategy to achieve this; items such as bathrooms, patient room headwalls, stairways plumbing systems and electrical rooms were designed to be modular and prefabricated. The concrete panels on the exterior were also precast. To ensure the precast panels supported speedto-market, the designers went to the precast factory and strategized with the tradesman who ultimately helped design the ideal solution to close-in the building a month earlier than originally planned. Those discussions added tab details to the column shop drawings, allowing the connections for the panels to be totally prefabricated, further accelerating the enclosure. Asking the trades for their input, as opposed to telling them what to do, played a critical role in ensuring the success of the Bayhealth Hospital project. The team also trusted the trades with the Revit models. For example, the drywall team used the model to lay out every single floor. Even though the drawings did not have every partition dimensioned, there were zero RFIs regarding layout.
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Hospital excellence
First and foremost, Bayhealth Hospital is a community hospital; during the community open house in January, the line of community members waiting to get in wrapped around the building three times. During the design process, the community was engaged through dozens of public meetings to discuss the design and address community concerns, as well as to show residents mockups of key spaces. The hospital staff also was intimately involved, with each department helping to devise their department’s programming and design needs. The seven-story hospital includes 128 private, same-handed patient rooms. Prioritizing the patient experience, each patient room provides views to the outdoors and ample space for family members and visitors. To accommodate future growth, the hospital includes shelled space for the addition of more patient rooms as needed. As one of the only emergency and trauma centers in the region, its emergency department is three times the size of its previous space. The hospital also includes a 70,000-square-foot outpatient center housing an integrated cancer center as well as outpatient rehabilitation, surgery, diagnostic services and more. cse
Robert J. Garra Jr. is a principal and director of engineering at CannonDesign. He takes time to understand clients’ needs and their overall performance goals. Garra is a member of the ConsultingSpecifying Engineer editorial advisory board and is a 2013 40 Under 40 award winner. Brian Skripac is director of virtual design and construction at CannonDesign. He continually drives innovation by focusing on the process orientation of the BIM-enabled VDC delivery process at the firm. www.csemag.com
Congratulations,
40 Under 40 Winners!
The 12th annual 40 Under 40 award winners are a dynamic bunch with the future of the industry in their sights.
Read each of the 2019 profiles at www.csemag.com/40under40
BUILDING SOLUTIONS
CASE STUDY: IPD AND VDC
By Jeremy Jones, PE, LEED AP, Affiliated Engineers Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Hospital expansion incorporates IPD The owner, engineer, architect and contractor all benefited from an integrated lean project delivery approach with specific partner requirements in place and an insightful understanding of crucial team dynamics
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one Health has the enviable reputation of a health care system that does not shy from innovation. In 2014, its Moses Cone Hospital North Tower expansion opened, becoming the first hospital in the U.S. to use active chilled beams in patient rooms, realizing significant energy savings while improving patient comfort. Cone continues to set precedent, becoming the first hospital system on the East Coast to deliver a major project under a true integrated lean project delivery method for the Women’s Hospital expansion on its main cam• Understand the details of a pus in Greensboro, North Carolina. basic integrated project delivery Cone had operated a dedicatpartner agreement. ed women’s hospital across town in • Identify project delivery practices Greensboro, serving the communideveloped through IPD that ty well for decades, but it had aged have been adopted within other to the point of needing facility refurdelivery models. bishment or replacement. Following a • Learn the kinds of efficiencies study of multiple renovation options, and savings made possible by IPD collaborative practices. Cone decided to move the Women’s Hospital to the main campus, giving these patients easier access to the greater resources of Cone’s flagship hospital. The expansion comprises approximately 150,000 square feet of new space and 40,000 square feet of interior renovation that bridges new and existing. Spaces include: three dedicated cesarean section rooms; 18 labor, delivery and recovery rooms; fully private neonatal intensive care unit rooms with dedicated family space and private restrooms; and dedicated rooms for high-risk mothers.
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Structure
The ILPD project team partners consisted of architect HKS; general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie; mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer Affiliated Engineers Inc.; major MEP trade con-
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tractors McKenney’s, Adams Electric and Precision Plumbing; structural engineer Fitzpatrick; drywall subcontractor Shields; site contractor Faulkner; and low-voltage engineer IC Thomasson. Under the ILPD agreement, all partners agreed to perform the base contract at cost, without profit. All project profit was put at risk based on the team’s ability to deliver the project under budget. At the end of the project, each partner received the exact same percentage of the firm’s allocation of the profit pool, whether that be 0%, 50% or 150%. (At the time of this writing the number stands at 105%.) This created an environment where each firm truly either won together or lost together. Each team member worked “open book” and all direct costs were published. The team reviewed all partner invoices each month, with all partners able to scrutinize and evaluate each other’s efficiency. While several of the ILPD partnership’s firms had completed ILPD contracts in other parts of the country, this was the first for every individual representing each firm, requiring a high degree of trust among these firms. Fortunately, much of that trust had been established over the past decade, as many of these same firms and individuals together had successfully built the last major project on campus, the North Tower expansion, under a traditional construction manager at risk delivery method.
Behavior change
This ILPD process was successful primarily because the win or lose together dynamic fundamentally changed behavior. On a traditional project, team members often have conflicting interests due to the nature of their contracts. Change orders can drive revenue and profitability for contractors. If there is a design problem or a difficult unforeseen existing condition, the contractor can benefit by rework created by such change orders. On a traditional project, www.csemag.com
Figure 1: Cone Health’s 150,000-square-foot expansion, relocating the Women’s Hospital to Cone’s main campus, was planned, designed and
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the design team has no financial incentive to work with the contractors to explore cost-saving initiatives in the field. It’s far easier to simply enforce the contract documents as law. The owner is the real party that suffers in this traditional arrangement, because the full financial burden is on them. None of this implies any dishonesty on the part of design or construction teams under a construction manager at risk project, only that it’s difficult to deny that financial incentive drives behavior.
built following an Integrated lean Project Delivery method. Courtesy: Affiliated Engineers Inc.
While certainly less quantifiable, the project was significantly more enjoyable to be a part of than a traditional project. Arguments and fingerpointing over scope, responsibility, design errors and site challenges were eliminated. In their place were collaboration, teamwork and the celebration of shared success.
Under the ILPD agreement, all partners agreed to perform the base contract at cost, without profit. All project profit was put at risk based on the team’s ability to deliver the project under budget. On this ILPD project, the entire team’s profit was at risk, so when the inevitable design issues, unforeseen conditions and cost saving installation strategies emerged, all parties looked at them with a team mentality: these were “our” issues to solve, not “theirs.” This isn’t to say that under a traditional contracting method these team members wouldn’t have delivered an excellent project to be proud of; the owner simply would have paid more and each firm would have made smaller profits.
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Strategies
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Each partner agreed to be responsible for its proportional share of the cost savings (called a “stretch goal”) required to get the project sufficiently under budget to realize the full profit pool. This led to the following innovative strategies, new to many of the team members: Big room: While on-site co-located design production was not part of this project, the entire ILPD team met for two full days every other week durconsulting-specifying engineer
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CASE STUDY: IPD AND VDC
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Instead, prefabrication was able to occur early and evenly, with manpower spread out over time.
Figure 2: Physical drawings of the Cone Health expansion project mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans were produced in a single set at one-quarter scale (60x84 inches), improving legibility, eliminating match lines and facilitating contextual understanding of MEP intent. Courtesy: Affiliated Engineers Inc.
ing design to update everyone on design progress, solicit efficiency advice from the construction team and brainstorm construction savings ideas that would benefit from thoughtful incorporation into the design documents. Everyone was fully informed and engaged throughout the entire design process. On a traditional project, the construction team reviews progress only at major milestones, if at all. Mobile prefabrication shop: Space was available on campus for the major MEP subcontractors to maintain a mobile prefabrication shop within the adjacent central energy plant. Plumbing racks, overhead corridor MEP assemblies and other items were built and tested in this shop in large pieces and craned into the building. This resulted in such benefits as increased quality control, a decrease in manpower congestion within the construction zone and, most importantly, manpower leveling. Without this prefab shop, all work would have been concentrated in specific areas of the building as it went up, with manpower increases as new areas were ready. Multiple subcontractors would compete concurrently for the same space. Instead, prefabrication was able to occur early and evenly, with manpower spread out over time. This greatly reduced temporary manpower spikes, which are extremely inefficient due to training and onboarding.
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Colocation of major building trades: All major subcontractors had construction offices within the same building or immediately adjacent to one another. This made multidiscipline coordination and scheduling as seamless as possible. Standardization of pipe sizes: The traditional design assumption is that all pipe sizes should be no larger than required to efficiently supply the required amount of domestic water, chilled water, heating water, etc. In this ILPD environment, the contractor studied progress drawings during early phases of design. Their analysis showed that standardizing on certain pipe sizes (never smaller than required), saved enough field labor and additional pipe fittings to more than outweigh the increased cost of oversized piping. The project savings was a six-figure number. Everything on wheels: An early decision made by the construction team was that all materials and tools used for construction by each discipline would be mobile. Most projects lose construction efficiency due to site congestion and certain trades being in other trades’ way. The first subcontractor in an area blocks physical access to others needing to work in the same area or needing to pass through these areas. While it required an investment in carts and wheels, site congestion became a significantly smaller concern. Fewer lost manhours led to advancement toward the entire team’s profit pool. Team members were incentivized to make each other’s work easier. Access to the owner: Traditional projects often have pyramid structures, where the architect has primary interface with the owner on the design side and the general contractor has primary interface on the construction side. All other consultants and subconsultants are to some extent a step removed. With ILPD, all partners are part of the same agreement and no one has to go through an intermediary to have their concerns and ideas heard by the owner. Fortunately, Cone also desired that engagement. MEP drawing sizes: Several converging trends led the team to question allegiance to the traditional drawing sizes of 40x32 inches, 48x36 inches or 24x36 inches: www.csemag.com
• Contractors have gone digital. Many projects are not built from physical drawings any longer. Contractors are using flat screens and tablets. • Construction software advances allow immediate access to the most recent version of each drawing. • Many permitting agencies are accepting — even demanding — digital plans. • MEP information at one-eighth scale is cluttered in Autodesk Revit, leading the ILPD team to use ¼-inch scale. These ¼-inch scale plans must be completely fragmented and broken up at traditional drawing sizes, which creates a maze of matchlines and obfuscates MEP intent. • Bluebeam is being used much more often for both internal and external quality control. The days of multiple hard copies of QC redlines are nearing an end. Responding to these factors, Affiliated Engineers committed to issuing its MEP plans at 60x84 inches, at ¼-inch scale. The engineering team chose this size because it can be printed at half-size on a traditional sheet for anyone uncomfortable with the large sheets and because it aligned particularly well with the size of our building at ¼-inch scale. Benefits included: • With entire floors on a single page, MEP intent is extremely easy to follow; there are no matchlines. • The 120 drawings at 60x84 inches took the place of approximately 500 drawings at traditional sizes. • The owner only wanted MEP as-builts in digital form, making the physical drawing size irrelevant. • The permitting agency and the contractor are both fully digital; a single full-size hard copy was printed only for display on the wall of the contractor’s trailer. This strategy significantly reduced production and internal review time, providing a clear understanding of design intent to everyone responsible for building the systems. Most importantly, it will leave the owner with a very clear set of floor plans for staff education and future renovations. www.csemag.com
Challenges
None of this should imply that the project was perfect or without challenges. The specifics aren’t appropriate in this format, but there were times when one partner or another was not carrying its weight. Because this was an ILPD contract, the rest of the partners intervened, picked up the slack and encouraged each other to improve. In several cases, qualified partners took on the scope of other parties. If one partner failed, all would.
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With ILPD, all partners are part of the same agreement and no one has to go through an intermediary to have their concerns and ideas heard by the owner. Fortunately, Cone also desired that engagement.
Metrics
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The project will need to be complete by October 2019 to meet the owner’s financial and organizational move requirements. Substantial completion was delivered in July — four months early. The initially approved project budget for a construction manager at risk contracting method, before Cone initiated the ILPD process, was approximately $126 million. The ILPD process drove out almost all traditional fat: contingencies, the contingencies of other parties on top of those contingencies, rework, change orders, independent and inefficient labor management, etc. By the time final target cost was set, the project budget was $99 million, including $4 million in shared profit pool. In the end, each partner received 105% of the goal profit and the owner received a project that exceeded their expectations. ILPD is not the perfect solution for every organization’s culture. This project team firmly believes, however, that with the right partners and the right attitude, every project of this scale can be delivered in less time, for less money and with happier team members when everyone wins or loses together under a true ILPD contract. cse
Jeremy Jones is a health care project manager and market leader for Affiliated Engineers Inc. He has spoken at ASHE PDC and published articles about MEP infrastructure for health care projects, health care applications of chilled beam technology and alternative project delivery models. consulting-specifying engineer
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ELECTRICAL RACEWAYS, BUSWAYS, WIRING, CABLING By Stephen Berta, EI, NV5, Las Vegas
Specifying the right electrical raceways, busways, wiring and cabling Electrical and information cabling pathways are a vital component of any new or existing building
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lectrical and information cabling are an integral part of all building systems and must be extensively routed throughout all building types. There are several methods available for design teams to specify; however, catering a solution to specific applications is often difficult and convoluted. As the buildings that we live, work, entertain and otherwise occupy become more complex and modern, there is an ever-increasing need to provide electrical and information infrastructure throughout. All buildings have a plethora of devices that • Examine the basics of routing require an electrical or data connecand protection for electrical and tion. Often these devices require a information cabling systems. combination of each. • eview different pathway systems The end-use connection is often such as raceways, cable trays, quite simple in either a direct connecJ-hooks, etc. tion or outlet type form factor; how• Examine the application of ever, how is the wiring or cabling surface-mounted raceways transported to this point? How is it for building remodels and protected from point to point? The modernization projects. answer: Using pathway systems that are permitted and practical for the specific structure or building space that transport the cabling safely to mitigate the risks of electrical shock, fire and other hazards related to personnel and property. To continue the description of the available systems, we must first identify the applicable standards and terms. The governing code for all electrical pathways is NFPA 70: National Electrical Code, which dictates the uses permitted for the pathway systems and the terms used within the applicable standards. Information and communications technology cabling also are bound by the codes within the NEC, however there are applicable standards that take this a step further such as those set forth by the Building
Learning
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Industry Consulting Services International organization in its Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual and the Telecommunications Industry Association and its applicable standards (commonly referenced as TIA-xxx, where xxx denotes a 3-digit number applicable to a specific document). It is important to note that the NEC is an enforceable code that is meant to safeguard persons and property from the hazards arising from the use of electricity (NEC 90.1) and is a requirement; the standards surrounding ICT cabling are recommendations that optimize an ICT cabling system and are not safety related nor enforceable code. Additionally, all pathway systems are listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory for stan-
Figure 1: This is a gutter installed in a high-rise building that is provided as an accessible splice point. The level above is the serving electrical room and there are sections of EMT that connect into the top of the gutter. Within the gutter the contractor has spliced, via wire nuts, to connect to the horizontal runs of MC to horizontally feed the guestrooms. Courtesy: NV5 www.csemag.com
Figure 2: This installation shows a structural cage that has been constructed to add protection to the conduit. This installation is within a fire lane for an educational facility and fine metal mesh will be added to the installation to prevent access to the interior of the conduit cage when the hinged doors are closed and locked. Additionally, the existing building footing was compromised during excavation and a structural cage was required around the conduit to add structural integrity of the exterior wall. The conduit bodies are specialized to have manufactured large radius sweeps to prevent tight bending of ICT and fiber optic cabling. Courtesy: NV5
dards regarding fire rating, flame spread, use of products within air handling spaces (often referred to as plenums), etc. The most common NRTL is UL, which not only tests the products but also creates the applicable standards.
Types of wiring The first step to understanding any pathway system is to understand the wiring that is being transported and protected. The NEC delineates between several different types of wiring. We will examine the most common types of wiring: 1,000 volts or less, Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 circuits. The NEC also sets code minimum requirements for conductors exceeding 1,000 volts. Class 1 wiring typically is identified as remotecontrol or signaling conductors that are either power limited to 30 volts and 1000 volts-ampere (NEC 725.41(A)) or where the conductors are used for remote-control or signaling circuits (NEC 725.41(B)). When used for remote-control or signaling circuits, the voltage may be increased to 600 volts; however, these will typically be seen as 120-volt circuits that operate relays, motor controllers or similar control devices. Class 1 circuits are required to be routed in a pathway as established within chapter 3 of the NEC (NEC 725.46) and they may be routed through the same pathway system as a power feeder or branch circuit if the conductor insulation is rated for at least the maximum voltage available within the raceway system (NEC 300.3(C)(1)). Class 2 and class 3 circuits are identified with the NEC chapter 9, table 11(A). Class 2 circuits are typically seen as low-voltage circuits that are limited to 30 volts or less and 100 volts-ampere or less. These class 2 circuits are considered protected from fire or shock due to low energy and voltage levels. Due to this, class 2 circuits are permitted to be installed in plenum areas (when properly listed) and are not required to be installed in raceway systems outlined within chapter 3 of the NEC. Class 2 circuits are most commonly seen as category cabling (as defined by TIA-568-C and is most commonly unshielded, balanced twisted pairs of wire that are www.csemag.com
DEFINITIONS SEVERAL KEY TERMS will need to be identified to clearly convey the requirements of the specific systems available to the system designers: Busway (or busduct): A manufactured, enclosed pathway made of sheet metal with solid copper or aluminum busbars for higher ampacity installations in a compact footprint. Cable tray: Nonenclosed tray type pathway designed to physically support premises wiring systems. Pathway: Any physical method of supporting, enclosing, protecting or otherwise transporting wiring systems. Premises wiring system: The wiring or cabling throughout a building, structure or compound downstream of the service connection or demarcation point. Raceway: Any enclosed physical pathway designed to protect or shield premises wiring systems.
designed for data transmission), wiring for public address systems, programmable logic controllers and thermostats. Class 3 circuits are typically classified as circuits that exceed 30 volts but operate from 0.5 to 100 volts-ampere and are often used for sound/speaker systems, clock/intercom systems and security systems. Although beyond the breadth of this article, it should be noted that class 3 circuits can reach higher voltage and current levels under specific circumstances as outlined by NEC 725.121; however, it is less common. Class 2 and 3 circuits are not required to be installed in a pathway system as outlined within CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER
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ELECTRICAL RACEWAYS, BUSWAYS, WIRING, CABLING NEC Chapter 3 and may be routed through plenum spaces when using listed cabling and supports. These circuits may be routed in this manner as they are power limited or carry a low-energy signal that does not present a risk for the initiation of fire or shock.
Design considerations
Figure 3: This is a vertical section of busway (or busduct) with no plug-on devices. The waterproof curb is visible in the bottom of the photo showing engineering supports bracing against the floor spanning the entire penetration. This has been sealed with intumescent material below the cover plate for fire protection between floors. Courtesy: NV5
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With the understanding of that cabling systems may require pathway systems outlined within chapter 3 of the NEC, we may now proceed to analyze the available pathway systems as well as their limitations and code requirements. There are several design considerations that need to be analyzed to provide the best pathway for a specific task. These considerations are: accessibility, pathway support requirements, distance that the pathway will travel, special protection requirements and the quantity of cables that must be transported. Accessibility is one of the most important factors in any pathway system and is outlined in the NEC to require access to all junction boxes, gutters or splice points (NEC 314.29). Often, these pathways and boxes are installed above gypsum board or hard-lid ceilings where there is no practical way to reach the system without an access panel. When this type of a ceiling is used within a facility, it is critical to avoid system such as J-hooks and cable tray that are open and cannot be inspected to ensure that cabling is supported and secured. When not accessible, conduit or another type of raceway is the most practical choice. Even with a raceway system, access panels will be required to access the following: a junction box for every 100 feet or every cumulative 180-degrees of bends for ICT cabling (TIA-569-D 9.8.2), a junction box for every cumulative 360-degrees of bends for line voltage wiring (for EMT NEC 358.26). In this aspect, the TIA standard is more stringent as it provides recommendations to ensure a minimum pulling force between access points is maintained. This ensures (as a rule of thumb) that the cable will not be subject to pulling tension in excess of the manufacturer’s recommendations and thus allow the cable to pass manufacturer’s field certifications and maintain signal integrity. Often, junction boxes or gutters are used to provide a point to transition from electrical metallic tubing (type EMT) and wire to metal-clad cable (type MC cable) to traverse through inaccessible
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areas and route direct to the receptacles as required by the design (see Figure 1). Often the ceilings or floors are accessible, such as with access floors or acoustic ceiling tile ceilings, commonly referred to as “lay-in” or “drop” ceilings. Where these types of building elements are installed, the designer has several choices for pathways that include additional options, as well as the raceway example previously presented. Accessible building elements are advantageous where the systems need to accommodate moves, adds, changes and deletions (commonly referred to as MAC-Ds). Such building elements allow the use of cable trays (for power and ICT cabling) and J-hooks (ICT cabling). When installing these systems within a ceiling grid system such as ACT, it is imperative that the supports are not directly affixed to the ceiling grid supports (NEC 300.11(B)). The ceiling grid system should remain completely independent of all cabling, light fixture or other electrical systems. When using a system such as a cable tray or J-hooks, the user may make changes to the cabling by removing ceiling tiles and simply laying a cable into the tray or J-hooks. Typically, these pathways are used in conjunction with conduit route within a wall to provide a connection to a junction box. Another significant consideration for pathway systems is the required supports. Ideally, the best location for information on support requirements will be the manufacturer’s installation instructions and the NEC. The NEC specifically notes the support requirements for different raceway types within chapter 3, for example, EMT conduit shall be supported in increments of 10 feet and within 3 feet of every junction box, conduit body, etc. (NEC 358.30). When reviewing the support requirements, unless specifically mentioned, the NEC does not make the distinction between horizontal and vertical support requirements. Some specific instances where the NEC does differentiate between vertical support requirements would be for industrial installations when using intermediate metal conduit (NEC 342.30(B)(2)) and rigid metal conduit (NEC 344.30(B)(2)). The NEC also defers the requirements for cable tray supports to the manufacturer’s installation requirements (NEC 392.30(A)). If the electrical or ICT designer’s project is located within a seismic zone, additional requirements may be instituted and the support design may be required as a delegated design to a structural engineer. Additional conduit and cable options would be intermediate metal conduit (type IMC, NEC 342), rigid metal conduit (type RMC, NEC 344), fiberglass conduit (type RTRC, NEC 355), metal-clad cable (type MC, NEC 330) and each method has its specific application, support requirements and additional information that is all outlined within their respective NEC section. www.csemag.com
Cable distance
When considering distance, it’s imperative to understand the cabling type that is being used. For line voltage power wiring, the main distance consideration is relative to the electrical load and the voltage drop that will be induced based on the wire’s impedance. The standard for voltage drop is outlined as a fine-print note for NEC 210.19(A), FPN No. 4. This FPN advises that branch circuits should be sized to prevent a voltage drop in excess of 3% and that feeders should be restricted to 2% voltage drop. The FPNs within the NEC are not enforceable by a code official (NEC 90.5(C)); however, some jurisdictions may have enforceable energy codes that mandate a maximum voltage drop (most commonly ASHRAE Standard 90.1). When considering ICT premises wiring systems, it’s important to know the cabling media and the specific limitations associated with each type. For example, category cabling is typically limited to 295 feet for the permanent link (wiring from the outlet to the patch panel or termination within the serving telecommunications space). However, if using fiber optic cabling, the distances vary based on fiber type (single-mode and multimode), the data transmission rate and the type of transceivers used. As the purpose of this article is not to examine the pros and cons of different ICT cabling, we will proceed with the more common Category-6 cabling standard (outlined to specific performance requirements within TIA-568-D) that limits this pathway to 295 feet. When considering the aforementioned requirements, the pathway system will consist of either enclosed pathway (raceways) or open pathways (such as cable tray or J-hooks). While conduit and other enclosed pathways typically route directly to the receptacle or technology outlet location, an open pathway typically serves as an aggregation point, creating a less direct and often, longer path back to the serving equipment. Additionally, conduit may be used to collect cables to an aggregation point and if using the category cabling for power over ethernet applications, the NEC requires that you de-rate the current carrying capacity of the cabling by the coefficient shown within NEC table 725.144. These requirements must be considered primarily for ICT cabling. When routing any type of cabling through a building, it is important to understand each space’s use and potential protection requirements. This extends from physical protection, to prevent mechanical damage, through fire protection or hazardous location requirements. The first concept surrounding the subject of “physical damage” can be quite complex as no codes or standards clearly define the phrase, in fact, it is often conceded that this is subjective. Each authority having jurisdiction may approach this concept in different ways. On a basic level this should be applied
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in a common-sense approach where hard-use areas are treated with extra care for protection; it is important to note that the code intent is to prevent inadvertent physical damage and not to prevent damage from malice or intentional damage. For example, hard-use areas should include but not be limited to: loading docks, enclosed sally ports for cash trucks, corridors with traffic of mechanical vehicles (pallet jacks, forklifts, etc.), mechanical rooms, gymnasiums, etc. Within these hard-use areas, the designer can defer to the uses permitted within chapter 3 of the NEC for pathways permitted in areas “subject to physical damage.” This would typically require a thick-walled conduit such as intermediate metallic conduit or galvanized rigid conduit in lieu of any types of tubing such as EMT or any open-type pathways such as cable trays (see Figure 2).
Figure 4: On the right, cable tray is used to support and secure MC wiring as a main routing point down the corridor. In the center, there is an orange innerduct that is used for fiber routing and on the left, there is a cable tray with cleanly segregated low-voltage cabling. Courtesy: NV5
Fire protection and fire stopping
When considering fire protection requirements, the designer should first consult any available fire protection reports or code consultants for the project. Rated walls and enclosures will be identified in the fire protection report and on the architectural set of drawings. Often, a book or sheet specification can handle fire protection requirements and any seal off requirements for hazardous locations; however, the pathway requirements do change. Within NEC 500 through NEC 503, there are additional requirements such as the requirement for threaded conduit systems (NEC 501.10(A)(1)(a) and NEC 502.10(A)(1)(a)) that also are required to be wrench tight to prevent a ground fault from arcing in an environment with flammable or explosive gases consulting-specifying engineer
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ELECTRICAL RACEWAYS, BUSWAYS, WIRING, CABLING or dust (NEC 500.8(E)). Each classified area should be thoroughly examined for code compliance of all pathway (and miscellaneous electrical and ICT) systems. These identified areas also will be required to maintain the fireproof rating of the walls in that the pathway is penetrating.
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Additionally, the NEC requires that the penetration is provided with a water-proof curb to prevent ingress of water and general flooding down the stacked electrical rooms.
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In addition, where an open pathway is traversing through a plenum (or commonly referred to as an air handling space), a specialized plenum rated wiring method is required. A plenum rated cable is rated to burn within an air handling space and not introduce toxins or spread flame through the plenum; the mechanical designer for the project will identify plenum spaces that will assist the ICT designer to determine the cabling type required for the premises wiring system. It should be noted by the electrical and ICT designers that a system designed to comply with NEC 645, Information Technology Equipment Rooms, may be exempt from the plenum rating requirement if the raised floor is used as a plenum rated space; the heating, ventilation and air conditioning is entirely separate of the building system HVAC; and there is a dedicated shunt trip for the electrical system and for the HVAC system (NEC 645.10).
Cable capacity and ampacity As the electrical or ICT designer is identifying cabling types, available pathway routing and protection requirements, another consideration must be made for the ampacity or quantity of cables required. Electrical designers typically defer the cable routing to a “means and methods” process that involves the contractor’s judgment unless larger ampacity feeders, medium-voltage or utility routing is considered. When considering these larger ampacity installations, it is important that parallel feeder runs are routed in compliance with NEC 300.3(B) (1) and NEC 310.10(H) that requires that each parallel conduit run consist of an identical phase, neutral and ground conductor (as applicable). These parallel feeders must be of the same length, conductor material, size, insulation type and be terminated in an identical manner. Often, when considering higher ampacity feeders or modular designs, it may be applicable to use busway. Busway is common for high-rise commercial hotel applications, industrial installations, larger
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data centers and greenhouse facilities. Large highrise hotels typically are designed with a large ampacity busway installed vertically throughout the tower and plug-on units (specially designed disconnects or enclosed circuit breakers) are used for horizontal distribution feeders to panelboards. Busways require a penetration through each floor of a tower and a fire protection report or code consultant should be consulted to discuss fire protection options for the room or penetration. Additionally, the NEC requires that the penetration is provided with a water-proof curb to prevent ingress of water and general flooding down the stacked electrical rooms (NEC 368.10(C)(2)(b)). If this waterproof curb is compromised, water may eventually work its way down the busduct and could result in a violent explosion due to a short circuit (see Figure 3). When considering industrial, data center or grow facilities, it is not uncommon to see a combination of horizontal runs that are supplied with plug-on units to deliver load centers or 3-phase power at specific locations. This allows a modular design where power can be delivered in large ampacities throughout the run of busduct. This typically is catered to very specific owner and equipment requirements and can vary in application. Although the depth of uses for busduct is beyond this article, it is a critical piece of any electrical designer’s arsenal and a minimum general understanding is required to provide the most efficient and thoughtful designs. The analogy of large-ampacity installations for ICT designers would be the quantity of cables. Typically for large cable quantities an ICT designer will consider designing a cable tray layout with varying sizes that correlate to the quantity of cables at each junction or branch. This gives the primary horizontal cabling a support and routing backbone. These trays are sized in accordance with NEC 392 that has myriad complicated formulas and subsections that depend on tray type, cable type and ampacity (if applicable), to calculate a maximum fill percentage. Instead of wading through this code section, often electrical designers will use a manufacturer’s cable tray calculation tools that are specifically programmed for compliance with the NEC. When discussing a cable tray consisting of only ICT cabling, a 40% fill ratio is recommended via the TIA-569-B standard. Typically, an ICT cable tray backbone is installed in a tapered manner in that the closer the installer is to the end use device or outlet, the smaller the cable tray; the closer the installer is to the serving telecommunications room, the larger the cable tray typically is. This is to accommodate the aggregation of cables within the cable trays. With all the above considerations, an electrical or ICT designer should be knowledgeable and capable of applying all the above considerations to provide www.csemag.com
CASE STUDY: Wiring schools for the future
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s electrical and information systems evolve naturally over time, older buildings skew away from the occupant’s newer needs regarding the location of hard-wired data, line voltage receptacles, wireless access point outlets (or lack thereof), etc. It becomes very difficult to “future-proof” a building due to some obvious hurdles such as the client’s budget, shifting use for each space, unexpected technological advances or changes. Oftentimes some amount of future use pathway or cabling can be added but it’s not ideal 10 to 20 years after the original install. One potential solution is to complete a “modernization” type project within the building. A great example for this concept is educational facilities. These buildings often have a cost-sensitive client because the budget would consist of tax dollars or bond funding and in these installations, functionality typically overrides aesthetics. Given these circumstances, a surface-mounted combination raceway is a perfect solution to provide both information cabling and power wiring to specific locations. Additionally, these combination type raceways can be used for projector media wiring to control stations and ceiling-mounted equipment vaults. These surfacemount raceways typically are mounted to the wall and routed horizontally to provide the ideal outlet locations and then a 90-degree transition is used to route the raceway into the ceiling. Once this is routed into the ceiling, the power wiring can be converted to MC or EMT (depending on site conditions) and routed to the nearest panelboard while the information cabling can transition to a cable tray or J-hooks to provide support for the intermediate distance. It is critical to note that there should be a bushing or other type of protective end-piece at the end of the surface-mounted raceway to prevent cabling from coming in contact with a sharp sheet metal edge as it transitions to the J-hooks. Additionally, when considering a modernization scope, it’s important to understand that the equipment in the head-end or main equipment room and intermediate telecommunications rooms will likely be changed out. This may result in an expansion of these spaces or, a code-compliant and practical design for a particular occupancy or building. Often the pathway system will consist of a combination of all the aforementioned (see Figure 4). An example for ICT premises wiring system could include a cable tray with a fire rated penetration through a corridor wall that transitions to EMT above a hard-lid section of ceiling, only to transition back to cable tray once the routing reaches another accessible ceiling space. From here, the
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Figure 5: In this installation, there is visible surfacemount raceway that provides media cabling and power to the projector. To the right of the white board, there is a surface-mount raceway to provide power and data to a new teacher desk location, the outlets/receptacles are out of view behind a set of stacked chairs. To the right of the new teacher station, there is a media control station that allows control and interaction with the projector through a button station and various cable inputs. Previously, this whiteboard location was not compatible with a fixed projector. Courtesy: NV5
at the very least, reorganization of the racks and cabinets. This can result in the need for power wiring and ladder rack modifications within the room. For these types of installations, it’s not recommended to provide power receptacles on the ladder rack itself because the ladder rack may be modified once the old cabling plant is removed. For these installations it’s often wise to use a shallow, steel over-floor type raceway. Several manufacturers make this type of product and provide specific junction boxes that will accommodate standard receptacle sizes and special receptacles such as National Electrical Manufacturers Association types L5-30R or L6-30R, and may provide wire fill to accommodate an L14-30R. This allows the client flexibility for rack or cabinet location within the equipment and telecommunications room spaces that is both cost-effective and convenient.
contractor may use J-hooks to route individual cables to specific technology outlets within each space. This would combine several types of pathways to provide the client or occupant a flexible system that is code compliant. cse Stephen Berta is the associate director of electrical at NV5 and has experience in multiple market sectors including high-rise hospitality, gaming, K-5 education and data centers. consulting-specifying engineer
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BUILDING SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL RACEWAYS, BUSWAYS, WIRING, CABLING By Terry Cleis, PE, LEED AP, Peter Basso Associates Inc., Troy, Michigan
Selecting the proper wiring solutions Learn about the essential properties and applications of different electrical wiring pathway systems
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here are numerous scenarios, details and options to consider when selecting the proper pathway for wiring solutions. Conduit: In the construction world, the term conduit is most often used to refer to a hollow tube that is intended to be a pathway for conductors or low-voltage cable. It’s important to make a distinction between conduit and piping. While they both convey properties inside of them and often are available in similar sizes and shapes, conduits and pipes are two different items with different purposes and installation requirements. The term piping is most often meant to refer to a hollow tube or structure that is intended to be a sealed pathway to convey a liquid or a gas. Because of the properties of liquids and gases, piping can be run with very tight turns
Table 1: Pathways TYPE
DESCRIPTION
NEC ARTICLE
IMC
Intermediate metal conduit
342
RMC
Rigid metal conduit 1
344
FMC
Flexible metal conduit
348
LFMC
Liquid-tight flexible metal conduit
350
Polyvinyl chloride conduit
352
HDPE
High-density polyethylene conduit
353
RTRC
Reinforced thermosetting resin conduit
355
LFNC
Liquid-tight flexible nonmetallic conduit
356
EMT
Electrical metallic tubing
358
Surface metal raceway
386
Cable tray
392
PVC
Table 1: Use this quick reference table to NFPA 70: National Electrical Code articles for commonly used pathways. Note: RMC type conduit includes several conduits constructed using different types of metal, all of which have unique properties and qualities. These include stainless steel, galvanized steel, red brass and aluminum. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc.
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and can be routed from source to outlet without intermediate breaks in the system. Unlike piping, conduit has distance limitations and requires planned “accessible pull points” to be able to install conductors and cables by pulling them into place. Conduit systems also require a larger turning radius at any changes of direction than is required by piping systems. Changes of direction are often accomplished using pre-made factory elbows or by bending the conduit in the field. Based on requirements defined in NFPA 70: National Electrical Code, most conduit types are limited to 360 degrees of turns between accessible pull points. Items that are considered accessible pull points include: source distribution equipment, junction boxes, pull boxes, wireways, conduit bodies and equipment. Conduit bodies are a separate portion of a conduit or tubing system with integral removable covers that provide access to the internal wiring and in certain applications can be used to provide a tighter turning radius than an elbow or to provide pulling access to conductors or cables (see Figure 1). Typical minimum conduit radii can be found listed in Chapter 9, Table 2 of the NEC. There are several factors that require larger radius turns including, but not limited to, long runs of conduit and special requirements for some types of communication cables. The NEC contains descriptions, installation requirements and application rules for various types of conduits. Some of the more common conduit types are found in Table 1. The various types of conduits have other attributes as well. Some conduits provide some corrosion —including rust — protection (e.g. polyvinyl chloride, aluminum rigid metal conduit, stainless steel RMC, red brass RMC and reinforced thermosetting resin conduit). Some offer various levels of mechanical protection (e.g. RMC, intermediwww.csemag.com
Figure 2: This photo shows the corrosive effects of a pool equipment room environment on EMT conduit and its fittings. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc.
Figure 1: Conduit bodies provide access to internal wiring or cables and can be used to make radius turns. This shows a 90-degree change of direction, using a conduit body with rear removable cover. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc.
ate metal conduit and even electrical metallic tubing). Others are flexible and limit the transmission of vibrations or allow for some renovation work to be installed within existing building finishes (e.g. flexible metal conduit, liquid-tight flexible metal conduit and liquid-tight flexible nonmetallic conduit). Still other types provide some level of protection from water intrusion (ex: LFMC, LFNC and, to some extent, PVC and RTRC). See Figures 2 and 3. To properly select the type of conduit to use, it is important to understand what material it’s constructed from, how it is terminated and coupled together, how difficult it is to install, cost differences for materials and installation labor and any other special properties it may possess. Conduits with heavy (thicker) walls have threads cut into them to allow for fittings like couplers, lock nuts and bushings (RMC, IMC). These conduit types come pre-threaded and also require field-cutting threads as needed (see Figure 4). These conduits typically use fittings that screw onto their threads. When selecting which type of heavy wall conduit to use, several factors should be considered. Cost is always an important factor and conduits with thicker walls typically have a higher cost. Heavier-walled conduits also require more labor to install because they are more difficult to handle and support. While conduits with threaded fittings do not ensure protection from water or liquid infiltrawww.csemag.com
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When selecting which type of heavy wall conduit to use, several factors should be considered. Cost is always an important factor and conduits with thicker walls typically have a higher cost.
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tion, they can perform better than conduits with mechanically attached slip fittings as would be used with EMT conduit. Conduits with threaded fittings also provide some level of protection from bug and rodent infiltration. Heavy-walled metal conduit with threaded fittings can provide an additional level of protection in areas where they might be subject to side impact from the movement of heavy equipment. A heavy-walled conduit also stands a better chance of maintaining its cross-sectional shape after an accidental impact. The threaded fittings also can prevent conduits from separating at their couplings or other termination points • Learn how to use NFPA 70: on impact, which could expose and even National Electrical Code (NEC) damage the wiring inside if the conduit as a guide for proper conduit applications. References are were to separate. Consider an example based on the 2017 edition. of a large feeder conduit run overhead in a parking area or loading dock. This • Understand the physical properties of conduits and the may seem like a good place to save some benefits for different applications cost and use EMT, but if something movand that there are often multiple ing around below should snag itself on an appropriate types of conduit available that can be used based EMT conduit, it takes less force to pull the on client needs and cost. conduit apart at its fittings than would a conduit system that uses threaded fittings. • Better understand the benefits and limitations of various Conduits with thinner walls, most types of pathways including commonly EMT, are too thin to have busway, cable tray, wireway, threads cut into them, so fittings are typisurface raceways, power cable cally slid onto the outside of the conduit assemblies and open wiring.
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consulting-specifying engineer
Learning
OBJECTIVES
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BUILDING SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL RACEWAYS, BUSWAYS, WIRING, CABLING
Figure 3: To limit the transmission of vibration generated by certain equipment, flexible conduit is used as the pathway for power wiring between the equipment and the rest of the distribution system. This shows a flexible connections at a transformer. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc. Figure 4: RMC conduit is terminated with threaded fittings. This photo shows the threads cut into the conduit and terminated in a piece of equipment using locknuts on the conduit threads.
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CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER
and terminated in one of several methods. A common termination method is compression fittings, which require a wrench around the fitting to tighten the screw portion of the fitting and collapse an interior ring onto the outside of the conduit to hold the fitting in place. EMT also can use set screwstyle fittings, which contain screws that are perpendicular to the outside of the conduit and can be tightened down into the conduit to hold the fitting in place. EMT can save cost because it requires less material in its construction, is lighter and easier to handle and its slip-on type fittings typically install more quickly. An understanding of the material and method of construction for each type of conduit is important to know when considering what environment the conduits will be subject to. Metallic conduits are constructed of various metals that are suited for different applications. Galvanized steel RMC has a heavy wall and provides significant mechanical protection. Aluminum RMC conduits can be used in areas where strong magnetic fields require nonferrous metals, like an MRI. Aluminum RMC also can be used in environments that would corrode ferrous metal conduits. Stainless steel RMC can provide additional corrosion protection in certain environments. Red brass RMC is especially suited for contact with chlorinated water. This conduit is often used to feed wet niche light fixtures in areas that will be exposed to water. Conduit types are not created equal. Not only are they constructed in different ways and of different materials, even when they share a common trade size, the interior dimensions are not uniform from type to type. Tables for standard interior cross-sectional areas of different types of conduits are listed in Table 4 of the NEC. This table shows the internal diameter and total internal cross-sectional area of every trade size for every type of conduit. The table also calculates and lists the cross sectional areas of typical fill capacities that are outlined elsewhere in the code. The most common fill capacity is the 40% capacity that applies to the allowable conduit fill when more than two wires are in a conduit. For an example demonstrating that trade sizes of different conduit types are not equivalent, refer to Chapter 9, Table 4 for comparison between Schedule 80 PVC and IMC conduits. A typical 1 ½-inch PVC Schedule 80 conduit provides 1.476 inches of interior diameter and 1.711 square inches of total cross sectional area, while a typical 1 ½-inch IMC conduit provides 1.683 inches of interior diameter and 2.225 square inches of total cross sectional area. If using the 40% fill column, IMC can support 0.890 square inches and PVC-80 can only be filled to 0.684 square inches. To determine the minimum sized conduit that www.csemag.com
is needed for power wiring, refer to the tables contained in NEC Chapter 9. Table 4 lists the allowable fill capacities for typically available trade sized conduits for each type of conduit. Tables 5 and 5A indicate the nominal dimensions of insulated conductors, fixture wires and compact conductors. The steps at right outline a typical installation. Note: This example does not address compact conductors. In this example, we’ll calculate the size for a feeder consisting of three #1/0 and one #6 GND. In the example (see steps at right), using EMT conduit requires 1½-inch trade size conduit, but if IMC conduit were appropriate and desired, this same feeder could be installed using smaller 1¼-inch IMC trade size conduit with a 0.659 square inches available area. The previous example indicates how to determine the minimum conduit size for a particular type of conduit that contains more than one size conductor. The NEC also contains information in Informative Annex C that allows for a quick reference of conduit size. These tables do not take into account fill consisting of multiple conductor sizes, but can be used as a conservative sizing tool. For example, a feeder will typically contain a ground conductor that is smaller than the phase conductors. In that case one could use the Annex C table and assume that the ground conductor is the same size as the phase conductors for a conservative conduit size. Underground conduits often are used to get power and low-voltage services in and out of facilities, between buildings in a campus-type setting and also are used to feed equipment located on grade or out on a site. When conduits are installed below grade, the earth inherently provides a certain amount of protection for the conduits. If the earth above the conduits provides adequate protection, then these conduits can be directly buried in the earth and their primary function is as a pathway through the earth. Because of that, nonmetallic conduits are often used (refer to NEC Table 300.5 for required depths of conduits below grade). Common nonmetallic conduits that are installed below grade are PVC, HDPE and RTRC. These conduit types are preferred because they typically provide a cost savings on material and on labor installation costs. Critical systems or power wiring that requires higher levels of protection from accidental damage from future excavation or drilling can be installed in metal conduits or encased in concrete in the form of a duct bank for additional protection. Conduits that are installed below grade also should be selected to maintain their integrity while being installed below earth. These conduits are often exposed to water, so PVC, HDPE and resin conduits often are selected because of their ability to maintain their integrity in this type of www.csemag.com
Selecting power wiring STEP
DESCRIPTION
1
Determine the conductor insulation type and refer to the appropriate portion of Table 5. (For this example, we will be using type THHN insulation.)
2
List every size of conductor that will be located in this section of conduit. (For this example, we will be using three #1/0 and one #6 GND.)
3
Use Table 5 and list the inches approximate area inches for each size conductor with THHN insulation. (From the tables in NEC we find that #1/0 = 0.1855 square inches and #6 = 0.0507 square inches.)
4
Sum the areas of the all of the conductors to get the total area that will be occupied by conductors and their insulation. (Using the data from the NEC and the quantities from our example, we can calculate the total area: (3 x 0.1855) + (1 x 0.0507) = 0.6072 square inches.)
5
Determine which type of conduit will be used and refer to the appropriate portion of Table 4. (For this example, we will be using EMT conduit.)
6
Refer to the “square inches portion of the “over two wires 40%” column and find the smallest conduit that has an interior area larger than the calculated conductor area. (From Table 4 in the NEC, we find that the calculated conductor area of 0.6072 square inches (from step 4), is too small at 0.598 square inches for 1¼ inch EMT, but will work inside the 0.814 square inches available in 1½ inch EMT.)
environment. There are also composite conduits, such as PVC coated steel conduits that combine the strength of metal conduits with some of the water protection of the PVC coating. Surface raceways: Surface raceways are available in metallic and nonmetallic versions. These can be used for renovation work where surfaces, walls or ceilings do not permit easy access for new recessed installations to take place. These are available in various configurations that accommodate a single pathway for either power or low-voltage work or divided pathways that allow for power and low-voltage pathways to be routed adjacent to one another within the same overall structure.
Figure 5: This photo shows surface-mounted raceway used in a lab renovation. This type of system can be mounted on an inaccessible concrete wall and also provides future flexibility which is desirable in a lab environment. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc. consulting-specifying engineer
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ELECTRICAL RACEWAYS, BUSWAYS, WIRING, CABLING
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Some advantages of this type of distribution are:
Cable trays allow supports and paths for future cable installations without the introduction of new hangers and supports. Cable trays can also be used to route and support power conductors.
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Table 2: Power cable quick reference TYPE
CABLE DESCRIPTION
NEC ARTICLE
AC
Armored
320
MC
Metal-clad
330
NM
Nonmetallic-sheathed
334
TC
Power and control tray
336
Table 2: This provides a reference table to NEC Articles for commonly used power cables. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc. •
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• When using a plug-in style busway, power can be accessed at multiple points along the system. • Larger busways can be routed vertically in multistory buildings allowing power to be “tapped” on each floor.
These systems also have options for surface mounting of the devices that they serve, including receptacles, network jacks and audiovisual connectors. Because these types of systems are exposed and surface-mounted, they require proprietary surface mounted fittings for all changes of directions and anywhere a tap is made that requires the pathway to branch off in more than one direction. There is a vast array of these fittings that accommodate most situations. These fittings include boxes to connect to conduit, flat 90-degree elbows, internal 90-degree elbows, external 90-degree elbows, “T” fittings and just about any other type of special fitting you may require. While these surface systems are often used for renovation work (see Figure 5), they also provide benefits and can be used as part of new construction. A new construction benefit is the ease with which additional conductors, cables and their associated devices can be added to a surface raceway system in the future. With some of the large dual pathway systems, it can be as easy as the contractor snapping off a blank cover, cutting it and snapping a device mounting plate in the new space. Busway: A busway system provides means to distribute power throughout a building or feeders or branch circuits within an area. Busways consist of an overall metal structure that provides a housing and protection for internal conductors. The conductors are typically solid and can be made of copper or aluminum and can consist of flat or round busses mounted inside of the metal housing.
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• The ability to get larger ampacities through a smaller cross-sectional area than conduit and wire.
CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER
• Smaller plug-in style systems can be used overhead in machine shops or other areas where lots of equipment is located. This type of system allows for multiple feeders to equipment and allows for simpler changes that may be required by new or relocated equipment. Very small systems can be used in data centers to provide branch circuit taps as required to feed network equipment. High-ampacity busways also can be used as part of substations to connect parts together without a need for multiple conduits and conductors between sections. Cable tray: There are various styles of cable tray. Some types can be partially enclosed, while others use a very open support structure. Cable trays come in a multitude of sizes and configurations. Cable trays are commonly used as means of gathering up a large quantity of low-voltage cables along main routes and getting them back from devices to a main source. Network cables lend themselves nicely to the use of cable trays. The tray system can be routed along a common route where all of the independent cables can gather together and make their way back to a network closet. It is important to understand the space that open cables are routed through. For example, cables that are routed through a space that is designated as an air plenum are required to have insulation and jacket that is specifically listed to meet the requirements of an environmental air plenum. Cable trays allow supports and paths for future cable installations without the introduction of new hangers and supports. Cable trays can also be used to route and support power conductors. Conductors must be specifically listed for use as Type TC tray cable. See Table 2. Power cable assemblies: For commercial building applications, there are various types of cable assemblies made up of power conductors. These cable assemblies are available for everything from branch circuits up to large feeders. Common types of this cable are type MC and type AC. These cables www.csemag.com
can be installed concealed within construction finishes or exposed and can be installed in cable trays. When run independently, unless otherwise listed, both MC and AC cables require a support within 12 inches of every outlet box, junction box, cabinet or fitting. AC cable requires supports every 4 ½ feet (NEC Article 320) while MC cable requires supports every 6 feet. The NEC lists more permitted uses for the MC cable than for AC cable. Both of these solutions typically provide a cost savings over conduit and conductors in many types of applications. However, these cables do not allow for additional conductors to be installed inside of them in the future and many people feel that they don’t look as neat and organized as a conduit solution. For dwelling unit applications, power wiring is typically accomplished using NM type cable typically routed within ceilings and walls. Wireways: This type of enclosure can be used in lieu of a pull box or can be used as a large junction box to provide multiple feeder taps inside a single enclosure. These are available in various cross-sectional sizes (usually square), constructed of metallic or nonmetallic material and with various types of covers (see Figure 6). Open wiring: In commercial building applications, open wiring is most commonly used with telecommunication and audiovisual cables, and also can include some power limited control cabling. As noted previously, it is important to understand environment air plenums and use cables that are listed for those areas. These cables can be independently supported or supported in groups using J-hooks or some other cable support. Most J-hooks are specially designed to support cables without focusing the load on a single edge along the top of the support. There are code-defined support spacing requirements that vary depending on the type of cable being supported, while some support telecommunication spacing is driven by standards in lieu of code requirements. Common standards for telecommunications systems and associated cabling include those developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association and Electronic Industry Alliance (TIA/EIA) and the Building Industry Consulting Service International (BICSI). Special environments often require a conduit system that will withstand the conditions in which they are installed. Take, for example, the process of conduit selection for a pool environment. Natatoriums, pools and their associated equipment rooms that use chlorine as their water treatment method are a good example of special environment requirements. There are several types of conduit that are suited for this environment and should be considered. A nonmetallic conduit like PVC will not corrode in the environment, but it is also not mechanically strong. www.csemag.com
Figure 6: Wireways can be used to serve many purposed in an overall raceway system. This photo shows a wireway being used to tap an internal feeder to feed several motor controllers and safety switches. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc. Figure 7: This photo shows PVC conduit in pool equipment tunnel. The conduit is suited to resist corrosion in this environment, but was broken at some point as people or equipment was moved through this area. Courtesy: Peter Basso Associates Inc.
Figure 7 is an example of damaged PVC conduit in a pool equipment area. Almost all metals corrode in a chlorinated environment, but in a properly maintained pool area, aluminum conduit should have a slow rate of corrosion as long as it not in contact with the water and should provide some additional mechanical protection for the wires and cables inside. Resin-based conduits could provide the advantage of both a nonmetallic raceway and mechanical strength similar to a metal conduit. As with many things, there is no single best or correct selection, so the engineer should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each potential option when selecting appropriate solutions. cse Terry Cleis is a principal at Peter Basso Associates Inc. within the higher education group. He specializes in electrical systems engineering design and management. consulting-specifying engineer
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CODES & STANDARDS
By Michael Phillips, Envise, Sterling, Virginia
Using demand-controlled ventilation in HVAC Mechanical engineers should consider the many factors that go into designing buildings for indoor air quality and indoor environmental quality
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recent article published in The Washington Post by Christopher Ingraham clearly explained “Why crowded meetings and conference rooms make you so, so tired.” It had a concise description of carbon dioxide levels and their effect on occupant comfort and performance. A graph of a live meeting showed how quickly the CO2 in a crowded conference room went from 800 to 1,000 parts per million, the threshold at which ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016: Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality states occupants first start to feel stuffy and sleepy.
Indoor environmental quality
IEQ includes everything from room color and ergonomic layout, to how well the pest control is done. For many, it is defined by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system and comes down to a few main topics: • Thermal comfort. • Lighting. • Acoustics/sound. • Ventilation.
For the heating, ventilation and air conditioning engineer, there are two ASHRAE compliance standards: ASHRAE Standard 55: Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, and ASHRAE Standard 62.1.
What is a high-performance building?
According to Title IV – Energy Savings in Buildings and Industry in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, a high-performance building is “a building that integrates and optimizes on a life cycle basis all major high-performance attributes, including energy conservation, environment, safety, security, durability, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity, sustainability, functionality and operational considerations.” The convergence of making a building both comfortable and energy-efficient has been a challenge for several years. As designers are discovering, traditional HVAC designs don’t make it easy in many parts of the country, especially those with higher levels of cooling requirements, as traditional HVAC designs are developed based on an average of climate conditions across the country.
Demand-controlled ventilation
Figure 1: The schematic shows a series terminal box using dedicated outside air that can be directly measured and controlled. Courtesy: Envise
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One of the most popular ways to meet ASHRAE 62.1 requirements and conserve energy is through DCV. This method allows the engineer to decrease the amount of ventilation in a space if it can be demonstrated there are either no people in the space or not enough people to justify the “cubic feet per minute rate per person.” The intent of this method is to match the provided ventilation rate with actual occupancy (demand), maintaining indoor air quality without overventilating. The ASHRAE 62.1-2016 rules for implementing DCV are found in section 6.2.7: www.csemag.com
Table 1: Ventilation rates Occupancy category
Rp (cfm/p)
Ra (cfm/square foot)
Persons
Vbz (cfm)
Effective cfm/p
Auditorium
5.0
0.06
150
810
5.4
Classroom
10.0
0.12
25
370
15
Lecture classroom
7.5
0.06
65
550
85
Office
5.0
0.06
5
85
17
Retail
7.5
0.12
15
233
16
Table 1: This shows the rate per person (Rp) and rate per area (Ra), resulting in the total ventilation rate for the space — called the ventilation breathing zone (Vbz) cfm. Actual values adapted from ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016 Table 6.2.2.1. Courtesy: Envise
Table 2: Ventilation in empty rooms Occupancy category
Rp (cfm/p)
Ra (cfm/square foot)
Persons
Vbz (cfm)
Reduction (cfm)
Auditorium
5.0
0.06
0
60
-750
Classroom
10.0
0.12
0
120
-250
Lecture classroom
7.5
0.06
0
60
-490
Office
5.0
0.06
0
60
-25
Retail
7.5
0.12
0
120
-113
Table 2: This shows the cubic feet per minute reduction if there are no persons in the room, based on ASHRAE information. Courtesy: Envise
6.2.7.1. DCV shall be permitted as an optional means of dynamic reset. Exception: CO2-based DCV shall not be applied in zones with indoor sources of CO2 other than occupants or with CO2 removal mechanisms, such as gaseous air cleaners. 6.2.7.1.1 For DVC zones in the occupied mode, breathing zone outdoor airflow (Vbz) shall be reset in response to current population. 6.2.7.1.2 For DVC zones in the occupied mode, breathing zone outdoor airflow (Vbz) shall be no less than the building component (Ra x Az) of the DCV zone. Note: Examples of reset methods or devices include population counters, carbon dioxide sensors, timers, occupancy schedules or occupancy sensors. Tables 1 and 2 represent the potential savings in effective cubic feet per minute per person reduction. With this in mind, how do we determine the number of individuals in the breathing zones? While there are many different ways to accomplish DCV sequences, here are two basic examples: CO2 control for: • Open offices. • Meeting rooms. • Other transient spaces. www.csemag.com
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Occupancy sensor control for: • Private offices. • Enclosed limited purpose rooms.
Learning
OBJECTIVES
• Understand what indoor environmental quality is.
Both start on the premise that if the schedule is “occupied,” but no one is in the space, primary air is reduced to the minimum square foot requirement.
• Learn how to save energy by using demand-controlled ventilation.
Using outside air
• Know how the occupant
• Gather information about what thermal comfort is.
interface experience affects The most precise way to control outthermal comfort and indoor side air is by having a dedicated source, environmental quality. such as a dedicated outside air unit, feeding only outside air to the terminal zones. The terminal zones are sequenced as follows:
1. Primary air is reduced to a “minimum setpoint.” This is the ASHRAE 62.1 cubic feet per minute per square foot value only (0.06 cfm/square foot) for the office space category. 2. If CO2 increases above the outside air CO2 level by a differential, primary air is incrementally increased back to the design airflow rate. 3. If the occupancy sensor is activated, primary air is returned back to the design airflow rate. consulting-specifying engineer
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CODES & STANDARDS
As an option in private offices, primary air can be shut off completely until the occupancy sensor is activated. Two examples of when you may need additional primary air include temperature override and dewpoint override. In temperature override, you must stop the DCV reset and return to normal design airflow if the cooling setpoint cannot be maintained with the sensible coil. In the case of dewpoint override, you can stop the DCV reset and return to normal design airflow if the space dewpoint approaches the sensible chilled water temperature (58°F), if using a sensible chilled water coil. There are a few factors to consider when controlling outside air. First, you should be aware if there are very low airflow rates on the primary air and whether they can be controlled accurately below 20% of box rated flow. Secondly, one needs to consider the availability and cost of points for occupancy sensor, CO2 or dewpoint calculation. When considering DCV at the air handler with a single-zone air handling unit, outside air can be measured and controlled directly at the outside
air inlet (see Figure 3). CO2 can be measured for the zone in the return air duct. Outside air is controlled to the minimum zone cubic feet per minute per square foot ventilation rate. If return air CO2 increases above the outside air CO2 by a differential of 700 ppm (or 1,100 ppm for outdoor air with acceptable CO2 concentrations), outside air is increased back to the design airflow rate Vbz (Ra + Rp).
Variable air volume systems
Multiple-zone VAV systems with direct digital controls of individual zone boxes reporting to a central control panel may include means to automatically reduce outdoor air intake flow below design rates in response to changes in system ventilation efficiency as defined by Appendix A of ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016. A few things to note about this scenario: • Outside air can be measured and controlled directly at the outside air inlet. • CO2 and occupancy are measured for each zone at the zone. • Zones send their occupied status to the AHU based on CO2 differential. • There are two outside air cubic feet per minute flow setpoints. – Outside air is controlled to the measured minimum zone cubic feet per minute per square foot ventilation rate Ra.
Figure 2: A terminal box schedule shows that the minimum calculated cubic feet per minute per square foot is less than the primary airflow minimum scheduled cubic feet per minute, which may create controllability issues. Courtesy: Envise
– Outside air is increased back up to the design airflow rate Vbz (Ra + Rp) measured maximum. Typical sequence of operations for this AHU/ VAV system scenario: 1. The ventilation outside air damper will modulate to maintain the minimum outside air design setpoint value once the unit is enabled to run.
Figure 3: A schematic of a single zone air handler indicates where outside air can be measured and controlled directly. Carbon dioxide can be measured for this sequence from the return air duct or plenum. Courtesy: Envise
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2. The minimum outside air cubic feet per minute will be increased on a trim and respond setpoint optimization sequence: each zone associated with the AHU will be capable of registering a vote for more ventilation air. Upon a demand for one or more CO2 monitored zones, the minimum outside air cubic feet per minute will be allowed to gradually increase up to the “design maximum” ventilation rate. www.csemag.com
3. As the CO2 in the monitored zones decreases, minimum outside air cubic feet per minute will be decreased back to the scheduled “minimum” ventilation rate. 4. The following represents the trim and respond formula to be calculated once every five minutes (adj.): OA cfm = [(max cfm stpt – min cfm stpt)/20] * (votes)] + last cfm value When the votes go to zero, then the cubic feet per minute will be trimmed back to minimum once every five minutes (adj.): OA cfm = last cfm value – (max cfm value – min cfm stpt)/*20 For engineers concerned about a ventilation increase that is too gradual, this factor in the default formula can be changed and lowered to produce a faster and more dramatic response to CO2 changes. This is best determined in the field during system commissioning. Mechanical engineers should consider the cost of CO2 sensors, aesthetics and reliability/calibration of these sensors. When considering CO2 sensors, know that: • Most control system manufacturers have CO2 options built into their zone sensors, which helps bring the cost down and improve the “look.” • CO2 sensors are easy to maintain and calibrate if you understand how they self-calibrate. • Physical destruction is the most common problem. • Building automation system service agreements are highly recommended. The use of a separate outside air CO2 sensor is not recommended for a few reasons. First, if the sensor does need to be calibrated or otherwise fails, you not only cause problems with a zone but with your entire building. Second and most importantly, it is simply not needed. Ambient CO2 levels in the atmosphere are currently at 414 to 430 ppm worldwide.
Dewpoint monitoring and control
You may notice that several of these methods use sensible chilled-water coils. As a result, condensation at the zone may not be desired, and if you are in a situation where you may be condensing at the
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zone, you might find the zone outside the ASHRAE 55 standard for thermal comfort as well. For both of these reasons, controlling to a dewpoint is more desirable than basic relative humidity control. The general ASHRAE 55 requirement is to maintain humidity that corresponds to a dewpoint temperature at or below 62.2°F. Because sensible chilled water systems run at temperatures of 58°F, monitoring and maintaining a dewpoint control at 54°F (at a zone air temperature of 74°F) for the space will meet both requirements.
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Mechanical engineers should consider the cost of CO2 sensors, aesthetics and reliability/calibration of these sensors.
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It is recommended to space dewpoint sensors throughout the floorplate, approximately one per 10,000 square feet. If a section of floor has a separate environmental system or is shut off tightly from other spaces, the area should have a separate monitoring point.
Thermal comfort of occupants
The requirements of ASHRAE Standard 55-2017 are various and include: • Temperature. • Thermal radiation. • Humidity. • Air speed. There are many personal factors as well that need to be taken into account when designing spaces. The standard does not cover other nonthermal environmental factors such as air quality, lighting or acoustics. While the standard is complex and beyond the scope of this article, in the context of the high-performance building, occupant control over their comfort settings should be more accessible. The sophisticated technologies that allow us to perform algorithms like the DCV sequences also allow the designer and facility owner to allow occupants to customize their environmental experience.
Occupant interface experience
Attention needs to be paid to the occupant interface experience. How can an occupant adjust not only the temperature setpoints, but other factors in the environment such as lighting? This is done through unified room controls. Continued on page 46 consulting-specifying engineer
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People spend 90% of their time indoors. The EPA found that indoor air is 2–5 times and may be 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. (EPA)
Poor IAQ can have adverse health effects like headaches, allergies, skin irritations, cancer, and kidney damage. And, deficient IAQ due to dampness and mold can increase asthma risk by 50%. (WHO)
Cognitive Function Students in classrooms with higher outdoor air ventilation rates scored 14–15% higher than students with lower outdoor air ventilation rates. (EPA)
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PERFORMING PEOPLE input #8 at www.csemag.com/information
BUILDING SOLUTIONS
CODES & STANDARDS Continued from page 43
• Control lighting with the HVAC. • Allow an occupant a single point of control.
Unified room controls can: • Sense thermal comfort at the SENS-DC Print Ad_08 outlines.pdf person,not the corner of the room. • Get rid of the wall warts.
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When it comes to indoor comfort, sensing temperature and the control of 7/21/17 10:09 AM HVAC in general, the traditional methods have limitations that can be over-
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DCV is a key component in achieving both ASHRAE 62.1 requirements and saving energy. In many cases, it can improve energy efficiency or gain points in a rating system like LEED.
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come. Sensing temperature at the wall with a traditional thermostat or electronic sensor is no longer required. Proper occupant comfort is sensed at the occupant, not at the wall. Many modern ceiling devices, even lighting fixtures, are available that can measure the temperature in the middle of the room, where the occupants spend most of their time. This is just one convergence of lighting technology with HVAC control technology. Smartphone apps are the second convergence of lighting technology and HVAC control technology; they are unified room controls.
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Key takeaways
DCV is a key component in achieving both ASHRAE 62.1 requirements and saving energy. In many cases, it can improve energy efficiency or gain points in a rating system like LEED. Additionally, new technologies are replacing the traditional concept of room controls with light switches and thermostats on the wall. Designers and consultants can embrace unified room controls, which give the occupant an enhanced interface experience. cse
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Michael Phillips is integration business manager for Envise. Phillips has been in the building automation and controls industry for 25 years and has worked on a number of large smart building and U.S. Green Building LEED Gold certified projects. input #9 at www.csemag.com/information
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Congratulations, MEP Giants Winners!
The MEP Giants program lists the top 100 mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), and fire protection engineering firms in North America.
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ENGINEERING INSIGHTS
MEP ROUNDTABLE
Learning how to engineer colleges, universities better Read about emerging trends in college and university buildings, and learn about the emerging trends impacting their design CSE: What’s the biggest trend in college and university buildings? Travis Fletcher: I’d say the biggest trends in these buildings include electrification, decarbonization, net-zero or near net-zero and P3. Additionally, moving to an “open” building automation system is an emerging trend. Many campuses do not want to be locked in anymore. Using the data from the system with analytics helps understand the opportunities in the system better and optimizes the systems for energy efficiency. Ryan Fryman: There are many potential trends like data science; security; sustainability; student engagement; science, technology, engineering and math; and business incubators/innovation centers. Perhaps the strongest is providing interdisciplinary collaboration space. Many facility programs are written to appeal to multiple funding sources; from politically driven state and federal STEM programs to private donor impact opportunities. Whether it is information systems combined with medical and pharmacy education, engineering programs comingling with construction management, live/learn honors college environments or even the college of education working with the athletic department, a trend of “joining forces” is occurring in new facility planning and construction and withTravis Fletcher Branch Manager Envise Garden Grove, California
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in the updating and renovating of existing spaces. The goals may be to attract multiple funding sources or to encourage emerging technologies and techniques in interdisciplinary learning or both of these and others. The fact is that in planning these collaboration spaces, colleges and universities are taking advantage of multiple successful components of existing programs to grow their facilities and provide valuable student experiences, which will stimulate economic growth in newly created fields and businesses that are spurred by these collaborative learning environments. Carl Holden: Accelerated change: Funding, competition, demographics, industry needs, technology, value, integration of disciplines, accreditation concerns, remote and lifelong learners and performance data are some factors driving a higher rate of change than these buildings have seen in the past. Innovation and the rate at which project approaches in higher education are needing to change is affecting many campuses. John O’Connell: College and universities have been at the forefront of implementing sustainable and energy-efficient mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. While there may be a more significant upfront cost to install these types of systems, these institutions have evolved to evaluate the life cycle cost while factoring Ryan Fryman, PE, LEED AP BD+C, CxA Principal, Senior Electrical Engineer TLC Engineering Solutions Jacksonville, Florida
consulting-specifying engineer
the overall energy impact to the environment. In some cases, we are seeing netzero buildings becoming a goal for several institutions. David K. Piluski: Flexibility in occupancy and use. With colleges and universities trending toward new ways of delivering instruction including traditional live, online and hybrid courses incorporating online lectures with campus-based labs and collaboration sessions, the design of buildings and spaces has trended toward flexibility. What we previously had known as classrooms and labs are evolving into collaborative spaces, which are easily convertible for other uses and for combining functionality to make the best use of space and resources. Bob Sherman: I am seeing university operations and maintenance staffs finally getting more of a voice in the design process. Universities spent a lot of money on a lot of new buildings over the last decade and were under a lot of pressure to install systems that were more complicated for sake of energy efficiency, at the same time having their budgets and manpower slashed. This has left a lot of these institutions with buildings that they just don’t understand and/or can’t maintain. Lately I have seen the O&M staff have much more influence over the final layout and design of the systems with an emphasis on maintainability and simplicity. It doesn’t matter
Carl Holden, PE, LEED AP
John O’Connell, PE, LEED AP
Vice President|Higher Education Practice Director Henderson Engineers Lenexa, Kansas
Senior Associate Kohler Ronan Danbury, Connecticut
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Figure 1: Engineers with Kohler Ronan worked on the Williams College Residence Hall for the Center for Development Economics, located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Designed to meet the Net-Zero Energy Petal of the Living Building Challenge, all the electric systems of the 17,000-square-foot building are intended to eliminate reliance on fossil fuels and help make the structure being independent of the central campus heating plant. Courtesy: Kohler Ronan
how good the design is if they can’t operate and maintain it effectively. Randy C. Twedt: The incoming generations of students grew up in technology-rich environments where they often exerted a lot of control regarding how they experience space. They expect the same level of integration and control in the academic environment. They want to customize their experiences in terms of lighting and temperature; and they demand access to high-speed internet at all times. The systems increasingly need to provide technology-rich, customizable environments but also allow management to override customization to control for efficiency. Jeffrey P. Wegner: In California, we are seeing a strong trend away from the use of fossil fuel to lower the building’s carbon footprint. The University of California Policy on Sustainable Practices states, “No new building or major renovation that is approved after June 30,
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2019, shall use on-site fossil fuel combustion (e.g., natural gas) for space and water heating” (with few exceptions). This policy is in alignment with California’s Senate Bill 100 that signed into law California’s commitment to 100% clean renewable electricity by 2045. We are seeing similar policies or guidelines from other publicly funded educational facilities. CSE: What future trends should engineers expect for such projects? Piluski: I am seeing a trend toward more multipurpose flexible spaces to accommodate dynamic teaching environments encompassing on-campus and remote learning. Another trend is in the teaching of technology trades at the community college and technical college levels. As traditional occupations in manufacturing and building trades have incorporated greater levels of technolog-
David K. Piluski, PE
Bob Sherman, PE, LEED AP
Principal RTM Engineering Schaumburg, Illinois
Principal Affiliated Engineers Inc. Chapel Hill, North Carolina
ical expertise into the job descriptions, these institutions have stepped up to build lab environments that model real-world settings found in advanced manufacturing as well as creating exacting replicas of systems and equipment found in the mechanical and electrical rooms serving commercial buildings. Twedt: We will see growth in smart buildings because students are demanding full integration of technology in their environments and universities are looking to be both cost-effective and sustainable. Smart buildings can respond to all of these needs. Holden: These changes will result in an ongoing need to renovate buildings built to last for decades and built for specific functions. Renovations will continue to be centered around integrating departments, reallocating lecture space, adding active learning components and creating spaces where skills can be practiced or gained.
Randy C.
Jeffrey P. Wegner, PE, CEM, LEED AP
Associate Principal/ Senior Mechanical Engineer Page Austin, Texas
Mechanical Engineer CRB San Diego
Twedt, PE, LEED AP
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Wegner: We are starting to see trends or at least discussions, away from centralized heating systems, specifically central steam. The preferred approach is de-centralized heat pumps sized to meet the maximum heating requirements and chilled water byproduct is either used locally or dumped into the central chilled water loop. O’Connell: Our company has seen a more aggressive push toward net-zero and reducing the carbon footprint of their campus. Pursuing U.S. Green Building
Council LEED Gold or Platinum appears to be more common, as well as design toward WELL Certification and Passive House Standards. Sherman: The need to balance energy efficiency with simplicity of O&M. Our architectural partners are looking at the engineering team to provide some sophisticated MEP systems to meet energy goals (or even beyond) of the project. And, we do have a lot of systems at our disposal that we can employ now that do save a lot of energy. However, we have to balance that with the desire from the campus maintenance and operations group for simplicity of operation and upkeep. Fryman: Engineers should expect to have to listen to the varying user groups of these collaborative spaces and think outside the box of typical single-purpose facilities to create an environment that fosters the innovative thinking that will occur within them. This requires the engineer to be experienced in the design of many types of facilities, not just your typical classroom building. The created environment may need to more closely resemble the environment that the students may find themselves working in after graduation. CSE: What types of challenges do you encounter for these types of projects that you might not face on other types of structures?
Figure 2: During work on the complete renovation of the 110,000-square-foot library building at Harper Community College in Palatine, Illinois, RTM Engineering incorporated LED lighting products into interior and exterior building design elements. These included highlighting architectural aspects of the building and providing attractive and useful lighting scenes for study areas and small group settings. Courtesy: David Piluski, RTM Engineering
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O’Connell: Determining the building’s energy use intensity early on is important. Understanding the building operation schedule, the number of occupants and proposed program is critical to design the on-site renewable energy source to support the building. Twedt: Educating academic clients about the benefits of technology remains a challenge. Many of these institutions may have outdated design guidelines and can be slow to adapt to change. Sherman: The safety of the building occupants is the most important factor for the engineering design. We work on complicated projects for very sophisticated clients. First and foremost, we need to create environments that are safe for the occupants. For a teaching lab or research lab, we need to make sure that the decisions we make take into account the safety of those within the facility. On top of
consulting-specifying engineer
that, we need to layer in the desire for the building to be energy efficient, easy to operate and easy to maintain. There is a lot of tension at times between those competing forces and it is imperative that we make the best choices we can for the project. Wegner: Common challenges occur around funding and identifying whose budget the energy efficiency upgrades falls within, whether it be an individual project cost or a facilities cost. Piluski: Having experience with design and construction of actual advanced manufacturing facilities and mechanical/electrical spaces in numerous buildings, the major challenge I experienced was translating these environments to the realm of a teaching space. Manufacturing vignettes and training spaces for mechanical equipment must be designed to not only allow the arrangement and access typically found in real-world applications but must also incorporate additional space for lab teams to observe operations and instructors while maintaining safe and functional clearances. Fryman: These types of facilities may actually contain multiple occupancy types. Depending on the different disciplines represented, varying amounts of ventilation or exhaust, task lighting, audiovisual needs, large meeting spaces, wet labs, etc. These types of variations require building infrastructure to accommodate them all. That could have a profound effect on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system type, building control systems, life safety and data cabling and lighting, among many other possible needs. Holden: The challenges in existing facilities come as we seek to integrate new infrastructure necessary for changing programs or space use. Building construction, glazing and plenum space don’t necessarily align with energy goals or with system incorporation needed to support simulated workplaces or skills labs. In both new and existing facilities, a challenge is designing not just for future flexibility but also current flexibility. As interdisciplinary collaboration continues to develop, we find many projects have multiple stakeholders who will use the same spaces and have a variety of needs for the systems that support them. Capturing and documenting these needs and www.csemag.com
providing an economic design to meet them can be a challenge. Fletcher: We often see older infrastructure that hasn’t been updated in years because it hasn’t had the need to. It’s also difficult to gain access to data from older systems or find the right contractor that can integrate older systems into the newer ones. Many cannot afford to rip and replace and start with a completely new slate. CSE: What are engineers doing to ensure such projects meet challenges associated with emerging technologies? Twedt: We’re working to educate our clients about the advantages of technology. We focus on the fact that integrated technology benefits the end-user experience in the building and reduces the overall costs of running and maintaining the systems. We have one university client that asked us to disregard its guidelines and build the systems to the standards of best practices in commercial design. The client recognized it was an opportunity to push the envelope and was then able see the benefits of integrated technology firsthand. Wegner: With California’s push toward clean electricity and the continued decline in solar photovoltaic cost, rooftop solar makes for relatively easy economics. The challenge becomes supporting the added weight with outdated building structures. Solutions include avoiding ballasted racking systems in preference toward mechanical attachments or choosing a partial ballast hybrid solution. Fletcher: Some engineers are getting more involved with technology companies (i.e., controls) to meet these challenges. Fryman: Engineers must plan for growth and change in today’s higher education buildings. These buildings are typically being planned to be 50-year (minimum) buildings. The building infrastructure needs to be scalable and flexible to meet the changing needs of the users over the expected life of the building. Holden: We believe it is important to engage in project planning earlier than engineers traditionally have been involved. Setting goals early in the project for which emerging technologies are www.csemag.com
Figure 3: TLC Engineering Solutions worked on systems at the University of North Florida’s three-story Wellness Center in Jacksonville, Florida. Energy modeling indicates the building is 28% more energy efficient than a baseline building, likely due from tying into the campus chilled and hot water loops, low lighting power densities and use of low-mercury lamps. Courtesy: Ryan Fryman, TLC Engineering Solutions
important to incorporate allows for the best outcomes and ensures the benefits of these technologies can be fully applied to the project. It is also a great benefit for the engineering team to be present with stakeholders in programming and space planning meetings to hear firsthand what the needs are for the building systems. This provides an opportunity to ask clarifying questions so the best solutions are developed. Piluski: I work closely with the faculty and leadership to establish the ultimate goals of the project and how technologies will be adapted into the design from both the standpoint of functionality and teaching practicality. The faculty will be the primary users of the space and they bring their vision of the curriculum and instructional procedures to bear in the overall design. O’Connell: Emerging technologies can significantly improve a buildings energy performance. Using an energy model throughout the various design phases of a project can help validate the energy impact of such technologies. CSE: How are engineers designing these kinds of projects to keep costs down while offering appealing features, complying with relevant codes and meeting client needs? Piluski: The key is close communication with stakeholders, end users and the entire design team early in the pro-
cess to determine exactly what is needed in an effective design and then to blend this with code-required design criteria. Advanced planning will identify high-cost items early in the process while possible lower cost alternates can still be vetted as acceptable solutions. Twedt: We’re helping our academic clients develop new standards, reduce costs and provide customizable environments for the students. It’s important to perform energy studies and life cycle cost analyses for various features to evaluate the correct systems for a client’s project budget. Since many of innovative features can cross multiple disciplines, these types of studies are evaluated early in the project design phase to ensure the design team is taking a holistic approach. Wegner: We are approaching more and more projects as design-build with early onboarding of MEP subcontractors. Applying lean construction practices revolves heavily around planning, communication, goal setting and continuous value engineering exercises. To keep costs down, we continuously benchmark our design against the client’s budget and apply true value engineering versus a major cost-cutting exercise at the end of substantial design completion. Holden: Communication is a key to this. Understanding what the client’s objectives and needs really are makes translating them into solutions that align engineering best practices and code requirements at more cost-effective rates. By clearly communicating ideas and con-
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cepts to the rest of the design and construction team allows for more accurate pricing feedback. We’re also designing these systems using data-driven design and testing design scenarios, exploring options and optimizing the application of the right systems that achieve the functional needs without creating a cost overrun. O’Connell: Working on a project with an integrated design team that includes a construction manager allows for continuous check and balances with the proposed design and estimated cost to install such systems. CSE: How are college and university buildings being designed to be more energy efficient? Twedt: We are seeing more centralized systems that allow for user flexibility and also provide management override to ensure sustainability and performance goals are met. University of Texas Austin is a unique example in that it is self-sufficient and relies on central utility plants for
all power, cooling and water throughout the campus. Wegner: While we have had great success with alternative energy solutions, I strongly believe it is no substitute for good engineering practices. When it comes to energy, designing with the mantra “reduce before you produce” is most important. The greatest energy reduction at the “typical” college and university building is around outside air quantities. We often default to single-pass air for laboratories with any quantity of chemicals, but with good risk management and increased controls, we can sustainably reduce the outside air load and associated energy use. Consider the following solutions: • Minimize air change rates: Increased air exchange rates above six to eight air changes per hour start to have diminishing return. There are applications where higher air changes are necessary, but this is often misapplied. Further reduction during unoccupied hours, perhaps as monitored by occupancy sensors and additionally tied to lighting controls, will yield significant savings.
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• Specify variable air volume: This saves heating, cooling and fan energy, which can contribute to well over 50%% of a laboratory’s total energy consumption. California’s Title 24 (2019 edition) Building Energy Efficiency Standards Section 140.9(c)1 requires VAV controls for most laboratory spaces found in colleges and universities. • Shut the sash: The safest fume hood is a closed fume hood. Continually training and educating new fume hood users to close the sash when not used is difficult at the least. And automatic sash closures are often overlooked by mechanical designers and lab planners; however, California’s Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards Section 140.9(c)4 now requires automatic sash closures tied to presence sensors. • Actively monitor air quality: As previously mentioned, air changes have an immense impact on fan energy, chilled water loads and reheat energy. The purpose of air changes is to remove the offgassing of volatile organic compounds accumulated from the space and exchanging with clean outside air. By actively monitoring air quality, when volatile organic compounds are not present, the outside air exchange rates may be reduced accordingly. Fryman: Buildings are being designed with 100% LED lighting, demand-controlled ventilation, DOAS units with energy recovery from the building exhaust and variable frequency drives controlling large motors. Energy modeling is performed early in the design and repeated with more detail as building components are specified. Appropriate decisions are made with the architectural team with regard to glazing and other envelope properties to provide the most efficient building design. Piluski: Many state college and university governing boards have mandat-
M More ROUNDTABLE
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Read more at www.csemag.com about: • Automation, controls and technology. • Codes and standards. • Electrical and power systems. • Fire and life safety. • HVAC and energy efficiency.
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ed a “design toward” LEED Silver goal or similar, to establish a guideline not only for energy efficiency but also for the goal to incorporate the overall sustainable and occupant comfort and health experience aspects of such certifications into the project. As such, energy-efficient solutions are considered early on in the design process to establish systems and approaches known to be improvements in order of magnitude over the baseline systems considered in LEED v.4, ASHRAE 90.1 and others. Holden: Many campuses are simply becoming more efficient in how they use space. Classroom and learning-space scheduling has become a critical function, making more efficient use of the spaces whether newly built or existing. The data from this scheduling has also allowed us to optimize ventilation as we recognize that some spaces go unused at times due to their specific functions or since their use may be mutually exclusive with the use of another space where students are present. Recognizing the sometimes-transient use of these spaces allows us to only provide full ventilation (a major component of energy use) when and where necessary. O’Connell: An energy model can be used to evaluate the building as a whole from the envelope to the systems that support it. This allows the IPD team to select building components that will have the largest energy impact while taking the project budget into account. CSE: What is the biggest challenge you come across when designing such projects? Fryman: Designing systems to meet the owner’s expectations and the stringent requirements of the building codes, while maintaining the budget provided by the construction manager. One of these things typically has to give and unfortunately it is usually the owner’s expectations, since the other two can usually not vary. This can result in a disappointed owner. O’Connell: Many educational institutions have distinct design standards based on traditional systems that have been used for many years. Some of these standards are antiquated and do not take into account emerging technologies. Spending time with the facility operators during design so that they fully understand the operation of new technologies is critical. This allows them to become more comfortable with maintain and operating these systems post occupancy. Holden: One of the biggest opportunities is to challenge our industry to design and commission systems that are simple, robust and functional at project completion to limit the burden on the facilities/maintenance staff. There is often no increase of capital budget for maintaining campus facilities as new spaces come online as well as no increase in staff as new facilities are built. This is just one more aspect of system selection that needs to balance emerging technologies with proven methods. Piluski: Higher costs and longer schedules are often associated with the pursuit of any official track for certification. The stakeholders must be made aware of these extended timeframes and efforts early in the project to avoid frustration later in the process. If pursuit of an official certification track is not mandated by the funding or governing body, I have recommended incorporating sustainable and energy-efficient aspects of LEED and other certifications into the design without actually pursuing certification. cse consulting-specifying engineer
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ENGINEERING INSIGHTS NEW PRODUCTS
Uninterruptable power supply The 5P lithium-ion UPS uses lithium-ion batteries that provide enhanced performance compared to lead-acid batteries, with extended service life up to eight years and reducing the need for midcycle battery replacement. Lithium-ion batteries also have three times faster recharge capabilities, reducing vulnerability and maximizing uptime in the case of power disruptions. Eaton, www.eaton.com
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Dual-voltage/ dual frequency valve coils Commonly used in walk-in coolers, freezers and food retail display cases, the coils are also easily applied in air conditioning applications. Each coil can operate at one of four voltage/frequency combinations: 110 volts/50 hertz, 110–120 volts /60 hertz, 230 volts /50 hertz, or 208 to 240 hertz.
Isolation control damper The square-blade design enables the damper to provide shut-off with very low leakage in HVAC or industrial process control systems. Model HCD-221 features a blade seal mechanically fastened to the blade that is field replaceable and available with parallel or opposed blade action.
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Smart thermostat The RDS120-B BACnet/IP Smart Thermostat, with its high level of energy efficiency and features, is effectively targeted for use in light commercial, managed residential and mixed-use applications including dorms, multiuse space and small retail. Siemens Smart Infrastructure, https://new.siemens.com #204 at www.csemag.com/information
Storage water heater The DHT STP Series is a fully packaged storage water heater that uses doublewall brazed plate heat exchanger to optimum heat transfer through generating more efficient and faster hot water replenishment of the storage tank. Diversified Heat Transfer Inc., www.dhtnet.com #205 at www.csemag.com/information
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Input #102 at www.csemag.com/information
Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Publication Title: CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER Publication Number: 901-000 Filing Date: 9/26/19 Issue Frequency: 11x, monthly except in February Number of Issues Published Annually: 11 Annual Subscription Price: USA $165 CAN $200 MEX $200 INTL $350 Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication (Not printer): CFE MEDIA, LLC 3010 Highland Parkway, Ste #325, Downers Grove, IL, 60515 Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher (Not printer): CFE MEDIA, LLC 3010 Highland Parkway, Ste #325, Downers Grove, IL, 60515 Publisher: Matt Waddell, CFE MEDIA, LLC 3010 Highland Parkway, Ste #325, Downers Grove, IL, 60515 Editor-in-Chief: Amara Rozgus, CFE MEDIA, LLC 3010 Highland Parkway, Ste #325, Downers Grove, IL, 60515 Editor: McKenzie Burns, CFE MEDIA, LLC 3010 Highland Parkway, Ste #325, Downers Grove, IL, 60515 10. Owner: CFE MEDIA, LLC 3010 Highland Parkway, Ste #325, Downers Grove, IL, 60515 Jim Langhenry and Steve Rourke, CFE MEDIA, LLC 3010 Highland Parkway, Ste #325, Downers Grove, IL, 60515 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None 12. Does not Apply 13. Publication Title: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2019 15. Extent and Nature or Circulation Average No. Copies Each Issue During Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: Preceding 12 Months: 16,022 15,424 a. Total Number of Copies (Net Press Run): b. Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 00 00 (1) Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541. 15,566 15,011 (Include advertiser’s proof and exchange copies) (2) Paid In-County Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541. (Include advertiser’s proof and exchange copies) 0 0 (3) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other 0 0 Non-USPS Paid Distribution (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS 13 13 c. Total Paid and/ or Requested Circulation [Sum of 15b, (1), (2), (3), and (4)-** 15,579 15,024 d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 0 0 (1) Outside-County as Stated on Form 3541 0 0 0 0 (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS 243 218 (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means) 0 0 e. Total Nonrequested Distribution [Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4) 243 218 f. Total Distribution [Sum of 15c and 15f] 15,822 15,242 g. Copies not Distributed 200 182 h. Total [Sum of 15f and 15g] 16,022 15,424 i. Percent Paid [15c divided by 15f times 100] 98.46% 98.57% 16. Electronic Copy Circulation a. Requested and Paid Electronic Copies 23,892 26,663 b. Total Requested and Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Requested/Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 39,471 41,657 c. Total Requested Copy Distribution (Line 15f) + Requested/Paid Electronic Copies (16a) 39,714 41,875 d. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation (Both Print & Electronic Copies) 99.39% 99.48% (16b divided by 16c x 100) 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership: Publication Required. Will be printed in the October 2019 issue of this publication. 18. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anoyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalities). James M. Langhenry (signed), Owner
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consulting-specifying engineer
October 2019
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Publication Services Jim Langhenry, Co-Founder and Publisher, CFE Media JLanghenry@CFEMedia.com Steve Rourke, Co-Founder, CFE Media SRourke@CFEMedia.com
ad index Company
Page#
RSN
Web
Kristen Nimmo, Marketing Manager KNimmo@CFEMedia.com Paul Brouch, Director of Operations 630-571-4070 x2208, PBrouch@CFEMedia.com Rick Ellis, Audience Management Director 303-246-1250, REllis@CFEMedia.com
ASCO Power Technologies . . . . . . .C-2 . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . .www .ascopower .com
Michael Rotz, Print Production Manager 717-766-0211 x4207, Fax 717-506-7238 mike.rotz@frycomm.com
CARNES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . .www .carnes .com
Maria Bartell, List Rental Account Director Infogroup Targeting Solutions 847-378-2275, maria.bartell@infogroup.com Claude Marada, List Rental Manager 402-836-6274, claude.marada@infogroup.com
CleaverBrooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . .www .cleaverbrooks .com
Congratulations to the 2019 40 Under 40 winners . . . . . . .23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www .csemag .com/40Under40
Congratulations to the 2019 MEP Giants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www .csemag .com/giants
Cummins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . .www .cummins .com/generators/white-papers
ebm-papst, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3 . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . .http://ebmpapst .us
Letters to the Editor Please e-mail your letters to ARozgus@CFEMedia.com Letters should include name, company, and address, and may be edited for space and clarity.
Information
For a Media Kit or Editorial Calendar: www.csemag.com/interactivemediakit.
Reprints For custom reprints or electronic usage, contact: Marcia Brewer, Wright’s Media 281-419-5725 mbrewer@wrightsmedia.com
ESL Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . .52 . . . . . . . . 10 . . . . . . .www .eslpwr .com
Publication Sales
FRIEDRICH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-4 . . . . . . . 13 . . . . . . .www .friedrich .com
Publisher/Midwest Matt Waddell MWaddell@CFEMedia.com 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 312-961-6840 Downers Grove, IL 60515
Fujitsu General America, Inc . . . . .6 . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . .www .constantcomfort .com
Account Manager Robert Levinger RLevinger@cfetechnology.com 630-571-4070 x2218
MELTRIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 . . . . . . . . .11 . . . . . . .www .meltric .com
West, TX, OK Tom Corcoran TCorcoran@CFEMedia.com Integrated Media Manager 215-275-6420
Reliable Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . .www .reliablecontrols .com
RenewAire LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44, 45 . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . .www .RenewAire .com
SENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . .www .sens-usa .com
TEKLEEN Automatic Filters Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . .www .tekleen .com
REQUEST MORE INFORMATION about products and advertisers in this issue by using
Northeast Richard A. Groth Jr. RGroth@CFEMedia.com 12 Pine Street 774-277-7266 Franklin, MA 02038 Director of Content Marketing Solutions Patrick Lynch PLynch@CFEMedia.com 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 847-452-1191 Downers Grove, IL 60515 Marketing Consultant Brian Gross BGross@CFEMedia.com 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 630-571-4070 x2217 Downers Grove, IL 60515 International Stuart Smith stuart.smith@globalmediasales.co.uk SSM Global Media Ltd. +44 208 464 5577
the www.csemag.com/information link and reader service number located near each item. If you’re reading the digital edition, the link will be live. When you contact a company directly, please let them know you read about them in Consulting-Specifying Engineer.
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October 2019
consulting-specifying engineer
www.csemag.com
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input #12 at www.csemag.com/information
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TO LEARN MORE VISIT: info.friedrich.com/CSEVRP input #13 at www.csemag.com/information