Solutions for Engineers and Architects
Below you will find real life problems Allen Consulting has solved for a number of its clients. You’ll also find services performed for architects and engineers and a sample of completed projects.
Solutions
Nature of Service Provided
| Problem | Solution |
| “We are designing a laboratory that will include an autoclave and glass washer. This is new to us. Would you design the support utility systems and controls interface for us?” | Project Management & Design Engineering: Interviewed researcher who used the autoclave, designed new room cooling, steam system and chiller system. Managed entire project through validation. |
| “We’ve been asked to improve the energy use of a building that is being renovated. Would you conduct a utilities audit and recommendation for envelope and HVAC improvements to make?” | Performed an Energy Analysis to identify where energy was being used, and opportunities for improvement. |
| “We have designed a set of pharmaceutical drug discovery laboratories and ACF. This is a complex project. Would you provide the Construction Administration for us?” | Construction Administration: Represented the MEP design firm for successful completion of these laboratory projects. Adjusted design to suit field conditions and owner supplied laboratory equipment changes to support contractors and keep project on schedule. |
| “We are doing the MEP design for an industrial building. Would you perform a design review for us, particularly looking at the interfaces with the industrial equipment?” | Design Qualification: Reviewed the plans and recommended changes to improve integration of industrial process equipment and controls. |
| “As architects, we want to learn more about Commissioning and how to use it for better project performance. Would you provide a series of lunch-n-learn programs for us on this topic?” | Commissioning Training: Provided workshop training, centered around actual projects, for real project use of concepts being taught. |
| The pressure relief valve of a large heating hot water system opened, discharging hundreds of gallons of glycol, every time the system came up to temperature. | Solving Problems: Investigation showed that the expansion tanks were not large enough, but there was no space for larger tanks. A dynamic pressure control system was designed to increase the capacity of the existing tanks and solve the overpressure problem with minimal cost. |
“A client wants us to design a dust collection system, including custom hoods and enclosures for their equipment. Would you handle this part of the mechanical building design for us?” |
Design Engineering: Worked with the owner’s manufacturing engineers to redesign equipment enclosures and material conveying systems to contain the dust at the sources. Then designed a dust collection system to capture the dust from the enclosures and filter it out of the air. |
SERVICES
Commissioning (aka: Validation, retro-commissioning, re-commissioning, Performance Management):
The following steps make up this work.
You can read about each on the About Performance Management page.
- Performance Requirements Definition
- Design Qualification
- Construction Qualification
- Energy/Utility Analysis
- Performance Qualification
- Performance Maintenance
- Performance Improvement Planning
Solving Problems: getting things to work right, determining the cause of a problem, devising the correction, supporting building technicians, simplifying the complex and difficult, elegant solutions
Design for Performance Facilitation: Design team leadership, decision facilitation using VOC, QFD, FMEA
Commissioning Training: Basic to advanced, including facilitation of team based commissioning and performance management
Engineering Counseling: design qualification, peer reviews
Economic/Financial Analysis: project value, payback, rate of return, scenario comparisons, ensuring your money is well spent
Regulatory Compliance: public safety, building departments, environmental
Construction Administration: Construction Qualification, representation to construction team, design change and management for field condition changes, RFI's and Submittals.
Design Engineering: mechanical, HVAC, piping, laboratory systems, specialized equipment, industrial ventilation
Dispute Resolution: listening, investigating, objective third party opinions
PROJECTS
Laboratories
770 & 790 Memorial
Project type: New biological R&D building core and shell
Use: biological laboratories, offices, parking
Building size: 2 buildings, 5 stories, 92,000 sf.
Services provided: Construction Administration (MEP/FP)
Major systems: Laboratory exhaust and make-up air, chilled water, hot water, laboratory waste pretreatment, typical fire protection sprinklers, fire alarm, lighting, power, and domestic plumbing.
45 & 75 Sidney
Project Type: Laboratory fit-out
Use: Animal care facilities, pharmaceutical R&D laboratories (drug discovery & biology), autoclave and rack wash facilities,
Building: 2 buildings, both 5 stories, 275,000 sf.
Service provided: Construction Administration (MEP/FP)
Major systems: Barrier animal care facility HVAC, VAV laboratory exhaust and make-up air, high and low pressure steam, flammable materials storage spaces, laboratory waste handling and pretreatment, chilled water, hot water, laboratory plumbing, comfort HVAC, lighting and power, RODI water, gray water recycling.
80 Ashby Autoclave
Project Type: Autoclave facility
Use: Industrial
Services provided: Mechanical design engineering, project management, commissioning, validation
Major systems: Space HVAC, plant steam, clean steam, chilled water and autoclave.
900 Middlesex
Project type: New biomedical products manufacturing and R&D building
Use: clean room laboratories, autoclave sterilization facilities, process equipment fabrication and test laboratories, biological laboratories, and support offices
Building: 2 stories, 88,000 sf.
Services provided: Construction Administration (MEP/FP)
Major systems: Clean room HVAC, VAV laboratory exhaust and make-up air, high pressure steam, clean steam, flammable materials storage, laboratory waste water handling and pretreatment, RODI water, chilled water, hot water, laboratory gases, domestic plumbing , comfort HVAC, standby power generation system, fire protection sprinklers, fire alarm, lighting, power, and domestic plumbing.
75 Wiggins
Project type: Renovation
Use: Industrial - machine shops, plastic manufacturing test labs, process machine build & test labs, and offices.
Building: Single story; 31,000 sf.
Services provided: Project management, Mechanical design engineering
Major systems: roof-top DX cooled, gas fired air handling units, compressed air, typical fire protection sprinklers, fire alarm, lighting, power, and domestic plumbing.
PROJECTS
Commercial
361 East Broad
Project Type: High rise historic hotel renovation
Use: Mixed - residence and retail
Building: 3 buildings, 2, 4 & 10 stories, 137,000 sf.
Service provided: Design Qualification & Construction Qualification
Major systems: Split AC systems, fire protection sprinklers, fire alarm, lighting, power, domestic plumbing, high rise smoke control, and emergency power generator
500 Atlantic
Project type: New high-rise building
Use: Mixed - luxury hotel, restaurants, retail, indoor pool, health club, residences & parking
Building: 20 stories up, 3 stories down, 700,000 sf.
Service provided: Construction Administration (MEP/FP)
Major building systems: energy recovery dedicated outdoor air & exhaust units, steam absorption chillers, domestic plumbing, fire alarm, lighting, power, high-medium-low pressure steam systems, hot & chilled water heating and cooling, fire protection sprinklers, steam domestic & HVAC water heating
525 Okeechobee
Project Type: New high-rise building
Use: Mixed - offices, parking, retail.
Building: 16 stories, 325,000 sf.
Service provided: Construction Administration (MEP/FP) Commissioning protocols for life-safety systems.
Major systems: water cooled packaged AC units on each office floor and related condenser water system, high rise smoke control systems, fire protection sprinklers, fire alarm, lighting, power, domestic plumbing, and whole building standby power generation system
599 Harrisburg
Project Type: New mid-rise commercial buildings
Use: Mixed – residence & retail.
Building: 3 buildings, 1, 5 & 6 stories, 244,000 sf.
Service provided: Construction Administration (MEP/FP)
Major systems: air cooled packaged dedicated outdoor air units, split AC units w/ electric heat, fire alarm, lighting, power, and domestic plumbing, emergency power generation system, fire protection sprinklers w/ diesel fire pump
25 Buick
Project Type: Renovation
Use: Offices
Building: 2 stories, 17,000 sf. (project area)
Service provided: Mechanical design engineering
Major building systems: VAV DX cooled, steam heated packaged air handling unit for one floor, VAV air distribution systems for both floors, exhaust systems.
PROJECTS
Industrial
64 Jackson
Project type: New heavy industrial building
Use: Metal processing, manufacturing support laboratories and offices.
Building: single story, 354,000 sf.
Service provided: Performance Qualification, remedial engineering.
Major systems: process piping, chilled water system, hot water system, comfort and process HVAC systems, compressed air systems, electrical power systems.
3 Borinsky
Project Type: Manufacturing capacity expansion and improvement, existing building.
Use: Industrial - pharmaceutical product manufacturing and offices.
Services provided: Project management, Mechanical design engineering, building commissioning & process validation management.
Major systems: Proprietary manufacturing process equipment; dust collection, fume extraction & scrubber, process wastewater pre-treatment
Poors Ford Road
Project type: New heavy industrial building
Use: Metal processing, manufacturing support laboratories and offices.
Building: Single story, 207,000 sf.
Services provided: Project management, dust collection design, conveying systems design, heavy equipment installation management, scrap handling systems.
Major systems: automated storage & retrieval system, material handling robots, automated metal scrap handling, roof-top DX cooled, gas fired air handling units, manufacturing work cell development.
4467 Park
Project type: New heavy industrial building
Use: Metal processing, metrology laboratory and offices.
Building: Single story, 50,000 sf.
Services provided: Project management, heavy equipment installation management, scrap handling systems.
Major systems: NBS compliant metrology laboratory, flexible manufacturing equipment lines, specialized process equipment exhaust systems, roof-top DX cooled, gas fired air handling units, manufacturing work cell development.
What would
you like to do?
- Learn more about CIPD
- Learn more about Commissioning & Building Performance Management
- Get help with a problem
- Get an answer to a question
- Learn about Allen Consulting, LLC.
For additional information, call or write to Allen Consulting.
