Mechanical and Electrical Construction-Discussion & Response 2

P S

Dear Owner,

I am glad to hear you are as excited as we are for breaking ground on this new project. I understand your concerns in regard to the underground utilities, and we want to ensure there wont be any issues that might cause a delay in the construction process.

All underground utilities are inspected and tested to confirm they have been properly installed following the local codes.

Tests such as air test, water test, and final air test are performed to guarantee all systems are free from leaks. An inspection will also be scheduled with the city where a plumbing inspector will run a final inspection and give us the pass to continue with the construction process.

We will be following the general procedure for plumbing system tests as follows:

1. Assemble testing apparatus

2. Seal all openings

3. Apply the test

4. Check for leaks

5. Fix defects

6. Call for an inspection and test

7. Assist the inspector at time of inspection and test

8. Remove testing apparatus

 Now, I would like to address your concerns regarding the comfort of the office staff. Comfort is composed by 5 components: proper temperature, humidity, circulation, filtration, and ventilation. You might have the proper temperature at the office right now but there are still 4 key components that might be causing discomfort within the staff. It is important to check that the indoor air quality is not polluted which might be the cause of such discomfort. Poor indoor air quality can be due to the presence of indoor air pollution, poorly designed, maintained, or operated ventilation systems, uses of the building that were unanticipated or poorly planned for when the building was designed or renovated. A psychometric chart defines the conditions of air for any given property defining the moisture on air. Heating, cooling, and ventilation are the most common processes that change the properties of air.

We will design and install the HVAC system according to the requirements necessary to ensure the comfort needed in the office building. The system will be inspected and tested to confirm it is operating according to the standards. In addition, proper maintenance will also ensure longevity of the system and we will provide the adequate guidance.

I hope this information helps you clear all the concerns, and I can assure all the best practices will be in place to ensure the success of this project. Please do not hesitate to reach out as new questions arise. 

Sincerely,

P S

Project Manager

Respond to P S

G G

Dear Owner 

The steps underground utilities construction work in plan installing utilities damage prevention dug up and repair are: 

First Step in preventing damage to buried facilities is to accurately locate and mark all utilities in a work area before construction. This process is initiated with a call to the local one-call center, providing the exact location of the work site and requesting locates be made. The call must be placed at least 48 hours before work is scheduled to begin. Government agencies are adopting regulations that require potholing, and project owners and contractors are establishing their own policies specifying potholing before excavation or directional drilling begins.

Soft Excavation causes less surface damage and reduces disruption of traffic and other surface activities, The small excavation is easier, faster and less expensive to repair." 

Best Practices The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) efforts focus on implementing best-practice procedures identified in the Common Ground Best Practices Study, for preventing damage to underground facilities. "CGA," "encourages responsabilty of utility damage prevention and helps achieve this by refining and disseminating best practice recommendations, developing public awareness through educational programs. supporting appropiate research, and serving as an information clearinghouse.

2. The other concern that has come up that I would like to address now is the comfort of the office staff. Our current building is not comfortable. I am wondering why. We have the temperature appropriately set and it is easily maintained, but people still complain. What can we do to ensure they will comfortable in the new building? A few months ago, I asked one of our maintenance staff about this and they gave me a psychrometric chart. I have no idea what I am supposed to do with it. Could you explain?

Psychrometric Chart (PC): Relates the variation of properties of air relatives to each other properties. 

List the properties of air are difined conditions of air in the (PC); Dry bulb temperature(db), Dew point (dp), Wet bulb temperature (wb), Enthalpy (h), Specific volume (V), Humidity ratio (w).

A proper air balance within a building is an important factor for providing a healthy and comfortable indoor environment for occupants. When should a building be balanced? some common events that would require the need to perform an air balance:

New Constreuction: HVAC system should be balanced when it is first constructed. The HVAC system should be inspected, tested, and adjusted to ensure that they are operating correctly, efficiently, and as intended by the design engineer and as expected by the building owner. A balance building will provide a comfortable and healthy indoor environment for the occupants (delivered in an energy efficient manner) and will have a proper positive pressure. Select a test and balance (TAB) professional should be experienced of building and HVAC system and should be certified by accrediting agency, like NEBB or AABC.

Regards-Project Manager-

Respond to G G

P C

Dear Owner,

We are very delighted to be installing and working with you regarding the underground utilities. Just like you, we also focus on how to prevent the failures and how we can manage our timing in case a failure showed throughout the process.

Nevertheless, first we must understand the types of utility networks that we might encounter on the site. We can either find transmission networks which are mainly natural gas, fuel, or electric power transmission quantities. Also, there is the distribution network which mainly focuses on distributing the natural gas, electric power, or fuel. Therefore, it is important to determine what type of networks are found in the site. Once the networks are determined, managers must contact local organizations that will work along with the managers to investigate and coordinate the construction activities by the side of the utility companies. Moreover, we can also implement the Ground Penetrating Radar, this tool helps the managers define the underground networks at the site of the project.  

A realistic schedule will be fundamental within the project allowing the managers to track the activity in the construction and preventing delays. The schedule has a detailed movement by movement that will be done throughout the construction process. Therefore, we were able to see who is coordinating the trades of the project and the time frame of the tasks within each trade.

In addition to your concern of comfortability in the old building. The psychrometric chart was given to you as a tool to understand the correlation between the air supply and the humidity found throughout the building. Therefore, the main reasons that the current building is not comfortable would be:

1. Leaking ducts – this leads to holes or opened spaces in the ducts that lets the cooled air take different directions.

2. Low Refrigerant – this are exposes leaks that must be fixed by the HVAC technician since there might be holes within the refrigerant lines.

However, to ensure you will be comfortable in the new building we can include high quality HVAC Systems, air cleaners, purifiers and IAQ Sensors. The combination of these four factors can assure you comfortable spaces in the building.

Best,

PM

Respond to P C