This December in Phoenix, Epsilon’s Kyle Mostat will be one of the speakers at the Advanced Manufacturing Facility Construction West Conference. Kyle will share his insights during the Streamlining Operations with Trade Contractors track on day two of the event.
For those who can’t make the conference, here’s a sneak peek at some of the insights Kyle will cover during his talk, titled “Investigating Successful Implementation of Off-Site Construction for Utilities & Complex Systems.”
As part of his presentation, Kyle will dispel several common industry myths, including:
| Myth | Reality |
|---|---|
| For big loads, bigger chillers are always better. | Advanced Manufacturing facilities certainly present the challenge of large cooling loads. However, there’s a range of ideal chiller sizes, and they’re driven by more than just efficiency and cost. Moreover, bigger chillers can equate to longer lead times and increased shipping and field costs. |
| All Off-Site Construction (OSC) suppliers are equally qualified. | It’s crucial to prequalify OSC suppliers by checking technical references and visiting factories and installations. Engaging unqualified suppliers can lead to delays, cost overruns and non-serviceable projects. |
| Knowing system loads is critical to starting the OSC design. | Owners often don’t know the anticipated loads at the early stages of a project. Fortunately, good OSC designs are flexible, allowing for adding or deleting modules as needed. So early design efforts should focus on establishing a realistic minimum/maximum range, and then engaging the right OSC partner to take it from there. |
| OSC suppliers need completed Architectural and Engineering (AE) drawings in order to build. | Waiting for complete AE drawings can lead to delays. And those drawings likely won’t be buildable by any qualified OSC supplier, since each OSC supplier utilizes proprietary methods and details to achieve the end result. Instead, the AE team should focus on establishing basic design parameters (loads, redundancy requirements, footprint restrictions, and performance targets), and then engaging OSC suppliers to provide their best solution. |
| Chillers are always on the critical path to delivery, so they need to be ordered early. | Chillers, pumps, power distribution, and variable frequency drives could all be on the critical path. But selecting any major equipment before the OSC supplier is on-board can lead to un-packageable results. And early engagement with the off-site supplier can help identify potential bottlenecks in the supply chain. |
| Traditional bidding of OSC suppliers is the path to the lowest cost. | Bidding may be appropriate for simpler scopes, but can lead to project failure for complex specialized projects that require extensive input from experienced suppliers. Whereas, taking the time to qualify and select the best supplier using a balanced set of criteria (including qualifications, schedule and cost) is far more likely to yield the lowest overall cost. |
Real-World Example
As part of his presentation, Kyle will also share a case study involving a 50,000-ton Central Utility Plant (CUP) project, demonstrating the practical application of Epsilon’s Design Assist approach. The team utilized Design Assist methodologies to determine the optimal system size in collaboration with the project team, enabling early delivery of cooling that was matched to the site’s needs, removing the CUP from the critical path.
Of course, this sneak peek is no substitute for Kyle’s full presentation. If you haven’t already, done so, you may want to consider attending the Advanced Manufacturing Facility Construction West Conference, December 2-4 in Phoenix, AZ. And as always, contact the Epsilon team to discuss our industry leading approach for your next project.
