Cutting costs, not corners, with on-site engineering excellence
In San Francisco’s bustling Financial District, a 40-story commercial high-rise building has stood tall for almost half a century. This striking building has gracefully stood the test of time, but even the strongest structures require upgrades and maintenance to function at their best. UG2 facility engineering experts are always ready to help our customers through their capital planning projects.
The Project Team
Our facility engineers Dustin White, Portfolio Engineering Manager, Matt Montanez, Engineering Manager, and Ed Perinoni, Chief Engineer, embarked on a mission to refresh the building with a newly renovated cooling tower valve controller.
Dustin White is responsible for overseeing six office assets and engineering teams in the downtown San Francisco area. He serves as a vital liaison between chief engineers and portfolio management/asset management teams, ensuring building systems are well-maintained and optimally performing. Ed Perinoni has been in the facilities industry for almost 32 years and joined Team UG2 over a year ago. His passion for his role is incredible. “This building has my heart” Ed declares, “I love this building”.
The Project Development
The journey towards replacing the building’s cooling towers began a few years ago during the capital planning process when they were identified as an area of priority for repair or replacement. After a full upgrade of the chiller plant with new state-of-the-art equipment, the cooling towers were next on the” to-do” list.
The original cooling towers had been in service since the building’s inception in 1980. Thanks to routine maintenance and wellness checks, the equipment made it past the typical 30 to 40-year lifespan of cooling towers. That being said, the towers aren’t designed to last forever, so it was time for a change.
As talk of this replacement arose, Ed and Dustin agreed that a retrofit option would be ideal. This approach is substantially cost-effective and would allow the main structural components to stay in place, while the interior could be newly renovated, resulting in higher efficiency and reliability.
The two worked on a comprehensive request for proposal to suggest that the project not be fully outsourced since they knew they could leverage their on-site engineering team. The immense amount of controls, coding, demolition, and reconditioning work needed fell right in their wheelhouse. While welding and piping would be handled by outsourced specialists, they believed an on-site approach would help keep costs down and optimize the building’s functionality.
After approvals were secured, the project was underway. Ed and Dustin brainstormed what components of the project they could take ownership of. Ed’s extensive expertise in controls allowed him to completely design and build a brand-new controller for the electric 24-volt AC valves. His team took charge of painting and used rigid piping with seal-tight fittings to protect exposed piping from the elements. They added bypass switches as well to ensure the controller could still be manipulated in case
the Building Management System (BMS) went offline due to an emergency. With detailed planning and plenty of teamwork, the in-house phase of the project was completed in just about a month.
A Cost-Efficient Approach
When the replacement of the cooling towers was first proposed, the estimated cost racked up a whopping $1.8 million for outsourcing the project. However, thanks to the efforts of Ed and Dustin, plus their team, the actual cost was only $600k, roughly ⅓ of the original estimate.
The beauty of having an on-site engineering team is reflected in the sheer knowledge accumulated by working in a building and learning all of its intricacies. This enabled the team to approach this replacement with precision and expertise. An on-site team knows exactly when to bring in outsourced help for specific tasks, which eliminates the need for multiple contractors, which adds associated complexities and waiting times.
Setting up the Towers for Success
Ed’s team of five took charge of the project’s final stages. They carefully handled programming, sequencing, and testing, ensuring that the new cooling towers were ready to serve the building. Following the implementation of the new controller, Ed brought his crew up to the roof to demonstrate how it operates, how it connects to the BMS, and how the bypass switches work. The team is now familiar with the new structure and ready to care for it.
Preventative maintenance will play a crucial role in ensuring the towers will thrive for decades to come. Ed’s team has established a quarterly maintenance schedule which includes checking the sand filtration systems, evaluating the motors and fans, and monitoring the towers for any potential leaks.
Additionally, the water is checked weekly in-house, with a third-party specialist evaluating the water’s condition monthly. Annually, the towers will be fully drained and refilled with clean water. The most important aspect of protecting the towers’ health is to keep up with water treatment in order to prevent rusting and leakage.
To measure the success of this upgrade, the on-site team will also look at the speed of the VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) to determine if it can be reduced as it hits the desired set point. This will concretely demonstrate the efficiency of the replacement and can result in a reduction of kilowatt hours.
Engineering Excellence
Ed Perinoni and Dustin White’s dedication shines through as they discuss the success of these new towers. It is clear that their passion for this project, the building, and the engineering team is unwavering. Their determination to use on-site engineers not only proved to be highly cost-effective but demonstrated their high degree of engineering excellence. They represent the very best of our UG2 team!