Facility Assessment of HVAC Systems
Modern HVAC assessment strategies: transforming building systems through expert technical analysis
ASSESSMENT: What should you do when a building manager schedules a facility assessment? (Photo courtesy of Phil Desforges on Unsplash)
When it comes to requiring a facility assessment, whether it is a single building or multiple buildings on an industrial or institutional site, one may think that this is the task for architects and consulting engineers. But not necessarily so! Being more specific about what type of facility assessment is needed, one answer can be heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) facility assessment. Who better qualified to assist in completing such a task than the HVAC contractor with their own subconsultants, e.g., sheet metal contractor, and/or testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) firm. These three organizations bring to the table their real-world experience with installation, service, repair and replacement along with the skills to not only estimate but to plan, schedule and address challenges of rigging, startup and commissioning their work.
That stated, who finances facility assessments? Large organizations with multiple buildings and/or multiple sites, as well as single building owners will often schedule a facility assessment for the following reasons:
- Master Planning the building campus growth
- Creation of a deferred maintenance schedule for responsible asset management
- A need for resilience of infrastructure assessment pertaining to recovery from a critical event
- Potential owner/buyer third party inspection report
Facility assessment consists of any or all of the following:
- Exterior grounds
- Exterior building
- Interior of building
- Infrastructure HVAC, plumbing, electrical power and lighting, fire protection, communication
Staying with the theme of this discussion, HVAC facility assessment could be influenced by the infrastructure of primary heating and air-conditioning equipment, secondary equipment, e.g., central air-handling units, and tertiary equipment, e.g., terminal units.
Master Planning Campus Building/HVAC Growth
Master planning should consist of a team that includes a design engineer and HVAC contractor and service department that would be building owner's consultants for the following infrastructure opportunities:
- It is common practice for colleges and universities to implement and update their master plan every five years
- An initiative for anticipating future growth well in advance of the growth occurring
- An initiative to reinvest in existing structures to modernize HVAC systems, to accommodate business program changes occurring within buildings, or to keep current with state and local codes
- An initiative by the facility management group to plan the next year's facility operating budget
Creation of Deferred Maintenance Schedule
The creation of a deferred maintenance schedule for responsible asset management should also consist of a team that includes an HVAC contractor and service department representative who would be the building owner's consultant team for the following HVAC infrastructure opportunities:
- It is common practice for colleges and universities and healthcare campuses to complete or expand an existing asset database embedded in their preventive maintenance work order system
- To prioritize their findings/results into three categories:
- Immediate maintenance needs
- Next year's capital repair budget
- Plan/schedule the remaining equipment replacement based on each piece of equipment's end-of-useful-service life
Resilience of Infrastructure Assessment
A resilience of infrastructure assessment pertaining to recovery from a critical event (e.g., Hurricane Katrina occurrence in 2005) raised awareness of the need for HVAC facility resiliency assessment teams to study and recommend a proactive recovery plan in case of environmental attack on buildings. A building owner should seek out a team of consultants that include a design engineer and HVAC contractor along with required subconsultants/subcontractors to assist with the following:
- Mission critical applications, whether secured space or total building area, resilience may be considered as to location of primary infrastructure, e.g., furnish and install emergency generators, boilers, chillers, etc. above known historical flood level marker
- Planning of future capital projects considering resilience of the HVAC equipment and system distribution being brought back online after a serious event
- Industry and institution applications relative to environmental impact and recovery after a climatic occurrence
Potential Owner Inspection Reports
Potential owner inspection reports prior to purchasing buildings should seek out a team of consultants that include a design engineer and HVAC contractor along with required subconsultants/subcontractors to assist with review and delivery of a third-party condition assessment along with specific cost estimates for repairs and potential improvements.
Quite often building owners will think of hiring the design engineer to complete any one of the tasks addressed herein but often overlook the thought of how an HVAC contractor, the company's service department and estimating department could join the task team. Yet, it is these additional consultants who have the hands-on knowledge and experience to provide true value to the owner and the owner's goals.
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