Just Chill

Having been involved in countless projects as a supplier of HVAC equipment, I can tell you from experience that one of the most important members of any project team, must be the consulting engineer. Too often, we have been involved in projects where the discrepancies between design and equipment specification resulted in a less than favourable outcome for property owners and developers. After all, the consulting engineer brings a very specific set of skills to the property development table. They know the specifications back to front - from the point of view of the client as well as the supplier. There is no reason why their recommendations should not be followed to a T, right?

In a perfect world: Yes. The realistic fact of the matter is, however, that nothing is ever as easy as that. From an HVAC perspective especially, consulting engineers often have to navigate their way around any number of constraints that are placed in the way to project success.

Unburdening the consulting engineer from these five constraints may be the key to more efficient outcomes for the property owner and developer:

Constraint #1: Nice-to-have vs Essential

In the current economic climate where budgets are frequently the determining factor when sourcing equipment, air-conditioning is often viewed as a luxury. Developers focus primarily on first or initial (capital) costs with little to no concern regarding running costs or plant longevity. This often forces engineers or even design/supply contractors to design low cost, often under-specified HVAC systems, sometimes not ideally suited to the application.

Who will face the consequences of under-specification? In the above scenario, accountability becomes problematic. The consulting engineer on the team usually has a 10-year public liability to the tenants of a building ensuring that services specified have a proper lifetime. Budget constraints, high cost and the further complication that HVAC is a high power consumer, all contribute to the immense importance of proper specification. A custom made, well-specified and properly sourced HVAC system is a key factor in ensuring longevity and accountability on any commercial building project.

Getting the HVAC supplier in the loop via the consulting engineer from the very start of a project can dramatically improve the end-result - a fact that property owners and developers often overlook.

Constraint #2: To Be or Not to Be... Brave

Compliance with regulation is also often a sticking point. SANS 10400:O is quite onerous with regards to fresh air ventilation and toilet extract. Developers and property owners often may not fully appreciate the skills needed to navigate the stormy waters of compliance vs sticking to a budget.

It takes a strong consultant to stand up to a client to ensure that specification and designs meet all legal requirements and is done responsibly. A deeper understanding by property owners and developers, of this dilemma, will greatly contribute to ultimate project success and responsible property development.

Constraint #3: The Contractor Appointment

The proof is in the pudding and the same can be said about the appointment of the contractor for the project. The design is only as good as the contractor who installs the HVAC System and unfortunately, a lack of expert skills in this area cannot be designed away. Material quality is another concern - when the quality of piping, insulation and ducting is not on par, design changes often have to be made to offset this problem which is not ideal for very obvious reasons.

This can also affect consultants directly in that more time is spent post-handover rectifying defects and addressing plant performance issues, and ultimately does not bode well for property owners or developers either.

Constraint #4: Rational or Revit Aided Decisions

An industry move to building modelling and REVIT is creating a few challenges for the consulting industry. A general lack of REVIT drawing skill is driving up salary costs and the drawing quality by all professionals (including architects). Skills in this area are not quite where it needs to be yet. Also, because the software assists with coordination, architects are relying more and more on the software to coordinate as opposed to making simple, rational decisions based on design principles and discussions. The modelling tends to be more complex and take longer which affects productivity and deadlines.

The specialist knowledge of a consulting engineer in conjunction with the expert product knowledge of a supplier should be a part of the design process from the start of any project an architect undertakes. No piece of software can ever replace the specialised background of a consulting engineer to reconcile design challenges with specifying the correct equipment.

Constraint #5: Who foots the bill?

Finally, consulting fees have become an issue over the last few years. In the current economic climate, developers and property owners have to push for bigger and bigger discounts and demand more and more input in terms of investigations, deliverables, coordination, modelling etc. So essentially consultants are forced to do more for less. Turning down work in the current climate is not an option and developers and property owners are often reluctant to negotiate because there will always be a smaller company with lower overheads or even a design/supply contractor around the next corner waiting to take the project. This forces the larger and more established firms to adapt and change workflows and patterns to try to remain sustainable.

How to Overcome the 5 Constraints

The consulting engineer should be involved from project initiation to project handover. Their ability to reconcile design challenges, budget constraints and specify the correct equipment will deliver a sustainable and accountable project.

Close cooperation between suppliers who have expert knowledge of their equipment and the consulting engineer who has a firm understanding of deliverables is key to achieving an effective and efficient building HVAC system. The consulting engineer is the link between the supplier and the project team and ultimately between the developer and the end-user as far as liability is concerned.

Making use of this unique role on project teams and ensuring that consulting engineers are involved from the very start of projects, safeguards from underspecified equipment that will not last and installing HVAC systems that are not suited to the application ultimately costing the end user more over the lifecycle of the project.