Industrial
The industrial sector is the foundation of the global economy. From manufacturing machines to cement-metal fabrication, from manufactured housing to waste management, the industrial sector is the flour of every mechanical pie, even excusing the very non-mechanical metaphor.
Considering the high contribution of this sector to global trade and global emissions, energy conservation has become the foremost concern of the environmentally-conscious world leaders. This, in turn, has influenced global manufacturing leaders to adopt sustainable MEP solutions to increase energy efficiency in their production processes and inspired several smaller players to follow suit.
At the same time, each type of industrial building has its own unique requirements based on the manufacturing process, the materials, and the requirements of the product. Our team of MEP engineers works in tandem with the owners and operators, takes extra efforts to understand the process, and how it is impacted by the building services.
The key parameter for the industrial sector is the condition in which the process is conducted. For instance, in the food industry, hygiene and cleanliness is of prime importance; while for a furniture factory, controlling humidity is key. A factory manufacturing syringes needs a cleanroom application whereas steel manufacturing needs to extract heat at a faster rate via ventilation instead of air-conditioning.
- Understanding key industrial processes and environmental requirements
- Detailed study of all applicable standards and authority requirements
- Coordinating with owner and architect to ensure smooth flow of material, manpower, and products
- Identifying areas of criticality, such as quality control or inspection, and enhancing lighting levels at such points
- Distributing services to minimize losses
- Evaluating possibilities of cogeneration i.e. use of absorption chillers where the plant has excess heat energy
- Cutting down on inefficiencies, wastes, energy consumption during production peak-time and down-time to reduce energy bills
- Identifying the process and utility rate patterns to reduce demand charges, if any
- Reducing electricity costs by using natural or wind ventilators on the roof
- Use of natural lighting wherever possible to control utility spends
JBF industries is a mega manufacturing plant in Ras Al Khaimah which decided to expand its operations into the manufacturing of Plasma screens in 2010. The key requirement was to convert a huge space of 900,000 cubic feet in a cleanroom to Class 10000, meaning a maximum 10000 particles of the size of 0.1micron would be allowed per cubic meter of volume.
Providing 100% fresh air AHUs was not an option as it would increase the plant size by 3-4 times, with a corresponding increase in operational and maintenance costs. So, we requested a change in design that incorporated a partition housing the AHUs. The manufacturing bay was modified accordingly and a corridor was created all-round the bay. With this ingenious solution and by maintaining a pressure difference between the bay and the corridor, the air conditioning capacity was brought down to 200 TR!
Take a look at our project portfolios to understand our commercial MEP design process for the industrial sector. To discuss your custom requirements, contact us at info@consistentconsultants.com.