British Airways Medical Facility
As my Phase 3 placement progresses I am getting used to the systematic way that the design office undertakes a building services project. This blogs aims to describe the process using a small task I am running with (it is related to aeroplanes – exciting).
The Project:
British Airways have a flight training facility at Heathrow centered around a hanger with a row of articulated flight simulators. The surrounding building contains the plant to operate the machines and a number of offices.
Flight Simulator Hall. I wasn’t allowed to have a go in one.
One office has fallen into disuse so BA has decided to convert it to a medical facility with the following spec:
- Waiting area with seating for six.
- Three conditioned treatment rooms.
- Tea point and unisex toilet.
- All spaces are to be cooled or heated as necessary, supplied with ventilation, hot and cold water and electrical power.
The area is currently used as a storeroom and janitors office – it is unheated and has a number of bits of old air conditioning plant running through it.
Medical facility – current state. Some homeless facilities manager has been squatting here for a few months, hence the PPE.
Design Process:
The M&E design process at Bryden Wood is almost identical regardless of the size of the project. However, a bit like the combat estimate the cycle is scaled to the time and resources available to the task …. smaller project = less money = less detailed design. With the very small scale of this task the entire plan has to be completed in about a week, giving it the feeling of a Phase 1 design project. Generalised steps to the design are included below:
Schematic of the existing plant room space. Note the Air Handling Unit at the bottom right that the new ventilation design aims to tap into.
Step 1 – Fix the Spec. Meet the client and hammer down exactly what they need and are willing to pay for, bearing in mind that these things are usually decided by different people with very different priorities. During this process I listened to the nurse’s passionate pleas for a tea bar with coffee grinder, zip tap and dishwasher. This has subsequently made it into the design as a sink.
Step 2 – Develop Strategy. This is arguably the stage requiring the most engineering judgement. Decide on what systems are needed to meet the client spec – how it will be heat, cool and ventilate the space. As an example, at this stage I decided to use a wall-mounted unit to provide cooling and piggy-back on a nearby air handling unit to provide ventilation. At last I can now sleep at night.
Step 3 – Calculate Room Loads. Work out the worst case cooling loads (people, lights, solar gain, and equipment on the warmest day) and heating loads (empty room on the coldest day). Add 15% extra capacity for future expansion, wear & tear, etc. Follow a similar process for hot water and ventilation rates. This is easy, bread and butter stuff following CIBSE guidance and rules of thumb.
Step 4 – Speak to Manufacturers. Talk to our favorite manufacturers (the ones who buy the best free lunches) and ask them to quote for the systems needed.
Step 5 – BIM Modelling. Model the selected systems in Revit (the chosen Bryden Wood BIM programme) and ensure there are no clashes with the existing sites systems. I usually outsource this step to an apprentice CAD draftsman who uses Revit like he is plugged into it Matrix-style.
New room ventilation plan. This sketch is handed to the Revit techie who turns it into a sexy model for the client to peer at.
Step 6 – Paperwork. Complete the diligence paperwork required to provide we have met the Principle Designer responsibilities and manipulate the Revit model to produce the final design drawings. Sit back and enjoy tea and medals.
Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog 
Mark,
Interesting blog. As the appointed SME in such things surely the Nurses heartfelt request for a Dishwasher and Coffee grinder should be provided?
On a more serious note, In this case how modern are the systems you are using? It occurs to me that on a project like this slightly out of date (ie not the most current) but cheaper technology could prove the better answer? When approaching contractors to provide system do they try and sell you the very best/most expensive technology they have available or do they apply common sense and go with the option most appropriate for the task. Or does the outset budget determine this and what drives the project, cost or quality? In essence why allow them pay for a Porsche when they only need a Ford Fmax?
Sorry for the delay Tom, just got back from a week off.
In short – yes, the client (BA facilities managers) know its a straightforward job and only specified low-cost kit. The selection of the small-scale stuff is generally done by internet research and datasheets found on manufacturers websites. This is the case for everything up to medium-sized air handling units (small office sized).
Anything bigger then we tend to ask the manufacturers to spec the kit, and then study their calcs and justifications if it all looks a bit pricey. In a way they then do the leg-work of all the really detailed design ad leave us to do the bigger-picture stuff.
I get the impression they make all the money on service contracts, so the price for a given bit of kit tends to be the same across the industry.
Mark
A nice little refurb, littered with risk at step 1 – converting any room into something that has a medical function is always interesting! Coffee grinders aside (although I think that’s a key requirement) what are you using for your spec?
Tom’s comment about paying for a Porsche when you only need a Ford is valid, the problem often comes when there is a need for external assurance, typically found where medical services are involved……could your cheap refit could grow into something a little more?
You have acoustic protection between plant room and the space but what about between treatment rooms?