Akers Mill Air Handler Replacement

The project involved the replacement of seven (7) custom chilled water air handlers that each served the 24×7 mission critical facility. Work included the upgrade of the BAS system on each floor with replacement of all BAS components, wiring as necessary. Because of the nature of the facility, each floor was required to be started at 6:00pm on a Friday evening and complete by 6:00am on Monday morning. Because of the differing functionality and supplemental chilled water HVAC systems on individual floors, individual work plans were required to handle the conditions encountered in each instance. The building also contained 50 different individual work groups that Blue River and CBRE’s facilities department were required to coordinate with and include in weekly conference and scheduling approval calls. The Blue River Group bid the project against two other MSA holders and won the contract by suggesting a custom designed Air Handling Unit in lieu of the standard designed carrier unit that would require craning each unit through a window at each floor and disrupting the work flow in lieu of utilizing the standard freight elevator. This suggestion also allowed for less temporary protection, and demolition/rework to the corridors and entry to the main mechanical rooms on each floor as the dismantled unit components would fit through a standard 3’0”x7’-0” door. This voluntary alternate will also save the client future maintenance costs by allowing them to more easily replace individual components of the units. During the project The Blue River Group performed as General Contractor running shifts 24 hours per day over the weekend to complete the work in accordance with schedule requirements. All work was required to be performed under Methods of Procedures (MOPs), such that the work was detailed down to the individual task of each worker in order, reviewed and approved by all appropriate groups, including back-out plans and implementation procedures.  The 7 story building is approximately 21,000 square feet per floor.  The project was completed on schedule and within budget.