JLRD has broad knowledge of Federal Government procedures and requirements to successfully complete project designs for government agencies.
Our clients include NASA at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, as well as The Veterans Administration in both West Palm Beach and Miami. Our history with NASA dates back 20 years and includes several base and agency-wide commendations as a testament to the quality of the services provided. Projects are as varied and unique as NASA's missions, ranging from energy studies, equipment replacement, and system upgrades to include renovations, rehabilitation and design for new facilities, PLC control systems, and challenging fire protection systems.
Documenting the existing conditions was first completed, then the systems were re-designed
to move the air handlers to four new ground level mechanical equipment rooms. The new supply and return duct routing remained in the attic spaces, which were cleared of asbestos and hazardous materials. New steel structure
catwalks were provided down the center of the full length of each attic, and VAV box and valves were installed to be accessed for service and maintenance from these new catwalks. New branch duct runs and new chilled and heating
water piping systems were installed.
In support of HVAC replacement, the existing antiquated fire alarm system was replaced
with a multi-function, digital, addressable fire alarm system utilizing discrete addressable devices, air sampling, and triple IR detectors in high-bays.
The project was phased so only one-half of the facility was down at any time. The existing
primary chilled water cooling and hot water heating systems were retained with the piping systems modified to accommodate the new air-side arrangement.
This project's scope also included the separation of the LCC fire protection system from the VAB resulting in
the installation of a new fire pump in an underutilized storage building. The HMF area fire pump house and 1.0 million gallon tank were addressed replacing two existing diesel fire pumps with new and refurbishment of the 1.0
million gallon water storage tank.
The existing three diesel pumps in the Utility Annex are being replaced with four new diesel pumps with four electric
fire pumps being added to both the 10th and 20th floors of Tower A, 200HP and 250HP respectively. Variable frequency fire pump controllers with integral automatic transfer switches were specified to maintain pressures without
the implementation of pressure reducing valves and associated maintenance. Due to the classification of the VAB as a high rise and the large pump loading, a second source of power from a generator backed up source was required
resulting in the reconfiguration of an existing 15KV feeder to an ‘express feeder’ routed directly from the C-5 generator plant to the VAB. Refurbishment of the associated two 1.0 million gallon water storage tanks and replacement
of the fire protection mains and secondary piping was included. JLRD worked closely with KSC's AHJ to define the specific requirements as some code items were not feasible due to the facilities' unique characteristics.
Piping system pressure loss calculations were performed in the 3-tier system loops to insure system pressures would be within the allowable range for the pipe and fittings specified, as well as designing the pumping stations
to utilize pumps with the same horsepower rating.
JLRD is keenly aware of NASA's procedures, administrative accountabilities, and are flexible to
adapting their design effort to meet these challenges. For example, JLRD was asked during design to revise the construction document into two packages and expedite the HMF area fire protection pump house / tank design in order
to utilize funding in the current fiscal year. The remaining facilities; Utility Annex, VAB, and Launch Control Complex systems were designed subsequently. Another example of JLRD's flexibility occurred when NASA requested
JLRD to produce two formal studies prior to the 60% design submittal. The first pertained to construction options to reduce construction time in High Bay 1 in order to expedite vehicle processing. The second effort analyzed
impact of implementing an N+2 fire pump design in lieu of the minimum code requirement of N+1 fire pumps. These studies were complete with narratives, cost comparative options, design and construction schedules, supporting
documentation and calculations, and progress drawings/schematics for review and comment.
The project includs control of all of the IACP HVAC equipment and the chilled water interface/building pumps
to the nine connected facilities.
The design audited the existing system configuration and provides for new analog sensors, PLC-based controllers,
SCADA servers, dedicated fiber communications network and sequences of operation. The design allows for phased construction and will be commissioned, with JLRD serving as the Commissioning Authority.
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