Alrashdi M.

                Penn State promotes sustainability in its projects. There are many sustainable ideas for the Whitmore Laboratory Renovation Project. This proposal suggests thoughts that will make relatively significant difference in the demolition, construction, and operation processes of Whitmore Laboratory Renovation Project. Regarding the main concerns of a laboratory building such as: cost saving, schedule acceleration, and sustainability, the following analysis will be conducted during the Spring semester:

1. Analysis I: Installation of Evacuated Tubes System (Solar Collectors)

         A considerable amount of hot water is consumed in the labs. The peak use of the building happens during the working hours (8:00 AM - 5:00 PM) when most classes take place. The amount of hot water consumed during the day is manageable and can be heated by the Solar Collector system. The system is expected to be able to substitute the water heater in the building during the day.

2. Analysis II: Installation of Aquatherm Pipes

         The plumbing network in the Whitmore Laboratory Building is intense and complicated. In pursuing of schedule acceleration, Aquatherm pipes become handy since they are lighter in weight and have faster, easier and safer installation. Therefore installing aquatherm pipes instead of copper pipes will bring many advantages to the project and the facility.

3. Analysis III: Recycling the Demolished Materials

         There is a sizeable amount of demolished materials from the lab including toxic refrigerant. These materials need to be disposed safely by specialties. There are many recycling options can be found to recycle the fume hoods, lab casework, pipes, light fixtures and others. These options are discussed briefly.

4. Analysis IV: Lean Thinking: Implementing First Run Studies

The actual construction is scheduled to complete within 12 months. And there is no tolerance for delay because the building has to be turned over before Classes start in Fall 2016. To tackle the tight schedule, a lean construction technique should be implemented. First Run Studies is advised for this particular project.

Structural Breadth

          The existing roof structural system is metal deck with steel trusses which is designed to carry roofing materials only. The proposed system of solar collectors requires provision of supports to carry the gravitational load. This breadth will study the willingness of the existing roof structural system to take the load of the solar collectors. In case the existing system does not support the solar collector system, a new roof structural design will be developed.

Mechanical Breadth

          The second analysis is embedded in the second analysis. The solar collector system The second analysis is embedded in the second analysis. The solar collector system needs to be connected to the existing water heating system. This breadth will provide schematic diagram demonstrating how to tie the solar collector system with the existing system.

 

MAE Requirement

           As an MAE student, Mazin will conduct an analysis on the production of this project focusing on the process of fume hoods installation. Materials from (Production Management in Construction) course will be integrated in the thesis final report. The lean construction tool that will be studied is First Run Studies where the analysis will examine similar projects that had First Run Studies and compare it with this project. As a result, the analysis will include an implementation guide specific for this project and forecast the time and cost savings.

 

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