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Mobile Air & Power Rentals

Indianapolis, IN 46229

Company Info

  • Est. 1989
  • Size 50-99 Employees
  • DUNS # 60-173-7778

Featured Project Return to Projects List

Oakland University Human Health Building

Project Information

Project Location:
MI
Status:
Completed
Structure Type:
School / College / University
LEED Certification (target):
Gold

Scope Of Work

The new Oakland University Human Health Building (Medical School) opened its doors in September of 2012. This is the first LEED-registered building on a Michigan University Campus with a goal of LEED Gold. With advanced design and unique finish products, the construction of the building was no small feat. To do the job, Oakland University hired The Christman Company of Lansing, Michigan. This company appointed Mr. Jeff Whiting as the senior superintendent and Mr. Brian Crumm as the project manager.

It became clear to the Christman Team that managing the indoor building environment during construction was critical to the success of the project, especially during the winter months. They first considered traditional methods of heating the building. The basic concept was to place open flame recirculating construction heaters inside the building, placing several on each floor. However, the construction team vetoed this idea due to prior bad experiences with this method and high moisture levels, uneven heat distribution, poor air quality, and safety issues. As a result, the team began exploring alternative heating methods.

They turned to Mr. John Johnson, Vice President of Macomb Mechanical, who was the mechanical and plumbing contractor on the project for his expert advice. John has had long and great success in solving these difficult construction heating issues, typically teaming with the experts at Mobile Air, Inc. Mobile Air is known throughout the Midwest for their expertise and leading-edge designs for complete control of buildings while under construction.

Project Concerns

Moisture control.

The building is filled with high-end, moisture-sensitive products.

An aggressive build schedule meant there could be no delays. Moisture control would keep the drywall, paint etc. ahead of schedule while preventing any moisture related damage down the road.

Unique flooring such as cork and plyboo require tight concrete moisture levels prior to installation. The goal was to enhance concrete drying early
on so that it would minimize future flooring installation issues.

Preferred not to use separate dehumidifiers to complete the project.

The use of dehumidifiers in conjunction with construction heat is a sign of a poor heat design. Their effectiveness is questionable and they have been found to be unreliable in winter construction heating.

This would be an unexpected extra cost to the project

Dehumidifier units would physically be in the way of the building tradesmen.

Safety.

No open flame recirculating heaters could be used inside the building.

No high pressure fuel hoses could be used inside the building.

Clean construction air for the workers on-site to enhance tradesmen safety was a must.

Manage and minimize fuel costs.

Fuel is the single largest expense during construction heat.

The team needed the ability to monitor and verify to the owner that the building conditions during construction where met.

The team needed to document and verify that the building is under control.

The team needed this share this information with subcontractors and the owner.

The Solution

Comprehensive Building Control: Mobile Air implemented a construction heat plan using our new patent pending SSF (super secret hidden flame) style of construction heaters. Using only four heaters placed outside and ducted into the building achieved complete control of temperature and humidity for the 5-story, 173,000 sqft building. During the winter months temperatures held at the customer’s designed set points and humidity was held at a consistent level between 35% and 40%.

As spring approached the SSF heaters where adjusted by Mobile Air to account for the changing weather conditions. During these warmer and wetter months the building humidity remained in control and averaged below 46%. During this entire process, winter through spring, no dehumidifiers were added or required. The SSF heaters continuously monitored the indoor building temperatures and automatically reduced fuel consumption as required. At the same time, the heaters were maintaining a controlled air volume which helped to eliminate building air infiltration and the associated building heat loss. The result was even heat and humidity throughout the building as well as lower fuel use. Typically, a savings of 10% to 20% in fuel costs is seen when compared to the old method of open flame recirculating heaters placed inside the space.

Safety is Key: Mobile Air implemented our Safety Construction Heat Program on the project. The heating design was such that the heaters and all high pressure fuel hoses were installed on the outside the building. The fuel hoses were protected from activities such as construction traffic. The heater installation and start-up were performed and documented by a Mobile Air technician’s, ensuring a safe dependable installation and operation.

Continuous Monitoring: Jeff Whiting of The Christman Company took the use of Mobile Air’s remote monitoring system to a new level. He was able to gain valuable insight into what was taking place within the structure and how various construction practices and daily operations would affect temperature/humidity control. He believes that the monitoring system was a great risk management tool. The documentation that he was able to provide to subcontractors and the owner mitigated many delays, questions, and concerns, helping to keep the project on schedule.

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