Texas Archives - Page 2 of 2

Dallas Independent School District Hillcrest High School Storm Shelter Peer Review

THE HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT UTILIZED A TWO-STORY GYMNASIUM ADDITION TO SERVE AS A TORNADO SHELTER. TO MEET CODE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL (ICC 500) FOR AN INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY PEER REVIEW, FARNSWORTH GROUP PROVIDED REVIEWS.

Our team was involved in the structural engineering, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineering and architectural design analysis and verification for the shelter. Some of the items reviewed included means of ingress and egress, fire safety, emergency backup power for lighting and ventilation, and structural design criteria and impact resistance.

Project duties included coordinating the review process, meeting project schedule, contract administration and overseeing the coordination between DISD staff, project designers, and the City of Dallas.

This project was executed under a contract Farnsworth Group holds with Dallas Independent School District (DISD) to provide a variety of engineering, land surveying, sustainable design services and commissioning services. Other project task orders under this contract include the commissioning of the Hillcrest High School expansion and ICC 500 peer reviews of storm shelters at multiple DISD facilities.

University of North Texas Joe Greene Residence Hall and Visitors Center

Under an IDIQ contract for building envelope commissioning and roofing system services, Farnsworth Group provided building envelope commissioning for the university of North Texas’s Denton campus.

The project is a five-story, 120,000 SF residence hall constructed on an existing parking lot south of Kerr Hall. This project includes a separate 20,000 SF building to house a tour center and housing / dining offices. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification.

Commissioned building envelope systems included the following:

exterior wall, window and door assemblies
roof assemblies
slabs

Through the commissioning design and construction phases, Farnsworth Group brought 59 issues regarding building envelope details to the attention of the design team and University facilities team.

Sam Houston State University Piney Woods Residence Hall MEP Commissioning

Farnsworth Group provided commissioning services to Sam Houston State University for a six-story, 233,000 SF facility.

The new building houses more than 700 residents and features a common area, dining hall and kitchens, and an extensive outdoor area for students. The commissioned systems include chillers, mechanical, electrical and security systems, and the backup power generator.

Farnsworth Group was brought into this project when construction was already 50% complete. The building opened for residents in fall 2017. MEP subcontractors on this project have been able to see the value of commissioning by discovering issues before walls were enclosed, ceilings were hung, and access to the systems became limited.

Through controls coordination meetings, Farnsworth Group’s team encouraged a higher level of coordination for the subcontractors by getting every team member to understand the systems and not just their individual assets. The importance of system integration became the key component of this project’s success.

Sam Houston State University Fred Pirkle Technology Center TAB Services

Farnsworth Group provided TAB (Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing) services to Sam Houston State University on the new Fred Pirkle Technology Center on campus.

The facility houses the Department of Agricultural and Industrial Sciences. This 53,500 SF building centers on an Innovation Lab, consisting of a main collaboration area supported by shops, clean manufacturing spaces, and ancillary laboratory classrooms for electronics, robotics, and sustainable energy. This building houses new classrooms and laboratories for Agricultural Sciences as well as an office suite for the department chairs and a full complement of administrative and faculty offices.

Magellan Midstream Partners Linking Pipeline Terminals

This project involves the design and construction of two, 12-inch pipelines and one, 8-inch pipeline, each running approximately 6 miles from Magellan’s Corpus Christi Terminal to Buckeye Texas Partners’ Terminal for the transportation of petroleum products. Also included is the installation of 3 mainline pumps and motors, 6 prefabricated pig traps, 2 underground sumps, 2 corrosion injection systems, structural above grade steel, 3 prefabricated meter skids, three sampling systems, and civil site and concrete work. A total of 15 horizontal directional drills are included.

This project also required the design and retrofit of structural steel supports including several pipe bridges spanning up to 150 feet over roadways and railroads.

Services provided by Farnsworth Group include topographic survey, drafting, mechanical design, structural design, electrical design, civil design, construction management and engineering, material specifications, permit coordination and project management.

Magellan Midstream Partners El Paso Strauss 8″ Pipeline

The new El Paso – Strauss 8″ pipeline was built to move refined products to tanks used by Union Pacific Railroad. This project consisted of the installation of approximately 38 miles of new 8″ pipeline through Dona Ana County, NM, and El Paso County, TX. The pipeline design and construction consisted of several difficult crossings including the Franklin Mountains, the Rio Grande River, and a steep shelf on the New Mexico and Texas border known as the Mesa.

Farnsworth Group was involved from the early stages with feasibility and route selection through project closeout. Farnsworth Group’s services included design and engineering, drafting, survey, permitting, construction observation and project closeout. Our team generated the required easement exhibits and produced design drawings and alignment sheets which were submitted to the state DOT and BLM. The alignment was maintained in 3D using AutoCAD Civil 3D. By keeping track of all pipe data with the construction survey effort, the team was able to provide a complete weld map for the entire pipeline route referenced to the survey data and barcode information provided by SpreadBoss for every joint of pipe.