Thesis Proposal
Repost 01-20-11
*Mechanical Changed to re-orientation rather than elimination*
Original Post 12-10-10
Senior Thesis Final Proposal reviews the four analyses that are contained within the final thesis report. Each analysis centers on a specific construction industry scenario unique to the research building, the New Indian Valley High School. This thesis analysis specifically looks at improving efficiency and critical issues within the construction industry by further exploring areas such as: Sustainability, Value Engineering, Critical Industry Issues and Schedule Acceleration. Proposed analyses are geared to encompass multiple areas so that thorough research may be attained.
The New Indian Valley High School project will not achieve a LEED Certification upon completion. However, few sustainable techniques were used to attempt to achieve LEED certification. The goal of this analysis will be to produce a feasibility study that illustrates how the integration of systems such as photovoltaic panels and windmills into the current buildings energy system will provide the owner with sufficient gains in the future. Additionally, an electrical breadth study to investigate potential system tie-in requirements for the sustainable systems will be conducted.
Unforeseen project delays arose during well drilling for the geothermal mechanical system. Due to the scope of excavation and site work to be performed on the project that lies on the critical path, eliminating extra drilling that has caused delays may be an area to investigate. The goal of this analysis is to reorient the current geothermal mechanical system to a horizontal loop geothermal mechanical system and the costs factors assocciated with reorientation.
Many areas of two phases of the construction are similar and repetitive. This provides a unique opportunity to implement Short Interval Production Scheduling (SIPS) on a smaller scale. The goal of this analysis will show how the SIPS will provide ways to raise work efficiency and quality due to repetitive nature of the work.
Site properties open a door for potential building re-orientation/footprint redesign due to the amount of excavation work. The ridge line north of the current high school serves as the new location of the new high school. This ridge line consists of a moderate slope which requires extensive excavation, grading, earth reinforcement and the placement of retaining walls to prepare the site for use. The goal of this analysis will be to re-orient the building on the site to see if a potential savings in cost could be attained without sacrificing owner expectations.
Breadth Analysis #1: Renewable Energy/Electric The power distribution designed for the New Indian Valley High School is a 480Y/277, 3-phase system supplied from the public power grid. Requirements needed to integrate current energy and sustainable energy systems will be explored to provide the direct energy savings to the owner.
Breadth Analysis #2: Mechanical The current mechanical system is a geothermal mechanical system that proved to be problematic during construction. The substitution of a more traditional mechanical system would eliminate the unforeseen well drilling issues and delays. Exploration into impacts of mechanical systems load and housing of potential additional equipment must be considered to determine if true sustainable value can be found in the geothermal mechanical system.
