Building Statistics

Building Architecture

The architecture of the ConAgra Foods Peter Pan Peanut Butter Processing Plant is typical of a metal building. It is a very functional design and was not anticipated to look flashy or stick out in any way. There is a section that protrudes from the front of the building that is used for an entrance and office space. It is a typical running brick façade, which is the only architectural feature of the building. Loading docks are positioned at the north side of the building to load in raw peanuts into the plant, and at the other side to remove the finished product.

Building Statistics (Part 2)

Construction:
ConAgra Foods Peter Pan Peanut Butter Processing Plant is located in Sylvester, Georgia. The contract type was Design-Build with a GMP. Construction started on May 1, of 2007 on this large scale fast-track renovation project. The work was finished by August 27, 2007. The scope of work consisted primarily, but not limited to, work in the following areas:  Structural upgrades and repairs; HVAC work done to pressurize areas of the building; Insulated Metal Paneling walls to isolate areas of the building; The addition of 2 cleaning rooms for equipment; Finally, an anti-microbial epoxy flooring was placed throughout the building.

Structural System:
The existing structural system of the ConAgra Foods Peter Pan Peanut Butter Processing Plant is typical of a pre-fabricated metal building. There are 19 frames that span 200 feet, which is the span of the building. They are spaced 30 feet for the spans between frames 1 and 2, and 18 and 19. The remaining frames are spaced every 25 feet o.c. At the start of construction the structure was extremely overloaded from the years of use and the excessive hanging of equipment from the structure. The Haskell Company along with outside structural consultants decided that they should modify the frames as well as adding structural stands to remove the load from the equipment hanging from the structure. The structural stands are tube steel in the sizes of 6x6 for spans longer than 20 feet, and TS4x4 for everything else. The modifications to the structural frames include the addition of flange braces, web stiffeners, and bottom and top flange supports.

Mechanical System:
The mechanical additions include 14 make-up air units each producing 20,000 to 25,000 CFM. The make-up air units were used to pressurize the building from the most positive, being the packaging area, to the lowest pressure in the building, which is neutral to the outside, which is the raw product area. The reasoning behind pressurizing the building in this manor is so that there could not be any infiltration between raw and final product. The controls for this system were completely computerized and intergraded into the buildings computer network. This was setup so that if any area was outside of the pressurization area for longer than 5 minutes it would send an email error message, which could be received on a mobile phone.

Electrical/Lighting Systems:
Most of the electrical system was already in place on this renovation project. The electrical work that The Haskell Company was responsible for consisted of the wiring of the 14 make-up air units, the 1 air handling unit, the addition of 2 Clean Out of Place tanks, 2 200 KW instantaneous water heaters, lighting, and emergency/exit lighting. The lighting system was 90% in-place upon the start of the project. The existing lighting consisted of metal halide HID lighting fixtures. The additional 10% of lights required due to the changes in the interior layout of the building consisted of 4’ long, (2) T8 32 watt bulb fixtures all running at 277 volts.

Interiors:
In the renovation of the structure an Insulated Metal Paneling (IMP) was used as solution for placing walls. The paneling is a foam insulation sandwiched between 2 colored metal or stainless steel panels. The material is commonly used in industrial coolers because of its extreme insulating properties. This material was chosen for this project because of its quick erection, its easily cleanable surface, and it is more resistant to the growth of molds and bacteria than traditional gypsum board walls.

Fire Protection:
Very minimal work was done to the existing fire protection system in place at ConAgra Foods Peter Pan Peanut Butter Processing Plant. The existing system was completely throughout the building, fully sprinkled, wet system. As part of The Haskell Company’s contract a small amount of the sprinkler system had to be modified so that it would accommodate the additions of the new rooms added. Overall approximately only 30% of the sprinkler system was modified.

Transportation:
There were no major transportation systems in place at ConAgra Foods facility. The access to the second floor for foot traffic was 4 stair cases. There was also access to the second floor through a freight elevator, in which people were strictly prohibited from traveling on.

Telecommunications:
No telecommunication work was included in the contract with ConAgra Foods for this project. All telecommunications were in place upon start of the project.