Planning stage (pre-design) services typically includes existing condition assessments, feasibility studies, energy conservation audits, design programming studies, and performing facility and base master plans. Investigations can also include evaluations of building operating practices. With such planning studies, services not only present findings, but establish scopes of work for recommended changes, and include implementation strategies, and budget estimates. The S&A team has a wealth of planning phase project experience, including all of the above deliverables.

It is also the case that the planning process serves to program performance goals and to set individual system requirements. Typical goals for larger projects could include goal attention to Sustainability (perhaps considering the USGBC’s LEED rating system) or the Federal Government’s “Energy Star” program. Emphasis to security and safety issues are other global program goals, involving attention to redundancy, intruder sensing-alarm, fire suppression-alarm, ventilation control, emergency power, and automated response. Working to lower building operating costs can also be addressed beyond energy use, to include projections of maintenance support and service contract needs

The S&A team has considerable experience preparing Request for Proposals (RFPs) and dealing with design-build delivery for the Federal Government, with clients including the Department of the Navy, the National Institutes of Health, the National Parks Service, the General Services Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Records Center, the Department of Agriculture, and the White House Visitors Center.

In addition to our experience, we also bring the perspective of a Design-Build contractor, in that we have offered Design-Build delivery services, having previously teamed with several local construction contractors across the D.C. metropolitan area.

• GSA, Silver Spring Metro Center 1, Silver Spring, MD:  D/B Energy Management Control System
• GSA, Old Post Office Building, Washington, DC:  D/B Air Handler Replacement
• Agricultural Farm Credit Union, Washington, DC:  D/B Redesign of Subbasement and First Floor
• GSA, Washington National Records Center, Suitland, MD:  D/B Exterior Lighting and Stack Door Replacement
• GSA, Ariel Rios Federal Building, South, Washington, DC:  D/B HVAC Modification and CM
• GSA, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC:  D/B Install EMCS System
• GSA, White House Visitors Center, Washington, DC:   South Wall Radiator Decommissioning
• GSA, Judiciary Square Building, Washington, DC:  D/B Replace 24/7 Cooling Tower
• NIST, Building 225, Gaithersburg, MD: D/B Chiller/Generator Installation for Central Computing Facility
• NAVFAC, Communication Frame Facility, BAFB, Washington, DC: D/B Request for Proposal
• NAVFAC Aircraft Flight Test & Evaluation Facility, Patuxent River, MD: D/B New R&D Facility to Support the Advanced Hawkeye System
• NAVFAC, Buildings 1452, 1453, 1454 and 1455, Patuxent River, MD: D/B Fan Coil Unit Replacement
• Andrews AFB BEQ, Buildings 1686 and 1687, Camp Springs, MD: D/B Request for Proposal

Aligned with Construction Management services is the ability to provide Commissioning support. While Total Building Commissioning (involving program goal monitoring through both design and construction) can offer better results, construction stage only services are also available. The S&A team has recognized industry leaders in providing such services, having both the design experience and field inspection diagnostic capability to verify systems operating performance.

Associated with the philosophy of Total Building Commissioning is the practice to Re-Commissioning buildings. Services usually address a review of design performance goals, field equipment and controls inspections, computer modeling of system performance, and thermographic investigations of building envelope systems. Such, investigations afford the means to identify changes to correct non-performing building features and systems.

Re-Commissioning practices are allied with Post Occupancy Evaluations (POEs). Such investigations differ from re-commissioning only in the level of field investigation and intended purpose. To many, POE applications provide owners with the necessary feed-back to correct or fine-tune their design criteria for the next project. To others, POEs offer the means to rate buildings                                                                        as to whether they met asset management or mission goals. In either case, the S&A team can fully                                                                        address your interests.

While not expected to be a recurring type of work, know that S&A team members have considerable experience preparing design criteria and guideline documents. Perhaps the best example is that Setty & Associates, Ltd. helped prepare the mechanical chapter of GSA’s “Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service.” Through this document GSA represents all program mandates and “must do” standards for GSA’s entire construction program. We bring to your projects an understanding of the importance of insuring that such documents be focused to their intended use.