More Than 30 Years of Proven, Practical and Time Tested Design and Engineering
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Useful Links
National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPS)
NSPE.ORG
American Society Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
ASHRAE.ORG
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
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National Electrical Code (NEC)
NFAP.ORG
American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE)
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National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
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United States Green Building Council (USGBC)
USBG.ORG
PLANNING
In the initial planning stages, a clear scope of work is established to familiarize ourselves with the client’s needs and the project's specific requirements. This is done to facilitate effective scheduling and budgeting control over the design of various engineering systems. A specific project team is then created matching the talents of the EMTG professionals to the technical demands of the project. With each new project, our organization carefully considers the appropriate staffing requirements. It is this flexibility that allows us to increase our responsiveness to clients.
BUDGETING
There are many ways to plan a project budget, and typically experience determines what method works best. One of the most common and proven ways to plan a construction budget is to divide expenses between hard and soft costs. A construction project’s soft costs are any expenditures that aren’t directly related to the physical building of the project which is any services pre-and post-construction. Also known as intangible expenses, soft costs typically account for 30 percent of a construction project’s total budget. The other 70 percent of a construction project’s budget is attributed to hard costs. Also known as “brick and mortar” expenses, hard costs are expenditures that are directly related to the physical construction of the building. Because hard costs are tangible it's usually easier to estimate and control costs in this category.
Project engineering budgets are established with an eye toward the initial cost, effective technical solutions, as well as future operating and life cycle costs. EMTG seeks close participation of the Owner and Architect at this stage to ensure feasibility and to highlight compromises to be made by each participant. After the budgets are developed, periodic in-house meetings are held to monitor costs through the entire design phase of a project.
Project engineering budgets are established with an eye toward the initial cost, effective technical solutions, as well as future operating and life cycle costs. EMTG seeks close participation of the Owner and Architect at this stage to ensure feasibility and to highlight compromises to be made by each participant. After the budgets are developed, periodic in-house meetings are held to monitor costs through the entire design phase of a project.
SCHEDULING
Engineering design schedules are developed to allow careful monitoring of the production milestones within the owner's and architect’s overall time frame of plans and specification production. To keep a project on track we are flexible and sensitive to each project. EMTG has considerable experience with fast-tracking projects and has participated in design-build collaborations to expedite schedules or to meet the specific needs of the project. We recognize the importance of completing a project design on time as well as within budget. We work as a team to effectively interface with the Owner and consultants to achieve the solutions that allow the project to move forward. This may consist of segmenting the project or utilizing data from previous experience during the normal course of the project.
MEP&FP COORDINATION
In order to deliver today’s high-performance buildings, the consulting engineering team needs to include a mechanical/electrical/plumbing & fire protection (MEP&FP) coordinator who understands how these systems are installed, operated, and integrated with each other. The MEP&FP coordinator should be dedicated to these issues and to facilitating the communication/coordination between all of the various engineering teams responsible for the systems that make the building work. The MEP&FP coordinator is the hub of the wheel whose spokes are made up of individual engineers and designers. An excellent MEP&FP coordinator is respected and heard by the project team makes a huge difference in a project.
EMTG is praised for its' ability to coordinate HVAC, ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, SPRINKLER, FIRE ALARM engineering plans in-house prior to releasing them to clients, architects, and contractors. This in-house quality control and coordination results in a superior set of accurate and consistent engineering plans for the benefit of the project owners, architects, and contractors. This task is a top priority for our project managers of each project small or large.
A&E COORDINATION
EMTG is praised for its' ability to provide architecturally coordinated engineering plans even for the most complex assignments. Interaction for sake of better project coordination with architects, owners, and specialty consultants is a top priority. This results in a carefully coordinated engineering document for accuracy and consistency.
SPECIFICATION
Working drawings and specifications are the primary documents used by a contractor to bid and execute a project. Specifications are precisely written documents that go with the construction documents and describe materials as well as installation methods. They describe the project to be constructed, supplementing drawings and forming part of the contract, and describe qualities of materials, their methods of manufacture and their installation, and workmanship and mode of construction. They also provide other information not shown in the drawings, including a description of the final result.
Specifications complement drawings, do not overlap or duplicate them, and normally prescribe the quality standards of construction expected on the project. They indicate the procedure by means of which it may be determined whether requirements are satisfied. Because specifications are an integral part of the Contract Documents, they are considered to be legal documents, and should therefore be comprehensive, accurate, and clear. Specification writing has two principal objectives: to define the scope of work and to act as a set of instructions. Defining the scope of work is at the core of specification writing. The required quality of the product and services must be clearly communicated to bidders and the party executing the contract and must ensure that the completed project conforms to this specified quality. The specification writer should ensure that the requirements are compatible with the methods to be employed and that the methods selected in one specification are compatible with those selected in another.
A primary function of project specifications is to deliver detailed information regarding materials and methods of work for a particular construction project. They cover various components relating to the project, including general conditions, the scope of work, quality of materials, and standards of workmanship. The drawings, collectively with the project specifications, define the project in detail and clearly delineate exactly how it is to be constructed. The project drawings and specifications are an integral part of the Contract Documents and are inseparable. They reflect what the project specifications are unlikely to cover; the project specifications outline what the drawings are unlikely to portray. Specifications are also sometimes used to clarify details that are not adequately covered by the drawings and notes. Project specifications always take precedence over the drawings, should the drawings conflict with them.
In recent years a fundamental change in specification writing due to technology and green-related practices has made a tremendous impact on the construction industry and on the general way we conduct our business. Master generic form specifictaion are now commercially available in electronic form that a specifier can simply load into the computer and get instant access pre written specification. But while we take advantage of new information and knowledge EMTG engineers who designed the systems write our own specifications tailored and customized to each project consistent with leading industry standard specifications. We do not use separate staff for writing engineering specifications.
Specifications complement drawings, do not overlap or duplicate them, and normally prescribe the quality standards of construction expected on the project. They indicate the procedure by means of which it may be determined whether requirements are satisfied. Because specifications are an integral part of the Contract Documents, they are considered to be legal documents, and should therefore be comprehensive, accurate, and clear. Specification writing has two principal objectives: to define the scope of work and to act as a set of instructions. Defining the scope of work is at the core of specification writing. The required quality of the product and services must be clearly communicated to bidders and the party executing the contract and must ensure that the completed project conforms to this specified quality. The specification writer should ensure that the requirements are compatible with the methods to be employed and that the methods selected in one specification are compatible with those selected in another.
A primary function of project specifications is to deliver detailed information regarding materials and methods of work for a particular construction project. They cover various components relating to the project, including general conditions, the scope of work, quality of materials, and standards of workmanship. The drawings, collectively with the project specifications, define the project in detail and clearly delineate exactly how it is to be constructed. The project drawings and specifications are an integral part of the Contract Documents and are inseparable. They reflect what the project specifications are unlikely to cover; the project specifications outline what the drawings are unlikely to portray. Specifications are also sometimes used to clarify details that are not adequately covered by the drawings and notes. Project specifications always take precedence over the drawings, should the drawings conflict with them.
In recent years a fundamental change in specification writing due to technology and green-related practices has made a tremendous impact on the construction industry and on the general way we conduct our business. Master generic form specifictaion are now commercially available in electronic form that a specifier can simply load into the computer and get instant access pre written specification. But while we take advantage of new information and knowledge EMTG engineers who designed the systems write our own specifications tailored and customized to each project consistent with leading industry standard specifications. We do not use separate staff for writing engineering specifications.
SHOP DRAWINGS /SUBMITTALS
Construction shop drawings are the set of accurate details of all manufactured and fabricated items related to the physical space in the structure. We require that contractors provide construction shop drawings that include details of fabrication, erection, and layout prior to installation of work for our review and final approval. Construction shop drawings have more detailed than the architect and engineer's construction information documents. Construction shop drawing detail and cover all the information needed for the contractor to build the project which includes drawings, illustrations, diagrams, cut sheets, schedules, manufacturer's installation documents, and other specific assembled information.
Shop drawings detail and explain the fabrication, installation of the products, and the process of the architectural and engineering plan & concept. CAD Shop Drawings and installation drawings submitted by the contractor will be the final stage prior to installation to obtain approval from the architect and engineer's authority of work for the structure of the project. Our team of engineers that designed the project review the shop drawings and will issue final guidelines and advise on the nature of the assembly and product fabrication. Substitution of specified systems and materials are handled at this level making sure the client is getting the optimum cost saving and performance expected from a substitution. The design engineer for the project is also responsible for reviewing the shop drawings and responding to field questions from owners, architects, and contractors. We provide a timely and comprehensive review of all shop drawings related to our trades. EMTG minimizes the potential for future project delays by putting special emphasis on the shop drawing review stage.
Shop drawings detail and explain the fabrication, installation of the products, and the process of the architectural and engineering plan & concept. CAD Shop Drawings and installation drawings submitted by the contractor will be the final stage prior to installation to obtain approval from the architect and engineer's authority of work for the structure of the project. Our team of engineers that designed the project review the shop drawings and will issue final guidelines and advise on the nature of the assembly and product fabrication. Substitution of specified systems and materials are handled at this level making sure the client is getting the optimum cost saving and performance expected from a substitution. The design engineer for the project is also responsible for reviewing the shop drawings and responding to field questions from owners, architects, and contractors. We provide a timely and comprehensive review of all shop drawings related to our trades. EMTG minimizes the potential for future project delays by putting special emphasis on the shop drawing review stage.
COMPLETION / PUNCH LIST
A punch list is part of the project closeout portion of the construction process in which a written document is prepared by our engineers after a final site visist that lists any work that has not been completed, or not been completed correctly, according to our plans and specifications. The punch list is created before the project is turned over by the contractor to the owner or any other key stakeholders. This construction punch list follows the terms of the original contract and for all the unaddressed items on the list, the contractor and owner will reach a mutual agreement before considering the project complete and ready for final payment.
Punch lists are essentially limited to small or minor fixes that must be completed before a project is officially closed out. Since no building project will ever be perfect, contractors may make a distinction between reasonable flaws (minor, insignificant flaws that still meet contract specifications) and unreasonable flaws (errors that must be fixed). A punch list identifies unreasonable flaws for correction. Larger issues are usually addressed through a change order, which happens earlier in the construction process. Punch lists help to justify retainage deliberately withheld at the end of a construction project to ensure the contractor follows up on the punch list and completes all work outlined and agreed upon in the construction contract documents. Ultimately, the goal of all construction projects is to achieve zero items on the punch list and once this is the case, the construction project enters the substantial completion part of project. This stage indicates the point at which both the project owner and contractor determine that all work is complete, and the project owner is able to occupy the space and use it for its intended purposes.
EMTG has an obligation to clients even well beyond the design and construction phase of a project. We provide a Punch List report to our clients just before their occupancy which is a comprehensive review making sure installed systems are as per our design and specification, while contractors are still on site, and further to ensure optimum system performance.
