Electrical, power in industrial facilities

The Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016 Electrical and Power Study indicated that 56% of engineers specify, design, or make product selections for industrial/manufacturing facilities/warehouses—and seven in 10 of these engineers are responsible for determining requirements/writing specifications and/or supervising or consulting for these projects. Below are five electrical and power findings as they relate to industrial facility projects:

1. Annual specified products value: The average engineering firm specifies $3,137,000 in total electrical or power systems for new and existing industrial facilities annually, with 39% specifying more than $5 million.

2. Issues affecting future designs: The most critical issues affecting the future of electrical or power systems in industrial facilities are the lack of a skilled workforce (22%) and budget/costs (22%).

3. Products specified: Circuit breakers, fuses, etc. (81%); transformers (79%); electrical distribution (74%); and power and standby power systems or equipment (73%) are most commonly specified for industrial facility projects.

4. Selection factors: When comparing electrical or power systems for industrial facility projects, engineers are most interested in product quality (81%), service support availability (57%), a manufacturer’s reputation (50%), previous experience with a manufacturer (44%), and the product’s technical advantage (42%).

5. Specifications: For industrial facilities, engineers most often write performance (79%), prescriptive (72%), or open (alternate or substitute, 59%) specifications.

77% of mechanical engineers regularly specify air-balancing, test-and-balance, or environmental-balancing building systems. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2015 HVAC and Building Automation Systems Study

2/3 of fire protection design engineers are challenged with inadequate budgets for proper fire and life safety system design. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016 Fire and Life Safety Study

$7.6 million: Average annual mechanical, electrical, plumbing/fire protection (MEP/FP) design revenue earned by firms specifying electrical or power systems in 2015. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016 Electrical and Power Study

View more information at www.csemag.com/2016ElectricalPower. Amanda Pelliccione is the research director at CFE Media. Consulting-Specifying Engineer covers several research topics each year. All reports are available at: www.csemag.com/research.

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