Project Profile: LAX LEED Gold Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility Cx

Engineering firm: P2S
2024 MEP Giants rank: 41
Project: LAX LEED Gold Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility Cx
Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States
Building type: Office building; parking garage/service station
Project type: New construction
Engineering services: Commissioning, retro-commissioning
Project timeline: March 2019 to August 2023
Commissioning budget: $473,700

Challenges

Due to the size of the project, there were hundreds of pieces of equipment that had to be kept track of and commissioned. Depending on the equipment type, certain documents were required. Our team created project and equipment-specific prefunctional checklists that outlined requirements for each unit from installation through to functional testing. The checklists were organized and assigned to the various subcontractor trades. An extreme level of detail was needed to make sure all requirements were captured and verified. Our team developed a workflow where all updates were coordinated with the contractors and internal quality assurance processes verified no equipment was missed.

LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility. Source: P2S

This project was a design-build project, so there were numerous architect supplemental instructions (ASIs) and changes to the contract documents throughout the project. Thus, one challenge we faced was finalizing our functional test plans. This required a significant amount of coordination between the design team (design-build contractor – PCL; controls contractor – JCI; mechanical contractor – Southland Industries; and P2S). Test plans were developed, distributed to the team for review and comment and updated; a total of four revisions were developed before the team finalized the sequence of operations and test plans. Meetings were held to bring the team together and discuss any comments. This effort was extremely valuable, so when the team did functional performance testing, all parties were on the same page regarding the testing requirements, test methods, and expected results.

During testing, one issue we ran into was coordinating the integrated systems test. This test required multiple parties across various trades such as mechanical, electrical, controls, fire life safety, etc. P2S worked with the PCL to develop specific test plans that outlined a step-by-step process that was taken to verify all equipment and systems operated as required before and after normal power was dropped and while the units were running on emergency power. Several pretesting meetings were held with the team to review the process and create a test plan to ensure on the actual test date things went smoothly. While onsite during this test, P2S led a group of over 20 people that was split into teams.

Solutions

The ConRAC is the largest rental car facility in the world – a much-needed upgrade to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which has the second highest demand for rental cars out of airports in the U.S. This facility accommodates the airport’s current needs and streamlines the rental car experience for customers now and for years to come. The facility includes 18,000 parking stalls with 6,600 ready/return spaces, 10,000 idle vehicle storage spaces, 1,100 rental car employee spaces, 186 fueling dispensers, pick-up/drop-off areas, and a customer service building. Amenities include concessions services, internet access and waiting areas. Additionally, the ConRAC includes a multi-level, 780,000 sq ft quick turn-around (QTA) facility for on-site fueling, washing, oil changes and light maintenance of rental car vehicles.

LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility. Source: P2S

As a critical element of the Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), the ConRAC is designed to meet the current on-airport operators’ requirements and to accommodate the growth of and entry into the LAX market by independent operators. The other elements of the LAMP include intermodal transportation facilities, improvements within the central terminal area, a connection to the metro rail system, and the automated people mover (APM). The APM is an electric train system that contributes to LAX’s goal of reducing congestion. The ConRAC will be directly connected to the APM, which operates 24/7 and is free for all users. The ConRAC to APM connection will expedite and improve the experience for rental car users arriving and leaving the airport.

Designed to achieve a LEED Silver rating, the facility spouts several key sustainable elements such as native drought-tolerant landscaping, reclaimed water usage, and a photovoltaic solar system estimated to generate 8,400-Mwh annually. Additionally, by consolidating more than 20 external rental car operations into one convenient location, ConRAC will ease congestion in the surrounding communities and the boarding areas at the airport. P2S was trusted to be the exclusive commissioning sub-contractor to PCL Construction.

LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility. Source: P2S

Our team was tasked with constructing and commissioning multiple building areas with various equipment and systems. The P2S commissioning team developed an extensive commissioning plan that outlined all the commissioning tasks and various document tracking logs. Weekly commissioning coordination meetings were held to ensure everyone on the commissioning team was on the same page.

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