Ways automation and scalability are shaping industrial facility design

Manufacturing insights

• Future industrial projects must account for the growing use of IoT and design for scalability to adapt to rapidly evolving technologies and processes.
• Supply chain challenges and the trend toward re-shoring manufacturing to the U.S. are increasing the demand for flexible, modular designs and proactive procurement strategies.

Respondents:

• Jarron Gass, PE, CFPS, Fire Protection Discipline Leader, CDM Smith, Pittsburgh
• Justin Milne, PE, PMP, Senior Engineer, Jensen Hughes, Allen, Texas
• Jonathan Sajdak, PE, Associate Principal / Fire Protection engineering director, Page, Houston
• Michael Whalen, PE, LEED AP BD&C, project manager, HDR Engineering, New York

What are current trends in industrial and manufacturing facilities that engineers should be aware of?

Jarron Gass: The rise of automation has led to more autonomous warehouses that are equipped with additional conveyors and other obstructions, presents new challenges for traditional fire protection methods. These challenges require new designs and drive further research and development within the discipline. The goal is to find ways to provide protection that meets or exceeds current standards while avoiding obtrusiveness or disruption to automated processes. Some methods are driving more integration between systems by creating an over-arching system that works together for a more robust level of protection.

Michael Whalen: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is the hottest trend right now, in almost all industries, not just manufacturing. AI and the introduction of smart factories has the possibility of increasing efficiencies, reducing costs and increasing safety with the ability to analyze an immense amount of data in respect to the manufacturing processes.

What future trends should engineers and designers expect for such projects?

Jarron Gass: There is a growing emphasis on fire protection for the storage of lithium-ion batteries. Ongoing research works to develop adequate protection criteria for diverse battery sizes, storage arrangements, heights and packaging. These batteries, which are mostly consumer-driven, are being manufactured in many sizes and present a significant fire risk, so finding protection that can accommodate the unique nature of these chemical fires is currently a hot topic among fire protection engineers.

Justin Milne: Sustainable design will continue to take a front seat for the next one to two years. After that, AI will start to become the priority.

Michael Whalen: The Internet of things (IoT) needs to be accounted for in all projects moving forward. The IoT creates a network of all devices in a plant that automates and connects each asset to analyze usage patterns and help owners improve productivity and quality.

How is the growth of immediate-delivery services impacting industrial and manufacturing facility projects?

Jarron Gass: Overall, the growth of immediate-delivery services has the potential to move the trend of larger and taller storage warehouses into smaller and more compact “hubs” that trade size for volume and, in the process, drive infrastructure needs into areas that may not be equipped to handle increased loads. With a goal of reaching the “last mile” in distribution to a consumer, the smaller footprint centers are moving closer to residential areas, which sometimes tests the capabilities of neighborhood infrastructure. Municipalities may struggle to also provide necessary services or upgrades to existing services.

Michael Whalen: Facilities need to manage supply chain issues and oversee inventory to ensure enough product is manufactured and in storage to deliver immediately while balancing square footage constraints in the storage and production of the goods. Finding the balance within the supply chain is crucial for immediate delivery services.

What are professionals doing to ensure such projects (for both new and existing structures) meet challenges associated with emerging technologies?

Justin Milne: In industries that rely on developing technologies, management of change issues are crucial. Management of change is referenced in the International Fire Code (IFC) and NFPA 1: Fire Code. These references apply specifically to hazardous materials, where the consequences may be severe.

Management of change is a mutually agreed-upon procedure by which owners agree to implement changes to processes, materials, staffing, technology, equipment, procedures and facilities. This process is often formalized to varying degrees through methods in process and nuclear safety management programs.

When emerging technology presents hazards to the built environment, it’s important to consider management of change as an operational engineering control. However, if it does not pose unique challenges, additional scrutiny may not be warranted.

Jonathan Sajdak: One key to success for industrial and manufacturing projects is designing for future capacity and changes to tools, equipment or other processes. Manufacturing efficiencies are always improving, and it’s critical that the engineering system infrastructure has the required capacity to serve the needs of the facility. A common example for fire protection is accounting for an adequate water supply on a project. It is not sufficient to only plan for what is present at one point in time for a facility, as new materials and hazards can be introduced at any point in time. Safety factors should be incorporated into hydraulic calculations and pipes should be sized conservatively to allow for future changes.

Michael Whalen: There are a number of trends we are experiencing within the built environment in respect to emerging technologies. As an industry, we can be proactive in future-proofing projects to the greatest extent possible by considering how the buildings will be adaptable, agile and responsive to emerging technologies. Retrofit and adaptation is a key trend that we are currently experiencing. Network architecture needs to be scalable. Cloud-based solutions should be considered and control platforms should be modular to the greatest extent possible to allow the acceptance of technology advancements with minimal change in existing infrastructure.

In what ways are you working with information technology experts to meet the needs and goals of an industrial or manufacturing facility?

Michael Whalen: Network architecture on projects is becoming one of the most complex parts of the design. It is imperative to involve the information technology experts and network engineers as early on in the project development as possible to avoid costly modifications after construction is underway and to allow for scalability that can accommodate future upgrades.

In what ways have supply chain issues impacted the industrial and manufacturing sector and how do you work with building owners to address any issues?

Jarron Gass: Supply chain issues have made planning crucial and have contributed to a rise in early identification of procurement items for projects. Identifying long lead items that need to be designed, picked, specified or otherwise highlighted as early as possible in the design process is essential to prevent pieces of equipment from hindering a construction project. Understanding the impact these items can have on a project schedule forces earlier decisions and locks engineers and customers into certain choices sooner than was historically required, but this is necessary to maintain expediency.

Jonathan Sajdak: Owners have made the determination to increase the storage of commodities on-site so they have the resources required to operate for 30, 60 or 90 days in the event there is a failure in the supply chain. This has led to increased hazards and the desire to push storage configurations beyond what codes permit. Where there are not prescriptive requirements available, the engineer needs to educate the owner on their limitations or develop a performance-based alternate design that can be presented to and approved by the authority having jurisdiction.

Michael Whalen: The supply chain for most manufacturer’s has been strained for a while now. Owners are not receiving products as they normally would, shipping times are taking longer and products just cost more in general. Traditional resilience may have meant diversifying the number of suppliers or source countries for where products are purchased and shipped from. Modern resilience to these issues tends to focus more on data management and analysis. The more data owners can analyze regarding their supply chain performance, the better visibility they have into the demand, inventory, finances and supply/delivery schedules associated with their products.

Tell us about a recent project you’ve worked on that’s innovative, large-scale or otherwise noteworthy. Please tell us about the location, systems your team engineered, key players, interesting challenges or solutions and other significant details. If one is available, please link to or attach a case study or portfolio description of the project.

Michael Whalen: HDR is currently providing architectural and engineering services for a confidential semiconductor tool manufacturer. The project involves the design of a new materials intake and contamination control facility in the United States. It consists of select demolition of the existing structure and construction of a multistory building with an aggregate area of about 150,000 square feet. The addition includes ISO 7 clean rooms, loading docks, office spaces and mechanical spaces. This is a highly complex project with the largest challenge being constructing the project while maintaining production continuity, with zero downtime allowed on any of their critical mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

How are engineers designing these kinds of projects to keep costs down while offering appealing features, complying with relevant codes and meeting client needs?

Jarron Gass: Incorporating a value engineering process into the overall design can help analyze building features, systems and material selections to achieve increased efficiency, cost savings or reduced life-cycle costs. This approach helps manage costs and processes while maintaining key design goals. Additionally, these efforts can guide constructors to further enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness further down the line. For example, in fire suppression, a value engineering item might be the use of alternative types of fire sprinkler heads that could eliminate the need for in-rack fire sprinklers. Another example would be proposing the use of alternative suppression in challenging environments to weigh out effectiveness, intrusion of components and cost along with other feasibility factors.

Figure 1: This structural plastics manufacturing facility and office demonstrates some of the unique considerations engineers face when designing industrial buildings. Courtesy: Page

What technologies within the manufacturing plant are you helping design? This might be specialty processing, robotics or another cutting-edge manufacturing system.

Michael Whalen: HDR is a multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm. We typically provide core and shell design with a balance of plant equipment that includes mechanical, electrical and process plumbing. We work closely with the specialty manufacturers to provide a design that is synchronized between the building and the process equipment.

What are plant owners and managers requesting from consulting engineers to make the facility more prepared for the future?

Jarron Gass: As rapidly developing and advancing technologies are becoming available nearly daily, the front-end due diligence process is also expanding significantly. This requires more thought, discussion and preparation for future expansions, along with the potential implementation of emerging technologies. Coordination and input from the design team, owners, operators and other key stakeholders are essential to developing a strategic and comprehensive plan. This plan should address the current process, potential future expansions or upgrades, optimization initiatives and sustainability goals.

Justin Milne: Water supply is a significant fire and life safety issue that more owners and managers are paying attention to. Due to the reliance on large amounts of water for firefighting activities, there have been instances where fires have compromised municipal or industrial base water supplies. A recent noteworthy example is a fire that occurred at a large-scale energy project. The fire lasted for more than a week, and firefighting efforts expended five million gallons of water.

The impact of industrial and manufacturing facilities on overall water supplies is not typically considered in base codes and standards. However, this oversight can have dire consequences if not addressed properly.

Jonathan Sajdak: One of the most common requests we get from owners is to design for spare capacity and plan for the future expansion of building systems. Due to changes in manufacturing technologies and the likelihood of production increases in the future, system owners want flexibility in their systems so they can adapt with ever-changing processes. Additionally, for fire alarm systems, it has become more common for owners to request connections to building management systems and/or provide digital workstations. This allows for constant monitoring of devices and system statuses across facilities in addition to permitting the control of certain system features.

Michael Whalen: Plant owners like modularity so they can easily add to their plant equipment and infrastructure as needed, with little to no interference to their existing production. The amount of data and monitoring generated from equipment is growing exponentially and futureproofing the network capacity should be a key consideration in designs. Full building information models including maintenance records, energy usage and part identification are being delivered to help the owner maintain their facilities more efficiently.

Does your firm anticipate more industrial or manufacturing building projects, considering the supply chain issues with non-U.S. facilities? Describe the business development process for these clients and the re-shoring of industrial and manufacturing buildings.

Jarron Gass: Yes, there seems to be a push to repatriate manufacturing back to the US, particularly in the tech sector and renewables. The U.S. government is providing incentives through favorable financing, expanded access to capital and bolstering capabilities through research and development. Providing greater access to funding, especially for small businesses, is crucial for developing and building the necessary infrastructure to support these new or expanded industrial and manufacturing facilities. This access is paramount to getting the proverbial ball rolling.

Justin Milne: In specific industries, an increase in industrial and manufacturing building projects is expected. These projects are predominantly in sensitive industries that serve the defense sector. These industries include aviation, data centers, energy and semiconductors.

Jonathan Sajdak: We do foresee continued growth and expansion of industrial and manufacturing projects in the U.S. COVID-19 put the supply chain issues in the spotlight, and since then there has been a rapid increase and interest in building these types of facilities stateside. Some of the critical items to look for as this trend continues is the increased demand for skilled workers, accounting for adequate storage to offset supply chain concerns, and designing these facilities to comply with US codes and standards, given that many facility prototypes originated in other countries.

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