P2S Magazine Special Edition | Page 8

The CSU conference covers the newest market trends as well as current client expectations in the higher education market. Design and Construction leaves a long lasting imprint on the buildings and physical structure of a campus. P2S is known for cutting edge project delivery. How does your team make sure that this delivery continuously improves? Aravind: We at P2S constantly update our technical skills by attending applicable seminars and conferences and we gain knowledge on new products and systems that not only help reduce capital costs but also help the campuses in reducing their operational and maintenance costs. We also participate in leading industry professional organizations to further the standards of building systems. We’re cognizant of not only designing and specifying systems that are efficient and reduce operational costs for our clients but are also the maintenance associated with the specified systems and equipment. We constantly look for innovative products and systems that help the campus ease maintenance issues and reduce their maintenance costs. There has been talk about Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) being an up and coming delivery method in the education market. Is this method an effective way to deliver complex projects on fixed budgets and tight schedules? Or is it a method that will minimize a qualitative high-profile delivery? Aravind: Integrated project delivery is an effective method to deliver projects in a tight budget/schedule environment. This project delivery approach helps integrate and collaboratively harnesses the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction. The delivery method ensures that the project's design 8 elements at each phase of the project not only conform to budgets but also are evaluated for efficiency, operability and maintenance and constructability. I don’t feel that it minimizes a qualitative high profile delivery if planned and budgeted correctly. The IPD process ensures that facilities managers, end users, contractors and suppliers are all involved at the start of the design process, processes are outcomedriven and decisions are not made solely on a first cost basis. All communications throughout the process are clear, concise, open, transparent, and trusting. Designers fully understand the ramifications of their decisions at the time the decisions are made, risk and reward are value-based and appropriately balanced among all team members over the life of a project, and the team delivers a higher quality and sustainable built environment. Sustainable planning is an important conference topic and there is no successful delivery without smart campus master planning. There are recent changes in the CEQA guidelines, on- and off-site mitigation measures, and greenhouse gas reporting that bring additional complexity to the master planning process. How will P2S address these changes? Aravind: Campus master planning is an essential effort and an important step towards creating an effective and useful planning tool in guiding campus growth. It is however important to achieve this growth in a sustainable manner that minimizes the use of our natural resources by promoting renewable energy sources and water conservation strategies and emphasize conservation and use of on-site natural features to protect water quality at the campus. The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, or Assembly Bill (AB) 32 and commitment of various campuses to the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) program are key driving factors in not only having the campuses document the current greenhouse gas emissions at their campus but also undertaking effective measures to reduce these emissions to comply with these legislations/ commitment. P2S brings in a depth of knowledge in developing these master plans and we are well versed with the relevant legislation. We’re experts at integrating the sustainability component in the overall master planning effort to help campuses achieve their growth in a sustainable manner. Let’s focus on another conference topic, energy and sustainability. Cx is playing a major role in the campus environment and P2S, as a full service firm, has experts that cover this special demand. Responsible energy use is very important in times of tighter public budgets and higher regulations. Low carbon development seems to be the future of the CSU capital programs. How is the P2S Cx division reacting to these new demands? Gerry: As commissioning agents and peer reviewers we assist in pursuing the maximum energy efficiency of projects during design, construction, post-construction testing and during the warranty period. • During the design phase of the project we verify that the Title 24 compliance has been done properly and we coordinate with the design team so that the elements in the Title 24 energy compliance model (glazing, wall construction, equipment used) are actually submitted and used in the project. If we see potential to improve the energy efficiency of a system during design we offer our ideas to the team for their consideration. • During the construction phase we observe the installation of commissioned systems and we notify the team if we see