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Building 89 at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WRALC) is used for depainting and painting large military cargo aircraft.Monitoring and regulating temperature and humidity in the hangar is critical during the painting process to meet the technical order and ensure the quality of the surface finish.

In the winter of 2009, temperatures were well below normal. The chilled water and heating coils in the 300,000 cfm, 100 percent outside air handling units serving the hanger froze and burst.

Ten years prior, McKenney’s was the prime contractor responsible for the design and construction of the large, custom-built air handlers. As such we were called in by the Maintenance Wing Energy Manager for WRALC to evaluate existing equipment and controls in order to provide recommendations for restoring the HVAC system to its original functioning state. The initial evaluation was performed under a government credit card purchase.

McKenney’s began by assembling a highly qualified team composed of in-house engineers, service personnel and controls technicians to conduct a one-day comprehensive assessment of existing conditions, operations and functionality of the Building 89 HVAC systems, including pressure testing the coils.

It wasn’t easy. With such a short schedule and with so much system damage it was difficult to pinpoint the most likely failure scenario out of all the possibilities.

McKenney’s produced a detailed report of the findings and made several recommendations on equipment and control system repairs, operator training and long-term maintenance strategies to ensure system integrity over the long term. The report also included cost estimates for the recommendations offered.

Time and budget constraints only complicated things for the base. In order to get the repairs done quickly to allow the building to continue being productive, the base negotiated directly with Willis Mechanical, a member of the SBA 8(a) program and McKenney’s official SBA-approved protégé team partner.

As prime contractor, our protégé performed over 50 percent of the work with McKenney’s performing the remainder.

Repair of the heating and cooling system, the air handler unit coils and controls became a turnkey design/build project.

Not only did McKenney’s offer a turnkey solution including analysis, recommendations, budgetary cost estimates, design, controls, execution, commissioning and owner training, we also met our responsibilities to our protégé, Willis Mechanical.

This mentor-protégé partnership provided the contract vehicle to allow WRALC to bring Building 89’s HVAC system back to acceptable operation.

According to the Director of Government Facilities at McKenney’s, “The project at Building 89 highlights the technical, execution and contract administrative skills that McKenney’s can bring to the table to support the missions and mandates facing government installations across the Southeast. Our plan is to continue to serve them from a position of expertise and knowledge.”

Prime Contractor: Willis MechanicalOwner: WRALC Engineer: McKenney’s Inc.

Project Team

The ChallengeIdentify Bldg. 89 HVAC issuesOffer solutions and budgets to repair equipment and controlsProvide an opportunity for our protégé by offering a turnkey solution for the hanger repairs

The SolutionAn initial audit under a government credit card purchaseOffered a turnkey design/build solution that met the base’s tight schedule and budgetLeveraged a mentor-protégé affiliation to expedite repairsTrained base maintenance staff to minimize future malfunctions

Returned the HVAC systems back to their original functioning states, including controlsAllowed uninterrupted painting of planes in Bldg. 89 while providing optimal temperature and humidity during the processContinued our successful protégé relationship by providing an introduction to WRALC

The Results

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