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Design Build Systems ECS Controls, Inc. has completed over one thousand design-build system installations in the Hampton Roads area. Our systems design-build projects have ranged from very small to installed projects over one-half million dollars. We have a very strong presence in the military region and have installed various systems on virtually every military base in the immediate area. These installation projects follow very stringent specification requirement. From project design to project completion, you can count on ECS to provide you with expertise in every area of design-build construction. You can trust us to deliver the highest level of technical expertise, the most economical solution and integrated systems that meet your comfort, energy and safety requirements.
Project Management
Design-Build Systems begin with effective project management. At ECS Controls, project management is the effective planning of time, information and resources. A typical job specification that we review is the definition of the project. It is often a statement of the problem and not the solution. Normally, the specification contains errors and misunderstandings. It is the job of our project management team to work on the specification and understand how to develop the appropriate design-build systems to meet the intentions of the job specification. It is seen as the first stage of quality assurance since we are looking for and countering problems in this very foundation of the project. The remaining stages are a little complicated as well. We have to allocate the tasks to different people in the team and, at the same time, organize these tasks so that they are performed in a sensible sequence toward project completion.
Design Engineering
Having decided what the specification intends, our next problem is to decide what our team actually need to do, and how to do it. Through our design engineering process, we have to provide some form of framework both to plan and to communicate what needs doing. We custom design each project submittal considering all details of the specification and construction notes for coordinating with other project trades. At ECS Controls, we are dedicated toward providing excellent service to our customers and try not to demand change-orders for each design mistake in the specification. We believe that the relationship between contractor and engineer is that of trust and respect for each other’s expertise with an end result of a building in which the owner feels comfortable and safe in occupying.
Panel Fabrication
When the planning phase is over, the "doing" phase begins. ECS Controls begins the “doing” phase by designing and building custom-made control panels for each specific system and/or project. Our panel fabrication is a manufactured product of our company and is built to specific design criteria and then placed on the job site for field wiring and installation. From project design to project completion, you can count on our panel fabrication shop to provide the technical expertise and most economical solution for central monitoring and control from our custom built control panels.
Quality Assurance
At ECS Controls, our philosophy is that testing is included in all projects as a justified (required) cost. We believe no plan is complete without explicit provision for testing and quality. We know that this should be part of each individual phase of the project. This means that no activity is completed until it has passed the objectively defined criteria that establishes its quality. When devising the schedule we allocated time for proper testing and quality. Thus your question is not only: "how long will it take", but also: "how long will the testing take". In order to know we have done it right the testing is more likely to be done in parallel with the implementation. This assures us the quality assurance our customers expect.
Field Coordination
ECS Controls normally averages twenty-five or more design-build projects at the same time and often are running parallel activities. Good communication is the strength of our management process. We use individual mobile two-way radios as well as individual cell phones and paging capabilities to monitor progress, to receive early warning signs of danger, to promote cooperation, to motivate through team involvement and to coordinate material needed for the project. All of these rely upon reliable and effective communication. With proper field coordination through effective communications, our projects run on time and interact effectively with other trades and suppliers. Everyone involved understands what is wanted and emerging problems are seen (and dealt with) long before they cause damage.
Complete Installation
ECS Controls, Inc. is a Class “A” licensed contractor in the State of Virginia, and are fully insured for the installation and service of electrical and HVAC systems as well as electronic and pneumatic temperature control systems, direct digital and energy management systems, fire alarm and life safety systems and electronic security and CCTV systems. We are a firm regularly engaged in the design, manufacture and installation of all these various systems. All though we do not specifically manufacture each control device, we do however through our experience and technical knowledge repackage these control devices into a completely installed “turn-key“ manufactured system. In order to properly manage our field overhead and manpower, we use both employed installers as well as qualified sub-contractors to assist as in the rough-in phase of various projects. We maintain complete control of the installation and supervise the work to insure proper installations.
Performance Verification
The project is not complete until the system is properly tested and verified. The majority of projects installed by ECS Controls have been on federal/military facilities which require very stringent testing procedures, system commissioning and contractor certification before any systems are accepted and approved. We continue this practice on each non government project as well. Our primary goal is to understand what has to be completed and to work toward a timely and successful completion of the commissioning process. We believe prior planning and performance verification is “key” to insure customer satisfaction.
System Graphics
This diagram is an example of the type of computer dashboard display for an Air Handling Unit that will show on the system workstation or laptop. It operates similar to a computer windows operating system. When you click on a particular device such as the supply air fan, you can override the automatic “OFF” mode and manually start the fan. The animated fan will begin to turn to indicate that fan is running. When the fan stops the animated fan will stop turning. Each descriptive box is a pushbutton which will provide an different pop-up display screen. Each pushbutton is custom designed to suite the need of the operator. If you click a pushbutton setup for customized trending, a pop-up screen will appear giving the operator detailed historical trending information. Each device can be programmed to change colors as conditions change. For example if the duct smoke detector went in alarm the device would change from gray for “normal” to red for “alarm”. All automatic operating conditions are displayed in real time and show the current value as conditions change.
As-Built Drawings
At the completion of each project we provide the owner representative with several copies of project specific Operation and Maintenance manuals. These manuals incorporate complete documentation to include data sheets, programming information, operation instruction, maintenance procedures, components lists and complete as-built drawings. Our as-built drawings are job specific and of “auto-cad” quality. They are produced by our in-house engineering department and shows detail information and terminations. We also maintain a copy of this information on file at ECS Controls for future reference and safe keeping if required.
Customer Training
It is a general practice for ECS Controls to give instruction to all customers in the proper operation of the equipment. We offer a variety of programs for the sole purpose of training. It is our intent to help educate the customer on their building equipment and systems. We offer in-house training programs, developed for both employees and customers. The topics range from general knowledge of products and safety to complex programming and installation techniques of various integrated systems. Our tailored training will cover specific equipment and the proper operation, energy conservation and general information for the purpose of assisting customers to a greater understanding of their equipment. We normally average two or more customer training classes per month for our customers. Training classes are provided both on-site and at our office.
Remote Diagnostics
ECS Controls will use the remote Internet and dial-up monitoring capabilities to provide historical trending information on the HVAC equipment before each preventative maintenance inspection. It will also allow our in-house staff to provide our customers with quick response diagnostics over the Internet or telephone prior to a service technicians traveling to the job site. For critical alarms, the dial-up modem feature can be easily used to page our technicians for immediate response. ECS Controls has successfully maintained various HVAC Systems through remote diagnostic capabilities. We have been in the front of the pack when it comes to remote diagnostics and can offer a variety of ways to accomplish this requirement.
Service Support
Organization, Communication and Teamwork are the key factors in the success of ECS Controls, Inc. During the warranty period, we will organize a service team to provide our customers with a dedicated staff ready to respond to all contract requirements to insure the project performs to the design-build specification. Afterwards, our service team will meet with the customer to develop future planned service solutions and develop a Planned Maintenance Service Agreement tailored to fit our cutomer's need and to insure consistent performance.
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