Ask Your Chosen Manufacturer These Six Key Questions
When facility planners and managers begin the process of commissioning a new air distribution system, an air filtration system, or any other custom HVAC equipment, this task comes with far more complexity than your typical, linear checklist.
Many team members, contractors, and industry and regulatory experts are involved in the process from start to finish. In addition, your facility’s leadership team has made it clear that certain initiatives and priorities need to be implemented successfully.
As you begin to work with a leading manufacturer of commercial air distribution systems and other indoor air quality solutions , you want to ensure that you’re asking them the right questions, so you can confidently and successfully acquire the right equipment and deliver a finished product.
After all, the custom HVAC team you work with is your first measure of success. Without the right product, the rest of the project phases are irrelevant. To help you navigate the journal of selecting the right equipment for your facility’s next initiative, here are six questions that will clarify whether you’re partnering with a team that can provide for your complex requirements.
6 Questions to Consider as You Select the Correct Air Distribution System and Products
Keep these questions in mind as you seek estimates on HVAC solutions for your facility. Each of them is derived from literature produced by various organizations and stakeholders in HVAC-related industries to guide facility planners in product selection, as well as articles from leading HVAC and facility planning periodicals.
One primary resource for facility planners to use when selecting custom HVAC products is the American Society for Healthcare Engineering’s guide “The Facility Planner’s Handbook for Healthcare Project Management: Planning, Design, Construction, and More.”
Although your industry may not be healthcare, this resource offers many salient points about project phases that are applicable to commissioning any air distribution systems. For pharmaceutical industry facility planners, this resource from the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering also offers general and industry-specific guidance on project management and acquiring new equipment.
What is your primary goal for this custom HVAC product?
Setting the purpose for why this equipment is required informs the rest of the questions you will ask. Whether you need custom HVAC equipment for infection control or contaminant prevention, equipment safety, or a replacement for aging infrastructure, getting clarity on this question will lead you forward.
Does this equipment align with the facility’s budget constraints?
Having knowledge of your budget, as well as securing a clear estimate early on, can help you avoid any misunderstandings. When multiple decision makers are involved in the process of commissioning, not all the budgetary information you require is at your disposal at a moment’s notice. However, securing budget information early on can put you on a fast track with your chosen manufacturer.
Does the equipment you’ve selected align with larger strategic goals?
A facility doesn’t commission new equipment for their facility without a consideration of the big picture. That big picture typically includes more than just how the equipment performs. Is this product part of a major facility design overhaul? A facility resilience project? A major overhaul to a particular wing of the facility? Is energy efficiency, sustainability, or security a priority? These kinds of questions will help you select a product that fits into larger facility goals.
The American Society for Healthcare Engineering’s literature includes a licensable “map” for project management that begins with the following question: “Is the idea in line with the strategic plan?” If the answer is yes, the map guides you to the next phase of the project. If not, the next phase is a suggestion to revisit that plan before moving forward.
Can this air distribution product deliver on my compliance requirements?
Your facility needs to meet codes and regulations for nearly every aspect of its function. You also know that your commercial air distribution systems have similar requirements, particularly if you’re building for healthcare or under certain environmental conditions, such as a seismic zone. Additionally, you may need to meet requirements to continue to receive state or federal funding. It is important to ask how the team you’ve tapped for your indoor air quality solutions addresses your compliance benchmarks.
Can this air distribution system manufacturer ensure a seamless delivery and installation?
One of the biggest “tells” related to shipping and installation comes down to one key difference: manufacturers that rely on an older stick-built method and those that have embraced modular construction. Stick-built products are built on the project site, whereas the more modern technique of modular building is a pre-engineering process. The product is built at the manufacturer’s facility and shipped in manageable pieces.
This article from Hospital Facilities Management explains the many benefits of modular construction, citing savings, flexibility, minimal disruption, and speed as differentiators. When you rely on a company who engineers modular products, you minimize disruptions and prevent construction debris. There’s also less risk of quality control issues, as the product has already been engineered, built, and tested by experts at the manufacturer’s facility.
Speed, savings, and efficiency should be music to any project manager’s ears. Ask the HVAC company you intend to work with about their shipping and delivery infrastructure, as well as how they build to get a good sense of whether you’re going to end up with a major on-site project or a smooth installation of prefabricated materials.
Is the manufacturer familiar with facilities like mine?
It is important to understand whether the manufacturer of air filtration systems and other air distribution products know how to design for facilities that are similar to yours. While they may not always know your specific industry, they may have designed for facilities that need their products for similar purposes.
A manufacturer that is fluent and familiar with your industry’s facility layout has also likely included features in their products that are meant to provide what personnel in your facility need. They’ve done this to make their products more accessible and valuable for your industry, having learned from their partnerships with other facilities that share your goals. For instance, in the healthcare industry, a ceiling system may include mounting for equipment, as well as lighting to give surgical staff the most space possible. This design was likely informed by their research into what operating rooms truly require, even if their primary mission was clean air and infection control.
Where to Start When Vetting an Air Distribution System Manufacturer
Whether you’re seeking an air filtration system, a ceiling grid, or any other indoor air quality solution, you can’t begin the process of asking questions unless you have a qualified, reputable custom HVAC manufacturer in mind.
It may be hard to know where to turn for all of your needs to meet your facility’s priorities, compliance, installation, and more. You will know for sure that you have the right match if you’re able to talk through the aforementioned questions and get the answers you’re looking for.
However, you can also get a quick sense of whether you should take the process further with a particular commercial air distribution system company by observing a few key aspects of their online presence:
- Their fluency in a number of industries, including yours, by viewing their recent projects.
- Their research and content about trending priorities among facilities like yours (e.g., IAQ, energy efficiency, sustainability, infection prevention, cybersecurity, facility resilience, and others).
- Their spec sheets to determine whether they employ manufacturing and installation processes that make your job more efficient, such as modular design.
If you can answer yes to these characteristics, you’ve likely found a partner worth investigating further. Find out more about what makes a strong custom HVAC partner by exploring articles in this archive of resources.