TAS Middle East, LLC (Dubai, UAE) believes thatowners and engineers focus on five primary decisioncriteria in the selection of a central plant system: 1) thestrength of the initial design, 2) the quality ofconstruction, 3) operating performance achieved relativeto the initial design and contractual obligations, 4) firstcost, and 5) operating cost- the largest cost item over theplant’s useful economic life.

Why Design MattersThe value of a central plant system is in the design. TAShas invested significant R&D into developing andstandardizing the most efficient and reliable central plantsystems for the value of an owner’s investment. Byassuming a standardized design approach, and allowing forcustomizations, TAS is able to cost reduce individualcentral plant projects by minimizing the time and expenseassociated with custom designs.

TAS’ advancements in designing packaged central plantsystems has resulted in a standardized product offeringranging from 400 to 8,000 tons. TAS’ innovative designsallow for multiple packages to be installed on a singleproject site to achieve the desired central plant tonnage.Two great examples of this are the district cooling projectsat the Jumeirah Beach Residence (60,000 tons) and TheCrescent of The Palm, Jumeirah (120,000 tons). Bothprojects are in Dubai, UAE.

Why Packaging MattersTAS’ central plant systems are pre-engineered and factorymanufactured in a controlled environment, which allowsfor greater design reliability, better construction quality,and higher installation safety than field constructed centralplants. Packaging is differentiated from field constructed

central plants in that architectural & engineering (A&E)firms typically design the central plant. Then a separategeneral contractor (GC) builds the plant based on theA&E’s design specifications. Both the A&E and GC workon behalf of the owner until the physical plant is constructed,component-by-component, on the owner’s site.

Packaging simplifies the process by removing risks.Rather than working with two firms, owners work withone company that has beginning-to-end responsibility forthe installed system. The design, specifications,component selection and construction are tightlycontrolled. In the case of TAS, ISO 9001:2000 qualitymanufacturing processes are strictly followed.

Working with pre-designed and engineered systems helpsmanage first cost capital investment by minimizing theunexpected financial impact of change orders to theoriginal project scope. The financial impact of changeorders is rarely considered at the point of contract signingand is a common occurrence with field constructed,custom projects.

Change orders mostly occur due to changes in projectscope. Project scope changes frequently occur with highlycustomized projects that are laid out by pre-determinedspecifications. Especially when multiple suppliers areinvolved with a project – design vs. build – scope changesmay occur as project responsibility shifts from design tospecification bidding and then finally to the fieldconstruction phase.

Valuing Performance withPackaged Central Plants

With field construction, the key exposure to change orderrisk is the existence of multiple “suppliers” in a highlycompetitive design, component selection and fieldconstruction process. Each “supplier” in the process hasthe incentive to maximize profit as they competitively bidon their respective piece of the project. And whilecontract cost is not likely to change, component selection,change orders and other factors can affect first cost andjust as importantly, the operating efficiency of the plant,which is an even greater cost exposure. The use ofstandardized, pre-engineered central plant designs, in aquality controlled manufacturing process, helps tominimize owner change order risk and its associated firstcost impact.

An additional risk with field constructed central plants isthe weather. When building on-site, weather canfrequently delay construction and construction delaysimpact the bottom line. This is especially the case inrevenue producing projects involving life sciences,healthcare, gaming, semi-conductor and other timesensitive industries. The value of one day’s constructiondelay can be significant. In the life sciences industry, onerevenue-generating day lost due to construction delaysmay mean millions in revenue lost for a patented newdrug, which has a fixed market life due to a set patentexpiration date.

In addition to minimizing construction time risk, thefactory manufactured packaged central plants approachalso reduces the amount of physical site disruption by upto 75% of the traditional construction time associatedwith field-constructed plants. With minimal siteinterference and lower site labor required, siteconstruction scope and risk are greatly reduced, benefitingboth the contractor and the owner.

Why Performance MattersWhen an owner purchases a central plant system – hepurchases an operating performance expectation. Ownersexpect the system to operate as designed from both areliability and operating efficiency perspective. In short –owners want the assurance that they get what they paid for.

For owners and operating engineers, central plantperformance can be quantified and is frequently definedby the following key metrics: total first cost upon projectcompletion, on-time installation, operating efficiency, costof operation, and system reliability. These metrics arecommonly used to ensure that actual performance isconsistent with the customer’s expectations.

The most important performance metric should be theowner’s largest cost exposure – operating costs over theuseful life of the central plant system. Operatingefficiency should be the #1 decision criteria in any centralplant purchase decision, as it helps to manage andminimize this risk by reducing energy consumption insupport of the cooling application. Packaging versus fieldconstructing the central plant helps maximize ownerperformance satisfaction. The value of the packagedcentral plant is inherent to the system design and not theindividual parts. TAS’ design philosophies optimizepackage efficiency and lowers total package costs. TAS’integrated system approach enables system efficiency(kW/ton) and completion date (months) guarantees.Factory manufacturing in a controlled environment,utilizing pre-engineered designs and ISO 9001:2000quality processes allow TAS to guarantee both deliverydate and operating efficiency upon commissioning withliquidated damages as specified in the terms andconditions of the contract, as required. Performancematters – TAS Packaged Central Plants is committed todesign, packaging and performance – Guaranteed!

Peter Armstrong Director

Marketing, Business Development & Regulatory Affairs

Keith EvansDirector

TAS Middle East, LLC