MAJOR DISTRIBUTION COMPANY

OVERVIEW

We successfully retrofitted an existing warehouse to create a new logistics centre.

CHALLENGE

It’s more common for logistics centres to be built as new, rather than kit be installed retrospectively. As the space was on the smaller side, coordination and sequencing of the installation was key to the success of the project. It was also imperative that we adhered to the timescales as the centre had to be opened in time for a key seasonal trading period.

The brief grew to encompass additional platforms and conveyor belts as well as the need to meet temperature and humidity criteria for the robotics. To meet these requirements, G&H used Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modelling which is more commonly used in fire fighting applications.

As the brief continued to evolve, this proved challenging due to the number of third parties involved, and the knock-on effect on other services. G&H’s solution was to assign a dedicated employee to be on-site, updating the Revit 3D model in real- time to make sure everything worked together.

SOLUTION

G&H was appointed to design and install MEP services to the logistics centre. This included installing:

• Routing lighting and power supplies to equipment situated on newly installed mezzanine floors, and integrating a number of third-party equipment including sprinklers, PV, security systems, IT data infrastructure and mechanical plant.
• Air handling units delivering 16m3/s supply air and extract air, consisting of two condensers supplying 138kw of cooling and 248kw of heating.
• MHE, which was supplied by a third party, and involved working with tolerances of only 50mm.
• Over 1000 light fittings and over 3000m of lighting track.
• New LV panel and distribution boards which fed power to the building’s new IT power infrastructure which was also backed up by an upgraded standby generator set.

RESULTS

This was retrofitting on a huge scale, transforming an existing warehouse into a state of the art logistics centre. G&H was well placed to respond quickly to the constantly growing and evolving brief due to our talented team and vast expertise.

Given the multiple amends and additions to the scope of works, our ability to react and collaborate with all contractors involved, was crucial to the success of the project.