By Don Mitchell

The modular construction market is projected to increase from $112.4 billion today to $157 billion by 2023 (with a compound annual growth rate of 6.9%) according to syndicated research service MarketsandMarkets™. In anticipation of this growth, the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is examining how prefabricated components and buildings constructed through offsite methods should transition from a consideration to a necessary choice.

Additionally, as Building Information Modeling (BIM) requirements continue to dictate industry and governmental construction standards, these mandates continue to permeate and drive change within the AEC industry. And when the project being considered is a data center, several other issues – geopolitics, faster internet speeds, and environmental concerns as referenced in Facility Executive, have owners and general contractors seeking footprint solutions that explore less space, more security, and better energy efficient design.

VDC & Prefabrication
Virtual design and construction (VDC) like BIM, is a process and a way of working which involves the management of integrated multidisciplinary performance models. With VDC, engineers and architects work together sharing information and data to create a visual model of a project which acts as a roadmap for construction. Visual models are then evaluated by stakeholders before ground break – allowing project teams to optimize construction.

Embracing a virtual design and construction (VDC) approach to projects allows AECs to keep pace with global data center growth by continuously improving the three phases of the construction process – design, delivery and installation. While each of these phases tend to experience its own struggles throughout the project lifecycle, today’s tools, technologies, and software advancements, combined with VDC’s collaborative approach can help to ease these constraints. Teams who embrace a VDC business model find opportunities to revisit and align their preconstruction processes, which results in redefining the speed, cost and quality trade-off triangle of design, delivery and installation.

Combined with VDC, the introduction of “prefabricated solutions” is particularly attractive to data center project owners, as they come in multiple forms – prefab “kits,” subassemblies (pipe spools), or complete modular components shipped in containers or on skid mounts. The BIM process makes it easy to prefabricate components because you can test constructability in the model – ensuring ease of install when the time comes. In fact, prefabricated modular (PFM) pump room design is gaining popularity as a data center solution, providing the benefits of scalable cooling capacity and offsite build technologies.

Design Accuracy – Concept to As-Built Design
Data center design concepts change frequently due to the continuous increase in data demand; therefore, the ability to rapidly translate new concepts into construction designs is critical in data center prefabrication. Advancements in BIM capabilities enable architects and engineers to design with higher levels of detail at greater speeds, while advances in digital collaboration now have the potential to improve AEC team performance.

Autodesk’s Revit is the leading design software within the AEC industry. Revit provides a platform that features built-in intelligence and speed functions, and it can import tools or add-ins, which extend Revit’s functionality by providing enhanced modeling and drafting capabilities to VDC teams.

These capabilities include:

• Constructability verification – Audit a design for constructability and highlight good piping practices
• Prefab assembly breakdown – Breakdown a complete solution into a series of prefab spools or assemblies
• Fabrication tools – Translate concept designs in Revit directly to a bill of materials (BOM) and manufactured assemblies
• Enhanced pipe routing tools – “Design speed tools” amplify and/or accelerate Revit piping system design

Software tools like Victaulic Tools for Revit® (VTFR) or DeWalt HangerWorks™ allow seamless access to content libraries, which enables rapid design of piping systems with construction-level detail. Armed with these tools, drafters and modelers can construct drawings from a library of highly accurate piping system components, significantly reducing the number of project requests for information (RFIs) and change orders caused by the addition of detail later in the construction process.

Delivery – Lean, Fast & Simple
Prefabrication and offsite manufacturing offer multiple advantages in quality control and “lean” jobsite efficiency, but they also present challenges in shipping costs and logistics. Being able to specify delivery to an exact location on a jobsite, as indicated in the construction plan, while keeping transportation costs low is a key factor in the project’s success.

In addition to using software to help optimize shipping, tracking and delivery, grooved end joining solutions provide additional delivery advantages – manufactured assemblies can be shipped flat on a truck bed and/or can easily navigate constrained jobsite logistics. Aided by software, designers and coordinators not only have multiple shipping configuration options available to them, and by using 3D scanning or virtual reality (VR) tools, it is possible to recognize optimal solutions prior to fabrication.

Installation – Alignment & Adaptability
Alignment is a jobsite issue for most prefabrication projects. Flanges and products used to accommodate vibration and movement (i.e., braided flex hoses or rubber bellows) pose significant challenges, often requiring perfect alignment in multiple planes. Lack of alignment can complicate assembly, leading to pipe stress conditions, component failure, leakage and maintenance delays.

However, designs featuring “mission critical grade coupling solutions” do not have these issues. These solutions provide simple, adaptable alignment and movement accommodation, eliminating the need for other types of products and resulting in faster construction and reduced maintenance time.

As the AEC industry enters a new decade, VDC teams who can connect modified processes with software tools and prefabrication capabilities for their data center projects will find themselves well prepared to meet the demands of global new construction and/or
retrofits. Additionally, organizations who invest in a VDC model will quickly recognize benefits of this structure through expanded employee skills and increased collaboration between functions which may have not existed previously. These teams will be able to circumvent the trade-off triangle and will be positively positioned for success.

Don Mitchell is Data Center Division Manager for Victaulic. He can be reached at [email protected].