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Continued professional development for next generation of design engineers

In the last few weeks, we’ve been pleased to share our experience and knowledge of the building readiness and commissioning process with NextGen engineers from MEP design consultants , including Buro Happold, Hoare Lea, Scotch Partners, Slender Winter Partnership, and Edward Pearce.

We invited 40 plus MEP engineers to visit our Medical Research Council (MRS) London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS) project, located on the Hammersmith Hospital campus. As a new 12,000m2 nine-storey science research facility, with a total area of 1,470m2 of plant equipment across four separate plant rooms, this building was a perfect live example to showcase the realities of a large and complex construction project.

Members of the Walter Lilly site team spent the morning taking the engineers around the nearly completed site to explain all the procedures involved in preparing a building for new mechanical, electrical and specialist systems. The guided tour also included a detailed overview of the complete commissioning process to see the scale of the MEPH installations, a summary of design principles, plant and equipment descriptions, installation methods and coordination, building preparation, and actual live commissioning.

Our specialist MEP contractors involved in the project, talked about room integrity testing, sprinkler systems, generators, lighting control, and specialist fire and security issues.

The afternoon was spent chairing an overview / open discussion regarding all aspects of the commissioning process. We covered design reviews concerning commissioning, pre-commissioning, system commissioning, integrated system testing, specialist contractors, commissioning programme, handover, and documentation.

The day ended nicely with a debrief in a local pub.

Walter Lilly is passionate about training and education, so it was a privilege to host the sessions for the new design engineers and contribute to their CPD. We’re now looking forward to seeing them carry out their roles in partnership with us in the future.

 

The site visit was well received from all attendees. Nousheen Anjum of Buro Happold, said “This was a great CPD. I learnt a lot. Being able to see the nuances of how things are commissioned in person and witnessing some of the commissioning was really valuable and gave me a lot to think about in terms of design. I now have a clearer idea of what design decisions I can make that would help commissioning run smoother.”

Hoare Lea Mechanical Engineer, Jonathan Hackett said “I found the presentations on building readiness and commissioning, provided by Walter Lilly, to be informative. Supplementing them with a tour of a building under construction meant that I was able to better visualise and understand common issues faced during the commissioning of building services, as well as ways to mitigate them. Overall, it was a positive experience!”

Technician/Building Services Engineering Student, Ross Jackson said “As a building services engineering student I found the presentation covering the commissioning phase of the construction process particularly informative and was pleased with how well it was delivered. Working for a design consultant means that you rarely see the installation and rigorous testing which is required on site and the comprehensive information provided has really helped to develop my understanding and will inform my design work moving forward.”

Phil Groves, Building Services Director at Walter Lilly, says: “Hosting these site visits for the new generation of design engineers is a fantastic opportunity to share the complexities and challenges faced on site and provide a different perspective from the design element. We hope these visits have enriched them with knowledge and understanding to adopt in their future design projects.

I would like to thank all those who attended for their positive engagement on the day. A special thank you to the Walter Lilly Team who shared their knowledge and expertise with the groups, and Jamie Moy of Kebble Environmental Services (Walter Lilly Independent Commissioning Manager) for his valuable contribution.”

If your company is interested in on site experience and tailored CPD’s with Walter Lilly, please contact us at contact@walterlilly.co.uk.


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