Solution
Playing its part in the growing industry of ready-to-eat meat products, Burns & McDonnell performed engineering services to expand the client’s existing case-ready pepperoni production facility. The 50,000-square-foot expansion was built to accommodate the need for new warehouse and shipping space as well as a new process line that increased the company’s capacity to produce fresh ground beef, beef and pork cuts, and meal kits ready for distribution to retail grocers.
Reconfiguring the existing site was required in order to effectively facilitate the expansion. The project team redesigned the existing layout and maximized the functionality of the new space through the removal and relocation of existing equipment, and installation of new equipment used for grinding, blending, stuffing, slicing and packaging pepperoni. Significant changes were also made to utilities, and to areas used for truck traffic and employee parking.
The Burns & McDonnell design team included a process equipment engineer who collaborated with the client to obtain optimum efficiency from the operation of the new process line. From reviewing production schedules and analyzing design specifications to carefully appraising workflows, the engineer partnered with the client’s process engineering team throughout the expansion’s development.
An internal process flow diagram was created for the new-build section of the space. The next task was designing a structure — one encompassing the new internal plan — that would connect to the existing structure.
The major process areas and equipment additions included a raw material cooler and final blender, a final grinder, two stuffers, three fermentation ovens, six dry rooms, a whip cooler, a finished product cooler, a freezer and a shipping dock.
After the equipment and process changes were completed, the design team created the mechanical arrangements, which included mechanical and piping drawings, a motor control center (MCC), a one-line model for power, and panelboard schedules.
Meeting the client's need of increasing capacity within a quick timeframe, required the use of laser-scanning technology. The team conducted an on-site 3D scan of the entire existing facility, accurate within 2 millimeters. Working with the client’s architectural team, the group developed scans that allowed the 2D drawings of the new addition to be translated into 3D images. This helped establish a high-level overlay of essential walls and structural details.
Employing Revit BIM software to read scanned data, a model was created for analysis and manipulation. The design team was then able to explore the project site, virtually. From moving walls and cables into different positions to identifying the best spatial scenarios that would meet both processing and financial parameters, the team had the benefit of comprehensive insight.
