Design Services

Industrial facilities are usually composed of several distinct systems such as a foundation, structure, electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, fire protection and special features that allow the facility to perform it's function. To this end, our firm provides all required all engineering, architectural, and functional specialsts through subcontract associations. This approach allows us to secure and provide the design talent that is suited to a project without incurring the overhead cost of permanent staff. As the lead firm we maintain the necessary professional liability and general liability insurance coverage.

Design Phases

The design of a new facility is typically accomplished in two major stages. Initially, a project concept enters the preliminary engineering phase. This design level defines the project so that costs can be determined and stakeholders can clearly understand it. These stakeholders include the owners, end-users, operators, financiers and the concerned regulatory bodies.  It is the basis for gaining approval and agreement to go forth with the project. The preliminary phase of engineering constitutes about 30% of the entire engineering effort. The 70% balance is for development of the design and the final design engineering required for constructing the project. The final design consists of detailed drawings, specifications and other materials relevant to the construction phase. It is intended to clearly define the project so that the project can be permitted by regulatory agencies, a site can be developed, materials can be quantified, labor can be estimated, equipment can be selected and a schedule can be produced in detail.

Processing Plants

Rural process facility design for salmon, halibut, cattle, reindeer and other products. These projects can be grass-roots plants ranging in cost from $500,000 to $10 million. Retrofits and conversions of existing buildings (canneries, etc.) are also designed to suit the current product demands. Process plant design requires the services of specialty fish and meat processing expertise that is fully knowledgeable with all processing, freezing, packaging, handling, and other related equipment. Regulatory requirements imposed by the USDA, ADEC, FDA and other agencies are vital considerations in the design of food processing plants.   

Industrial Support Buildings

The firms specializes in the design of multipurpose buildings for rural communities. These buildings are typically used used for repairing and maintaining fisheries equipment such as boats and nets. Their use often extends to business and personal equipment such as snow machines, four-wheelers that would otherwise not have access to heated and shop equipped indoor space.

Arctic Engineering

Although arctic engineering applies to many engineering disciplines, arctic foundations are particularly challenging and important systems in designing a building facility. Permarost soils are unique to Alaska (in the United States) but vary widely in the State in terms of their engineering properties. A site investigation is always recommended from which a foundation type can be determined. Most foundation systems used in pemafrost environments are atypical of those used in more temperate locations. We have extensive experience with all types of arctic foundations:

• Drilled piles
• Driven piles
• Thermopiles
• Grade foundations with thermoprobe cooling
• Post and pad
• Triodetic space frames

Our experience includes the execution of full scale load testing that was used to establish the pile design criteria for facilities in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.