By: RK Mechanical

Green building initiatives, including LEED for healthcare v4, and new patient care models have impacted healthcare construction. Sustainable, patient-focused facilities are designed and constructed to be safer, resource efficient and financially beneficial.

Green facilities reduce resource waste through LEED v4.

Building owners, facilities managers and contractors are focusing on green building strategies for new construction and renovation projects to ensure facilities are in good shape to serve patients now, and in the future. The LEED v4 rating system, specific to healthcare, places guidelines on specific energy- and water-efficiency prerequisites, including building reporting and disclosure requirements. A Future Trends article from Medical Construction & Design highlights popular sustainability advancements to meet the LEED requirements, including motion and light sensors to reduce energy, solar shading to increase natural day light and decrease internal heat gain and low-flow faucets and fixtures with auto-off controls to conserve water.

Patient-focused designs lower operating costs.

The popular W-shaped hospital layout limits patient exposure to noise and infection while improving navigation, keeping doctors closer to patients and promoting collaboration between medical specialties. Sustainable facilities reduce waste, contamination and greenhouse emissions while conserving water, energy and natural resources. Financially, LEED-certified buildings are designed to lower operating costs now and increase ROI in the future.

RK has completed several LEED-certified projects locally and nationally. We have the knowledge and expertise to work closely with project teams in sensitive healthcare environments. Let us help you with your healthcare facility needs! Contact us at communications@rkindustries.com for more information.

By: RK Energy

Modular facilities and skidded equipment are manufactured and assembled indoors, at a fabrication facility, affording companies the opportunity to produce high-quality units while decreasing costs and often accelerating the project schedule. Organizations are increasingly innovating their construction and procurement processes by purchasing modular, mobile, prefabricated facilities and equipment.

Save Time and Money

Equipment is contained within a modular facility or skidded frame that allows it to be easily transported. Individual skids can house complete systems, or multiple skids may be combined to create larger modules. In cases where there are logistical constraints, large modules are split into multiple pre-assembled units that are interconnected at the site.

An Alternative to Traditional Construction

System parts can be shipped individually and installed on-site as needed. Because the systems are built off-site in a fabrication facility, improvements can be completed at the plant site simultaneously. Skidded process systems provide several advantages over traditional construction process systems:

Portability: Units are self-contained within frames, making it easier for them to be transported. Systems can be moved to another location as needed.

Space Saving: Custom frames allow equipment layering. All of the necessary equipment is able to fit into a smaller area.

Accessibility: Skids often contain a hallway in the center with the larger pieces of hardware placed around the periphery.

Better Organization: Skids are organized into one area at the site, making on-site connections easier.

Off-site Assembly: Skids are built in controlled conditions at a fabrication facility. Operations taking place at the plant are not affected by the new system fabrication.

Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT): Testing is completed before systems are shipped. Equipment is ready to be used immediately upon delivery reducing startup time.

Maintain Productivity: Skidded systems allow facilities to remain functioning while maintenance is being performed.

Quality Control: There is a higher level of responsibility and quality control when a single party is responsible for the construction and installation of skidded equipment.

If you are interested in learning more about the advantages of modular facilities and skid-mounted equipment or systems, or if you would like a free project consultation, please contact us at rkenergy@rkindustries.com.

Denver is flourishing. Its population and employment growth are among the strongest in the nation, with the population almost tripling since 2000, according to the Denver Business Journal and the Downtown Denver Partnership. To accommodate the population and business growth, nearly $2.5 billion is currently planned or under construction in Metro Denver.

Steady Construction for the Foreseeable Future

Collecting accolades from Forbes as the best place for business and careers, and with U.S. News and World Report declaring Denver as the best place to live in the country, it’s easy to see why companies are flocking to Colorado. The city’s rapid growth means its infrastructure must quickly expand as well. New buildings have to be built and older buildings have to be renovated to keep up with the office and living space demand. In turn, construction project schedules are extremely tight with little room for error.

The structural support for these new and renovated buildings must be sturdy and stable as they are being constructed in the densely populated downtown area with heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Developers and owners rely on contractors to hire experienced project teams to fabricate and install high-quality products to construct these buildings on a fast paced schedule.

Structural Steel is the Material of Choice for Commercial Construction Projects

The American Institute of Steel Construction says structural steel is the trusted material of choice for many reasons:

1. Project Schedule: Prefabrication in a fabrication shop increases productivity allowing for rapid erection on-site and a decrease in wasted materials.
2. Construction Budget: Steel costs 5 – 7{daeb8d662f58e4975bc93960761d671bdf0aa2ad049ea8a375d2717d280ef80b} less than concrete framing. Today, a single ton of steel requires less than one single man-hour to produce.
3. Aesthetics: Steel is functional and unique, with natural beauty, allowing for creative designs. Exposed steel emphasizes strength and transparency.
4. Design: Building Information Modeling (BIM) allows full integration between analysis, design, detailing and fabrication. BIM applications like Trimble are taking steel design to a new level.
5. Sustainability: Structural steel is the most recycled material on the planet and can be reused without additional processing.
6. Modifiable and Efficient: Steel can easily be modified or strengthened depending on requirements. It also optimizes building space efficiency through the use of columns and beams that allow for longer spans of open space.
7. Reliable and Predictable: Structural steel is fabricated under controlled conditions using quality control processes. Its strength is verified at the point of production, not after the material is installed.

Industry Knowledge and Proper Training Create a Reliable Project Team

Safe erection of structural steel requires a knowledgeable team. Ensuring workers are qualified, suitably trained and have sufficient experience to perform work safely must be established and verified prior to starting work. The steel team should be in constant communication with the general contractor and other trades to plan site access, equipment needs and laydown requirements. In addition, developing site-specific work instructions and safety procedures to identify potential risks is key.

RK Steel is currently working on several projects in downtown Denver including Bock A, 17^th and Wewatta, 1709 Chestnut, 14^th and Lawrence, Denver Club Renovation, Helen Bonfils Theatre Renovation, Denver Center for the Performing Arts Galleria Rails, Confluence Park Tower, 1201 Auraria and the Residence on Cherokee. RK Steel is a single source for fabricating and installing any type of structural steel or miscellaneous metals such as stairs, rails, platforms and canopies.  Do you have a project that needs a trusted, premier steel contractor to get the job done? Contact our team for a free project consultation today at rksteelestimating@rkindustries.com.

By: RK Mechanical

The healthcare field is vast and frequently progressing. As death rates decrease and life expectancy increases, people are living longer creating a demand for new and updated healthcare facilities. Thankfully, prefabrication has allowed healthcare facilities of all sizes to be built in record time.

According to The 2015 SmartMarket Report on Prefabrication and Modularization published by McGraw-Hill Construction, contractors believe that prefabrication can decrease project schedules by four weeks or more. In addition, 65 percent of contractors believe that prefabrication leads to a decrease in budget and, because of that, more than 49 percent of healthcare projects now incorporate prefabrication.

Mechanical contractors are capitalizing on this approach and are experiencing great success. Prefabrication has proved to increase efficiency through less wasted material and improve the speed of construction. Repetitive processes lead to consistency and fewer mistakes, leading to better quality products. Prefabricated mechanical systems, specific to healthcare facilities, include bathroom components or whole bathroom pods, MEP racks, wall systems and exterior elements. As prefabrication advances, new applications include modular mechanical rooms and patient and exam rooms.

Prefabrication creates safer working environments for employees. Prefabricating mechanical systems in a controlled environment means that as little as 20 percent of work is done on-site, reducing health and safety risks. And, more than one third of McGraw-Hill survey respondents using the approach say they have seen safety improve company-wide. Weather is not an issue and ladders and platforms are rarely needed. Fabrication in a warehouse and installation onsite allows multiple construction activities to be performed in parallel. According to a recent article published by Sourceable, between 60 and 90 percent of the prefabricated portions of healthcare facilities are assembled off-site.

Prefabrication is essential for operational facilities. Construction crews are able to perform work and install systems with less congestion and disturbance to facility employees and patients. Cutting down the construction schedule is also a key benefit because the sooner construction is finished the sooner they can expand the amount of care that they are able to give.

RK Mechanical has extensive experience working in the healthcare industry prefabricating and installing mechanical systems for projects including:

• Audie Murphy VA Memorial Hospital, San Antonia, TX
• St. Anthony Hospital, Denver, Colorado
• Fort Carson Soldier Family Care Center, Colorado Springs, CO
• Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC), Vail, CO
• Swedish Medical Center, Englewood, CO
• Northern Colorado Medical Center (NCMC), Greenly, CO
• U.S. Air Force Academy Hospital, Colorado Springs, CO
• Denver Health, Denver, CO
• Castle Rock Adventist Hospital, Castle Rock, CO

Looking to build or renovate a healthcare facility?  RK Mechanical would be happy to discuss our services with you. Contact RK Mechanical at communications@rkindustries.com for more information.

By: RK Energy

The recent decline in the oil and gas industry has many companies experiencing hardship. Those that have survived are working to reduce costs by selling equipment or letting it sit idly; others are bypassing well testing, equipment servicing, repairs and site maintenance.

While scrimping on equipment maintenance is tempting, companies should seriously consider retaining and maintaining their costly operating equipment and field sites. Used equipment can now be found at bargain-basement prices today. Selling equipment in a downturn will likely result in a large capital loss for the business. The benefits will lie only with the buyer. Oil and gas companies should consider that once the industry turns around, the cost of equipment will also rise.

By holding onto equipment and investing in preventative maintenance instead, operators can gain enormous savings on future repairs. Investing now in maintenance will reduce down time and extend the life of the equipment. It will also help identify potential site risks and reduce overall production costs.

If companies continue to market effectively, it could also be an opportunity to win some business from competitors who are downsizing. Rather than dismantling and selling equipment or slashing the maintenance budget, maintaining existing equipment can put companies in a position to gain market share when the industry picks up because they’ll be able to ramp up production more quickly.

Despite the significant slowdown, there is still plenty of oil to drill. When the industry is on the upswing, competitors who downsized will be forced to spend extra time and capital expense before getting back to work as they will have to replace their equipment and perform site maintenance. Those who sustained their equipment and sites will be able to get to work right away.

If you are looking for someone to maintain your oil field equipment and perform on-site maintenance, RK Energy would be happy to discuss our services with you. Contact RK Energy at rkenergy@rkindustries.com for more information.

By: RK Service

People from the rest of the country may be starting to take their winter ski vacations in Colorado, but area business owners and facility managers need to keep their buildings safe and operating smoothly until spring returns.

RK Service professionals weighed in on the most important winter maintenance tasks for local businesses below.

Top Three Winter Maintenance To-Do’s

Inspect the HVAC System
Ensure that HVAC systems are ready to handle the demands of cold months. Have an expert inspect and optimize your HVAC system now. If your heating system has not been inspected and serviced recently, doing so right away may prevent unnecessary outages and emergency service calls during or after a storm. It will also ensure that employees and tenants stay warm no matter how low the temperatures drop.

Eliminate Heat Loss
“Gaps around louvers, doors and windows create pockets of freezing air that make their way throughout an entire building,” says RK Service technician, Don Pierce. The loss is compounded as heat escapes from these same areas. Every part of your building should be checked for leaks and cracks. General caulking around doors and windows will help seal out the winter air. Drafty areas near windows may indicate insulation inadequacies or freeze exposure issues.

Protect Water Pipes
Freezing weather can affect vital facility systems: sprinkler systems, fire pumps, heating and air conditioning equipment, boilers, steam piping and water tanks. Freezing in any part of your system can result in flooding, causing equipment damage and electrical dangers. The best way to avoid frozen pipes is to prepare your facility as early as possible. First, heating equipment needs to be serviced and in good repair so that optimal heating levels can be maintained at all times. The cause of frozen pipes is often insufficient interior heat due to equipment failure. Second, pipes should be inspected and insulated in exposed areas.

Call RK Service today to schedule an equipment maintenance call right away. Or let one of our experienced technicians perform a complete inspection of your facility and provide their top recommendations for your business. No matter where you are in Colorado, we have a local team that can you help you.

By: RK Mission Critical

Now that 2015 is behind us, strategies are being developed by enterprises, colocation providers and web giants alike for the next great developments in IT.

Will 2016 be the year that cloud kills the data center? Will the race to the edge continue? Who is happy that the term “fog computing” never caught on? Below, author Ron Vokoun with RK Mission Critical shares his fearless predictions for the 2016 data center industry.

2016: The Year of Modular

There has been a great deal of talk about modular data centers, yet relatively low adoption. That will change in 2016 with a substantially higher rate of adoption due to new concepts on the market.

Most people relate modular data centers to shipping containers. Modular no longer has to have the negative connotations associated with constraining containers thanks to concepts like CENTERCORE. With open white space and ceiling heights similar to that of traditional construction, while maintaining the advantages of speed to market, scalability, and accelerated depreciation of modular, the market paradigm is poised to shift. Leading colocation providers such as FORTRUST are adopting modular at scale.

“The modular approach to data center design, construction and delivery to the end-user is long past due. The old paradigms of traditional raised floor data center design and/or the “build it all out and then fill it” models are simply inefficient and wasteful capital management.”

• Robert McClary, Sr. Vice President & General Manager, FORTRUST Data Centers

Retail and Wholesale Colocation Merge

The line between retail and wholesale colocation has been increasingly blurry over the past few years. The line used to be drawn at about 1 MW of capacity, but the wholesale players are now coming down as far as 250 kW and are offering more managed services than ever. Meanwhile, traditional retail players such as ViaWest are signing customers to increasingly larger deals into the multi-megawatt range while still offering the same array of managed services.

The Race to the Edge Will Continue

The rise of edge data centers is well documented with early pioneers EdgeConneX and vXchnge establishing an early advantage over the rest. With our never-ending appetite for content and decreasing attention spans, the race to the edge will continue with more players joining in. The focus to-date has been on cable and telecom connectivity, but the next frontier will be mobile where more and more people are accessing their content.

DCIM Adoption Will Continue Slow and Steady

The DCIM market has been riding the hype cycle for quite some time. But hype alone cannot sustain the over 70 companies listed on the Rhonda Ascierto’s DCIM Metro Map. With all of the attention, yet relatively low adoption, one must assume DCIM is past the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” and the “Trough of Disillusionment” and is now trending toward maturity and productivity.

The knock on DCIM is that there is too much noise in the market (i.e., too many players) to determine who is real and who isn’t. Adoption will continue slow and steady until the market shakes out and there are more visible success stories.

Renewable Energy Adoption Will Accelerate

The adoption of renewable energy in 2015, especially by the colocation market, was surprising. It shows that renewable energy has matured to the point where it is no longer a marketing gimmick, but is now a competitive advantage.

The colocation market is cutthroat competitive. So, if renewables didn’t make business sense, colocation players would be putting themselves at a disadvantage by sourcing their energy in such a way. I believe adoption of renewable energy will accelerate in 2016, if for no other reason than risk mitigation. After all, who wouldn’t want to lock in your power rate for 20 years?

TCO Loses Ground

In 2016, Total Cost of Ownership will actually lose ground in data center design consideration. It defies logic, but I have witnessed a movement back toward pure CapEx-driven decisions over considerations of energy efficiency, accelerated depreciation and other financial factors. This seems to be more prevalent with enterprises, but I have seen examples across market sectors. Kudos to those enlightened souls that understand the benefits to be gained for years to come.

Water Usage Rises in Importance

The drought in California brought the issue of water use and conservation to the forefront of our consciousness in 2015. Given that water is the most subsidized and underpriced utility in the U.S., it will become a larger factor in TCO (for those that actually use this metric), but that will not be the reason it rises in importance in data center design.

Although geographically driven, risk mitigation will be the reason water usage climbs the ladder of design considerations. Simple availability has to be a consideration in this era of droughts and other extreme weather. As with renewable energy, it simply makes business sense.

Ghetto Colo Becomes a Product Offering

Lower levels of redundancy have become a product offering. Although I cannot take credit for the catchy name, heard after hours at a 7×24 Exchange Conference a couple of years ago from Jason Scandrol, quoting the words of a wise IT sage he once worked with.

Whether it be bitcoin miners or a research cluster, there are many instances that do not require anything more than street power. Why pay for the redundancy if you don’t need it? Look for more service providers to follow suit.

Rise of the Data Center Density

Power densities were relatively flat in 2015, with some trending upward toward the end of the year in the projects we evaluated. This trend will continue in 2016 with a steady rise in density across all market sectors.

Legacy equipment is finding its way out of enterprise data centers, giving way to new equipment capable of more computing in a smaller footprint.

Production data centers in higher education are averaging 5 kW per cabinet, while a research facility we designed came in at an average of 40 kW per cabinet.

Hybrid IT Rules the Day

Many have predicted that public cloud would dominate the IT landscape. Although usage is rising sharply, it is nowhere near the IT market share that some have predicted. There are many reasons this growth hasn’t come to be, such as security concerns, migration complexity and simple FUD.

Given the massive growth of IT and data in general, there is room for everyone. Enterprises will spend more time evaluating what they can offload into the cloud, colocation—and what they want to keep in their own data center.

If you would like to discuss your data center needs, contact us at info@rkmissioncritical.com!

By: RK Energy

The number of industries tapping into the advanced methodology of custom fabricated off-site constructed products and facilities are revolutionizing the way they are being built world-wide. From horticulture to data centers, housing and healthcare, prefabrication is a hot topic. This progression proves that regardless of the industry, companies continue to battle the same monsters: producing superior products, lowering costs and increasing productivity. These universal industry challenges make modular manufacturing and construction the golden ticket in which companies are willing to invest.

WHY IS MODULAR BETTER?

Modular and skidded buildings are built to last. These facilities are constructed in controlled conditions and engineered to comply with building codes and industry standards. Off-site construction projects are easier to manage and prefabrication eliminates the risks of building a facility on-site in unpredictable conditions. This gives companies the power to build any type of facility they need.

To learn more about RK’s robust prefabrication abilities, contact RK Energy at rkenergy@rkindustries.com.

Clothes to Kids Denver, Inc. helps to provide new and quality used clothing to school-age students from low-income or in-crisis families. The RK Foundation (RKF) has gotten on board in supporting their efforts by fabricating 12 clothing collection bins through the RK sheet metal shop. The bins were placed in Denver Public Schools (DPS) in October for donated clothing. RKF has committed to expand the program further over the next four years. Bin sites include DPS Headquarters, Bill Roberts, Emily Griffith, Hamilton Middle School, Hill Middle School, Holm Elementary, McAuliffe International School, Steck Elementary, and Swigert International School.

After the items are donated, they are picked up, sorted and washed by volunteers, who then help students “shop” for clothes. Founded in 2002, Clothes to Kids seeks to fill the gap that inadequate clothing makes. Research has shown that students who come to school without proper clothing experience low self-esteem, poor social skills, and lack of concentration in class. There are roughly 55,000 students in the DPS system who are in need of better clothing.

Clothes to Kids has a store they run and a family must make an appointment to “shop” at it. Students select a week’s worth of clothing, including five shirts, four pants, one dress (optional), one coat, one pair of shoes, and five pairs of new underwear and socks. Parents are welcome to shop with or without their children. Qualifying students must live in the Denver Metro Area, they must be in preschool-12 grade (or working towards earning their GED), the family must be considered in need of assistance (the student must be receiving free or reduced lunch at school), and they must also be receiving services from a social service agency, school or counseling center.

The partnership between RKF and DPS came about through Hamilton Middle Schooler, Marko Babiak, who “envisioned a program that would create an opportunity for DPS students to help other students in their community”. While in 5^th grade, Babiak set up a bin at his school to collect clothing and shoes. The effort was a big success and he helped expand the program and approached RKF to be a sponsor. The collaboration will help to provide school clothing to thousands of students currently in need. Since 2008, Clothes to Kids Denver has provided more than 19,000 wardrobes to students.

By: RK Mechanical

After the recent OSHA VPP audit on November 14th, RK was thrilled to be recommended for the OSHA VPP Star, OSHA’s highest award for world-class safety and health! During the three day audit, conducted by two OSHA auditors and a special government employee from Raytheon, 35 different employees were interviewed and after the evaluations were complete, RK received the a recommendation for the designation that less than 0.03% of companies in the entire nation receive. That means that only 62 contracting companies in the U.S. and three in Colorado are designated with this esteemed rating!

So, what does this mean?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes the value of co-operative efforts by employers, employees, and government agencies to reduce hazards and strengthen worker protection. Created in 1982, The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) recognize employers and employees who have established effective safety and health management programs. The VPP program has been particularly successful in increasing safety in many different industries, including construction, poultry processing, petrochemical plants, tree nurseries, nursing homes, federal laboratories, and even “mom and pop” operations.

The OSHA audit itself, a two-phased, on-site evaluation, is highly complex and painstakingly done. In the first phase, OSHA’s team reviews the applicant’s corporate, division or business unit policies and procedures, including a review of safety and health management programs, document review and assessment of the management commitment to safety and health, and to VPP itself.

The intense road to Star status was been an intense one that took a while. “Shortly after achieving our OSHA VPP Star Mobile Work Force accreditation for the field, we asked the shop employees if they wanted to achieve this for the shops as well. The resounding response was yes,” said JP Kennel, Operations Manager for the Xanthia facility. “We began preparation, but along the way, we found that many of the things we already did were [already in place to satisfy] the OSHA VPP Star requirements. We still had to make numerous tweaks to our processes and procedures, though, and we learned a lot about ourselves [in the process]. Stepping back and critically looking at ourselves [allowed us to see] that we were lacking in mitigating possible hazards to our employees. These were the areas we focused on, making great strides in providing a safer and healthier work environment.”

Lindsay Kalis, QSE Systems Manager and main OSHA contact for RK, was the one behind the implementation of the safety management system, and was responsible for everything from application to scheduling while the OSHA team was on-site.

Kalis elaborated on what the audit consisted of while the OSHA team was at RK. “There are two types of VPP certification – Mobile Workforce and Worksite. This audit was for the Xanthia location (the Worksite designation) and Henderson will have theirs next.” Kalis explained that the application for the Xanthia audit was originally submitted in January 2013, but it took a year and a half to get the audit done.

Typically, it takes three months for the application to go through, but in light of the government shutdown and budget restrictions, it took much longer than was originally expected. Along with Kalis, Tom Alvarez, RK’s Manager of Safety, was also instrumental in assisting the OSHA auditors find all of the information they needed.

The second phase is dedicated to reviewing one or more worksites in order to verify that the safety and health management programs are actually functioning outside of the home office, which will take place when the Henderson site is audited.

The Star designation is specifically designed for “exemplary worksites that have implemented comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems; and achieved illness/injury rates below their industry’s national average”. “Our recommendation for the Star Level clearly demonstrates our commitment to the safety of all our team and the passion we have with regard to being a World Class company,” said Ian Welsh, Vice President of Corporate Development.

Not only is this a great boon for the company, but it also helps to enrich the lives of RK workers on a personal level as well. JP Kennel said it best. “Safety and health has to be a part of what we do every day. In order for that to happen, the rules and regulations have to be backed from the officer level on down. That way, the employee truly knows they have the power to communicate when they see an unsafe situation, but more importantly, they know that the company truly cares about them and their family.”