Working under time pressure

Complete E and W installation for preparatory vmbo school

Van Dorp Installaties provided both the E- and W-installation for the preservation and renovation of preparatory vmbo school UGO in Apeldoorn. "It's a large school of about 10,000 m2 and therefore also quite a lot of work," he says.

Van Dorp Installaties has 22 branches with some 1,500 employees who are engaged daily in technology within non-residential construction. For the project at UGO, the Amersfoort branch was awarded both components separately through a tender process. Gerrit van Asselt, electrical business manager at Van Dorp Installaties Amersfoort, was project manager for the school's electrical installation. "We scored highest on quality and price for both installations and were therefore able to work together," he says. "In terms of electrical engineering, this included installing new LED lighting, adjusting the associated circuitry and the fire alarm and evacuation system. Internal renovations also required adjustments to the existing installations, and we made the power supplies for the heat pumps and control cabinets for our colleagues in the W plant."

Hybrid installation

The largest part of the work on this project was the realization of a new W-installation so that the school now complies with Frisse Scholen class B. For example, the complete ventilation system was replaced with eleven air handling units placed on the roof and four heat pumps provide heating and cooling. In case of insufficient capacity, new high-efficiency central heating boilers are added during the cold period. Thus, the heat pumps with the central heating boilers form a hybrid system. Van Dorp also realized here the necessary control technology to optimize the energy consumption and climate within the set frameworks. Work was also carried out on the sanitary installation. Raymond Wit, project manager climate department at Van Dorp Installations Amersfoort: "We often work together with our electrical department on projects. In this case, we did face several challenges. For example, the minimum available heights above the ceilings and the regulations for fire separations. There was time pressure, as the project had to be delivered before the construction period. This gave the school the opportunity to move in before the start of the new school year."

Much coordination

Cooperation between both departments of the company and the general contractor went well. Van Asselt: "Our people had their own canteen, so it all mixed up. At peak times, there were about thirty mechanics running around in there at the same time, including subcontractors. Because this is an existing and older building, a lot of on-site coordination was required. You often come across things that were not visible or possible on the drawing. Then you have to improvise and determine together with the client how to solve things."

Van Dorp Amersfoort regularly works on schools, usually during vacation periods. Each project is different, yet there are similarities. Wit: "Every project has different challenges, but with every school there is a lot of work to be done in a short period of time."