The Commonwealth Medical College

Forward-thinking visionaries in northeastern Pennsylvania joined forces to build a new medical college, heading off a potential shortage of physicians in the future and assuring ongoing, quality healthcare for residents.

The ChallengeAt the turn of the 21st century, the northeastern region of Pennsylvania faced an aging − and dwindling − population of physicians. A community-led, grassroots effort to turn that situation around resulted in a proposal to construct the first new allopathic medical school in Pennsylvania since 1963.

The state awarded degree-granting authority to The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC) in 2008, which then admitted its first class of students in 2009. While holding classes in leased facilities until the new building was ready, design and construction plans for a 185,000 square-foot Medical Sciences Building moved forward.

Undertaking the design and construction of a new medical college can be daunting. So the stakeholders took a proactive approach from the outset. They enlisted experts in various fields to provide input regarding design, construction and equipment for the new facility.

Education

CusToMEr bEnEfiTs• scalability and flexibility

• systems interoperability

• Local and remote systems access via

a Web portal

• Trending, reporting, monitoring of alarms

and events

• reliable systems and service

ProjECT AT A GLAnCE Project Type:New Construction

Location:Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA

number of buildings:One 4-story building (185,000 sq.ft.)

Equipment installed:• I/A™ Series BAS• Continuum™ card access system• Pelco™ CCTV system• Clipsal™ low-voltage lighting system• Square D™ equipment (VFDs, electrical gear,

Powerlink™ system, Powerlogic™ system, electrical metering)

• Integration to Phoenix lab control systems• Integration to Aircuity monitoring system• Integration to the audio visual system

installation:2011

Make the most of your energysM

“For a building project of this magnitude, it was reassuring to know that our goals to conserve energy and reduce operational costs were being met thanks to the coordination of all details between vendors and contractors facilitated by NRG Controls North and Schneider Electric.”jim ryanChief facility and Public safety officer, The Commonwealth Medical College

The Commonwealth Medical CollegeEducation

Committed to doing things right the first time, the stakeholders knew that coordinating efforts of multiple vendors would be paramount throughout the project. From the design firm, equipment vendors and construction contractors − to the owner’s business development group and facilities group, everyone needed to be in synch.

Brian Scandle, president of NRG Controls North (a Schneider Electric partner in the region), met with the owner and other stakeholders for the initial discussions. He also toured the leased facilities and talked with faculty, students and administrators to understand what was important to TCMC. Then he translated their input into systems requirements for the decision-makers.

Both TCMC and the design firm wanted all systems − from building automation, access control and video to HVAC, lighting and energy monitoring − seamlessly integrated into a single front-end system. After reviewing competitive bids from several vendors, they chose NRG Controls North and Schneider Electric because of their ability to provide the necessary systems and integration capabilities.

Among the challenges presented by this project were establishing relationships with multiple contractors, coordinating efforts with various groups, and renovating an existing central plant before work began on the new facility.

The SolutionNRG and Schneider Electric installed systems and control solutions enabling TCMC to optimize energy use, manage energy and operational costs, and assure a comfortable, secure environment. After reviewing access card requirements with TCMC’s head of security, facilities engineer and IT department, NRG implemented a “smart card”

solution. In addition to providing flexibility to assign multiple permission levels for secure access, the smart cards enable TCMC to use the same cards for other offerings such as copy machine use and food service.

TCMC’s closed circuit TV (CCTV) system leverages Pelco cameras with pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) capabilities to effectively view designated areas. More important, the CCTV system allows security personnel to quickly pinpoint suspicious activity and automatically begin video recording and archiving.

NRG installed a low-voltage lighting system that gives TCMC staff the flexibility to quickly and easily “set a scene.” With this system, TCMC can also customize room keypads to activate different “scenes” (e.g., dimming lights for a movie) − all with just a touch of the fingers. In addition, the lighting controls integrate with other building systems (e.g., HVAC, security) to provide virtually unlimited flexibility for addressing changing needs.

TCMC chose two contractors to deliver the HVAC solution. One contractor handled the “wet side” (i.e., piping, boilers, etc.) while the other addressed “dry side” requirements (i.e., air handling units, ductwork, etc.). NRG worked closely with both contractors to provide fully programmable, open protocol controllers that linked the two “sides” and integrated them with the Schneider Electric building automation system (BAS).

Implementation of Square D’s electrical metering and Schneider Electric’s energy monitoring systems provides tools that enable the facilities staff to view, trend and report on energy use, including any problems (e.g., voltage sags or swells). These capabilities ultimately help reduce utility costs, optimize equipment use, and improve systems reliability.

The Commonwealth Medical CollegeEducation

The Bottom LineUltimately the success of this project came down to collaboration, cooperation and commitment by all vendors and contractors. NRG and Schneider Electric collaborated with the design firm and other contractors to assure smooth integration across all systems − BAS, security, lighting, HVAC and energy monitoring.

To get a jump-start on working with the new Schneider Electric equipment, TCMC’s facilities engineers attended training sessions even before the new medical school opened its doors, enabling them to maximize systems from Day 1.

TCMC facilities staff relies on Schneider Electric’s front-end system and a Web portal for access to systems information anywhere, anytime.

PP-EDU-TCMC-US.BU.N.EN.8.2011.0.00.CC August 2011

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