Nortek Air Solutions Partners with Dallas College
ON NEW CONSTRUCTION SCIENCES BUILDING (CSB) TO BOOST CONSTRUCTION TRADES WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
At A Glance
Dallas College and the Construction Education Foundation (CEF) has bolstered construction trades workforce development by building a 97,000-sq. ft. school in the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) suburb of Coppell, TX. The new center trains and certifies tradespeople for mechanical HVACR/electrical/plumbing (MEP), carpentry and other construction careers, as well as continuing education credits.
Nortek Air Solutions donated six custom air handling units (AHUs) and two dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) ranging from 2,500 to 17,500 CFM. The AHUs feature the latest advancements in FANWALL TECHNOLOGY®.
Architects designed the building where working AHUs, piping, ducting and other HVACR equipment are visible to visitors and accessible for student learning through glass and open walls and ceilings.
Dallas College challenged engineers and architects to design the CSB with three popular, but vastly different methodologies-AHUs, variable refrigerant flow and chilled beams-to help students learn a variety of commercial HVACR concepts.
Project Team
Owner
Dallas College, Dallas.
Project Partner
Construction Education Foundation (CEF) of North Texas, Coppell, TX.
Engineer
ME Engineers, Dallas.
Architect
The Beck Architecture LLC, Dallas.
General Contractor
Joeris General Contractors, Dallas.
Mechanical Contractor
Dallas Mechanical Group, Dallas.
Industry Contribution Facilitator
Texas AirSystems, Dallas.
Challenge Solution
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LABOR SHORTAGE CHALLEGE:
The U.S. is amid one of its worst construction trade labor shortages.
Construction Education Foundation (CEF), Coppell, TX, research predicts a 1.5-million shortfall of skilled/journeymen trade professionals by 2033. "The average age of all trade professionals currently working in the field is 47 years old and 40% of today's construction workforce will retire by 2033," said Jane Hanna, President/Executive Director, CEF.
Consequently, Dallas/Forth Worth construction industry members conceived several plans to bridge the gap between Dallas' booming construction economy and the lagging labor workforce.
One workforce development solution is now bearing fruit. The 97,000-sq. ft. Construction Sciences Building (CSB) was built for the sole purpose of training and certifying students in mechanical HVACR/electrical/plumbing (MEP), carpentry and other construction trades.
The CSB is a collaborative effort on behalf of Dallas College and CEF, a self-supporting workforce development organization that connects the Dallas/Fort Worth area's construction trades with education. The CSB is the first completed project of a 1.1-billion bond package. It resides on Dallas College's North Lake Campus, Coppell.
The building is a unique combination of taxpayer funding and private donations. Manufacturer's representative, Texas AirSystems vice president, Rusty Vaughn, a CEF board of directors advisor and the project's capital committee chairperson, invited many manufacturers to donate equipment.
Nortek Air Solutions, the nation's largest custom AHU manufacturer, was a major donor of the $2.6 million in private funding. Nortek Air Solutions donated six Temtrol®-brand custom-manufactured air handling units totaling 70,250 CFM and two Temtrol-brand rooftop DOAS systems that met the specifications of project consulting engineer, ME Engineers. Nortek Air Solutions' financial commitment inspired other manufacturers to donate private funding.
"We (Texas AirSystems) have a department that complements contractors with on-site equipment start-up, warranty service and troubleshooting," said Vaughn, "and it has always been a struggle to find enough trained commercial technicians to fulfill demand."
"WE COULDN'T HAVE ACHIEVED ALL OF THESE GOALS WITHOUT THE AMAZING SUPPORT OF OUR INDUSTRY DONORS. WE ARE SO PROUD TO BE ABLE TO SHOWCASE THEIR NAMES ALL AROUND THE FACILITY IN A PROMINENT WAY."
CHRISTA SLEJKO, PRESIDENT, NORTH LAKE CAMPUS-DALLAS COLLEGE.
Equipment
Six Temtrol®-brand custom-manufactured air handling units totaling 70,250 CFM
Two Temtrol-brand rooftop DOAS systems
FANWALL TECHNOLOGY®
Impact
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LABOR SHORTAGE CHALLEGE:
Thanks to Nortek Air Solutions and other donor manufacturers that helped make the project a success, the CSB's workforce development effort has attracted the interest of education organizations nationwide. Many colleges are examining how Dallas College and CEF collaborated with local industry to teach real world skills and design a building that also serves as a teaching tool. Several Society of College and University Planning (SCUP) conferences have even featured speakers from the project.
Thus, the CSB serves as a workforce development model that helps reverse the nation's declining population of trained construction workers.
