At this factory building, unique features were incorporated for ample ventilation, flexible machine layouts, future expansion & water conservation.
The firm has factories for manufacturing die-sets & related components in Brazil, Mexico & France.
This facility at Panapatty, near Coimbatore, includes a factory building of 25,000 square feet in Phase 1 and 20,000 square feet in Phase 2, along with ancillary structures.
Salient features of this project include:
· Leveling of the entire three acre site to allow for future expansion & ease of construction.
· A 75mm gap along the sides of the building which sets up excellent ventilation in conjunction with the monitor-roof.
· Specially insulated roof to bring down the indoor temperature significantly.
· 200mm thick RC floor slab to allow flexibility in machine layout.
· Green initiatives were:
· Use of AAC blocks.
· Rain water harvesting of 2,50,000 litres.
· Anaerobic filters for recycling waste water.
. Photo-sensors to save power.
The story behind the design & construction of the factory:
The client, from Sao Paulo, was a veteran in the field of setting up such facilities in diverse locations like Brazil, France & Mexico. He was clear that he wanted a complete master plan before any construction was taken up.
We studied the topography which was mildly sloping & decided to level the land before construction, for optimal layout & vehicular movement.
The master plan included the factory building in phase one, ancillary structures, provision for future buildings & all the services required for this.
The services which are the backbone of the project included:
power supply & captive power supply
communication
compressed air
coolant channel
water supply
waste water treatment
rainwater harvesting
fire fighting
offices, stores, pantry, dining & locker rooms.
A borewell was dug & the water tower was built first, to ensure availability of water throughout the construction period.
Next, the construction of the guard house was taken up & it served as the site office for the entire period of construction.
The importance of the ‘guard-house’ or security room was an interesting lesson we learnt from our Brazilian client. Security was important as this site was away from the city with no habitation in the vicinity. This building included a room to meet visitors before they entered the factory.
Levels were worked out in great detail before the foundation was done & pedestals cast.
All the requirements were listed out & incorporated into the design of the PEB structure. Provision was made for a number of special requirements that were not immediately obvious. Here the experience of the client in setting up similar factories was of much help.
A low-bay to house the support facilities like store rooms, server room, office space, meeting rooms, dining room, pantry, toilets, maintenance room etc were planned to the West of the factory floor.
There were special machine beds & machine pits for the heavy & permanent equipment. A channel was integrated into the floor to carry the coolant with chips to the coolant pit from where it could be separated & disposed.
The floor of the factory was designed in such a way that there was flexibility in the placement of machines. The entire floor was a reinforced concrete slab of 200mm thickness with suitable expansion joints.
The gutter design was important as the typical gutters & down-take pipes provided by most of the PEB contractors were incapable of handling a heavy downpour. The gutter of 1000mm width to handle a large volume of rainwater was integrated with the framing of the roof in such a manner that one could manually access the gutter for maintenance whenever required. The downtake pipes were 200mm in diameter.
Ample ventilation was achieved by three features:
1. The monitor roof
2. The 75mm gap along the sides of the building
3. The large openings that served as the entry & exit for vehicles.
The planning, routing & laying of the electrical cables was a major project in itself & the electrical consultant was on-board from the start of the planning process working closely with the client & with us.
The genset beds were sited close to the power room.
The transformer yard was integrated into the layout as per the TNEB norms.
The provision for the 15 ton bridge crane was done with much care as it is the heart of the factory.
We studied the rainfall data, ground water availability & accordingly planned methods of harvesting rainwater. The tank with a capacity of 2.5 lakh litres was designed as a structure that was partially below & partially above the ground to make it most economical. The roof was again salvaged from an existing structure on the site. It now serves to fulfill six month water requirements of the factory.
Specially designed canopies extend from the main structure to protect the coolant pit & the compressor.
In the low-bay area, the office spaces were designed to be functional, easy to maintain yet attractive. Windows were placed at a higher level to avoid distractions.
The foundation for the second phase was laid, including casting of plinth beams, raising the pedestals & provision of the rainwater pipes. This was to ensure the there is minimal disruption to the existing production facilities when the next phase is taken up.
It was one of those rare projects for us that was truly fulfilling. There was a free exchange of ideas between the client & us. Brazil being a tropical country as well as a developing country like ours there was much to learn from them & they from us.
