Pennoni's PennDOT District 8-0 Culvert Replacement Project received the Diamond Certificate Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies Pennsylvania Chapter (ACEC/PA).

For the past three years, Pennoni and PennDOT worked closely to design and install box culverts throughout central Pennsylvania. Once PennDOT Maintenance determined which culverts needed to be replaced, they were assigned to Pennoni. Environmental research and property research were completed quickly to establish if any complications could arise. On-site field views were completed in which layout options, utility conflicts, environmental impacts, and Right-of-Way impacts were discussed.

Pennoni and the PennDOT bridge unit ensured that the most economical and efficient culverts were used. Simplified Right-of-Way plans were used so that the property acquisition could be done promptly and efficiently. Right-of-Way clearance was provided within weeks of installation.
Pennoni worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to guarantee that all environmental policies and regulations were followed, while keeping the installation economical. Pennoni was able to streamline the permit process so that environmental clearance could be granted within a couple weeks of submitting.

After environmental clearance was granted, the box culverts could be bid out to a manufacturer. Once awarded, procurement of culverts takes an average of six months, after which these culverts can be installed. The roadway was shut down for approximately three weeks while the PennDOT maintenance forces installed the culvert. The design to installation time was decreased to 18 months, while the typical process would take over two years.
 

Specialty structural building elements are found in many of today’s structures.  Specialty structural products are provided by manufacturers who specialize in their fabrication and delivery.  These elements provide many advantages since they are fabricated in controlled environments and reduce the construction duration of the project by delivering prefabricated elements that can be quickly erected and shorten construction duration.

The Specialty Structural Engineer (SSE) is retained by the manufacturer who is responsible for design, fabrication, and sometimes installation of engineered elements.   The SSE has experience not only with design of structures but the manufacturing, shipping, and erection requirements to incorporate these elements into the overall project.  It is recommended that you consult a SSE or manufacturer on projects where specialty structural elements are being considered so that sufficient planning and consideration of these elements can be incorporated in your final design.  Pennoni Associates has a long history of successful specialty structral engineering for manufacturers in the steel, cold-formed framing, glued laminated timber, and precast concrete industries.
 

The Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), were created in order to ensure that food, beverages, meats, poultry, fish, dairy products, drugs and medical devices are consistently produced at a high quality level and safely delivered to the populace.

The FDA is responsible for ensuring that foods are safe, wholesome and sanitary, that human and veterinary drugs, biological products and medical devices are safe and effective, that cosmetics are safe, and that electronic products that emit radiation are safe.

The USDA has the responsibility of ensuring agriculturally produced foods, meats, poultry and egg product safety by implementing steps to reduce the prevalence of food-borne hazards from farm to table.   

A critical part of the responsibilities of these agencies is to develop, implement and police current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) standards.  This involves accountability and documentation at all levels of the manufacturing process from engineering of manufacturing facilities, handling and approval of raw materials, operation of the manufacturing processes and packaging and delivery to the final users.  Both agencies have the power of product rejection and recall based on well defined quality standards.  In many ways both agencies work cooperatively to ensure the common health.

Pennoni Associates, in partnership with industry experts, provides the engineering and process expertise to assist facilities in addressing and consistently meeting the stringent requirements of these agencies. Our areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

• Drugs and Biologics
• Medical Devices
• Food and Beverage

   

Industrial Facilities, in the broad sense, encompasses all companies that produce products for internal use or commercial sale.  This includes diverse industry sectors such as Chemical, FDA/USDA regulated industries, Mining and Minerals, Petroleum/Petrochemical, Oil and Natural Gas Production, Power and many more.  Each industry sector has its own unique process, design engineering requirements, environmental and infrastructure needs.  The key challenge is to be able to tailor a project to include any number of services that will meet the unique requirements of individual industry sector.

In order to meet this challenge, Pennoni Associates has assembled a team with various skill sets to address most of the needs of the diverse industrial manufacturing market.  From site plan development to infrastructure design, environmental impact and permitting for new facilities to plant process audits, facility upgrade designs and implementation, design and upgrade of existing process water and wastewater treatment systems, as well as all areas of industrial environmental services, Pennoni has demonstrated the unique ability to tailor their service package to our clients’ custom needs.
 

One of the largest industries in the world is healthcare, responding to the needs of millions of people worldwide.  The United States is at the forefront of this global industry, leading the way in many fields of clinical research, training, and practice.  As in so many other industries, the contributions of engineers help to advance healthcare facilities.  Our multi-discipline, vertical approach to healthcare engineering allows us to take healthcare projects from conception to completion.  Pennoni Associates offers an integrated project delivery approach and practices cost effective methods to assist our healthcare clients in meeting their specific project requirements.

The engineering design of hospitals is completed using a synergistic systems approach by Pennoni; from the engineers who perform the traffic studies in the area assuring the most accessible route in an emergency to the engineers who design and inspect the MEP systems, we all take responsibility for creating an environment for the best possible medical care.

Engineers involved in the pharmaceutical industry are involved in the conception, design, construction, and operation of research facilities and manufacturing plants.  In addition to some of the more obvious services that an engineer offers, they help to maintain a level of personal and environmental safety, through testing and inspection of the facility. 
 

The HVAC engineering group at Pennoni Associates is comprised of engineers and designers, many of whom are LEED accredited, who have extensive experience in providing HVAC/mechanical design services for a diverse client base.  Pennoni provides HVAC/mechanical engineering design for the following systems: air conditioning, steam and hot water heating, refrigeration plants, boiler plants, underground utility site distribution, fuel oil systems, air handling and distribution, ventilation and exhaust, energy recovery, hot water, condenser water and chilled water distribution, filtration and air/water cleaning, “water-side/air-side free-cooling”, geothermal, snow melting, automatic temperature control and building/energy management.

Pennoni’s mechanical engineering services range from providing feasibility studies through commissioning of complex mechanical systems.  Our services include risk analysis of new and existing systems, energy conservation analyses, energy modeling, sustainable design, energy audits, and existing building evaluations.

Services are provided for various commercial and industrial buildings, including office buildings, data centers, financial centers, educational facilities, healthcare facilities, performing arts facilities, hotels and casinos, correctional facilities, municipal buildings and infrastructure, military bases, manufacturing and process plants and co-generation plants.
 

The electrical engineering group at Pennoni Associates is comprised of dynamic engineers and designers who have extensive experience in providing electrical design services for a diverse client base.  Pennoni provides electrical engineering services for medium and low voltage power distribution, interior and exterior lighting, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, emergency generators, motor controls, fire alarm, security systems, grounding, and lightning protection.

Pennoni's electrical engineering services range from feasibility studies through commissioning of complex electrical systems.  Our studies include risk analyses of existing systems, energy audits, cogeneration feasibility, sustainable design evaluation and feasibility.  We specialize in short circuit, coordination, and arc flash studies. Our electrical group also specializes in the design of solar photovoltaic systems.

Services are provided for various commercial and industrial buildings, including office buildings, data centers, financial centers, educational facilities, healthcare facilities, hotels and casinos, municipal buildings and infrastructure, military bases, manufacturing and process plants, and co-generation plants.
 

Pennoni Associates maintains an in-house staff of experienced highway engineers, designers and technicians that understand the importance of the transportation infrastructure system to the American way of life.  We have seen how highway and corridor improvements can influence the economic development, progress, manufacturing, and access for the general public. Pennoni staff routinely provide design services for; intersection design and re-alignment projects, roadway widening and rehabilitation projects, major interstate/interchange projects, new roadway alignment design, urban street and streetscape improvements, and corridor studies. Through our highway design experience our highway staff has successfully coordinated and completed highway design projects for a varied client base that includes; turnpike commissions, state DOTs, federal agencies, municipal and local authorities, county governments, private developers, and design/build contractors.

Pennoni maintains experienced technology teams within that provide our clients with a high level of individualized and specialized attention, an understanding of expectations, the ability to develop a design that meets AASHTO standards and regulatory requirements.  We are proud to say that we will provide a safe and effective solution that is within an agreed upon project budget and schedule.
 

Pennoni’s Materials Laboratory provides both field and laboratory testing of concrete including cylinders, beams, slabs, etc. Our laboratory offers standard concrete testing but also provides tests not offered by most concrete laboratories including: ASTM C512 – Concrete Creep, C186 – Heat of Hydration for cement, and C192 – Verification and Trial Concrete Mixes.

Concrete Testing Services Include:

• Freeze/Thaw Durability
• Sampling
• Manufacture & Testing Cylinders and Beams in Compression and Flexure
• Unit Weight, Yield, Air Content, Slump and Temperature
• Shrinkage, Modulus of Elasticity
• Creep of Hardened Concrete
• Verification/Trial Concrete Mixes
• Concrete Time of Set
• Lightweight Insulating Concrete Density & Compressive Strength
• Penetration Resistance & Rebound Number of Hardened Concrete
• Petrographic Examination
• Length Change of Hardened Concrete & Mortar
• Quality of Mixing Water
• Chloride Ion in Hardened Concrete & Mortar
• Composition of Hardened Concrete & Mortar

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are systems of hardware and software used for storage, retrieval, mapping, data, and analysis of geographic data.  Spatial features are stored in a coordinate system (latitude/longitude, state plane, UTM, etc.), which references a particular place on the earth.  When this data and maps are placed onto the project, all subjects line up to their true location on the earth’s surface, relieving the operator from trying to overlay all the maps and data by estimated scale, rotation, and rubber-sheeting. 

GIS differs from CAD (Computer Aided Modeling) by creating data on each spatial feature (line, point, polygon).  Instead of having a symbol for a fire hydrant symbol and a label in CAD, you can click on the symbol and retrieve useful information such as digital photographs, maintenance reports, date of installation, flow rates, coordinates, date of survey, field book, and manufacturer.  With the wealth of data on one point, queries can then be run to create new mapping, such as showing only hydrants installed after 1970, and within 500 feet of hospitals.  For example, this map can then be overlaid with insurance databases to determine current rates of insurance premiums paid by hospitals that are located close to fire hydrants.

Pennoni’s GIS experts work with many industries to compile and create GIS maps and databases to the requested specifications.  Please contact us to find out how we may help you create a system for your needs.