Challenge
When heat exchangers on the rooftop units at the Murfreesboro School District high school cracked, administrators knew they had to act quickly. Without a budget to completely finance an upgrade, the district would need to rely on state matching funds, which would be lost if the project was not under contract by October. The district sought to move quickly in order to obtain the necessary funding, and to complete the work over Christmas break, so as not to disturb classroom activity.
Solution
Murfreesboro School District discussed the upgrade with their mechanical engineer. Knowing that by the time plans were drawn up, bids evaluated and contractors selected, the district would be outside the deadline for matching funds, the mechanical engineer suggested using The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN). The engineer contacted Trane®, a preapproved TCPN vendor, and a site visit was conducted to evaluate the school’s needs. A proposal for equipment and labor was presented by the engineer and accepted by the district prior to the funding deadline.
Leveraging purchasing power
TCPN allows large and small government entities such as
schools, counties and non-profits to leverage their purchasing power.
All TCPN contracts are competitively bid and evaluated by a government
entity and awarded to national vendors in accordance with purchasing
procedures mandated by state procurement regulations. Contract awards
are based on quality, proven performance, customer satisfaction and
pricing. Using TCPN allowed Murfreesboro School District to mitigate
costs and ensure they were receiving a good value.
Improving productivity
By using TCPN, the Murfreesboro School District was able to
significantly reduce the traditional six to eight week vendor
selection process, which includes developing specifications, bidding
out the project, evaluating proposals, selecting a supplier and
negotiating price. The more efficient TCPN vendor selection process
freed up district facilities staff, affording them more time to
address other school needs.
Reducing vendor selection risk
Selecting a preapproved TCPN vendor allowed the school district
to reduce its risk in supplier selection, and increased the engineer’s
confidence in achieving quality work that met design specifications.
Trane® supplied the equipment, and along with the mechanical engineer
and the district facilities manager, selected a local contractor for
installation, reinvesting in the Murfreesboro community.
Meeting tight deadlines and comfort needs
To speed installation, thirty Trane Precedent™ rooftop units,
selected to replace the aging equipment at the high school, were
shipped and staged at the site. The preconfigured units come with
factory-installed options to eliminate expensive and time-consuming
field installations. When ready to proceed, the crew worked quickly to
have all but three units in place within three days, allowing the team
to move forward with the electrical, gas, startup and controls
setup.
The efficient Precedent™ rooftop units deliver
high reliability to keep students and staff comfortable. The units do
not have belts and feature direct-drive fan motors, reducing
maintenance requirements and operating costs. With MERV 13 filtration,
the Precedent units also help to remove the amount of particles in the
air to improve indoor air quality and use an ultra-quiet plenum fan to
deliver a quieter environment, more conducive to learning.
Streamlining operations
With no controls system in place at the high school, the
district took the opportunity to install a Trane Tracer SC™ building
automation system to streamline facility operations to improve
efficiency, increase comfort and reduce energy costs. The web-based
Tracer SC provides facility managers with flexibility to monitor and
control building systems from any PC or mobile device with internet
connection. Facility managers use the Tracer SC to perform daily
operations such as scheduling, changing set points, programming,
troubleshooting, alarm management and data analysis.
Results
Using TCPN as a procurement tool, Murfreesboro School District
significantly reduced the time required for the procurement process,
allowing the district to meet tight state funding deadlines and
complete upgrades during the district’s Christmas break, so as not to
disturb classroom activities. Working with Trane, a preapproved TCPN
vendor, the district’s engineering contractor replaced the aging
equipment with Trane Precedent rooftop units and added a Trane Tracer
SC building automation system according to design specifications. The
district was able to reinvest in the community by selecting local
labor to complete the upgrade project. Pleased with the cost,
efficiency and flexibility of the project, Murfreesboro School
District plans to use TCPN to complete work at another district school
during the summer. Thirty Trane Precedent rooftop units replaced aging
equipment at Murfreesboro High School to keep students and staff
comfortable.