Due Diligence Reports

Our company offers two types of Technical Due Diligence.

The First option is suitable for potential tenants of the building to be evaluated – usually for such type of client it is sufficient enough to know that rentable space is offered to them in a suitable condition and the building fulfills their needs. It is also interesting to discover some particulars of the building as it can affect the design and installation when our Client will define to fit-out his new space.

So at this type of work we deliver to our Client two parts of information:

1. General understanding of the base engineering systems of the building. This helps a Client to see whether the Landlord really offers what is declared in his marketing materials or Pre-lease Agreement.
2. Detailed understanding of rentable space. This information is important for future fit-out as it discovers possible problems caused by peculiarities of the building – specific location of the connection points, architectural and construction nuances of the building, etc.

We name this as Tenant Technical Due Diligence as this work is mostly interesting for potential tenants.

This work usually takes 1-2 weeks for spaces up to 5,000-6,000 sq.m. located in a normal office building.

The Second option is very useful for a potential buyer or investor – after getting our report he will know whether the building meets all the applicable norms, whether there are some immanent problems and whether those problems can or cannot be rectified by reasonable measures and costs. This is very important for the possible owner of the building because he then will be able to make grounded decision on the investment and then to maintain the building and its systems in good state.

We name this service as Investor Technical Due Diligence.

This work surely depends on the size of the building. It includes detailed review of all the technical information related to the building including Technical Conditions, Stage P and Working Documentation of the building. It also includes all calculations which we usually make when designing new building. We actually work here as though we design the reviewed building.

We in MEP Engineering believe that proposing flexible conditions of Technical Due Diligence we offer a service that meets any client’s due diligence needs.

Technical Review of Lease Agreements

Having first identified if a building is suitable for a Client's needs from an engineers perspective we are able to review and comment on any Technical Appendix that should be included in any lease agreement to protect the interests of our Client.

Critical points often include the quantity of electrical power, fresh air and quantity of air conditioning to be provided to the tenant’s space.

Tenants are too often in a hurry to sign a lease agreement without paying the necessary considerations for the engineering clauses only to then find themselves in a difficult position when the cooling systems does not satisfy their requirements once they have moved into the office.

By employing MEP Engineering to review the technical points to the lease agreement you can be sure that a team of highly experienced and professional engineers have carefully considered your requirements, inspected the clauses and highlighted any concerns we may have.

Scheme Design

An engineering Scheme Design aims to present the engineers ideas and proposals as solutions to the technical task set by the Client.

The engineering Scheme Design will clearly show the proposed method and theory of the engineering systems that the engineer anticipates to further develop during the Tender and Detailed Design stages of the project.

During the due diligence and lease agreement stages our engineers will have become familiar with the client's requirements and will have begun to consider the possible solutions to the technical problems peculiar for each project.

Our scheme design drawings will clearly show the client how we intend to service the building or office space and it will enable a Client to confidently move forwards with the development of the design knowing what he is being offered.

If a budget cost calculation is required at this stage we are also able to advise our Clients on the approximate cost of such an installation to enable him to confidently update his investment plan.

MEP Engineering have produced the Scheme Design of some of Moscow's most famous class A office complexes available today, namely the 52,000m² Krylatsky Hills Business Park, 50,000m² and 70,000m² Avrora Business Center (phase II and III), The 70,000m² Four Winds Multi-Purpose Complex, the 60,000m² Silver City Complex to name a few.

“Proekt” Design

Production of the “Proekt” design documentation is an official stage in the approval process of any construction project in Russia and the Ukraine. It is required by law to be produced for all new buildings and must be prepared in the correct format in accordance with local Norms.

The “Proekt” documentation consists of many booklets and MEP Engineering are licensed and qualified to produce the engineering part of this documentation and get preliminary approvals by the interested local authorities prior to the submission of the full “Proekt” documentation for the official review “Expertiese” by the Government authorities.

We have provided this support on projects such as the 60,000m² Silver City office complex in the centre of Moscow.

Tender Design

For our Clients to seek truly competitive prices from General Contractors who are keen to make the construction works MEP Engineering can prepare a set of Tender Design documents that clearly demonstrates on technical drawings and technical specifications the quality and quantity of engineering systems that the clients requires to be purchased and installed.

By offering such comprehensive tender documentation the General Contractors are able to more confidently offer the Client a guaranteed lump sum for carrying out the works.

If during the construction period any change orders are required by the client or requested by the General Contractor the tender documentation is a very useful tool for controlling the negotiations as it clearly sets out the extent of scope of the agreement.

This Tender Design can then be efficiently developed by MEP Engineering into the Detailed Design for obtaining the approvals for construction  and then for the actual construction purposes which saves valuable time on the project.

Working Documentation

The further development of an engineering design to the stage of “Working Design” in Russian or a Detailed Design for approvals and construction purposes is a service that MEP Engineering offers to many Developers and General Contractors.

Our Clients who have employed MEP Engineering to develop our Tender Design and “Proekt” documentation to the Working Design Stage has saved many months in the schedule of the construction stage and thus have been able to offer their office space to Tenants earlier than their competitors.

Having worked with many General Contractors our engineers clearly understand the fine details that are required to be shown on the Working Design drawings to make a smooth and coordinated installation process.
 
Approvals

The task of getting the engineering design approved by the local authorities is also a service that we can provide as we have built a very good working relationship with the authorities as a result of MEP Engineering constantly submitting high standard design packages.

Having built strong relationships with the Sanitary, Fire and Electrical authorities by constantly providing correct technical solutions that always satisfy local design regulations and often exceed them an MEP Engineering design is always guaranteed to pass the approvals stage within a realistic period of time.

Construction Supervision

During the construction stage the General Contractor will always have many technical questions about the engineering systems and the support that MEP Engineering provides during this stage has been gratefully received by many Developers and Investors.

We can provide mechanical, electrical and public health site engineers to ensure the work carried out by the General Contractor complies with the Detailed Design produced by ourselves.

Our site engineers are taught health and safety standards and attend site wearing the appropriate safety clothes.

Commissioning and Witnessing

During the final stages of the construction our engineers are available to witness the engineering systems in operation when the General Contractor has finished the installation.

Our engineers are qualified and authorized to sign the acts of acceptance as the design engineers on the project which is an important part of getting any new building approved by the local authorities for occupation by tenants.

Aerodynamic and thermal simulation

It happens that in the course of our professional work is necessary to solve non-trivial engineering tasks that goes beyond standard engineering techniques. Frankly, all of our objects are unusual and such non-trivial problems arise more often than you might expect.

Examples of such problems are: the use of fully glazed facades for premises with wet mode in regions with external subzero temperatures – the  investor requests no condensate at all operating conditions! Or the problem of air distribution to the premises of theaters, convention halls. Or, for example, the task of cooling of the data center.

Often, for the correct solution of such problems it is necessary to model, not an existing object, the creation of which is associated with significant financial costs. The cost of failure is also high.

As early as in the 50-70 years of last age was newly arrived and solved the problems of modeling of various elements of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. The theory of similarity and dimension was used to summarize the experimental data and for the analysis of physical phenomena. The analytical solution of Nove-Stokes equations has always been great mathematical difficulties, so the experiment was preference, for example, in wind tunnels.

However, in the 2000s, the intensive development and use of computational fluid dynamics around the world began, making it possible to numerically solve the system Nove-Stokes equations for engineers interested in the problem.

We are proud to announce that we are ready to solve such problems in a professional manner and with the recent advances in mathematic simulation.

One example of successfully solved problem is the optimization of the size one of the difficult part of responsible duct, which on the one hand held up too much space, and another reduction of its dimensions was feared too of increasing of aerodynamic resistance that negatively affected on the acoustic characteristics.

Duct was modeled:

And it showed high resistance, and found the region of recirculating flow just around the corner. In order to optimize the duct cross-section usage, "calm down" the air flow guide vanes on corner were introduced.

Repeated simulations confirmed the correctness of decisions:

The resistance decreased by 40%, and the duct cross section is used more efficiently!

The next example is the node fence, shown on the illustration below - abutting the beam to the column. It is necessary to simulate three-dimensional temperature field in order to ensure the proposed design solutions for thermal protection are sufficient and provides no condensation regime on the inner surface.

 It was modelled and the calculated temperature field was calculated, the result is shown on the figure below. On the left side there is a design version - the local area of the inner surface is clearly visible, highlited in yellow, with a temperature below the dew point temperature, and hence, except for increased heat losses,  the condensate will appear in this area. The additional local heat isolation was  used for the node to eliminate this phenomenon. Re-calculations showed compliance with regulatory requirements for thermal protection.

 Mathematical modelling application allows a quantitative estimation of the air temperature and velocity distribution while HVAC system is in the operation. Here is the computational model of air flow and temperature if heating system with radiators is used.

And this is the application of air heating with fan coil units:

Energy audit of the buildings

The rational use of the energy resources every year becomes more and more urgent issue, especially for the buildings in use, and whose basic technical characteristics were stated during a low-cost energy.

The Kiev office specialists are able to offer the following services in Ukraine:

1. Energy audits of the various buildings with the necessary instrumental measuring.

2. Instrumental verification of the building envelopes air permeability, also known as the «Blower Door Test».  Air blows into the room by a fan, the increased pressure is generated and the air leaks are determined which are the source of additional energy losses during the building’s operation. The tests are carried out in accordance with the following standards ISO 9972 "The building’s thermal characteristics. The air permeability determination of the buildings. The forcing fan method", DSTU B V.2.2-19: 2007. "The buildings and structures. Method for the air permeability determination of  the building envelope in a natural conditions) ».

3. The thermal imaging photography and thermographic report.

4. Synchronous tests for the air permeability Blower Door Test and thermal imaging photography that reveals the of infiltration / exfiltration places of the outside air into the building.

5. Technical solutions development for improved building’s energy efficiency.

6. Thermal calculations including aerodynamic and thermal modeling. Three-dimensional temperature fields calculation.

7. Buildings’ energy passports/energy certificates development the as well as the "Energy Efficiency" booklet design.