FSB designed the renovation of the central utility plants at the American Airlines Tulsa Maintenance Base. There are two central utility plants at the base, one at Hangar 6 and the other at the Turbine Engine Overhaul (TEO) building. Each plant contains steam boilers, chillers, cooling towers, pumps and accessories. Now complete, the total chilled water capacity is 19,500 tons and the total steam capacity is 360,000 lb/hr.

As part of the preliminary design effort, FSB and American weighed constructing a new central plant versus renovating the existing plants. It was ultimately decided that renovating the existing plants was the best path forward. This led to the challenge of developing a plan for the renovations that would minimize outages and allow the plants to continue to heat and cool the base. FSB developed a plan which included six phases spread over two years to allow the base to continue to operate throughout the renovations.

In addition, FSB developed equipment purchase packages for the boilers, chillers and cooling towers. By competitively bidding and purchasing the major equipment directly from manufacturers, American and FSB reduced first cost and the overall project schedule.

Chilled water upgrades include four new 3,000 ton chillers at the TEO plant and three new 2,500 ton chillers at the Hangar 6 plant. New stainless steel cooling towers are being provided at each plant. All equipment is provided with variable frequency drives. Steam upgrades include three new 60,000 lb/hr boilers in each plant.

Numerous upgrades to the plants are included in the project in addition to the chilled water and steam scope of work. All new lighting and interior painting are included to provide a bright interior. Control rooms are being renovated with modern technology and furniture. New security cameras and wireless access points are being provided throughout. Emergency generators and automatic transfer switches are also being replaced.