MJW UPGRADES HVAC SYSTEM AT GEORGIA JOBS CORPS CENTER // JULY 2018

Students preparing for careers in heating, ventilation and air conditioning at the Brunswick (Ga.) Job Corps Center are getting some up-close insight into what a professional HVAC installation looks like.

Management & Training Corporation, which manages the Brunswick center for the U.S. Department of Labor, has chosen MJW Consolidated to install two new chillers and perform an extensive upgrade of the HVAC control system. The center offers no-cost education and technical training to low-income young people ages 16 to 24 in a variety of trades, including HVAC, facilities maintenance, electrical, plumbing, painting, landscaping, security and health care careers.

Built in the 1940s as part of a U.S. Navy base, the building that houses the Brunswick Job Corps Center was cooled by an outdated chiller and a control system that has made it difficult for the facility management team to provide a comfortable learning environment with uniform temperature and humidity.

One part of the upgrade project, which began with a thorough system assessment, was replacement of the 270-ton main chiller with a modern, more efficient unit that will save energy, lower costs and increase comfort. In addition, MJW replaced a smaller chiller unit for the facility’s gymnasium.

Another key aspect of the project was an upgrade of the control system, which had relied on pneumatic lines and compressors to regulate the air flow into various sections of the structure. The old system was prone to failures, difficult to monitor and unable to provide sufficient control for varied conditions in different parts of the building.

“The new control panel and the digital controls at each of the air handler control points — more than 200 in all — allow much closer monitoring and will alert the building maintenance team of issues before they become bigger problems,” said Ralph Harrison, MJW project manager.

The entire scope of work, from evaluating each of the segmented air handling system components for replacement or continued service, to setting, piping up and commissioning the large chillers, was self-performed by the MJW’s experienced team that worked closely with the client team to provide an efficient and reliable system that will support the Job Corps’ important mission for many years to come.