Active Systems Engineer

9 - 1 1 R e s e a r c h

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2.5 THE ACTIVE SYSTEMS ENGINEER: I. A. NAMAN + ASSOCIATES

I.A. Naman + Associates (IAN+A) are consultants concerned with the design, construction, and operation of mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and fire- suppression systems for buildings. IAN+A maintains two offices: the original office in Houston, Texas, and a more recent office in Santa Monica, California. Since its founding in 1946, IAN+A has undergone significant expansion. Among the firm's major projects are Greenway Center, Pennzoil Place, and the Astrodome. IAN+A was responsible for the design of the "active" systems at Sixty State Street, utilizing the concept of a decentralized mechanical system. The decentralized system is a common feature of southern office buildings, where cooling is the predominant air-conditioning mode. This organization of mechanical systems allows greater flexibility in building operation as well as yielding some saving of building core space.

The I.A. Naman + Associates partnership is directed by four principals. President Israel Naman exercises broad control over the firm's philosophical objectives. Executive Vice-President Jack Buckley functions as the technical coordinator for all designs. Two Vice-Presidents are charged with the maagement of the firm's two offices. The organization of IAN+A is depicted in Figure 2.9. A Production Manager coordinates manpower scheduling with the Project Managers. The Construction Services Group performs on-site inspections.

Israel Naman's wealth of experience in mechanical systems design allows him to quickly estimate the nature and size of HVAC systems. This facility proves extremely beneficial when working in a "Scope Design" process. Naman can evaluate the probable impact of changes in design parrneters without resorting to detailed analyses and the expenditure of large amounts of time. IAN+A has worked often with SOM-Chicago on developers' office buildings. The mutual understanding of objectives in design and attributes of design components produced by this collaboration aids the schematic design effort.

IAN+A prefers to work on a multiple-of-time-spent basis rather than on a percentage-of-system-cost basis. The latter approach is felt to encourage inefficiency in design by creating a negative incentive. Working on a multiple- of-time-spent within a predefined limit is, to IAN+A, a better estimate of what its services are worth. The firm desires to maintain a steady work load in order to achieve the goal of a stable work force. Israel Naman believes that personnel hired for short periods will not perform to IAN+A standards. Therefore IAN+A employees are expected to work extended hours during peak periods and remain flexible enough to change assignment during slack times.

Once Sixty State Street was restarted in 1974, Larry Fagala was chosen to be Project Manager. Working closely with Israel Naman, Fagala assembled a project team to carry out the design. The team was composed of personnel from the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing groups within the Houston office, each group being located in a different part of the office floor. A three-tiered organization of the team combined engineers, designers, and draftspeople all coordinated by Project Manager Fagala. A conceptual design was identified and presented to the Design Review Committee, made up of IAN+A principals and several IAN+A Project Managers. As the design process progressed, personnel were shared between disciplines or with other projects as required by the work to be done. Project Manager Fagala coordinated IAN+A efforts with SOM Project Manager Anderson and communicated with CCF through Project Manager Miller.

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