Case Study: Challenging Rooftop HVAC Unit Position and FAA Restrictions Don’t Faze Our Crew

When a trucking company relocated to a building in Fort Wayne, Indiana that had been vacant for a period of time, they received an unwelcomed surprise: the rooftop HVAC unit wasn’t operational and needed to be replaced. Knowing there would be some challenges involved in replacing the unit, they wanted to work with a company that had extensive experience, so the company reached out to Maintenance Management.

Our team responded promptly, scoped the project, and provided a competitive bid. Soon after, the client awarded us the work.

A Long Reach and a Short Distance From the Airport

In an HVAC unit replacement project, you’re moving very heavy and expensive equipment. With some tasks being more challenging and unexpected than others, there is no “simple” or “standard” HVAC replacement project. This case in particular was one of those where our proactive planning really paid off.

First, the rooftop unit that needed to be replaced was in a hard-to-reach location, which would require a larger crane than is normally required for this type of job. Second, the building’s proximity to Fort Wayne International Airport meant our team’s activity would have to be coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure that there was no safety risk to low-flying aircraft or to the crane operator and our crew at the work site.

Thorough Planning Is the Key to Success

In HVAC installations, some of the most important work is in the planning stage. Doing your homework helps ensure that the job can be completed without any unexpected issues or delays. This project was a great example of that.

Given the long reach required to remove the old equipment and replace it with a new 4-ton Trane HVAC unit, it was critical to have the right size crane. We worked with the crane company to determine what type of rig was needed to complete the job safely. This included visiting the job site with them in advance so they could get a good feel for the unit placement and the work environment in general.

We also had to contact the FAA to let them know when and for how long there would be a crane towering over an office building near the airport.

Once our preparation was complete, the swapping out of the HVAC units and getting the new unit hooked up and operational took two days. Very quickly, employees in the trucking company’s “drivers lounge” were able to enjoy proper cooling as another hot, humid, Midwest summer was fast approaching.

An Uneventful Install and a Grateful Client

Despite the challenges this project presented, our team was able to remove the old unit, install the new unit, and ensure the system was operational quickly, efficiently, and with no problems. The client was pleased with the work we performed and our responsiveness, going all the way back to the timeliness of our reply to their original request for a quote and our flexibility in working around some equipment acquisition and scheduling issues they had.

“We’ve been in business since 1982, so there’s not much we haven’t seen when it comes to HVAC unit installations,” says Dan Lucas, Director of Maintenance at Maintenance Management. “This project had a few unique twists and turns, but nothing our team couldn’t handle with ease. Our experience and our calm, methodical approach to the work we do is one of the reasons we’ve been successful through the years and now serve more than 150 properties throughout the area. We were happy to be of service to this trucking company and are glad the drivers now have a comfortable area to relax in between trips.”