Rob Nichols, Senior Cx Technician

LEAD MECHANICAL COMMISSIONING TECHNICIAN

CERTIFICATION
Member of Building Commissioning Association
Member of USGBC

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, 2001
Jacksonville State University

Rob joined ESC in February 2006 and has provided valuable field expertise to the company. Rob has served as the Cx Authority for several projects and has written the specification, Commissioning Plans, Pre-functional and Functional Performance testing, conducted all Cx meetings, coordinated scheduling with the Construction Managers, verified Owner testing, TAB verification and has prepared and presented the Final Cx Report. He has completed in-depth training courses in Hydronics, HVAC Equipment, Psychometrics, Fundamentals of Air, Heat Transfer and also addition training with Portland Energy Conservation, Inc. and in January of 2009 completed his LEED AP Certification. He also performs the Test and Balance services for ESC on our design build projects.

SHELBY CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE
Lead Cx Technician for the 215,000 sf office, classroom and lab facility housing the biology and chemistry departments with a project budged of $60M. Witnessed the testing of the ductwork and piping and was hired independently by M & D Mechanical Contractors, Inc. the mechanical contractor, with the approval of Mr. Gary Kuzma the HOK design engineer, to perform regular inspections on the duct and pipe insulation throughout the project for additional quality control. Worked closely with Phoenix Controls to check the lab systems and verify the room offsets. Assisted with the BAS lead technician to verify and correct issues related to the functional testing and systems integration.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE WILSON HALL
Cx Authority for the project. 100,500 square foot, three-story building containing classrooms, offices, mechanical spaces, dark rooms, and an auditorium The scope of the Commissioning included: Air cooled chiller with primary/secondary variable flow chilled water system, VAV system serving the classrooms, gallery, commons areas, corridors and office areas, Constant volume rooftop units with energy recovery serving the auditorium, Johnson Controls Metasys building automation system, Building Pressurization System, Occupancy sensors, Domestic hot water circulation system, Exhaust systems
The Commissioning process included design review, submittal review, scoping and scheduling meetings, Pre-functional Testing of the systems, Functional Testing of the systems, verification of the Owner training multiple trend reviews, a thermal imaging survey, review of the Operational and Maintenance Manuals, and generation of the Final Commissioning Report.

POLYMER EXTRUSION PLANT ADDITION, DECATUR, ALABAMA
OWNER: PROPRIETY INFORMATION
Lead Cx Technician for the $130M addition of 150,000 sf multi-story building producing a product from flake polymer, including areas for polymer feed, extrusion, wind-up, QC support and service areas. The building is served by a central chilled water plant and steam distribution plant to provide utilities to the HVAC air handlers, blower coils and make up air units. Packaged skid mounted utility equipment was included in the Cx effort which included secondary chilled water pumps, steam reduction/condensate pumping skid, hot water production skid and tempered water production skid. He led the field investigation phase and generated the Phase I and Phase II testing forms, maintained the project Issue Log; worked closely with the BAS lead technician to verify and correct issues related to the Functional testing of the system.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CAPSTONE COLLEGE OF NURSING
Senior Cx Technician for the new 63,000 sf, three-story building containing classrooms, clinical lab areas, offices, with additional support and core areas. The systems being commissioned are: Air cooled chiller, Chilled water system, Gas fired condensing boilers, Hot water system, Modular chilled water VAV air handlers, VAV terminal units with hot water reheat, Hot and chilled water distribution piping, Energy Recovery Ventilation Units, Building Pressurization and Direct digital control system. Plumbing Systems: Domestic water heating system. Electrical: Electrical distribution system, Electrical switchboard, Electrical switchgear, Emergency power system, Lighting Control, Fault current protection system, TVSS system. Specialty Equipment and/or Systems: Life safety systems (fire and smoke alarm), Fire protection system and Lightning protection. He prepared the preliminary forms for Pre-functional testing and is currently working on Functional testing. Generation of the Final Commissioning Report

THE BEVILL HEALTH BUILDING, WALLACE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Senior Cx Technician for the newly renovated 60,665 sf eight story utilized mainly for classroom, office space and medical magnetic imaging lab. Completed the Pre-functional testing and participated in TAB Verification, Functional testing, Trend analysis and the Final Report preparation and presentation. The mechanical system is comprised of a hot water/chilled water primary/secondary system with VAV air handlers on each floor. The outside air is supplied by a single variable volume inline fan in a duct riser serving each floor’s mechanical room. Building pressurization taken care of by a combination of supply outside air, exhaust fans and stairwell pressurization fans.

THE BURROW CENTER FOR THE FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS
WALLACE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Senior Cx Technician for the new two-story 51,849 sf facility containing classrooms, musical performance areas, common spaces, auditoriums, mechanical spaces, and offices. The building systems are comprised of a chilled water/hot water variable speed pumping system which serve four variable speed air handlers and one constant volume air handler. Terminal units are variable volume with hot water reheat. Multiple interlocked relief fans maintain building pressurization. Supplemental heat is provided by hot water unit heaters in mechanical spaces and electric wall heaters in stairwells. Performed Pre-Functional Testing, TAB Verification, Trend Analysis, assisted with Functional Testing.