A Design Focused Approach
MEP services are an essential and increasingly complex component of any construction project.
Ever since the mid-1800s, when the first building services engineers began thinking about ventilating buildings mechanically, our discipline has been evolving. Today, MEP services installations account for around 30-40% of total construction cost – so it's vital that you choose the right partner.
Those early pioneers would not have been able to foresee the extraordinarily diverse range of disciplines now broadly referred to as ‘building services’. Indeed, the traditional world of the building services engineer has encountered significant challenges in modernising and evolving as quickly as the technology that now envelops it.
At WB Shiels, we think it’s time for a new approach; time to tear up the old rule book and write something new. Out with the old and in with a new breed: the MEP designer.
At WB Shiels, we think it’s time for a new approach; time to tear up the old rule book and write something new. Out with the old and in with a new breed: the MEP designer.
Collaboration Is Critical
From the outset of every project, we collaborate closely with the architects, interior designers and structural engineers. We work to understand their every requirement, with a keen eye for the aesthetic details that will define the finished project. We design every aspect of the mechanical, electrical and public health infrastructure that will bring their vision to life. And whatever it takes, we ensure the solution is delivered to our client’s programme and budget.
We start by introducing the engineering at an earlier stage in the design process, integrating the services properly, working with the architect and designer in unison, educating them and, in turn, being educated by them.
It’s time to innovate and to grow – so embrace all that MEP designers can bring to your project. Realise that they are responsible for typically one third of the construction spend. Seek true value from that spend and from their input, remembering at all times that value engineering should not mean reducing quality or scope. On the contrary, it should mean value engineering!
It’s time to innovate and grow – so embrace all that MEP designers can bring to your project
A Focus on Standards and Compliance
From the outset we adopted the principles of the quality standard ISO 9001, seizing the unique opportunity that only a new start up can, to define our core working practices without the burden of lethargy…or legacy.
The result is a quality system that works for us, not against us, a series of process maps tailored to our business, not templated from a ready made, one-size-fits-all, tick-box solution.
On a practical level, we use all the leading engineering industry tools: CAD production courtesy of Autocad and Revit, technical output through specialist software packages such as IES, Amtech, Dialux and Hevacomp, and written technical specifications authored through the industry-leading NES (National Engineering Specification) for consistency and quality in all written documentation.
The result is a rigorous, reliable quality system that works equally well for us and our clients.
A rigorous, reliable quality system that works equally well for us and our clients
Sustainability
Sustainable energy is no longer the future. it powers the world we design today.
MEP design is becoming increasingly complex, not least because of an increasingly demanding low-energy agenda, characterised by increasingly challenging legislation.
Fortunately, however, energy-efficient design has been at the core of our work for many years. In fact, whenever a project allows, we will recommend the adoption of renewable or sustainable engineering solutions. We work with architects and designers from the outset to minimise the building load, design energy efficient MEP services and seek out opportunities to introduce renewable technologies.
We consult on all matters of environmental design, advising on issues relating to Building Regulations Part L compliance and all low and zero carbon technologies and solutions. We utilise the latest software, typically IESVE for Engineers, and we are experienced and familiar with BREEAM and LEED assessments.
Sustainability is no longer a specialist subject. It’s the here and now.