Procurement Cooperative contract provides energy savings

       Procurement cooperative contracts made it easy for Denton ISD to conserve energy, as they worked with one of the HVAC companies that had a contract with Choice Facility Partners. TDIndustries installed new and upgraded building automation systems, intelligent irrigation controls, lighting retrofits and mechanical upgrades in more than 20 buildings for Denton ISD, through a Choice Facility Partners procurement cooperative contract.

       “It is all going well,” said Paul Andress, Denton ISD director of operations. “Anytime we can use a [procurement cooperative] instead of hard bids, with proposals and the evaluation process that goes with that, we’re all over that. It makes the procurement process much easier.”

      The lighting retrofit and occupancy sensor work is 99% complete for 16 campuses but more irrigation controls are yet to be installed through the procurement cooperative contract. While they don’t know the cost savings yet, they anticipate it will be significant. Previously smart irrigation controls were installed at Navo Middle School, which saved them about $20,000 for just the month of July. The system detects leaks and if any zone uses more than a programmed amount of water, then it automatically sends an alert, so repairs can be made. A middle school can have 50 to 100 zones or more. Leaks can easily go undetected without such a system. In addition, the sensors detect humidity and rain, then adjust, so that if the ground doesn’t need the water, the irrigation system doesn’t run as long.

      “We feel like we’re getting ahead of the curve,” said Andress, as they are conserving water through the procurement cooperative contract, even though that is not yet mandated.

      Andress said Denton ISD has been working with TDIndustries for nearly ten years and is pleased with the quality of their service and the extra information they provide.

     -- For information about Choice Facility Partners procurement cooperative's energy services see list of energy partners.

      At Killeen ISD, TDIndustries replaced 20 rooftop units on the Jackson Learning Center last spring using the Choice Facility Partners procurement cooperative contract. Instead of using competitive sealed proposal as was their custom, they tried a new procurement method for the MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) project, which worked “very well” for them, according to Max Cleaver, executive director of facilities services, Killeen ISD.

      “It came out with the feel of design build,” said Cleaver. Through the procurement cooperative contract with Choice and TDI, “we had a lot of control on selecting materials.” 

      Cleaver said they had used the Job Order Contracting method before for construction with multiple trades, but had not used it for just MEP. Using the Choice Facility Partners procurement cooperative contract “worked out very well,” said Cleaver.  “Everything was delivered on time and as promised.”

      Cleaver said they were pleased with how TDIndustries handled the project, through the procurement cooperative contract with Choice Facility Partners, from ensuring safety when welding inside the occupied building to evaluating the benefits of standard versus high efficiency units.

      “They were very knowledgeable,” said Cleaver.

      For more information on TDIndustries, go to www.tdindustries.com or call John Taylor at 972-888-9500.

      To learn more about the Energy Conservation and Management contracts offered by Choice Facility Partners go here.