North Dakota State Penitentiary | Bismarck, ND
The professionals at Prairie Engineering specialize in an extensive range of design and construction management services. Offering both mechanical and electrical engineering consulting. Our specialty is Midwestern projects where there is an additional environmental challenge to provide engineering services.
Our Services Include:
- Training
- Cost control
- Scheduling
- Equipment specification
- Initial feasibility and planning studies
- Economic evaluations
- Preliminary engineering
- Project scoping and costing
- Equipment design, inspection and expediting
- Construction engineering
- Installation engineering
- Construction administration (including supervision and inspection)
- Start-up and commissioning
Mechanical
Sustainable Systems & Renewable Energy
Facilities and buildings that use renewable energy within the operation are considered "sustainable systems". Our engineers have the ability to design these systems to operate with efficiency and still provide the needed resources people need inside of the building.
This includes:
- Energy recovery – Prairie Engineering routinely utilizes energy recovery to capture and use energy that would normally be lost.
- Water-use reduction – Our specifications use mechanical fixtures that reduce the total amount of water consumption during daily operations.
- Geothermal systems –Many of our projects have utilized energy in the earth in the form of geothermal systems.
- LEED recognized – A number of our designs have earned LEED recognition, which is a rating system and framework for energy efficient, green buildings.
HVAC
The design of a building's Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is essential to the quality of an operation. Indoor air quality is directly linked to the quality of an HVAC system. We have decades of experience designing HVAC systems for every building type. We can help drive a good balance between economics, comfort control, energy savings and design structure.
Plumbing
Plumbing systems move water and fluids throughout a facility. From the water meter to the faucet tap and back out to the street, the systems we design include every component needed to provide clean water for the use of our clients. In addition, our designs include the safe and effective removal of both sanitary and storm water from the building. These systems should be designed in a way that is efficient and takes into consideration different temperatures during seasons of the year. Our engineers can create systems that are robust and energy efficient for your building.
- Performance predictions – We utilize computer modeling technology to predict how a building's plumbing system will perform during each season of the year (hot and cold months).
- Cost savings – We can identify areas where building owners can save money through improvements, using building models.
Energy Analysis/Energy Audit
Energy analysis is the evaluation of energy consumed by a building or facility. Using computer modeling technology, we can predict how a building will perform throughout every season of the year. The building models we develop can be used with existing facilities to identify areas where cost savings can be achieved through improvements.
Exhaust Systems
Exhaust systems capture and remove airborne contaminants from a facility. This can be heat/grease from commercial kitchen appliances, exhaust from a diesel truck or generator, or fumes from welding. Our engineers are accustomed to designing effective systems for removing fumes and contaminants from a building.
Applications for an exhaust system design include:
- Internal combustion
- Fuel-oil generators
- Industrial kitchens
- Steam systems
- Welding fume extractors
- Industrial equipment
We can design top-notch systems for many building applications, including industrial processing, hospitals, food service, data centers, chemical plants and more. We will build a system that quickly removes contaminants and ensures high air quality for employees at your facility.
Fire Suppression
Fire Suppression systems provide protection for a facility. There are many system types for suppressing a fire in a building, including wet sprinkler systems, dry sprinkler systems, dry chemical agent, and others. The engineers at Prairie Engineering have utilized a number of system types for fire suppression, selecting the system best suited for the needs of the building.
- Fire sprinkler systems are considered an "active" fire protection method. These supply water through a series of pipes in a building. The water has to be property pressurized in order to perform in the case of a fire in the facility. We will develop a system that fits your use case.
- Chemical agent systems (also known as "clean agents") use a chemical mixture to suppress a fire, without the use of water. This makes it perfect for areas that have computer systems, electrical rooms or other sensitive locations. Depending on the situation, we can use FM 200, Novec 1230 and Inert Gas in our system builds.
Piping and Fuel Systems
Piping and Fuel systems safely transport volatile materials throughout the facility. Whether it is fuel oil, medical gas, or something in between, our designers lay out a clear and comprehensive plan for the installation of the system.
Fuel piping inside of a facility should be resistant to leaks and damage due to the nature of materials it carries. We use single wall pipes, double wall pipes, fire rated pipe and return flow pipes in our design, depending on what is needed in each instance.
Electrical
Facility Lighting Systems
Lighting systems provide illumination and control for both interior and exterior spaces. We utilize computer software to model buildings in 3D and to provide accurate point-by-point calculations. Lighting systems are designed to maximize the amount of light where it’s needed in the most energy efficient manner possible. Control of lighting is also important, and combinations of motion sensors, day-lighting, dimming and switching are used to tailor the lighting control to the needs of a facility.
All interior and exterior lighting designs meet IECC requirements for power density and control based on local code requirements.
Street Lighting
Street lighting system design helps municipalities and private developers provide lighting systems that are energy efficient and maintainable for public safety. Ease of maintenance is always a priority in these designs.
Types include:
- Street lights
- Municipal lighting
- Recreational area lighting
- Sports field lights
- Traffic signals
Power Distribution Systems
Power Distribution Systems provide electricity to a facility. Modern buildings rely on solid electrical systems in order to perform daily functions and tasks. Our electrical engineers and designers have a wide range of experience in designing power systems, whether it’s 15 kV medium voltage distribution or 480-Volt and lower distribution systems.
We take into consideration:
- Functions of a structure
- Locations of unit substations
- Demand loads
- Methods of lighting and equipment installation
- Utilization voltages
- Utility requirements
From the power company’s stopping point all the way to where you plug in your phone charger, and any electrical connections in between, we design the power system of a building to handle it all. We also keep in mind the potential for future growth or technology development.
Network Infrastructure
Network cabling extends the IT infrastructure through the building. Modern facilities cannot operate effectively without data and voice signals distributed throughout the building. Our engineers provide complete network infrastructure design so when a building is occupied, phone and data network equipment can be immediately installed and operated.
Fire Alarm Systems
Fire alarm systems provide protection for people inside a building. These systems are designed to detect fires quickly, then alert building occupants to the problem. Modern fire alarm systems can identify fires within specific areas throughout a building, giving firefighters the ability to zero in on the emergency area. These systems can also detect when fire sprinklers are discharged, sending information to the proper authorities. Elevators are tied into the fire alarm system to provide recall to make sure an elevator doesn’t stop on a level where a fire is located.
The Fire Alarm Control Unit (FACU) is at the core of the system, guiding the initiation, notification, supervision and emergency control functions.
- Initiation - covers all devices and circuits that communicate the status of a physical area. These devices include smoke detectors, water flow switches, manually activated switches and more.
- Supervision - fire alarm systems can monitor the status of sprinklers, suppression systems, storage temperatures and more.
- Notification - this is what alerts building occupants to the risk of a fire hazard.
- Emergency control functions - gives additional control into other pieces of building equipment, including elevator operation, door closing, etc.
Fire alarm systems need to be connected to primary and secondary power sources. The primary power source is usually grid power running to a building, while secondary power stems from batteries and/or a generator.
Security Systems
Security systems provide many different building benefits. From access control to surveillance systems, security systems can be tailored to the individual needs of a building. Many different options are available for these systems, and our engineers work closely with Architects and building Owners to provide the right systems for each particular application.
Detention Electronics
Detention electronics involve the security, access control and surveillance systems associated with jails and prisons. Prairie Engineering offers complete detention electronics system design to fully integrate these systems for complete jail and prison control operations.
Detention electronics typically include:
- CCTV systems
- Intercom/communication system
- Door and access controls
- Fire alarm systems
- PLCs
Sound & Video Systems
Sound and video systems enable building occupants to interface with communication technology at scale. Whether it’s a small conference room, a large conference room, or several large rooms that can be combined or separated in many different combinations, our engineers can provide detailed design for sound and video systems to allow many different inputs to broadcast the appropriate sound and video signals to audiences.
Water & Wastewater Treatment
Prairie Engineering works closely with process engineers to develop the sequence of operation for both water treatment and waste water treatment. Detailed control system equipment requirements and instrumentation specifications are provided to ensure the processes operates as intended. Ease of operation for the end-user is always a high priority in our control system designs.
Factors we take into consideration include the layout of infrastructure, type of equipment, location of water/wastewater plant, proper discharge areas, etc.
