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Forged
Consulting Group
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Service Detail

System Design & Trade Coordination

HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and low-voltage designed as a unified plan — not siloed bids.

Most construction projects fail at the seams — where one trade's work meets another's. HVAC contractors don't think about network cabling. Electricians don't plan around access control. Plumbers don't coordinate with the server room layout. Forged designs every system as part of a single, integrated plan and manages the trades against it. The result: fewer change orders, no finger-pointing, and a facility where every system works together from day one.

What's Covered

Scope of Assessment

HVAC System Design

Load calculations, equipment selection, ductwork layout, zoning strategy, and control system specification. Designed for both comfort and critical environments like server rooms and clean areas.

Plumbing & Mechanical

Domestic water, waste, gas, and specialty systems (compressed air, medical gas, process piping). Sized for current demand with capacity planning for expansion.

Electrical Distribution

Service entrance, panel design, circuit layout, emergency power, UPS integration, and generator coordination. Code-compliant design that accounts for current loads and planned growth.

Low-Voltage & Cabling

Structured cabling (Cat6/Cat6A/fiber), pathway design, cable tray routing, telecom rooms, and rack layouts. Designed alongside power and HVAC so pathways don't conflict.

Security & Access Control

Door hardware schedules, card reader placement, camera positions, intercom systems, and alarm zones. Integrated with the network design so IP-based security runs on purpose-built infrastructure.

Building Automation & Controls

BAS/BMS integration, sensor placement, HVAC controls, lighting automation, and occupancy management. Converged with your IT network for centralized monitoring and energy optimization.

Our Process

How It Works

01

Requirements Gathering & Programming

We translate your business requirements into technical specifications. Every room, every system, every use case documented before a single line is drawn.

  • Space-by-space programming with stakeholder input
  • Critical environment identification (server rooms, labs, clean rooms)
  • Capacity planning for 3–5 year growth projections
  • Regulatory and code requirement compilation
  • Budget alignment — design to your investment level, not to gold-plated specs
02

Unified System Design

All disciplines designed simultaneously by a coordinated team. HVAC, electrical, plumbing, cabling, and security drawn on the same set of plans with cross-system clash detection.

  • Integrated design documents across all mechanical, electrical, and low-voltage systems
  • Clash detection — routing conflicts identified on paper, not in the field
  • Equipment specifications with approved alternatives for each major component
  • Sequence of operations for automated and controlled systems
  • Energy modeling and efficiency projections where applicable
03

Trade Procurement & Scheduling

We manage the bid process, evaluate contractors, negotiate pricing, and build a phased execution schedule that keeps trades out of each other's way.

  • Scope packages written per trade — clear boundaries, no gray areas
  • Contractor qualification and reference verification
  • Bid leveling — apples-to-apples comparison across competing contractors
  • Master schedule with trade sequencing, milestones, and hold points
  • Pre-construction meetings to align every contractor to the integrated plan
04

Construction Oversight & Quality Control

Forged stays on-site through execution. We run coordination meetings, inspect installations against design, manage change orders, and ensure every system is commissioned properly.

  • Weekly trade coordination meetings with documented action items
  • Installation inspections against design specifications
  • Change order management — scope, cost, and schedule impact evaluated before approval
  • Commissioning and testing of all integrated systems
  • Punch list management and final sign-off documentation
Deliverables

What You Receive

Integrated Design Package

Complete set of construction documents — mechanical, electrical, plumbing, low-voltage, and security — designed as a unified system with cross-referenced specifications.

Equipment Specifications

Detailed spec sheets for every major component — HVAC units, panels, generators, racks, cabling, access control hardware — with approved alternatives and warranty requirements.

Trade Scope Packages

Individual scope documents for each trade contractor — clear deliverables, boundaries, exclusions, and coordination requirements. Designed to eliminate gray areas and change orders.

Master Construction Schedule

Phased timeline with trade sequencing, milestone dates, inspection hold points, and equipment delivery coordination. Updated weekly during execution.

Commissioning Report

System-by-system testing and verification documentation. Every piece of equipment started, balanced, calibrated, and confirmed operational against design intent.

As-Built Documentation

Final record drawings reflecting what was actually installed — not just what was designed. Includes equipment manuals, warranty information, and maintenance schedules.

Who It's For

Is This Right for You?

New Office Buildouts

First-generation tenant improvements where every system is being installed from scratch. One coordinated plan prevents the cascading delays that plague multi-trade projects.

Industrial & Warehouse Facilities

Heavy mechanical, high-power electrical, and specialized environments where system coordination directly impacts operational safety and efficiency.

Major Renovations

Updating existing facilities where new systems must integrate with legacy infrastructure. Design accounts for what stays, what goes, and what needs to coexist during phased construction.

Data Center & Server Room Builds

Mission-critical environments where HVAC, power, cabling, and security must be designed to exacting standards with redundancy, monitoring, and failover built in.

Healthcare & Regulated Environments

Facilities with strict code requirements — HIPAA physical controls, medical gas systems, infection control HVAC, and emergency power mandates.

Multi-Tenant & Mixed-Use

Buildings with multiple tenants or use types where shared systems must be designed for fair allocation, independent metering, and future tenant turnover.

Common Questions

FAQ

Why not just let each trade design their own system?

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Because that's how you get conflicts. The electrician routes conduit through the HVAC chase. The plumber puts a drain line where the cable tray needs to go. Each trade optimizes for their own scope — nobody optimizes for the building. Unified design catches these conflicts on paper where they cost nothing to fix, instead of in the field where they cost tens of thousands.

Do you replace my architect or general contractor?

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No — we complement them. Architects handle aesthetics, space planning, and building design. GCs manage general construction execution. Forged fills the gap between design intent and system-level coordination that most projects lack. We work alongside your existing team or help you assemble one.

How does trade coordination reduce costs?

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The average commercial construction project sees 8–12% of total cost in change orders. Most change orders come from coordination failures — conflicts discovered in the field, missing information in scope packages, or sequences that weren't planned. Our process typically reduces change orders by 40–60% compared to traditionally managed projects.

Can you handle projects already in progress?

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Yes, though the earlier we're involved the more value we deliver. For in-progress projects, we start with a rapid assessment of current design documents and construction status, identify coordination gaps, and build a plan to get systems aligned for the remaining scope.

What size projects do you typically handle?

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Our sweet spot is 5,000–100,000 square feet — tenant improvements, standalone facilities, and major renovations. We've coordinated projects from single-suite buildouts to multi-floor corporate headquarters. The common thread isn't size — it's complexity and the number of systems that need to work together.

Case Study
750-Staff Nonprofit Health Organization
Consolidated IT operations and improved quality without business interruption.
Read Case Study

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