Phew! That is a mouthful. But that’s one of our most important product niches at the moment. What we do is fabricate sub-assemblies to print, and then have them assembled in construction projects in the West. These sub-assemblies include complete balconies, and balustrade projects, elevator and escalator systems, large complex motorized doors, access systems, HVAC, LED marquees, and complete building facing projects.
This is beneficial in that we are able to SUBSTANTIALLY reduce the construction costs of certain areas of new constructions. We do this by employing cheaper labor and overhead to build the sub-assemblies in Asia. Then, even with shipping, and our quality oversight, the savings are still materialized.
It is easy to see how it would be cheaper to make the products overseas in Asia. But, you still must ship the products and install them on your new constructions. Further, you need to document and engineer the entire production sequence in the factory. Or, in other words, you don’t just and over some drawings and say “make this”.
Everything must we planned, worked out, and set in place. Then we work that plan and make sure that the costs and quality targets are realized.
Historically, our first experience with this product segment was with balconies. We started making custom balcony sub-assemblies and then shipping them to England to assembly onto buildings there. And, as you can well imagine, there were some “growing pains”. But we managed to see the relative benefits and issues involved and worked out very cost competitive solutions that manifested in the utilization of on-site quality and production engineers during the build.
Today, we are a master in this field.
Balconies
Our first exposure to this field was in the area of balconies. We worked with various construction firms in the UK to create balconies that would be installed in new building complexes. Since each apartment complex was different, our client would need to take the architect drawings, and develop their own versions for remote manufacture, and easy installation at the construction site.
Balustrades
Balustrades can be glass, metal, wood or stone. And labor costs can be realized if you perform most of the labor off-site. The issue pretty much boils down to maintaining quality and production checks during the manufacturing process, and making sure that the products will not be damaged during transport to the build site.
Elevator Systems
We have experience in elevator systems. All elevators systems are modular. In that they are custom made out of components, tested at the factory, and then shipped to the build site for careful installation by crews of skilled and experienced workers. But modular elevators in the sense that we are discussing here is different.
The Modular Elevator is a dramatic breakthrough that can provide a commercial elevator installed on your site in record time, with a minimum of disruption to your construction project. It consists or modules and sub-assemblies that are built at the factory and assembled at the build site remotely.
We have various factories that we work with, and we are able to manage them and be the primary point of contact to assure quality and manufacturing systems are all being followed closely and precisely.
With a modular elevator system everything inside the hoistway is installed off site in a climate controlled factory. This keeps our installers off site until the day of install. This allows other contractors ample room to work without the conflict that the confined space of a hoistway can cause.
Escalator Systems
We have experience in escalator systems. The Modular Escalator is a unique system that can add modular drive stations depending on the level of vertical rise, and is suitable for use in subways, airports, bus terminals, and other facilities requiring vertical rises. We build to print and utilize our network of component factories to create and generate the necessary sub-assemblies for final assembly at your build site. Similar to elevators, modular systems offer great savings in labor and over all costs.
Turnstile Access Systems
We have experience in turnstile access systems. These systems are a great way to elevate security. This is because security turnstiles, security turnstile doors, gates, and security turnstile systems are designed to restrict access to one person at a time, and will only allow access to entrants with the correct credentials.
We work with factories to build to print or customize already existing designs to meet the needs of our customers. We have noted that while many industries have cut back in their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, the orders for building security systems increased.
A person entering a security turnstile presents credentials (like an ID card, key fob, etc.) to a reader attached to the turnstile so it can determine if the person is authorized to pass through the turnstile’s lane. If authorized, the turnstile will unlock and allow the person through, promptly locking immediately after the person has made the passage. Now, with improved bio-metrics, the system can detect people with elevated temperature from entering a secure area.
These security turnstile systems provide one of the most secure and efficient entry security solutions available because they prevent tailgating and unauthorized entry autonomously.
Large panel building marquees
We work with factories that manufacture those large multi-story moving movie bill boards that are at the sides of buildings. They come in different sizes, shapes and technology. And it pretty much depends on what your expectations are and and what you intend to do with them. We assist in the entire process from napkin sketch to installation. We pretty much have a hand in it.
The latest technology is truly impressive, and can create high-definition (HD+) movies and images that create three dimensional images and appearances. But most of our customers really want some basic displays that are large, long lasting, and that can handle an often changing seasonal weather pattern.
Large building HVAC systems
We work with some of the largest and most experienced factories and designers in the world to provide Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems for the architectural community.
Objectives for traditional HVAC equipment have remained simple since their implementation in the early 20th century, but buildings require more nuanced options. Manufacturers have identified comfort more broadly as the most important function of HVAC systems. In addition to thermal comfort, modern HVAC systems address indoor air quality (IAQ) writ large.
Facilities managers are able to optimize IAQ through best practices like air filtration, but the goal of HVAC manufacturers is to have greater oversight of environmental concerns in buildings. Integrating humidity control with your system is one area engineers are increasingly addressing because a more precise balance of temperature and humidity will reduce mold and the impact of sick building syndrome, both of which significantly impact workplace productivity and absenteeism.
Although the industry has yet to implement some of that technology into its systems, there are plenty of innovations that you can integrate into your system to improve occupant comfort and efficiency. One such area is with higher grade occupancy sensors. Traditionally, occupancy sensors have been able to simply identify whether a room is currently occupied, but new sensors take that a step further. Now they are able to identify where people are in a room and how active they are, which allows the system to adequately diffuse air to modulate temperature.
The best way to modulate optimal comfort in a building is to have significant control of your equipment, and aligning your system via a communications protocol is key to achieving that.
Of systems that provide significant control in their operation, ductless systems like variable refrigerant flow (VRF) address thermal comfort issues by providing more individualized control over spaces. The lack of ducts also makes them a viable choice for retrofits.
Despite the technological changes that have occurred with HVAC, the one goal that remains the same is reducing costs. By addressing comfort, maintaining better control and implementing communications between hardware, systems are becoming more efficient. There’s no need for a trade-off with heating and cooling; it’s about leveraging technologies to achieve all four objectives.
Conclusion
We at Smoking Lion work with factories to provide the best possible solutions to the needs of our clients. We source, select, manufacture, and produce the agreed upon products, then check for quality all prior to us shipping and handling the logistics involved. We also provide design assistance, testing, DFM and other services as needed. If you have questions or concerns about pollution, child labor, or other issues and compliance, we would be happy to provide auditing services for your operations.
