The UW-Madison Biological Systems Engineering Department's Facilities Engineering Program is a teaching and research program dedicated to design, construction and operation of agricultural and agri-industrial facilities. An agricultural facility is any building/structure used for farming. An agri-industrial (a.k.a. bio-industrial) facility is any building/structure associated with the post-harvest storage and/or processing of agricultural and agricultural-based commodities. This can include port terminals, pet food processing plants, feed mills (general, bovine, fish, mink, swine, poultry, etc.), flour mills, grain handling and storage facilities, meat processing plants, canning factories, bottling plants (milk, soda, fruit juice, etc.), malting plants, breweries, sawmills, paper mills, ethanol and other biomass plants, textile mills, seed processing facilities, bakeries, confectionaries, cheese factories, and thousands of other food and bioprocessing facilities.

Facilities Engineering is one of four primary option areas available to students pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Systems Engineering (BSE) at UW-Madison. It is an excellent compliment to the other three BSE option areas which are Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering, Food and Bioprocess Engineering, and Machinery Systems Engineering. Students within each option area can select technical electives to tailor a program to meet their specific interests. Within the Facilities Engineering, a student can select courses to strengthen their structural engineering, construction engineering or facility operations background. Required courses and technical electives associated with the Facilities Engineering option are described in Undergraduate Instruction section of this site.

Research within the Facilities Engineering program area of the UW-Madison BSE Department is conducted under the direction of Professor David Bohnhoff and is primarily dedicated to improving post-frame building design and construction. Although post-frame buildings comprise the majority of structures erected on farmsteads, most post-frame buildings constructed today are for non-farm use. The UW-Madison post-frame building research program is the most prolific in the world based on the volume of research conducted over the past quarter century. This program is highlighted in the Post Frame Building Design section of this site. More recent Facilities Engineering program research projects are described in the Research section of this site.

Engineers Needed

Infrastructure for growth, storage, handling and processing of agricultural commodities is comprised of many complex systems including: unique facilities for growth of plants and animals, equipment for loading and unloading from truck, rail, and ship; storage structures of all types and sizes; sophisticated handling and processing equipment; and special facilities for housing/protection of this equipment. These systems must be designed, built and operated by engineers who are familiar with the unique codes, regulations and design specifications applicable to agricultural and agri-industrial facilities. For example, in addition to the safety and building codes to which all industries must abide, agricultural and agri-industries in the United States are subject to numerous USDA and FDA regulations under Titles 9 and 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations help ensure a safe food supply through control of indoor air quality, sanitation practices, waste management and bio-security.

The need for engineers with a background in agricultural and agri-industrial FDC&O will continue to increase for four primary reasons. First, industries continue to become more technologically advanced, relying on increased automation. This continues to result in a shift away from blue-color workers to individuals with the knowledge and skills to manage new technologies. Second, food and fiber processing (like other industries) is subject to increased regulations as local, state and federal legislative bodies conduct their daily business. The more regulations, the more knowledgeable must be the individuals designing, constructing and operating the facilities. Third, agricultural commodities that are both grown and consumed in this country are virtually always processed in this country. Consequently, engineering work associated with agricultural processing facilities is unlikely to be outsourced to foreign counties. Fourth, the drive for a more sustainable society will require an increased reliance on agricultural commodities and will require engineers with knowledge of how to minimize consumption of energy and natural resources during construction and operation of agricultural and agri-industrial facilities.

Basic Engineering Job Titles and Responsibilities

Biological Systems Engineering graduates with an emphasis in Facilities Engineering could be employed in a number of different engineering positions depending on the specific courses they have taken, their experiences, and their personal interests.

Within a single company, there are often many different engineering positions, each with a specific title and set of responsibilities. Following are job titles and associated responsibilities for engineers involved in (1) agri-industrial facility design and construction, and (2) agri-industrial facility operation. These lists are primarily provided to help students interested in an engineering career make more informed choices related to their college education. To this end, it is important to understand that the UW-Madison BSE program in Facilities Engineering is not intended to prepare engineers for all of the following engineering positions. It should also be noted that these lists contain entry level positions as they appear to be most commonly defined by the industry. Many of these positions can be filled by individuals with BS engineering degrees and little or no work experience. However, with reductions in BS degree requirements at most major universities, many companies prefer that entry level engineers obtain a MS degree and/or have at least the equivalent of two or more summers of related work experience.

Facility Design and Construction Positions

Following are eleven different entry-level facility planning and construction positions. While each of these positions has its own unique work responsibilities, there are general work responsibilities that are common to all eleven positions, these include: product searches and other information retrieval, supervision of engineering support personnel (e.g. computer aided design (CAD) personnel), estimating, economic analyses, permitting coordination, specification writing, and compliance with building codes and local, state and federal regulations. Some of the federal regulations important to agri-industrial facility design include USDA/FDA Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, USDOT hazardous materials (HAZMAT) regulations, USEPA Clean Air, Clean Water, Occupational Safety and Health, and Pollution Prevention Acts, and US Department of Justice ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

Civil Engineer. Site evaluation and overall layout/design. Design of water supply and stormwater handling systems, and roadways and parking structures. Surface water drainage and soil erosion control.
Geotechnical Engineer. Soil, geological, hydrogeological and geophysical exploration and analysis. Environmental site assessment including wetland delineations. Design of soil retaining, dewatering, soil improvement, soil consolidation/compaction systems.
Architectural Engineer. Functional building design (i.e., layout). Selection and location of doors and windows. Specification of exterior and interior claddings/coatings. Design of steps, ramps, guardrails, and docks. Design for sanitation, cleanability, bio-security, dust, decay, corrosion, noise and hazard control. Fire resistant design and control.
Structural Engineer. Calculation of static and dynamic forces due to stored materials, material handling and processing equipment, snow, wind, earthquakes, soil, temperature and moisture content changes, rain, vehicles, etc. Foundation and structural frame analysis. Design of foundations, silos, bins, cooling towers, structural frames. Selection, sizing, and connection detailing for steel, reinforced concrete and masonry components. Equipment support/attachment details.
Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Engineer. Calculation of heating and cooling loads, power requirements and ventilation rates. Selection and sizing of equipment including: boilers, chillers, compressors, economizers, heat exchangers, fans/blowers and related air handling equipment, furnaces, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, scrubbers. Energy utilization, recovery and conservation.
Plumbing Engineer (includes titles of Piping Engineer and Fire Protection Engineer). Sizing and layout of piping for steam, oil, hot and cold water, waste, compressed air, laboratory gases (CO₂, O₂, nitrogen, argon, pure air, etc.). Equipment selection and sizing (pumps, traps, vents, valves, interceptors, heat recovery systems, fire suppression systems, reverse osmosis systems, water heaters, water treatment systems, thermal expansion tanks, softeners, converters, etc.).
Environmental Engineer. Environmental impact analyses and management of any preconstruction remediation. Environmental modeling including fate and transport of pollutants in water, air, and soil. Indoor air quality (IAQ) including control of volatile organic compounds, odors, dust, molds and other microorganisms, temperature, moisture, NH₃, CO, CO₂, CH₄, H₂S, and noise. Handling, containment, treatment, recycling/reuse and/or disposal of biological and chemical wastes in all forms. Stormwater management and groundwater monitoring.
Electrical Engineer. Electrical load, fault current and lighting calculations. Power distribution/transmission design (lighting circuits, motor branch circuits, feeder circuits). Equipment selection and sizing (transformers, voltage regulators, capacitor banks, motor control, switchboards, overcurrent protection, uninterruptible power supplies, substation systems and controls, lighting fixtures, wire, raceways, panelboxes, etc.).
Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Engineer (includes such titles as Process Control Engineer and Information Technology (IT) Engineer). Design of direct digital control (DDC) systems for HVAC and processing equipment control. Equipment selection including: sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure, moisture, motion, etc.), programmable logic controllers (PLC), human-machine interfaces (HMI), wiring/busses, multiplexers, analog/digital (A/D) converters, network routers and hubs, servers. Network layout and software development.
Process Engineer (includes such titles as Packaging Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, and Process Industrial Engineer). Overall plant layout. Development of process flow diagrams, process parameters, and piping and instrument diagrams (P&ID’s). Calculation of mass and energy flow rates and storage requirements. Selection and sizing of separation equipment (e.g., cleaning, screening, distillation, extraction equipment), mixers, extruders, fermenters, fryers, ovens, evaporators, dust control systems, material handling/conveying equipment, freezer/refrigeration systems, size reduction equipment, packaging systems, coating systems, waste management systems, pumps, motors, power transmission equipment, sensors and controls. Application of good manufacturing practices (GMPs).
Construction Engineer. Design of temporary construction bracing and temporary shelters. Job-site layout. Project scheduling. Fabrication/installation quality control. Adherence to plans and specifications. Jobsite safety equipment and systems.

Facility Operations Positions

Following are six different entry-level facility operation positions. Unlike facility planning and construction positions, facility operation positions are largely focused on facility maintenance (e.g., inspection techniques and schedules, equipment replacement), on improving operational efficiencies, and on maintaining a safe working environment for all plant personnel. Like engineers in facility planning and construction, work responsibilities for engineers in facility operation positions include supervision of engineering technicians, estimating, economic analyses, specification writing, and compliance with building codes and local, state and federal regulations.

Maintenance Engineer. Troubleshooting of improperly functioning processing and handling equipment and HVAC equipment. Modification of existing equipment and installation and calibration of new equipment. Configuration of computerized maintenance management system(s) (CMMS) for scheduling of preventive maintenance. Planning, contracting for, and coordination of major building maintenance projects (e.g., reroofing, reflooring). Safety and security of physical plant and facilities. Planning and execution of annual plant shutdowns and major equipment changeovers. Monitoring and control of energy utilization.
Operations Engineer (includes such titles as Industrial Engineer, Process Engineer, Industrial Process Engineer, and Manufacturing Engineer). Continual adherence to good manufacturing practices (GMP’s) and total quality management (TQM) and statistical quality management (SQM) principles. Time and yield/productivity studies for improved line efficiencies and reduced waste. Determination of break-even points, internal rate of return (IRR), and return on investment (ROI) for manufacturing processes/equipment. Definition and prioritization of new projects. Design of in-house equipment/process modifications. Equipment vendor selections. Establishment of training program requirements for operations, maintenance, sanitation, and logistics.
Quality Control (QC) Engineer (a.k.a. Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) Engineer, Quality Engineer). Analysis of incoming ingredients/products for compliance with specifications. Testing and inspection to determine and maintain quality and reliability of products at various production stages. Establishment of sampling routines and other QA standard operating procedures (SOPS). Data collection and analysis in support of total quality management (TQM), statistical quality management (SQM), and other process improvement programs. Monitoring and review of GMPs, safety and HACCP programs. Troubleshooting QC problems. Maintenance of laboratory equipment and supplies. QC/QA team audits.
Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Engineer. Establishment and maintenance of programs/systems to remain in compliance with company, local, state, and federal regulations including monitoring, training, reporting and recordkeeping. Coordination of programs for respiratory protection, industrial hygiene, hearing conservation, job hazards auditing/analyses, exposure monitoring, hazardous material storage/handling/transport, and confined space entry. Investigation, recording and reporting of accidents and recommendation of corrective actions. Establishment of emergency response teams and procedures.
Process Electrical Engineer (includes positions with titles of Information Technology (IT) Engineer, Systems Engineer, and Controls Engineer). Maintenance (including troubleshooting) and upgrading of electrical equipment/systems including sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure, moisture, motion, etc.), programmable logic controllers (PLC), human-machine interfaces (HMI), wiring/busses, multiplexers, analog/digital (A/D) converters, network routers and hubs, servers. Installation, calibration, configuration, and startup of new equipment. Software development, upgrading, and maintenance. Supervision of electrical technicians and subcontractors to insure compliance with codes, specifications, schedules and priorities. Update of instrument and electrical drawings. Maintain electrical security systems.
Product/Process Development Engineer. Identification and evaluation of innovative food processes and equipment. Design and analysis of bench-top and pilot plant tests to determine process feasibility and equipment performance. Development of accurate models/simulations for process investigation. Scale-up and commercialization of new products and product improvements including definition of new product and process specifications. Productivity and energy utilization optimization. Redesign of existing unit operations. Minimization of production variabilities.

Hierarchy Within the Engineering Arena

The previous section listed job titles and responsibilities for positions that could be filled by entry-level engineers. Many of these same job titles and responsibilities apply to engineers with considerable experience. To distinguish between engineers with varying experience and expertise, position titles generally include verbiage that designates rank within the position.

Rank Designations for Entry Level Jobs

The title of an entry-level engineer is often augmented with such adjectives as “junior” or “staff” (e.g., Junior Structural Engineer, Staff Electrical Engineer) or may be followed by a number that implies a relatively low rank (e.g., Maintenance Engineer I). In companies where an entry level engineer wears more than one hat (e.g., serves as both a maintenance engineer and an operations engineer), and in companies that only employ one type of engineer (e.g., a plumbing company), the entry level engineers may simple carry such titles as Junior Engineer, Engineer I, or Staff Engineer.

Rank Designations Associated With Engineering-Related Promotions

Engineers who have demonstrated an ability to complete assignments efficiently, and to effectively communicate with co-workers, will frequently find themselves in line for promotion to positions involving oversight of more engineers and engineering tasks. Such positions require broader knowledge of an operation and are typically associated with greater financial compensation. As engineers move up the chain-of-command within their organizations, they are likely to carry such titles as: Senior Engineer, Head Engineer, Engineering Manager, Division Engineering Manager, Superintendent of Engineering, Director of Engineering, and Vice-President of Engineering.

As engineers assume a greater administrative role within their organizations, they become more involved in obtaining, organizing and overseeing (the three O’s) of the three main resources: personnel, equipment and materials. To be proficient at such administrative tasks require that engineers educate themselves in traditional business areas of finance, accounting, business law, risk management, human resources management, etc. Many engineers obtain this knowledge through enrollment in continuing education programs or by returning to school to obtain a MBA (master’s in business administration) degree. The more business courses that are common to an undergraduate engineering program, the more likely you will find engineers from those programs moving into management positions within a company. Such would be the case with engineers specializing in construction management, supply chain management, etc.

Design Engineers, Plant Engineers and Project Engineers

Three common titles that don’t necessarily signify rank or specific area of engineering responsibility are Design Engineer, Plant Engineer, and Project Engineer.

An engineer whose duties are primarily restricted to planning will often have a job title that includes the word “design”, for example, HVAC Design Engineer, Electrical Design Engineer, Structural Design Engineer. In many companies, such engineers are simply identified as Design Engineers. This is frequently the case where an engineer is responsible for more than one general design area (e.g. the same person handles architectural, structural and civil engineering design duties), or the company only specializes in one design area (e.g. the company only employs electrical design engineers).

Plant Engineer is a title commonly given to the individual who oversees all engineering activity associated with the operation of a particular facility. In a large agri-industrial facility, the Plant Engineer may manage a variety of engineers involved in facility operation (e.g., maintenance engineers, EH&S engineers, QC engineers, etc.). In a smaller agri-industrial facility, the Plant Engineer may be the only engineer on the company payroll.

A very common title that signifies increased responsibility is that of Project Engineer. This title is generally bestowed upon engineers who have progressed to the point that they are given complete responsibility for all engineering associated with a particular design project. While Project Engineer is a common title within companies that specialize in design and/or construction, the title can also be found on a facility operation staff since capital projects with budgets less than a couple hundred thousand dollars are generally done in-house.

Production Managers, Facility Managers and Plant Managers

What could be considered the three top positions associated with facility operation carry titles of Production Manager (or Production Supervisor), Facility Manager and Plant Manager (or Plant Supervisor). Although largely administrative, these three positions are often held by individuals with engineering degrees. Nevertheless, it should be noted that any position title that includes the word manager or supervisor, but not the word engineer, is typically a position that does not require an engineering degree, but does require a solid business background.

The Production Manager or Production Supervisor is the individual in charge of ensuring that production schedules are met through proper management of personnel, processing equipment and raw materials. Engineers most likely to move into this management position are those associated with operations engineering.

Facility Managers are in charge of maintenance and security of the physical plant. The physical plant is generally taken to include everything that is a permanent part of the facility, which would include all buildings, HVAC equipment, storage structures and the grounds. Facility Managers oversee maintenance engineers, maintenance technicians, security personnel, custodians, and individuals managing these groups. It follows that Maintenance Engineers are the engineers best suited for Facility Manager positions.

The person in charge of overall facility operations generally carries the title of Plant Manager or Plant Supervisor. The Facility Manager(s) and Production Manager(s) typically report directly to the Plant Manager. A Plant Manager will have responsibility for, or be involved in, setting performance standards, establishing budgets, managing costs, hiring and training key personnel, labor relations, engineering, maintenance, production programs, environmental affairs, etc. In smaller operations, the Plant Manager may assume the responsibilities of both the Facility Manager and the Production Manager.

Design Integration

For many commercial and industrial facilities, the physical plant (i.e., buildings and their mechanical systems) can be designed and built without knowledge of the manufacturing process/business that will operate within the facility. This is seldom true with an agricultural or agri-industrial facility. In virtually all cases, the building shell(s) and associated HVAC systems are just as integral to the processing system as the processing equipment. This is illustrated with the following points.

HVAC equipment (e.g., boilers, chillers, air handlers) capacity must generally be increased significantly to handle demands of agri-industrial processing equipment.
Processing equipment sanitation and maintenance requirements dictate how the entire facility is plumbed, floors are sloped and finished, equipment is structurally supported, ceilings and walls are finished, lighting is provided, etc.
Some agricultural commodities can be quite combustible, and storage and handling of combustible hazards dictate facility layout, fire resistive ratings of materials, building egress locations, fire extinguishing and suppression system design.
Physical properties and quantities of raw materials, materials in-process, and processed materials dictate the structural design of the numerous silos, bins, tanks, etc. associated with the typical agri-industrial facility.
Design of agricultural commodities storage is frequently dictated by special atmospheric storage requirements (e.g., temperature, humidity, CO₂, etc.) as all organic substances are subject to degradation by organisms both large and small.
The myriad of materials handling equipment determine the size and location of openings, as well as how the facility is structurally framed to handle loads imposed by the handling equipment.
Size and shape of large processing equipment dictates building shell geometry as well as how the shell of the building is framed for equipment access, removal and/or replacement.

The tight integration of physical plant design with processing equipment/system design significantly affects working relationships between various design engineers and their companies.

Interactions Between Planners, Builders and Owners

Definitions

In the design world, the individual, organization or company for whom the design is being developed is referred to as the owner. With respect to agricultural and agri-industrial facilities, the owner is the eventual operator of the facility.

Contractors are companies or individuals who do work for another company or individual under a signed agreement (a.k.a. a contract). Companies or individuals who contract directly with an owner are called prime contractors. Those contractors who contract to do a portion of the contracted work for a prime contractor are called subcontractors. Contractors are also categorized as either general or specialty. General contractors engage in a wide range of activity while specialty contractors limit the scope of their work to a single (although well-defined) trade.

Companies that specialize in facility design are broadly classified as Architectural/Engineering (A/E) Firms. If such a firm also has the in-house capability to construct buildings and/or fabricate and install equipment, they are broadly classified as a Design-Build Firm.

Design Specialization

A/E and Design-Build Firms generally specialize in the design of certain facilities. For example, one design firm may specialize in cheese factories, dairies, bottling plants and other facilities that deal primarily with storage, handling and processing of consumable liquids. Another may be proficient in grain terminals, malt plants, feedmills and other large grain storage and handling facilities. Still others may only design diary housing or some other livestock housing facilities.

Seldom will a single A/E or design/build firm employ all the design engineers needed to complete a specific project. For example, they may not have their own structural engineer on staff, or they may not have their own electrical engineering department. In such cases, the design firm will subcontract this work.

Agri-Industrial Facility Development Process

To understand the relationship between designers, builders and owners, it is first important to understand that the agri-industrial facility design process begins with the development of the processing system (i.e., equipment selection, sizing and connectivity). This initial planning work is done by Product/Process Development Engineers employed by the owner, processing equipment manufacturer(s), an A/E firm, and/or a Design-Build firm.

After initial planning and cost estimating is complete, an owner will decide whether or not to go ahead with the project. If the decision is to go forward, the owner will generally negotiate with an A/E firm or a Design-Build firm for the development of detailed project plans and specifications. Generally the only time an owner will not contract with an outside design firm for the development of detailed plans and specifications is if the project is relatively small (i.e., less than a couple hundred thousand dollars), or if they have significant in-house design capabilities. The latter is generally only the case with relatively large corporations. That said, even large corporations, like design firms, must generally go outside their own companies for design help on some portion of a large project.

When a Design-Build firm is involved in the project, work will generally commence as soon as the owner has approved the plans and specifications and all applicable permits have been secured. If the designer is not the builder, the owner will take the completed and approved plans and specifications and use them to negotiate work contracts with pre-selected construction contractors, and/or to solicit competitive bids from construction contractors for all or various portions of the work.

Why Use Design-Build?

Because of the interrelationships of components and systems within an agricultural or agri-industrial facility, you cannot modify one component or system without changing another. Nobody understands this better than the designers of a facility. It follows that problems begin and grow on a project when someone alters a design without realizing how it will impact other components and processes. This is more likely to occur when several companies, each in the profit making business, are involved in construction. In such cases, it is more likely for one company to make an unauthorized field change that improves their bottom-line, without realizing the significant affect (and hence cost) it may have on another contractor or the owner. Problems associated with field modifications only increase as the original designers become more detached from actual construction and equipment installation.

Problems associated with construction and any associated field modifications are significantly reduced with use of a design-build firm. This is primarily because those in charge of construction are in direct and frequent contact with the design engineers, and in many cases, the design engineers will be onsite to help oversee portions of the construction. Design-build firms are also in a much better position (than a pure design firm) to save the owner money as they are keenly aware of actual construction costs and how to best minimize them through design. Additionally, an owner benefits in that there is a single firm who is solely responsible for both design and construction; this reduces communication and the likelihood of litigation should disagreements arise. Overall, the time frame between initial planning and project completion can be reduced with a design-build firm because coordination problems are minimized and construction can begin before completion of the final design.

This page last updated on 10/23/2005

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