When a Midwestern college took a look at its need for a system of four new boilers in a 100-year-old facility, it was more than an issue of just getting more efficient steam production.

“They needed to upgrade their boiler systems to meet [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] regulations, and the boiler replacement project was expected to meet their steam production needs for the next 20 years,” said Tony Smith, senior mechanical engineer for MECS, Inc. of St. Louis, which coordinated the design project for the new system. Formerly Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems, MECS changed its name in August 2005 after management purchased the company from Monsanto.

“We also had to maintain the architectural features of the brick powerhouse building,” Smith said. “This was a historic building."

One asset for MECS staff was the ability to work with 3D models of the boiler system, giving them a clear view of how the existing pipe system would work with the new system.

“3D modeling is an enormously useful tool,” Smith said. “When we had the new boiler and the new piping models completed, we were able to design to within one sixteenth
of an inch.”