657-21-701JB - 100 PC - Basis of Design.pdf

31 MARCH, 2022

EHRM IT Infrastructure Upgrade

657-21-701JB

VA St. Louis Health Care System Jefferson Barracks VA Medical Center St. Louis, MO

BASIS OF DESIGN

100% Submittal

EHRM INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES

VA St. Louis – St. Louis, MO Project #: 657-21-701

31 March 2022 Page

100% BOD

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS

LIFE SAFETY / FIRE PROTECTION NARRATIVE

STRUCTURAL

CIVIL NARRATIVE

MECHANICAL ANALYSIS

INFECTION CONTROL RISK ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE

ELECTRICAL ANALYSIS

IT SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

SPACE PLANNING

ESTIMATING

APPENDICES

Appendix A- Environmental Investigation

Appendix B- Telecommunication Enclosure Airflow Calculation Appendix C- Photometric Calculations

100% BOD Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The overall intent of this project is to upgrade and improve the EHRM Infrastructure of the St. Louis VA

Medical Center campus in Missouri in support of the Electronic Health Record Modernization initiative.

This report shall detail the site investigation findings and further define the intended scope of work for the

EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades project. There are 21 buildings throughout the campus are included in the scope of this project.

DESIGN PARAMETERS

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Construction & Facilities Management Design and

Construction Standards, latest version.

VA Infrastructure Standards for Telecommunications Spaces v3.1, July 1, 2021

VA Telecommunications and Special Telecommunications Communications Design Manual, February VA Standards Alert 017 OIT Infrastructure Standards for Telecommunications Spaces, August 1, 2021

ANSI/TIA-526: Standard Test Procedures for Fiber Optic Systems.VA Office of Information and Technology Design Guide, February 2011 VA Security and Law Enforcement Handbook VA HVAC Design Manual VA Master Construction Specifications PG-18-1 VA Design & Construction Procedures PG-18-3 International Building Code (IBC) Latest Edition International Mechanical Code (IMC) Latest Edition International Plumbing Code (IPC) Latest Edition International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Latest Edition National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Latest Edition National Electric Code Latest Edition

ANSI/TIA-568-D: Generic Communications Cabling for Customer Premises.

ANSI/TIA-568-D.1: Commercial Building Communications Cabling Standards, Part 1: General

Requirements.

ANSI/TIA-568-D.3: Optical Fiber Cabling Components Standard.

ANSI/TIA-569-E: Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces.

ANSI/TIA-606-C: Administrative Standard for Commercial Telecommunications.

ANSI/J-STD-607-C: Commercial Building Grounding and Bonding Requirements for Communications.

ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials

BICSI CO-OSP Design Manual (current edition): Customer-Owned Outside-Plant Design Manual.

BICSI TDM Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual (current edition).

ICEA: Insulated Cable Engineers Association

IEEE-1100-2005: Recommended Practice for Powering and Grounding Sensitive Electronic Equipment.

ISO/IEC 11801-1: International Standard on Information Technology – Generic Cabling of Customer

Premises.

Other codes and standards as indicated in the project SOW.

100% BOD Architectural Analysis

ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS

EXISTING SPACES

Existing IT closets/rooms are typically unfinished spaces (in some cases spaces with painted GWB) with plywood walls, unfinished concrete flooring or VCT, and ceilings open to structure.

Existing spaces where IT closets/rooms will be relocated to are typically finished spaces with painted GWB; flooring with carpet, VCT or vinyl sheet flooring; and have ACT. Several new TR spaces have casework and shelving which will be removed.

Existing corridors include resilient base, VCT flooring and in several spaces handrails and/or bumpers.

SPACE MODIFICATIONS

Existing finished spaces that will be repurposed for IT spaces will have walls painted white, ceilings removed, and unfinished concrete flooring with an anti-static coating applied. Wall finishes will remain and fire rated plywood will be added around the room to allow mounting of equipment and panels. All walls and plywood will be painted white, and ceilings will be left open to structure. If there are walls which do not go to structure above these walls will be extended to meet the structure above. Concrete floors that exist shall remain and any flooring that is carpet, VCT, sheet flooring, and tile shall have said surface removed, adhesive removed and left with exposed concrete flooring. Cutting and patching of walls will be made as necessary to add new conduits, data outlets, patch panels and any other modifications within the TR. Any wall penetrations in the interstitial space will be patched/sealed for space environmental control. Where existing doors/frames are to be replaced, new doors/frames shall fit within the existing conditions. Other doors/frames being replaced will have new wall infills. These walls will also be repainted to the next natural break to ensure an even paint color.

Corridors will be modified to create new access to TRs. All modified corridors will be adjusted/ modified to maintain existing appearance and all features will be terminated appropriately to ensure a clean finished look is maintained throughout the campus. After review of the corridors, the VA’s request for 8’ doors is not feasible. The AE has kept standard height doors of 7’-0” due to conflicting ceiling heights within corridors, among other elements. AE has found that 29 out of 34 Telecom doors are conflicted.

Building 51 room A139 is part of the Psychiatric wing of the facility and as such the A/E has coordinated with the VA to ensure all requirements are met for anti-ligature hardware and door types.

The A/E, has worked with the VA to ensure all adjacent spaces which are affected by this project are finished appropriately to include painting of walls, resilient base, and ensuring all spaces are completed by the contractor. This has been noted on architectural sheets that all finishes will match existing per the VA’s request.

All TR/TE and data center spaces throughout the design area have been directly coordinated and approved through the VA. The existing Data Center in Building 1 has a limited scope due to future projects to move the core switch and primary data center to building 56.

100% BOD Architectural Analysis

A/E has indicated on plans to demolish existing handrails and kick-rails where needed for new door installation. A new railing and kick-rail are to be installed in Building 52 outside of room 1N82 per the VA’s request. New handrail and kick-rail shall match existing conditions of Building 52. In addition, the A/E has indicated in the Architectural Sheets to seal existing Chute door in Building 52, AE will disable chute door and construct a new shaft wall for cover.

FIRE AND SMOKE RATED PARTITIONS:

All fire rated assemblies are annotated on floor plans. This includes all TN drawings as the most impactful activity is running of new fiberoptic and CAT6A within the facilities. These activities are likely to cross these assemblies and will require fire rated sleeves and other approved devices that will be essential to note for bidding and construction.

LEAD/ ASBESTOS ABATEMENT:

A hazardous materials records review was conducted for all TRs and TEs. The report and environmental drawings are provided in a separate attachment.

The site investigation was conducted by an environmental professional carrying all necessary Missouri State licensing and certifications required by law and/or by The Contract Documents and was performed in accordance with all applicable local, State and Federal regulations pertaining to asbestos and lead building inspections.

For updated investigation results please see appendix A – Environmental Investigation.

100% BOD Life Safety / Fire Protection Narrative

LIFE SAFETY / FIRE PROTECTION NARRATIVE

Design will follow the latest edition of the following codes: NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, VA Fire Protection Design Manual, and International Building.

New cable trays for supporting data cable will be routed as needed throughout each facility. Any cables that pass thru a rated wall will have cable trays terminate on each side of the rated wall. If not already in place, HILTI Speed Sleeves (or similarly related assembly) will be provided at rated walls to allow passage of data cables while maintaining wall rating. The AE proposes providing the locations of rated walls on the overall plans of the technology sheets since the technology sheets is where the cabling is also called out. Alternatively, the AE can add approximately 60 more sheets to show the rated wall assemblies. The A/E would like to note that all full floor plans of the facility show rated assemblies.

Currently in the set these only include the TN floor plans for data drops and wiring routes.

All Telecommunication rooms with existing fire sprinklers will have existing quick response heads replaced with standard response heads in the same location. This is the A/E’s interpretation of the VA fire protection manual regarding telecommunication spaces. The A/E does note that for the cost of replacing the quick response heads with standard heads the risk of unintentional activation or damage is lowered therefore reducing the potential of water intrusion into the telecommunications rooms. The A/E notes the reviewers comments. Fire sprinkler branch lines and head locations will be modified to accommodate telecom space reconfigurations. Buildings which are not currently fully sprinklered will not have fire sprinkler systems added.

Per the VA Fire Protection Design Manual all TRs will have a carbon dioxide or clean agent fire extinguisher within 75 feet of the door, exterior of the TR. The A/E is currently working with the VA to determine locations or if it is possible to modify existing cabinets to meet the requirement.

100% BOD Structural

STRUCTURAL

Data racks and trays will be seismically rated. Structural details will be provided as needed to ensure adequate information is available for anchorage of equipment.

For expanded and upgraded rooms, the A/E assumes that no walls being removed are load-bearing walls. The A/E will review all walls to verify this assumption.

DESIGN LOADS

A summary of the criteria upon which the structural design is based is outlined below.

Live Loads The floor live load is 50 psf plus the specified medical equipment.

Wind Loads

The design wind speed is 118 mph.

Snow Loads The ground snow load at this site is 20 psf.

Seismic Loads

The Short-period Spectral Response Acceleration is 0.471g and the 1-Second Spectral Response Acceleration is 0.167g. Per ASCE 7-16, the Seismic Occupancy Category is IV. The Soil Site Class is assumed to be Class D. These parameters result in a Seismic Design Category of D for the Medical Center. The anchorage of the mechanical equipment will be checked for seismic loads, but no seismic evaluation will be made for the entire building.

Special Inspections Special inspections, testing, and observations are as required per IBC Chapter 17 for, structural steel.

100% BOD Civil Narrative

CIVIL NARRATIVE

SITE DISTRIBUTION

The existing communications infrastructure includes conduits and vaults throughout the campus that route the existing A-side fiber optic cable to each of the buildings. The intent of this project is to add new duct bank and handholes to provide B-side fiber to the buildings while minimizing impacts to the site to the maximum extent feasible.

On site investigation of existing vaults and handholes revealed some areas in need of maintenance and/or repair. Initial evaluation was limited to those structures that could be located and accessed at the time of the visit. All available as-built drawings and utility information have been reviewed to determine the most suitable fiber route. Additional local repairs and conduit replacement may be necessary during construction.

All trenching and fiber runs will be designed in compliance with VA standards including Design alert Six.

Further site investigation of the trenching route and impacts if the route were performed. These investigations led to the current design. The A/E also investigated potential utility conflicts identified by the available information and observations during the site walk. The B side fiber path has been adjusted to minimize impacts to the stations ongoing infrastructure improvements.

100% BOD Mechanical Analysis

MECHANICAL ANALYSIS

Telecom Rooms

Telecom rooms receiving new mechanical cooling will be cooled with a ductless split DX system. Ductless split DX systems require one indoor head to provide cooling to the

IT room, and an outdoor condensing unit to reject the heat to the exterior ambient air. Refrigerant piping will be routed from the exterior condensing unit to the interior unit.

Condensate is created when air temperatures are dropped below due point, so condensate piping will be routed from the interior unit to the nearest indirect drain. Ductless split

DX systems cannot use outside air for free cooling, but they are efficient compared to other cooling systems.

The ductless split DX systems will be tied into the campus building management system with points monitoring equipment operation, run time and space temperature.

All telecom rooms will have temperature and humidity wall sensors and a floor mounted moisture sensor that will be tied into the campus BMS. Initial temperature setpoint for all TR’s is 75°F and is adjustable thru the BMS. Deadband temperature is +/- 5°F.

Telecom Enclosure

All temporary trailer buildings have had the previously designated Telecom Rooms redesignated as

Telecom Enclosure. HEFP SEP Design Alert 7 gives guidance on specific requirements for Telecom

Enclosures, including changing from mechanical cooling to ventilation using an exhaust transfer fan.

Buildings 3T, 51T, 53T and 60T are affected by this change and now have exhaust fans for Telecom

Enclosure cooling. See calculation for exhaust fan flow rate at the end of the mechanical section.

Data Center – Building 1

The existing building 1 data center is being transitioned to building 56 new data center. Building 1 data center space will be redesignated as a Telecom Room. There will be two new CERNER racks provided in the redesignated Telecom Room. The existing mechanical cooling will remain in place for this space.

Data Center – Building 56

The construction and implementation of this new data center in Building 56 is near completion under another project. No new mechanical work is anticipated for this space.

Mechanical Cooling Requirements

Mechanical cooling was evaluated for 61 Telecom rooms, in 20 different buildings throughout the St.

Louis VAMC campus. Some telecom rooms are being upgraded, while other telecom rooms will be combined or relocated. Except for two spaces, telecom rooms with existing cooling were found to be inadequate per “OIT-Infrastructure Standard for Telecommunication Spaces V3.1” guidelines (July 1, 2021) therefore 55 of the 61 telecom rooms affected by this project are currently shown with new mechanical cooling.

The standard which was used for determining the cooling requirements for each telecom room was provided by VA guidance as follows.

a. Dedicated cooling for anticipated active critical load is specified. Each network rack has 5kW of electrical capacity. Each installed enclosure requires 5kW (17,000 BTU/h) of cooling capacity to be available, but in aggregate, 5kW per enclosure is not required.

Design heat rejection capacity in these telecommunications spaces as follows:

i. 1 rack TR = 5kW (e.g. single 5kW cooling unit).

ii. 2 rack TR = 7kW (e.g. 3.5kW x2 cooling units).

iii. 3 rack TR = 8.5 kW (e.g. 3.5kW + 2.5kW x2 cooling units).

iv. 4 rack TR =10kW (e.g. 2.5kW x4 or 5kW x2 cooling units).

b. Other designs meeting these maximum expected aggregated load levels are acceptable.

Multiple smaller units will assist in avoiding equipment freeze-up in some types of equipment.

Telecom Enclosures for the trailer buildings (3T, 51T, 53T and 60T) do not have space to install a full-size rack. These buildings will each be equipped with a single wall mounted rack which is estimated at

2.5KW heat rejection load. Telecom Enclosures will be cooled/ventilated with an exhaust fan, transferring air from adjacent conditioned space into the TE room. See calculation for exhaust fan flow rate at the end of the mechanical section.

The recommendation of using multiple smaller cooling units in each telecom room was considered, however cooling performance at low ambient operation for the smaller units is limited. Further, the first costs of multiple smaller cooling units are nearly 60% higher compared to a single cooling unit per telecom room. Added onto the increased first cost would be nearly double the maintenance and repair costs over the life of the systems. The AE’s current basis of design is to use a single cooling system per telecom room.

See ductless split system equipment schedule on mechanical drawing sheet M-502 for detailed information of the equipment sizing.

See Appendix B for Telecom Enclosure exhaust fan airflow calculation.

100% BOD Infection Control Risk Assessment Narrative

INFECTION CONTROL RISK ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE

ICRA design have been included in each TR’s demolition plan. As many TRs as possible have an ante room to contain construction activities, these rooms are non fire rated (where sprinklers exist), hard stand rooms. Some locations will not allow for the construction of a hard stand anteroom due to corridor width the following rooms had conflict with ante room placement: Building 2; Room 111 and Room 308, Building

3; Room B025, Building 18; Room 119, 213 and 312, Building 51; Room 1A102, and Building 58; Room

104. ICRA barrier details are provided; all information has been implemented within 01 35 26 - Safety

Requirements specifications. Coordinate with Infectious Prevention Staff and COR. At this time the construction appears to be Type B, medium or high risk, which places the overall construction as Type II or higher construction based on patient risk factors of the facility.

The A/E coordinated with the VA on ICRA requirements. Coordination included the additional notes for coordination with ICRA plans prior to construction start, ICRA barriers in areas that are fully sprinklered, and ICRA level by TR to ensure appropriate measures are taken.

Building Floor ICRA Level Building Floor ICRA Level

BLDG 01- Basement II

BLDG 51- Basement II

BLDG 01- First floor II BLDG 51- First Floor III

BLDG 01- Second floor III 51T BLDG 51T- First Floor II

BLDG 01- Third floor III

BLDG 52- Basement II

BLDG 02- Basement II BLDG 52- First Floor III

BLDG 02-First Floor II BLDG 52- Second Floor II

BLDG 02-Second Floor II

BLDG 53- Basement II

BLDG 02-Third Floor II BLDG 53- First Floor III

BLDG 03- Basement II BLDG 53- Second Floor III

BLDG 03- First Floor III 53T BLDG 53T- First Floor II

BLDG 03- Second Floor III

BLDG 55- First Floor III

3T BLDG 03T- First Floor II BLDG 55- Second Floor III

BLDG 18- Basement II BLDG 55- Third Floor III

BLDG 18- First Floor II

BLDG 56- Basement II

BLDG 18- Second Floor II BLDG 56- First Floor II

BLDG 18- Third Floor II BLDG 56- Second Floor II

BLDG 23- Basement II BLDG 56- Third Floor II

BLDG 23- First Floor II 57 BLDG 57- First Floor II

BLDG 24- Basement III 58 BLDG 58- First Floor II

BLDG 24- First Floor II 60 BLDG 60- First Floor II

BLDG 24- Second Floor II 60T BLDG 60T- First Floor II

BLDG 25- Fist Floor II 75 BLDG 75- First Floor II

BLDG 25- Second Floor II

BLDG 25- Third Floor II

100% BOD Electrical Analysis

ELECTRICAL ANALYSIS

NARRATIVE

This project shall upgrade the existing IT infrastructure and equipment to comply with the new VA

Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) system requirements. The design will comply with applicable VA design guides.

Selected telecommunications rooms (TRs) will be expanded, renovated, or relocated to meet VA Infrastructure Standards for Telecommunications Spaces (Version 3.1, July 1, 2021). The VA has provided recommended actions for each TR (expansion, renovation, or relocation) as indicated in the SOW and associated Readiness Assessment; further general requirements for each TR have been provided in the SOW and associated Readiness Assessment (power, ups, cabling, etc.). The project scope includes the following locations: Buildings 1, 2, 3, 3T, 18, 23, 24, 25, 51, 51T, 52, 53, 53T, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 60T, 75 and site.

- Design:

o All existing panelboards and/or switchboards that are to be reused and that are being provided additional loading will be required to have 30-day demand power monitoring unless a local demand power meter is available.

o All data rooms will be revised to meet proper grounding and bonding installations per VA telecom standards and NEC.

o Telecommunication rack power connections (source A and B) will be provided as required.

- Life cycle analysis for electrical systems:

o All existing electrical equipment that requires a life cycle analysis will be evaluated.

Where it is determined that the existing equipment is past its time of use or shows signs of possible future failure due to wear and tear, the equipment will be replaced as required.

LOCATION AND SIZE OF:

Currently, each building and floor are being noted and analyzed for the existing conditions and the required improvements for each of the following items:

- Electrical equipment

- Electric closets

- Telephone closets

- Signal closets

- Electrical distribution equipment

EXISTING EMERGENCY GENERATOR SYSTEM CAPACITY:

The following displays the current loading of each emergency generator system per building. All data was provided from VA provided Monthly Generator Reports:

LIST OF SPECIALTY AREAS:

No specialty areas are included in the subject project at this time.

METHOD OF SHORT-CIRCUIT CALCULATIONS:

Short-circuit calculations will be based off of infinite bus calculations. Where appropriate, short-circuit values will be included on one-line diagrams and will be coordinated with all electrical distribution equipment as required.

METHOD OF VOLTAGE DROP AND DEMAND CALCULATIONS:

Voltage drops and power demand calculations will be conducted per the NEC. Calculators and panel schedules will provide NEC based calculations for both voltage drop analysis and power demand calculations. This information will be used to size electrical distribution equipment including, but not limited to, cables/conductors, raceways, and panelboards.

UTILITY COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE:

Not required for the subject project.

SMOKE PARTITIONS AND FIRE ALARM ZONES:

Smoke partitions and fire alarm zones and devices will be coordinated with during the TR upgrades/relocations as required.

SCOPE OF WORK BY TASK:

Each Telecommunications Room requires both source A and source B power. Providing source A and source B power provides increased power liability and enables no downtime when maintenance is required on one of the sourcing circuits. Preferably, both source A and B should have backup generator power; however, this is not possible or feasible for all installations.

New, Relocated, or Expanded TRs:

- In general, for all new and most relocated or expanded TRs, A/E is proposing to provide each of the TRs with (2) new panelboards, (1) for source A and (1) for source B power. Currently, the A/E is proposing to provide power to each new panelboard via the main distribution equipment at each building. Where existing gear has the circuit breaker capacity to provide new feeder circuit breakers for each new panelboard, it will be utilized as such. Otherwise, (1) feeder breaker will be added to the existing distribution equipment to power a new distribution panel; this new distribution panel will be specified to provide enough feeder circuit breakers to provide circuits to all new source A and source B panels in that building.

o In some cases, the above narrative will not work due to the buildings power topology and/or equipment capacity. Due to this fact, different solutions may be provided as shown in the one-line diagram drawings.

o In these cases, a full building shutdown may be required. Currently, the buildings that will require a full shut down are as follows: BLDG 2, 3, 24.

BLDG 2 and 3: Both buildings currently have main distribution equipment at least 10 years past their lifetime; yielding a non-reliable, hard to maintain (parts, maintenance), and unsafe system. These pieces of equipment will be demolished and replaced with modern equipment with additional circuit capacity, allowing for future expansion.

BLDG 24 currently is utilizing an exterior mounted wireway with fusible disconnects to the building’s loads as needed. Because no main circuit breaker exists for the building, adding an additional circuit to the wireway would not adhere to the new NEC 2020 code (a main disconnect is required for a building service). Therefore, we are demolishing and replacing the wireway and fusible disconnects with a new exterior mounted panelboard with main circuit breaker;

this panelboard will be sized to provide the power required for the existing, new, and future loads.

- Notes 4 and 5 in Figure 1 below indicate the source A and B panelboards. Each new panelboard would be 120/208V, 3-Phase, 4-wire.

Figure 1: Telecommunications Room – (1) Rack Layout (OIT Design Guide Template, V3.1)

- All panelboards will be provided with power metering equipment.

- The schematic in Figure 2 below shows how source A and B power will be distributed to the rack. Each source (or panelboard) provides power to one of the 20A receptacles which in turn provides power to the rack equipment.

- TR rack mounted UPS systems shall be 5kW, 3-phase with L21-20 input/output connections as shown below in figure 2.

Figure 2: TR Single Rack Elevation and Power Schematic (OIT Design Guide Template, V3.1)

Where TRs will not physically accommodate or require a full data rack from a data standpoint, a Telecommunications Enclosure (TE) will be provided. Each TE will be designed to the below OIT TE design template as shown in figures 3 and 4:

Figure 3: TE Installation Elevation (OIT Design Guide Template)

Figure 4: TE Grounding Elevation (OIT Design Guide Template)

All other TRs:

- All other existing or relocated/expanded TRs that are not being provided with new panels will utilize the local existing panels as needed for the new TR equipment installation.

- All new panelboards will be provided with power metering equipment.

The following indicates the power and lighting requirements laid out by VA standards that we are utilizing for our basis of design.

- Power Equipment:

o Source A and Source B panelboards.

o Source A and Source B twist-lock receptacles and/or 60A power junction box(es).

o Two duplex receptacles on each wall.

o Secondary bonding busbar.

- Lighting:

o LED linear lighting (50 Foot-candles, minimum average) o Motion Sensor light switch.

All existing panelboards being used to power additional loads will be required to be load monitored for peak demand power for 30-days per NEC 220.87, unless an existing demand power data currently exists for said panel. The following power distribution equipment will have added TR loads and are set to be metered to verify power capacity:

100% BOD It Systems Analysis

IT SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

NARRATIVE:

This project shall upgrade the existing IT infrastructure and equipment to comply with the new VA

Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) system requirements. The design will comply with applicable VA design guides.

Selected telecommunications rooms (TRs) will be expanded, renovated, or relocated to meet VA

Infrastructure Standards for Telecommunications Spaces (Version 3.1, July 1, 2021). The VA has provided recommended actions for each TR (expansion, renovation, or relocation) as indicated in the

SOW and associated Readiness Assessment; further general requirements for each TR have been provided in the SOW and associated Readiness Assessment (power, UPS, cabling, etc.). The project scope includes the following locations: Buildings 1, 2, 3, 3T, 18, 23, 24, 25, 51, 51T, 52, 53, 53T, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 60T, 75 and site.

Design of new Telecommunications rooms will include equipment racks, patch panels, grounding, and new cabling as required. Telecommunications cabling rated Category 6 and below will be replaced with

Category 6A cabling. Locations upgraded to Category 6A cabling will require a conduit size of 1-inch minimum to accommodate the larger cable diameter; this is necessary to comply with conduit fill ratios.

Existing conduit may be re-used but conduit and cable tray fill will be verified prior to reuse; if required, existing raceways will be demolished and new raceways will be provided for increased cable size.

The design will establish construction phasing requirements to ensure that critical systems will remain operational until they can be cut over to the new infrastructure.

SITE DISTRIBUTION/ FIBER (OSP):

Design Intent

The existing communications infrastructure includes conduits and vaults throughout the campus that route the existing communication cables to each of the buildings. For purposes of this project and within the OSP, we are naming this existing infrastructure Side-A. The intent of this project is to utilize the existing conduit, vaults, and handholes to the maximum extent feasible. Re-using the existing facilities will eliminate impacts and expenses associated with trenching and restoration throughout the site.

However, the redundant optical fiber pathways; termed Side-B, are required to maintain a distance of 75’ from the existing Side-A.

The new Outside Plant (OSP) fiber distribution, Side-B, will be comprised of OS2 single mode (SM) air blown fiber (ABF)-optic cables; such that the goal of each building having both Side-A and a Side-B diversified paths for redundancy.

This project will also replace Side A with like-fiberoptic cable once service is operational from the Side B provider.

Entrance Facility/ Entrance Room

The entrance room is the point of entrance to a building where both public and private network service cables and equipment (including wireless) interface with the building cabling system. There is one entrance room on campus and is the same location of the ISP providers point of debarkation. Entrance rooms will have similar features as Telecommunications Rooms (TRs) including backboard, racks, power, and cable management.

- All projects involving new or renovated entrance rooms shall have power, cooling, and room layouts consistent with VA and industry standards.

- Entrance rooms shall be a minimum of 80 ft² for a one-rack entrance room and an additional 20 ft² for each additional rack required.

- There shall be a minimum of one entrance room per building. Two entrance rooms are required for the diverse providers for CDCs and CSCs with a minimum separation of 66 ft between entrance points.

- Entrance points must be within 50 ft of the OSP entrance point duct bank to allow for transition from OSP to ISP cabling.

- Health care facilities must have two entrance rooms. Health care facility entrance rooms shall be a minimum of 170 ft².

- A TR or equipment room (computer room) may serve as an entrance room.

- When more than one access provider serves a building, develop diverse building entrance routes so in the event of a catastrophic failure along one entrance route, the other will maintain the building’s telecommunications service.

Outside Plant Topology

After the VA’s review of the three options provided by the A/E for the outside plant topology the VA has selected option 1 to proceed with the design. A summary of Option 1 is found below.

SIDE-B New Redundant Fiber Loop: Underground, a minimum two (2) four-inch (4”) conduits for the main runs, and a single 4” conduit for lateral to-building runs, encased in concrete, surface-accessible underground spaces (maintenance holes and/or pull boxes), and a minimum of 12 strands of OS2

Single Mode Fiber Optic cabling terminated inside each building TR, homerun to Building 56 with an additional 288 strands of OS2 connecting Building 56 to Building 1. Using an Air-blown fiber solution, most buildings will have a Tube Distribution Unit (TDU) installed where-by depending on the number of

TRs, micro-tubes, wrapped into an indoor/outdoor bundle, will enter the TDU. Within the TDU, the tubes will be broken down and connected to jumper tubes and then from the TDU, each TR will receive a minimum of a two-tube bundle, containing a minimum of 12-strands of OS2 fiber. While the micro-tubes, not optical fiber, will be broken and spliced in order to be reduced in quantity to then travel to the

TRs, the optical fiber itself will not be spliced in the plant anywhere along the line. By way of example, if a building has two TRs, then from the Main Data Center, a high-pair count tube (perhaps 19) used to feed multiple buildings will run underground to a hand-hole. Within that hand-hole, that 19-tube bundle will be opened, and two individual tubes will travel from the hand-hole toward the subject building. The other 17-tubes will continue on the outside plant pathway within the four-inch conduit while the two tubes will turn into the subject building, enter a NEMA-4X wall mounted (exterior) enclosure, and turn via galvanized conduit into the building. Once inside, the indoor/outdoor tube cable will enter a TDU.

From the TDU, the four tubes will be broken down into two-tube bundles with one two-tube bundle running to each TR. Once the system of tubes in completely installed, the contractor will then blow a minimum of a 12-strand fiber into the corresponding tubes from the TDU, to feed directly to the TRs within the subject building. Once the fiber reaches the TR, a 1RU rack-mounted shelf containing a 6 or

12-port user-interface LC, system interface MPO cassette will become the termination point of that fiber.

Growth: Unoccupied tubes in the TDU’s will be capped off with heat-shrink plugs for future addition of fiber optics. Similarly, we have designed the system so that there are a minimum of five (5) empty tubes in each hand hole. Those too will be capped for future use. Should it become necessary to add fiber in the future, a contractor simply would need to up-cap the unoccupied tube and blow new fiber from the

TR all the way to the Main Computer Room. The fibers are available in 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72-strand counts, and in single-mode OS2, 62.5 multi-mode, 50-micron multi-mode, and 50-micron laser enhanced OM3 and OM4. The fibers for this EHRM project will consist of a minimum of 12 -strand single-mode OS2 to each TR plus an additional unterminated bundle of a minimum of 12 stands that can be fusion spliced to any point of the building in the future.

Air Blown Fiber Tube Cables are not treated the same way as Conventional Fiber Cables; there are significant differences. ABF Tube Cables can be thought of as a highway of paths designed for the distribution of fiber after the highway is fully installed. The Tube Cables do not have fiber in them; rather the fiber gets installed as the final process of an ABF installation. Each Tube within the Tube Cable can be installed with 6, 12, 24, 48 or 72 strands (per Tube) so one (1) 19-Tube Cable can accept 19 X 72f =

1368 Total Fibers. When it comes to Physical and Logical Separation of Networks, ABF systems typically conform to this requirement because each tube is separate and the fibers can be installed so that multiple networks i.e., (Business, Healthcare, Security, etc) may all be installed inside the same cable but have their own “secure/separate” tube so that no co-mingling of networks exists.

Specific to connections between Buildings 1 and 56 – In order to conform to the VA and EHRM standards, 96 strands of ABF, consisting of two (2) 48-strand bundles will be placed within a TDU in

Building 1 to connect each TR within Building 1 back to Building 56. Once within Building 56, these 96 strands should be treated as any other building’s TR connections.

In addition to these 96 strands, and to support the future Side-A / Side-B core network/s move from

Building 1 to 56, an additional 288 strands of ABF, consisting of four (4) 72-strand bundles will be terminated within a new equipment rack, to be located in the existing Building 1 MCR. Within Building

56, these 288 strands will be terminated, per VA standards, with racks 7, 8, or 9, in Row 6.

Within the series of Physical Hand Holes (PHHs), placed in the ground on the conduit pathway, spare tube cables will be capped for future use. In this way, should the VA decide to build a new facility on campus, an underground conduit connection from the new facility to the nearest PHH would create a cable tube pathway all the way back to Building 56 without requiring trenching except to that nearest

PHH.

The Project Team has learned of a near-term future building that will be constructed on campus, an

Urgent Care Center. It is our understanding that this building will be built near Building 51. We have taken the liberty of placing a PHH on the plans to support this facility. This PHH will have four (4) empty tube cables, capped for future use.

Figure 1 TUBE DISTRIBUTION UNIT

Figure 2 INSTALLATION WITHIN THE TDU – Note this will be a NEMA-1 inside, NEMA-4X outside

Figure 3 Micro-tubes within the tube bundle

Option 1 VA’s Selection – An complete underground OSP loop around the campus. This topology provides substantial underground infrastructure built to be future-ready for future construction. In essence, this topology assumes a point-to-point bus connection from each facility to Building 56. The fiber cables would be considered ‘home run’ and would not pass through a building to feed an adjacent building.

SECONDARY SERVICE PROVIDER

It is required that all VA campus’s source a secondary and redundant Internet Service Provider (ISP).

HEFP SEP has identified this as a deficiency for this campus. Currently, ATT has a presence entering onto the campus from the North and East, traveling West into Building 23. There is no secondary provider.

We have identified CenturyLink as the nearest provider with available ‘dark fiber’, along Interstate 255 at the intersection of Route 231; Telegraph Rd. To support this future connection, we have placed two (2) four (4) inch conduits from the Building 56 Entry Room to the property line at Koch Road.

HEFP SEP (SOCAMES 6) Design Alert 6 – HEFP SEP has determined that there is currently no national OIT or OEHRM process to coordinate this work with the OIT contracted providers. HEFP SEP states that “Due to the contractual discussions OIT must have with the WAN providers to coordinate this work, HEFP SEP cannot provide adequate guidance to field engineers to ensure that this requirement is net. The HEFP SEP solution, to “…prevent delay and ambiguity in meeting this requirement…” indicates that “…if a VAMC is unable to identify or locate boundary entrance point, HELP SEP recommends that the site discontinue this effort…and de-scope this work from the design…” However, “If a site has successfully coordinated this work with OIT and included diverse pathways in their designs, please reach out directly to James Cullum and Mike Vulpis so that HEFP SEP can ensure PIT agrees on a case-by-case basis.”

At this point in the design, we will locate the appropriate CenturyLink point of contact and forward that information to the Jefferson Barracks COR.

Figure 3 ATT Point of Entry

The design team contracted with a 3rd party that specializes as a repository of service provider optical fiber routes. A study of the output from this company indicates that there are very few SPs around the campus, and no other SPs except for AT&T are physically on the campus. However, CenturyLink has an underground pathway less than two miles from the south side of the property, south of I-255, east of

Telegraph Road.

The best option to get this secondary SP onto the VA campus is to contract the current provider, ATT, to see if there is a redundant Central Office (CO) that could connect to this Koch road conduit.

Should ATT not have a redundant CO to connect to, then another option is to contact CenturyLink and negotiate a connection from their existing infrastructure (I-55/I-255) traveling east to Koch Road, traveling north under the I-255 overpass, and onto the campus. From the property line, the VA would place an underground meet-me point and tie CenturyLink into building 56. This would provide geographically separate SP connections.

Figure 4 CentryLink Route

UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE

The underground pathway infrastructure would generally consist of a minimum of two (2) four-inch (4”) conduits, spanned between a series of maintenance vaults, pull points, and buildings. The conduits would be encased in concrete as required. All components will comply with VA standards and be vehicle-rated.

Figure 6 Typical Underground Hand Hole

Figure 7 Poly Concrete Pull Point

Concrete

Conduits

To VA Standard

Figure 8 Typical Encased Conduits

EXISTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS:

A site walk was performed during the week of January 6th to both confirm the existing Side-A pathways and to ascertain the site conditions in reference to the proposed redundant Side-B. Much of the existing

Side-A was confirmed; however, we could not locate an amount of less than 10% and we located some additional infrastructure labeled as Communications that we have not seen on existing as-built drawings.

For the project, new OS2 indoor/outdoor optical fiber will be placed from Building 1, MCR, to each TR within each building on campus. The means and method to accomplish this upgrade withing the legacy pathways will be to place a high-pair count of fiber in the ‘first’ TR of each building, fusion splicing this fiber in the equipment rack of that TR, then splicing 12-strands in riser rated cable to each TR within the building. All of this fiber will terminate in the MCR on a new equipment rack. This rack will also contain the 288-strand count fiber connecting Building 1 to Building 56 to support the future Core-A and Core-B move to Building 56. Physically, this creates a point-to-point connection from each TR to the MCR without cross-connects. Optionally, the new Side-A fibers could be fusion spliced onto this 288-strand fiber to create a point-to-point connection from Building 56 to every campus TR.

SYSTEM MODIFICATIONS:

All communication structured cabling infrastructure with a UL Listing of Category 6 or below shall be upgraded to Category 6A data outlets, patch panels, and data cables. Please reference the below

“SCOPE OF WORK BY BUILDING AND TASK” for additional information.

SECURITY:

For the expanded or relocated TRs, each will be provided with new security provisions as required including, but not limited to, a PIV enabled two-factor authorization access control keypad, door position switch, dual technology PTZ camera, siren, and ceiling mounted motion control sensors.

All new TRs will be provided with the required security features per the VA OIT, EHRM and Physical

Security standards.

FIRE ALARM:

Design shall be in accordance with the latest editions of the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, VA Fire

Protection Design Manual, and the International Building Code (IBC). Where life safety systems are impacted during construction, the design shall address interim life safety measures to be implemented as part of the construction documents. Any new fire alarm devices required shall be specified to match the existing installed base to provide conformity and modularity.

Smoke partitions and fire alarm zones and devices will be coordinated with during the TR upgrades/relocations as required. Existing fire alarm devices located in areas where TRs are to be relocated or established will be demolished.

SCOPE OF WORK BY BUILDING AND TASK:

This renovation project consists of upgrading the campus’s existing electrical and IT infrastructure to provide the required elements for the new EHRM system. The telecommunications scope of this project includes the following infrastructure improvements:

- Reconfiguration, expansion, and renovation of existing TR spaces throughout the buildings in the scope of work for this project.

- Communication infrastructure (new data outlets, patch panels, data racks, upgrade to Cat 6A cable) in buildings as necessary, physical security upgrades, assess and upgrade fiber infrastructure backbone campus wide within buildings and between buildings

- Provide OSP diversified/redundant paths from Data Center to individual buildings (TR rooms)

- Provide ISP diversified/redundant paths from main building TR to individual TRs throughout said building.

Wherever possible, this design for this project will aim to meet or exceed all requirements as indicated in the latest edition VA Design Standards and other VA Operations Manuals; where deviations occur as a result in dealing with existing conditions, A/E will notify VA to provide direction of required work. As part of the scope, on-site investigations of the existing systems are on-going to determine existing conditions and possible options to provide the best solution for each project upgrade.

Onsite investigations will include, but not be limited to, field verifying the following:

- All existing telecommunications installations such as existing concealed conduit runs, conduit, cable termination types/sizes, telecommunication, and systems equipment locations, etc., which potentially impact new installations.

- Expansion-Identified Rooms: Field verify the required expansion space; coordinate with architectural and mechanical as needed. Verify all additional electrical, IT, or mechanical requirements as needed.

- New/Relocated Rooms: Field verify existing available electrical, IT, and mechanical equipment for the proposed room; note, which equipment would be relocated/reused, salvaged, or demolished. Typically, new spaces will require a complete new build out prior to any modifications of the existing spaces because critical OIT and other important equipment reside on walls that would be demolished. The new spaces should be fully operational before any demolition work is started in the existing spaces.

- Site Infrastructure: Verify and as-built all relevant manholes/vaults, pull boxes, and raceways as required to accurately model and design the new IT site wide infrastructure.

Inside Plant (ISP) Backbone Design Intent:

- ISP horizontal and intra-building backbone will utilize a combination of OM4 Multi-Mode (MM) fiber-optic cable and OS1 Single-Mode (SM) fiber-optic cable. The intra-building backbone between TRs and MDAs will consist of a minimum of (1) 24-strand OM4 MM cable and (1)

12-strand OS1 SM cable from both A and B-side of the MDAs. All fiber-optic cable feeds shall be redundant and diversely routed.

Telecommunications Room (TR) serves as the transition point between horizontal and backbone cabling systems. TRs will contain all Local Area Network (LAN), security, and any other system that serves the

TR zone. The following indicates the requirements laid out by VA standards that we are utilizing for our basis of design. Note: Due to existing conditions, all criteria may not be possible; all issues and solutions will be coordinated with VA for approval.

- Size:

o Non-Healthcare Facility: 80-SQFT for (1) rack, every additional rack adds 20-SQFT.

o Healthcare Facility: 170-SQFT for (4) racks, every additional rack adds 20-SQFT.

o Defining the size of the required TR is determined by the number of required data racks. Reference the data rack paragraph below for further basis-of-design details.

- Location:

o Provide at least (1) TR per floor.

o Additional TRs per floor are generally required when served building area exceeds

10,000-SQFT or when the horizontal cabling distance to the work area exceeds 295-

FT.

o On buildings with multiple floors TRs shall be stacked.

o TRs shall not be located within 20-FT of the following areas: Electrical rooms, mechanical rooms, imaging equipment, other electro-magnetic field producing equipment.

o TRs shall not be located adjacent to the following areas: Elevator shafts, large chases, or stairwells.

- Telecommunication and special systems equipment to be housed in each TR location includes the following:

o Raceway entry points into TR:

Sleeve for Main Cross Connect (Campus/Building Distribution) and/or sleeve for Backbone Cabling (MCR to TR).

Sleeve horizontal distribution to Work Area Outlets (WAO).

Sleeve or conduit with bushing firestop and interduct for fiber.

o Cable Tray shall be comprised of (1) level.

Cable tray shall be utilized for backbone or main cross connect cabling AND horizontal cabling to WAO.

o Data Racks (quantity as required for coverage). Reference the data rack paragraph below for further basis-of-design details.

o Security Equipment

Camera with Pan-Tilt-Zoom, passive infrared dual technology.

Ceiling mounted motion sensor (quantity as required for coverage).

PIV enabled two-factor authentication keypad.

Siren.

We have conducted 80-Meter horizontal cable studies (AKA – Diamond Study) for each existing and proposed new or relocated TR per the VA provided Readiness Assessment; these horizontal cable studies are included in the attached appendix.

Data racks shall be a minimum of 84-in tall, 45 Rack Units (RU), white finish, with cable management;

Ortronics MM20 will be the Basis-of-Design. These racks will house a combination of active and passive components including, but not limited to: Fiber and ethernet patch panels, ethernet switches, wire managers, blanking panels, UPSs, and Power Distribution Units (PDU). Currently, we have determined the number of racks required in each TR per the required amount of horizontal cabling patch panels;

utilizing the VA standard of the rule of 1/3’s, each rack will be separated into 3 sections. The top sections will be utilized for patching, the middle section will be utilized for switching, and the both section will be utilized for power distribution equipment. Additionally, per the review comments (6) UTP patch panels will be the maximum amount allowed; with a 48-port patch panel each TR rack can support up to 288

WAOs/data connections.

Based on as-built documents and site findings, the…