Our approach
From assessment to verified results
A coordinated path from understanding your buildings to verified results, with your approval before each major step.
The five steps
Assess, prioritize, plan, implement, verify
Each step builds on the last, and each one connects to a service you can start with on its own.
Assess
Understand how your buildings use energy today.
Infrastructure assessment, utility billing analysis, an energy-use baseline and early Eco-1 analytics.
Energy audits & assessmentsPrioritize
Decide which improvements matter most.
Energy modeling, measure concepts, cost estimates and payback analysis, ranked against your goals and funding.
Energy modeling & analysisPlan
Design the work and line up approvals and funding.
Design, construction documents, phasing, budget, schedule, permits and a funding pathway.
Funding & incentive supportImplement
Build and commission the improvements.
Integrated design/build delivery with commissioning, change management and construction administration.
Integrated design/buildVerify
Confirm the improvements are working, and keep them working.
Measurement and verification against the baseline, incentive reporting and ongoing Eco-1 monitoring.
Monitoring & verification
Verification results become the baseline for the next round of assessment.
Project delivery model
What the delivery model is designed to do
Scaled to the project
Astro’s Project Delivery Model provides guidelines, workshops and tools for planning, designing and building capital projects. How much of it applies depends on the type, size, scope and strategic importance of the project.
A single-building audit uses a small part of it. A campus-wide program may use all of it.
- Plan each project around your energy and cost-reduction objectives.
- Design, build and commission measures that work as intended.
- Move efficiently, compressing the schedule where it is practical.
- Keep project cost as low as the scope allows.
You approve each stage
Each phase ends with an owner approval point. You see the budget, schedule and design before the next phase begins, so there are no surprises in construction.
Phase by phase
What happens in each phase
The summary for each phase is shown below. Open a phase to see its full list of activities.
Conceptualization
Form the team, set energy goals, assess the facility and build the business case.
Ends with Owner approval, then notice to proceed.
19 activities in this phase
- Design/build team formation
- Establish energy goals
- Project work plan development
- Campus infrastructure assessment
- Campus energy utilization and operational efficiency review
- Eco-1 preliminary energy-use analytics
- Data gathering and analysis
- Building energy simulation modeling
- Preliminary concepts development
- Building energy systems efficiency analysis
- Building operational efficiency analysis
- Phasing and disruption analysis
- Strategic energy projects capital plan
- Energy measure concept estimating
- Energy measure payback analysis
- Project schedule
- Prioritizing measures for funding
- Project budget
- Project tracking and reporting plan
Design
Engineer the improvements and confirm budget, schedule and compliance.
Ends with Owner approval, then construction documents.
11 activities in this phase
- Infrastructure improvements architecture and engineering
- Energy measures architecture and engineering
- Commissioning integration
- Building automation and controls integration
- Equipment selection and pricing
- Mechanical systems specifications
- Electrical systems specifications
- Energy simulation modeling update
- Agency and authority having jurisdiction compliance
- Design development schedule
- Design development budget
Construction documents
Complete the documents, plans and budget needed for permits and procurement.
Ends with Owner approval, then agency review and permits.
10 activities in this phase
- Infrastructure and energy measure construction documents
- Mechanical, electrical, architectural and structural documents
- Building automation and controls documents
- Phasing and disruption plan
- General contractor and general requirements planning
- Commissioning plan
- Energy simulation modeling update
- Procurement plan
- Construction documents schedule
- Construction documents budget
Construction
Build, commission and monitor the work while the facility keeps operating.
Ends with Substantial completion.
14 activities in this phase
- Project permitting
- Construction kickoff
- Construction work plan
- Agency and authority having jurisdiction coordination
- Owner energy goals measurement and verification
- Building automation and controls integration
- Commissioning plan integration
- Facility operations integration
- Phasing and disruption integration
- Construction
- Change management
- Construction management and administration
- Project funds administration
- Building automation and Eco-1 measurement and verification
Closeout and verification
Hand over the project, capture incentives and verify performance.
Ends with Project complete, with ongoing monitoring available.
15 activities in this phase
- Performance monitoring and verification
- Project documentation deliverables
- Beneficial use of the project
- Contracts and final payment
- Utility rebates
- Lessons learned
- Commissioning data and reports
- Equipment status and load reports
- M&V metrics and alarm reporting
- Energy efficiency goal reports
- Metering point usage and cost reports
- Owner-required reports
- Dashboard configuration
- Baseline comparison reports
- Negative deviation reports
Who does the work
One team, drawn from a vetted network
Projects are delivered by an integrated design/build team. Astro’s Preferred Provider Network supplies design professionals, consultants and contractors selected through a competitive process and trained on this delivery model.
About the Preferred Provider NetworkNext step
Talk through your building with us
Tell us what you want to improve. We’ll discuss your goals and constraints and suggest a sensible first step. No obligation.